Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 08 April 2019

Mon Apr 8 08:49:30 CAT 2019

 <http://www.bulls.co.zw/> Bulls.co.zw        <mailto:bulls at bulls.co.zw> Views & Comments        <http://www.bulls.co.zw/blog> Bullish Thoughts        <http://www.twitter.com/BullsBears2010> Twitter         <https://www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe> Facebook           <http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bulls-n-bears-zimbabwe/57/577/72> LinkedIn          <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe

Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 08 April 2019

 <http://www.nedbank.co.zw/> 

*  Ethiopia inflation up to 11.2 pct in year to March - stats bureau

*  Eni audits in slander case could prompt management changes - source

*  Steinhoff accounts postponed again, hitting shares

*  Woolworths partners Beyonce's makeup artist in limited edition line

*  South African rand set for 3 pct weekly gain after Moody's review delay

*  Kenyan shilling holds steady against the dollar

*  Nigerian debt office expects approval of 1.649 trln naira in borrowing

*  Kenya forecasts 6.3 pct economic growth in 2019

*  Vodacom unit alleged to have caused $4.76 mln loss to Tanzania

*  Carlos Ghosn: Nissan ousts former boss from its board

*  Huawei's 'shoddy' work prompts talk of a Westminster ban

*  Fiat to pool with Tesla to avoid EU fines

*  Germany's economy: Should we be worried?

*  Ethiopian Airlines crash: Boeing reduces 737 production

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Ethiopia inflation up to 11.2 pct in year to March - stats bureau

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian inflation rose to 11.2 percent in the year to March, the statistics bureau said on Saturday.

Year-on-year inflation was 10.9 percent in February.

The rise was mainly due to an increase in the price of cereals in the food basket, and non-food items such as house rent, fuel such as charcoal and wood, and transport, the bureau said.

Eni audits in slander case could prompt management changes - source

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy’s Eni has carried out internal audits in a slander case relating in part to a Nigeria corruption scandal, and a source with knowledge of the matter said the review could prompt some management changes at the oil major.

Eni and its Anglo-Dutch peer Royal Dutch Shell are on trial for allegedly paying $1.1 billion in bribes to buy Nigeria’s OPL 245 offshore oilfield in 2011, one of the oil industry’s biggest graft cases.

Both companies deny any wrongdoing.

Milan prosecutors opened in 2018 a separate case involving allegations that certain Eni managers had a role in exploiting false statements to discredit and slander witnesses involved in the main case.

The source said Eni had conducted at least two audits on the case concerning alleged false statements and sought legal opinions from outside lawyers.

“The audits could lead to a reshuffle of management at the group,” the source said.

In comments sent to Reuters, Eni confirmed it had launched audits on internal company processes linked to the matter, adding they had been wrapped up and steps for improvement identified.

Eni also denies any wrongdoing in the case opened by Milan prosecutors on the alleged making of false statements.

“If there should be changes to the (management) structure these will be announced, as always, in the correct way,” it said.

The company said it was awaiting the outcome of judicial investigations before deciding whether to take further steps.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Steinhoff accounts postponed again, hitting shares

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African retailer Steinhoff has again delayed release of its 2017 and 2018 financial statements, saying that complexities in the process were slowing the work of external auditor Deloitte, sending its shares down more than 4 percent.

The retailer said it had made “significant efforts” but its 2017 group financial statements would not be released until May 7 and its 2018 statements would be delayed until June 18. Both had been expected in mid-April.

“We sincerely regret this further delay,” Chief Financial Officer Philip Dieperink said in a statement to the stock exchange, adding that the company and Deloitte believe that the new timeline is achievable.

Steinhoff has repeatedly delayed publication of its accounts after a $7.4 billion accounting fraud that stunned investors in the multinational retailer that had been at the vanguard of the European discount furniture retail industry.

While a summary of an investigation by auditor PwC released last month has shed some light on what happened, shareholders are still hungry for more information on the scandal and an indication of how much Steinhoff’s remaining assets are worth.

Steinhoff added that said the revised timetable would be likely to affect the timing of its 2019 interim results, currently scheduled for late June, and that a new date would be given in due course.

The 2017 and 2018 results for its wholly owned subsidiary, Steinhoff Investment Holdings, will be released on June 28, the company said.

Woolworths partners Beyonce's makeup artist in limited edition line

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Woolworths Holdings has launched a limited edition makeup line in collaboration with Beyonce’s makeup artist Sir John on Thursday, seeking to strengthen its private label brand in its first international collaboration.

