Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 30 April 2019

Tue Apr 30 08:46:22 CAT 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 30 April 2019

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*  South Sudan says its oil is flowing freely despite Sudan port strike

*  U.S. sanctions on Iran, Venezuela set up crunch for heavier oil

*  Nigeria's Bonny Light, Amenam oil exports under force majeure

*  Rwandan brewer Bralirwa profit lifted by sales of premium beer

*  Trade war: What you need to know about US-China talks

*  Google owner Alphabet misses sales forecasts

*  Boeing safety system not at fault, says chief executive

*  WeWork office giant plans US share listing

*  Woodstock 50 anniversary festival cancelled, investor says

*  Mastercard and Visa agree to cut overseas card fees

*  Huawei: US official warns 'no safe level' of involvement with tech giant

*  Operators say government should lose oversight of rail

*  Labour's John McDonnell says UK economy requires 'revolution'

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

South Sudan says its oil is flowing freely despite Sudan port strike

PORT SUDAN, Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan’s oil minister said on Monday that the country’s oil was flowing smoothly and problems with importing chemicals for drilling, due to a strike at a port in neighbouring Sudan, had been resolved.

Landlocked South Sudan’s main oil shipment hub is Port Sudan in neighbouring Sudan. Chemicals due to be imported by South Sudan via the port for oil drilling were stranded late last week after oil workers at the port went on strike.

Oil minister Ezekiel Lol said those chemicals would be shipped to South Sudan on Monday.

“I can assure the world and the people of South Sudan that South Sudan oil is flowing smoothly without any difficulties,” Lol said during a visit to Sudan to discuss the issue with Sudanese officials.

The chemicals had been held up at the port for three days, he said.

“The chemicals that are in Port Sudan will be leaving today for South Sudan,” Lol said.

South Sudan’s information minister had said on Friday that the country’s oil exports had been disrupted due to strikes and protests in Port Sudan, but Sudan officials said there had been no disruptions to exports.

South Sudan, which ships its oil through Sudan via a pipeline to Port Sudan, says its current oil production is 135,000 barrels per day.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

U.S. sanctions on Iran, Venezuela set up crunch for heavier oil

LONDON (Reuters) - Tighter U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil planned for May are adding to a wealth of factors curbing global supply of heavy-medium crude, driving up prices for scarcer barrels and setting up a stand-off between buyers and sellers.

The new curbs on Iranian exports come on top of Washington’s earlier ban on Venezuelan crude and output snags in Angola, another big producer of the dense crude grades that best yield lucrative refined products like jet fuel.

U.S. officials say overall global oil supply will remain plentiful despite its sanctions, not least from the boom in U.S. shale. But much of the profusion in supply, led by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia, is in lighter grades.

The price for heavier crudes like Norway’s Grane and Heidrun has been firming over the last few months, a North Sea trader said. Over April, the price of Grane rose from around dated Brent plus 10 cents to close to dated Brent plus $1.00 a barrel.

This month Iraq’s SOMO sold 2 million barrels of Basra Heavy crude to China’s Unipec at a premium of over $2 a barrel to its official selling price (OSP), the highest in months, sources said.

Refiners are also seeking more heavy sweet crude to produce low-sulphur fuel oil ahead of new shipping emissions rules due next year.

“Over the past week we have seen heavy, sweet crude differentials rising markedly, as the long-awaited IMO impact has started to leave its mark on the crude market,” JBC Energy said in a note on Monday.

JBC cited price assessments from Argus that premiums for Australian heavy, sweet grades Pyrenees and Van Gogh versus North Sea dated rose by $2 per barrel to a record $9 per barrel.

Furious over the Washington’s sanctions, Iran warned on Monday that other oil grades could not displace its supply.

“This idea that some countries can fill the empty place of Iran’s oil in the market is incorrect from different aspects, including a technical and political view,” Amir Hossein Zamaninia, a deputy Iranian oil minister, was quoted as saying.