The South African department chain has invested heavily, like its peers, in its beauty business by partnering luxury international brands such as House of Chanel, Estée Lauder and Jo Malone, while strengthening its private label business.

Titled Volume 1, the makeup line is branded as cruelty-free and vegan friendly, a way to tap into the growing demand for more naturally-sourced products that is upending industries.

Head of Beauty at Woolworths, Vivienne Joseph said the partnership with Sir John advances the group’s vision of bringing its customers locally produced products that can live alongside the Chanels of the beauty industry.

“We were very clear that this little piece of red carpet global luxury can show that we can live alongside Chanel, alongside Tom Ford, alongside Jo Malone and still have exactly the same quality of innovation,” Joseph told Reuters.

The partnership with Sir John, known for beautifying the faces of Beyonce, Priyanka Chopra and Kim Kardashian-West, started in 2017, when together they delivered a series of makeup masterclasses across the country.

The makeup range, which includes an eye-shadow palette, highlighter and lipstick, will hit the shelves on Saturday.

South African rand set for 3 pct weekly gain after Moody's review delay

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African rand firmed on Friday and was on course for gains of around 3 percent this week against the dollar, as appetite for local assets was lifted by Moody’s delaying a credit rating review and optimism over U.S.-China trade talks.

At 0705 GMT, the rand had gained 0.2 percent to 14.0900 against the dollar compared to its previous close.

Signs of progress in the trade talks between the world’s two largest economies has bolstered demand for emerging market currencies, including the rand, as it bodes well for global economic growth.

But the main boost for South African assets this week came from Moody’s keeping the country’s sovereign rating in investment grade, after it let a scheduled rating review date last week pass without any rating action.

Moody’s rating is particularly sensitive for South Africa because it is the only one of the big three rating agencies that still rates the country’s debt in the coveted investment grade bracket.

South African stocks opened stronger, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index up 0.5 percent at 51,684 points.

In fixed income, the benchmark 2026 government bond gained, with the yield falling by 1.5 basis points to 8.520 percent.

Kenyan shilling holds steady against the dollar

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling held steady against the dollar on Friday propped up by diaspora remittances and reduced dollar demand from oil and merchandise importers, traders said.

At 0800 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 100.60/80 per dollar, compared with 100.65/85 at Thursday’s close.

Nigerian debt office expects approval of 1.649 trln naira in borrowing

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria’s debt office said on Thursday it expects the government to approve total borrowing of 1.649 trillion naira ($5.39 billion) in 2019.

Half the debt, 824 billion naira, will be foreign borrowing, Patience Oniha, the director general of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, told reporters in the capital Abuja.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has been racking up debt in an effort to boost economic growth, which has been sluggish since exiting recession in 2017.

The aim of the borrowing is to create jobs and build infrastructure, according to a debt office presentation on Thursday.

Domestic debt will be made up of federal government, sukuk, green and savings bonds, the debt office said.

Nigeria’s parliament must approve the borrowing plan before it can go ahead.

($1 = 306.0000 naira)

Kenya forecasts 6.3 pct economic growth in 2019

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s economy should grow an improved 6.3 percent in 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Thursday, citing an improved business environment and his government’s push to boost manufacturing, food production and access to housing.

Last year, growth was an estimated 6.1 percent, he said.

“We expect an even stronger growth ... reflecting continued improvement in the business environment, momentum associated with execution of the Big Four Agenda, and sustained macroeconomic stability,” he told parliament.

The government also plans to boost output by setting up a credit guarantee scheme for small and medium businesses, he said in an annual state-of-the-nation address.

“We will be launching an SME Credit Guarantee Scheme in a few weeks, aimed at deepening their access to credit without being subjected to complex application procedures and collateral requirements,” Kenyatta said.

Small and medium businesses have been hardest hit since the government put a cap on commercial lending rates in late 2016.

At the time, lawmakers said they were concerned about high interest rates. But the cap led to a private credit squeeze, as banks said it forced them to cut back on high-risk loans.

With many Kenyans fed up of government corruption draining state coffers and distorting business and politics, Kenyatta reiterated a pledge to tackle graft.

“I must, however, caution that the pursuit of the corrupt will be undertaken strictly within the remits of the law – and not through vigilante justice and pitchfork protest,” he added.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is investigating what it said was fraudulent construction of two dams valued at 63 billion shillings ($626 million). Some payments were already made out despite the dams not being built.

The probe has seen three ministers, including the one in charge of finance, questioned by detectives.

They have all denied wrongdoing.

($1 = 100.6000 Kenyan shillings)

Vodacom unit alleged to have caused $4.76 mln loss to Tanzania

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Vodacom Tanzania said on Thursday the government had accused it of causing an 11 billion shilling ($4.76 million) loss linked to allegations of fraudulent use of network facilities against its managing director and other executives.

"A bail application for the individuals in police custody will be heard in (the) next few days,” Vodacom Tanzania said in a statement. The company also said that it had appointed South African Jacques Marais as acting managing director.

Marais was appointed to “ensure the company’s operations continue free of interruptions and has initiated an internal investigation into the matter,” the company said.

Tanzanian authorities on Wednesday charged the managing director of Vodacom Tanzania and other telecom executives with economic crimes, court documents showed.

Egyptian Hisham Hendi and other executives “intentionally and wilfully organised a criminal racket, which caused the government ... to suffer a pecuniary loss,” the documents said.

They were not allowed to enter a plea or apply for bail, and are being held in police custody until the case comes up on April 17, a court official told Reuters.

Reuters was not able to contact legal representatives for the detained executives on Thursday.

Vodacom, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Vodacom Group, is Tanzania’s leading telecom company by the number of mobile subscribers, with about 32 percent of the country’s 40 million mobile subscribers, ahead of Tigo Tanzania, a subsidiary of Sweden’s Millicom, and a local unit of India’s Bharti Airtel.

“Vodacom Tanzania reiterates that it will continue to cooperate with the investigation,” it said.

($1 = 2,312.0000 Tanzanian shillings)

Carlos Ghosn: Nissan ousts former boss from its board

Nissan shareholders have voted to oust the company's former boss Carlos Ghosn from its board.

The decision to sever ties with Mr Ghosn was made at a an extraordinary shareholders meeting held on Monday.

Mr Ghosn was re-arrested in Tokyo last week while out on bail pending trial over claims of financial misconduct.

Shareholders also voted to remove Mr Ghosn's former right-hand man Greg Kelly, and to appoint Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as a director.

Mr Ghosn's fall from grace and lengthy detention has attracted global attention.

The Japanese carmaker sacked Mr Ghosn as chairman shortly after he was first detained in November.

'Outrageous'

Mr Ghosn was the architect of the alliance between Nissan and French carmaker Renault, and brought Mitsubishi on board in 2016. He is credited with turning around the fortunes of Nissan and Renault over several years.

He was first detained in November and faces charges of financial misconduct and breach of trust.

Prosecutors said Mr Ghosn's latest arrest related to transfers of Nissan funds totalling $15m (£11.5m) between 2015 and 2018.

They allege that $5m of that amount was used by Mr Ghosn for personal expenditure.

Local media had previously said that authorities had been building a new case against him involving payments to a dealership in Oman.

Mr Ghosn has denied any wrongdoing throughout, and has described the latest arrest as "outrageous and arbitrary."

His lawyer said it was almost unheard of to re-arrest someone after being released on bail.

Mr Ghosn was first charged with under-reporting his pay package for the five years to 2015.

In January, a fresh charge claimed he understated his compensation for another three years and he was also indicted on a new, more serious charge of breach of trust.--BBC

Huawei's 'shoddy' work prompts talk of a Westminster ban

A top cyber-security official has said Huawei's "shoddy" engineering practices mean its mobile network equipment could be banned from Westminster and other sensitive parts of the UK.

GCHQ's Dr Ian Levy told BBC Panorama the Chinese telecom giant also faced being barred from what he described as the "brains" of the 5G networks.

The UK government is expected to reveal in May whether it will restrict or even ban the company's 5G technology.

Huawei said it would address concerns.

Last month, a GCHQ-backed security review of the company said it would be difficult to risk-manage Huawei's future products until defects in its cyber-security processes were fixed.

It added that technical issues with the company's approach to software development had resulted in vulnerabilities in existing products, which in some cases had not been fixed, despite having being identified in previous versions.

In his first broadcast interview, the executive in charge of the firm's telecoms equipment division said he planned to spend more than the $2bn (£1.5bn) already committed to a "transformation programme" to tackle the problems identified.

"We hope to turn this challenge into an opportunity moving forward," said Ryan Ding, chief executive of Huawei's carrier business group.

"I believe that if we can carry out this programme as planned, Huawei will become the strongest player in the telecom industry in terms of security and reliability."

'Very shoddy'

However, Dr Levy - the technical director of GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre - said he had yet to be convinced.

"The security in Huawei is like nothing else - it's engineering like it's back in the year 2000 - it's very, very shoddy.

"We've seen nothing to give us any confidence that the transformation programme is going to do what they say it's going to do."

He added that "geographic restrictions - maybe there's no Huawei radio [equipment] in Westminster" was now one option for ministers to consider.

Mobile UK - an industry group representing Vodafone, BT, O2 and Three - has warned that preventing Huawei from being involved in the UK's 5G rollout could cost the country's economy up to £6.8bn and delay the launch of its next-generation networks by up to two years.

Those already using Huawei's equipment have opted to keep it out of what is known as the core of their networks, where tasks such as checking device IDs and deciding how to route voice and data take place.

EE used to make use of Huawei's gear in its 3G and 4G core, but BT is currently stripping it out after buying the business.

The industry does, however, want to use Huawei's radio access network (Ran) equipment - including its antennae and base stations. These allow individual devices to wirelessly connect to their mobile data networks via radio signals transmitted over the airwaves.

Paper-based communication

The US has concerns about any deployment of Huawei's products.

"You would never know when the Chinese government decide to force Huawei... to do things that would be in the best interests of the Communist party, to eavesdrop on the US," claimed Mike Conaway, a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

The Republican drafted a bill last year to ban the US government from doing business with firms that use the company's equipment. It was later adapted to become part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law by President Trump.

The effect has been to deter the country's major telecoms networks from working with Huawei. The Chinese company is now suing the US government claiming the move is unconstitutional.

The congressman now has his sights on the UK.

"Obviously, the terrific relationship between the UK and the United States - English-speaking countries - is important to maintain," Mr Conaway told Panorama.

"But as a part of that we will have to assess what kind of risks we would have in sharing... secrets that would go across Huawei equipment, Huawei networks.

"We can always share things old-school ways by, you know, paper back and forth. But, in terms of being able to electronically communicate, across Huawei gear, Huawei networks, would be risky at best."

This is a matter that crosses political divides.

Mark Warner, a Democrat and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also cautioned against allowing Huawei to be part of the UK's 5G networks.

"I think that the consequences could be dramatic," he said.

"I think there could be a real concern about the ability to fully share information because of the fear that the network that would undergird 5G in the UK, that there might be a vulnerability."

GCHQ's Dr Levy, however, played down such fears saying that efforts to digitally scramble communications meant that even if someone was able to intercept them, they would only get "gobbledygook".

"Anything sensitive from a company or government or defence is independently encrypted of the network," he explained. "You don't trust the network to protect you, you protect yourself."

He added that despite finding vulnerabilities in some of Huawei's kit "we don't believe the things we are reporting on is the result of Chinese state malfeasance".

Ill informed?

For its part, Huawei says the Chinese government would never ask it to install backdoors or other vulnerabilities into its foreign clients' systems, and even if such a request were made it would refuse.

And Mr Ding dismissed suggestions that this commitment would fall by the wayside if the US and China were to go to war.

"We have a country here that virtually uses no Huawei equipment and doesn't even know whether our 5G equipment is square or round, and yet it has been incessantly expressing security concerns over Huawei," he said.

"I don't want to speculate on whether they have other purposes with this kind of talk. I would rather focus the limited time that I have on making better products."--BBC

Fiat to pool with Tesla to avoid EU fines

Fiat Chrysler (FCA) says a plan the firm has agreed with Tesla will help them avoid paying fines for violating new European Union emissions rules.

Under the deal, first reported by the Financial Times, FCA will pay for the right to count Tesla's electric vehicles as part of the FCA fleet.

By pooling their vehicles, the Italian carmaker will be able to report a lower average emission figure.

Tesla has not confirmed the deal. It is not clear how much it is worth.

However the Financial Times reported the deal was worth hundreds of millions of euros.

New, tougher rules come into force next year in the European Union, imposing an average emissions limit of 95g per kilometre.

To meet that target, carmakers can pool the models within their own companies to come up with an average emissions figure, for example between Peugeot, Citroen and Opel vehicles, which are all made by PSA Group. But firms are also permitted to form so-called open pools, with other carmakers.

FCA applied to form an emissions pool with electric vehicle maker Tesla in February, the first carmaker to take up the option of an open pool.

According to the Financial Times, FCA said it was committed to reducing the emissions from its cars but said the pooling arrangement "provides flexibility to deliver products our customers are willing to buy while managing compliance with the lowest cost approach."

Last year FCA, which has been lagging behind rivals in the manufacture of electric vehicles, said it planned to spend €9bn (£7.75bn; $10.1bn) over four years to develop electric cars which complied with global emissions standards.

Tesla, which makes electric vehicles, made over $1bn over the last three years selling emissions credits to other manufacturers in the United States.--BBC

Germany's economy: Should we be worried?

It has been a poor week for German economic news.

On Friday, we learned that industrial production in February - excluding energy and construction - had fallen.

The previous day, new official data showed that manufacturing orders also declined in the same month.

At the start of the week, another survey of the same sector reported new orders and export sales "falling at rates not seen since the global financial crisis".

We look at what's gone wrong for the German industrial machine.

How bad is the German economic situation?

There's no question that the German economy has hit a difficult patch. The widest measure of economic activity, gross domestic product (GDP), declined in the third quarter of last year by 0.2% and failed to grow in the following three months.

In terms of recession, as widely defined (two consecutive quarters of contraction), that is a very near miss indeed.

That said, the jobs market in Germany is still in pretty decent health. The unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the world at 3.1%.

Among the rich countries, only the Czech Republic, Iceland and Japan have lower figures. Germany's unemployment rate has continued to decline during this period of weak GDP performance.

Another way of looking at it is the employment rate - the percentage of the working age population who do have jobs (or self-employment). That continued to grow in the last two quarters of 2018; by 0.2% in each period.

It's also worth noting that other business surveys this week have been much more upbeat, pointing to continued expansion in services and construction.

But manufacturing is going through a more difficult spell.

What about the rest of the eurozone?

Growth in the the eurozone as a whole has slowed.

In part, that reflects Germany's situation. It accounts for 29% of eurozone economic activity, so weakness in Germany drags down the average even if nothing changes anywhere else.

Some eurozone countries don't seem to have lost momentum to any great extent so far. Among the large economies Spain is the obvious example.

But others have had a setback, notably Italy, which is in recession.

The country has a persistent problem with weak growth. Growth has never been strong and went into reverse last year. In fact, the Italian economy is still smaller than it was before the financial crisis a decade ago.

Eurozone unemployment varies widely. It is down from the highest levels it reached during the eurozone crisis, very sharply in some cases.

But at 7.8%, it is still fairly high. Unemployment is still in double figures in three countries: Italy, Spain and Greece, where the figure is 18%.

Why are Germany and the eurozone struggling?

The recovery after the eurozone financial crisis was never that strong.

But in the last year or so, the region has been hit by adverse trade winds. It matters particularly to Germany, which is Europe's leading goods exporter and number three globally (after China and the US).

There are several factors. China's economic slowdown has weakened demand for foreign goods and it's an important market for Germany.

President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium are also an issue. Looking ahead the possibility that he might impose tariffs on cars could do a lot more damage to Germany.

The uncertainty associated with Brexit is also a factor mentioned by German firms in their survey responses.

There have also been some temporary factors that have contributed to Germany's problems.

New emissions testing procedures set back car production last year and low water levels on the Rhine restricted cargo traffic for a time. The river is a very important transport route for German industry.

Can the European Central Bank do anything?

Using economic policy to tackle this slowdown is challenging. The options available to policymakers are seriously constrained.

The European Central Bank (ECB) already has interest rates at or close to the lowest level they can be. Its main rate is zero and one - the deposit rate for money held overnight for commercial banks - is even lower; it's negative.

The ECB halted its "quantitative easing" policy of buying financial assets with newly created money at the end of last year.

Reviving them is certainly possible, but there are complications.

For some types of asset the ECB is approaching the maximum amount it wants to hold - to avoid distorting the market too much.

And politically it would be difficult especially in Germany where the programme was always viewed with unease.

"Printing money" as the programme is sometimes called can conjure up fears of high inflation and Germany has had seriously disruptive episodes of that in the first half of the twentieth century.

What about governments?

Another option to stimulate economic activity in a slowdown is the government finances: tax cuts or spending increases.

Many economists would argue that Germany has the scope to do that.

The government currently spends less than it collects in taxes. But it is reluctant to use its finances as a stimulus.

There are legal restrictions in German law and the whole thrust of eurozone policy on government finances has been affected by the experience of the government debt crisis earlier in the decade.

Even if Germany does have some room in principle to use its finances to stimulate the economy, others have less.

The most recent assessment by the European Commission concluded that there was still a need for "prudent" policies to ensure the sustainability of government finances.

Some, critics, however think that the EU's rules for eurozone government finances are too restrictive.--BBC

Ethiopian Airlines crash: Boeing reduces 737 production

Boeing is temporarily cutting production of its best-selling 737 airliner in the continuing fall-out from crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

Production will drop from 52 planes a month to 42 from mid-April, Boeing has said in a statement.

The decision is a response to a halt in deliveries of the 737 Max - the model involved in the two accidents.

The plane is currently grounded as preliminary findings suggest its anti-stall system was at fault.

An Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crashed only minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa in March, killing all 157 people on board.

The same type flown by the Indonesian airline Lion Air crashed into the sea only five months earlier, shortly after taking off from Jakarta. That accident claimed the lives of 189 people.

In both cases, preliminary findings showed the pilots had wrestled with the anti-stall system, known as MCAS, which caused the planes to nose-dive repeatedly.

A report from the Ethiopian authorities issued on Thursday said the pilots of flight ET302 "repeatedly" followed procedures recommended by Boeing before the crash.

What did the Boeing statement say?

"We now know that the recent Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accidents were caused by a chain of events, with a common chain link being erroneous activation of the aircraft's MCAS function. We have the responsibility to eliminate this risk, and we know how to do it," the statement from Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said.

He repeated that Boeing was making progress on updating the MCAS software and finalising new training for Max pilots.

"As we continue to work through these steps, we're adjusting the 737 production system temporarily to accommodate the pause in Max deliveries, allowing us to prioritise additional resources to focus on software certification and returning the Max to flight," he said.

Current employment levels would be maintained, the statement said, and a new committee is being set up to look at "policies and processes for the design and development of the airplanes we build".

What difficulties has Boeing faced?

The 10 March crash of Ethiopian Airlines ET302 led to airlines round the world grounding their 737 Max aircraft.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was one of the last major regulators to order the grounding of the Max, leading some to accuse it of being too close to Boeing.

Questions are being asked about why the planes were not grounded earlier.

Deliveries of the Max were halted, leading to an excess of the planes needing storage.

After the statement, Boeing shares fell just over 1% in after-hours trading to $387.14 (£333).

How have victims reacted?

Boeing apologised on Thursday saying it was "sorry for the lives lost" in both accidents. But this has failed to satisfy many relatives who questioned why Boeing did not act earlier to take the planes out of service.

The chief pilot's father, Dr Getachew Tessema, told the BBC the apology was "too little, too late".

Yared Getachew, 29, had more than 8,000 hours of flying experience when he was killed.

"I am very proud about my son and the other pilot, both of them," he told the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza.

"To the last minute they struggled as much as they could but unfortunately they were not able to stop it.

"I don't regret that he was a pilot. He died in the course of his duty."

Dr Tessema levels the blame squarely at Boeing, questioning why the company did not stop the 737 Max flying after the Indonesia crash.

"Why did they let them fly? Because they were in competition. They want to sell more. Human life has no meaning in some societies."

Relatives of an American passenger who died in the Ethiopian crash, 24-year-old Samya Stumo, filed the first lawsuit against Boeing on Thursday in Chicago.--BBC

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Zimbabwe 

Independence Day

Zimbabwe

18 Apr 2019 

Good Friday

19 Apr 2019

Easter Saturday

20 Apr 2019

Easter Sunday

21 Apr 2019

Easter Monday

22 Apr 2019

Workers Day

01 May  2019

Africa Day

25 May 2019

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

(c) 2019 Web: <http:// www.bulls.co.zw >  www.bulls.co.zw Email:  <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77 344 1674

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

Telephone:      <tel:%2B263%204%202927658> +263 4 2927658

Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674

Alt. Email:       <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw  

Website:         <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH8LYgdY55h-XKseuM8Kpr-JKdfhQ> www.bulls.co.zw 

Blog:            <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw%2Fblog&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFoIy6F9IXAiYnSoPSgWDYsr8Sqtw> www.bulls.co.zw/blog

Twitter:         @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:       Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:      <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimbabwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA> www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:         Bulls.Bears 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190408/4a9ffdcb/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3653 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190408/4a9ffdcb/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 42387 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190408/4a9ffdcb/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 29401 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190408/4a9ffdcb/attachment-0008.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 29388 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190408/4a9ffdcb/attachment-0009.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 29420 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190408/4a9ffdcb/attachment-0010.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4846 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190408/4a9ffdcb/attachment-0011.jpg>