EYES ON ANGOLA, CHINA

Price offerings for several Angolan streams, an approximate alternative to Iranian and Venezuelan crude, were at their highest ever, traders said.

State oil company Sonangol was said to have sold a cargo of one of its heaviest grades, Dalia, over the last week for $2 a barrel above dated Brent, a $7 increase from two years ago. Typically, the grade trades at a discount of $1 or more.

While some clients are prepared to buy at elevated prices, others are holding back. “We’re resisting it as much as possible,” one potential buyer said.

Some of Sonangol’s regular customers balked at the mark-ups, prompting the company to offer the crude to other buyers instead as spot cargoes. These have sold quickly, trading sources said.

The current stand-off between buyers and sellers comes down partly to uncertainty over just how much Iranian crude may still flow, crucially to top consumer China, after the May 1 deadline the U.S. has imposed for importers to halt purchases.

China’s foreign ministry this week said Beijing had formally complained to the United States about the move.

Analysts expect China may flout the restrictions, especially since Washington may be loath to sanction Chinese companies importing Iranian crude which are at the same time key buyers of U.S. oil and liquid natural gas.

Sweden’s SEB says Beijing could lift its imports of Iranian crude in the coming months from some 600,000 barrels per day in March to around 1 million bpd, bucking U.S. pressure, while exports elsewhere under the sanctions radar could reach another 500,000 bpd.

That would make it harder for sellers to get away with higher prices.

“Decisions on buying will be easier to make when it’s clearer how much Iranian (crude) will still be flowing,” a trading source said.

Nigeria's Bonny Light, Amenam oil exports under force majeure

LONDON (Reuters) - Exports of two Nigerian crude grades are suffering significant disruptions following a turbulent week in the country’s oil-producing Delta region, industry sources said on Monday.

Royal Dutch Shell has declared force majeure on exports of Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude following the closure of one of two export pipelines, the company said on Monday. Amenam, operated by oil major Total , is also under force majeure, trading sources said.

Both grades of crude are light and sweet, typically suitable for gasoline production.

The Bonny Light-exporting Nembe Creek Trunk Line closed on April 21 following a fire, operator Aiteo said, and Shell said it had declared force majeure on April 25.

Bonny Light exports had been planned at 222,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June and 184,000 bpd in May, but trading sources said they were awaiting new loading plans. Shell said the export terminal continued to run.

A port source told Reuters that oil-well shutdowns had reduced Amenam’s daily production and led to force majeure. Exports of Amenam are typically around 100,000 bpd, and trading sources said loadings had been delayed by roughly 25 days.

Operator Total did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Two Shell oil workers were kidnapped last week in Rivers state, an escalation that helped prompt state police to step up security operations.

Rwandan brewer Bralirwa profit lifted by sales of premium beer

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda’s biggest brewer, Bralirwa Ltd, said on Friday pretax profit rose 33 percent to 10.3 billion Rwandan francs ($11.39 million) in 2018, boosted by sales of its premium brand Mutzig.

The rise in sales of premium beer at the beverage company, a subsidiary of Heineken N.V., came as overall sales volumes rose by 14.6 percent to 1.790 million hectolitres in 2018, it said.

Bralirwa is Rwanda’s oldest brewery and has the right to produce beer brands such as Amstel. It also produces branded soft drinks such as Coca-Cola.

Last year it launched local production of Heineken with a plan also to export it to neighboring countries. But Bralirwa said the strained relations between Rwanda and its neighbours Burundi and Uganda were affecting exports.

“This is something we hope will not last long. It being a landlocked country, it needs other countries for us to have access to the sea,” said Merid Demissie, its managing director.

“This is extremely important for us. The impact is not big but we definitely need those markets.”

The company exports around 5 percent of its total volume to the region but did not give specific details on exports to Burundi and Uganda.

Bralirwa said its earnings per share have risen to 5.5 Rwandan francs ($0.0061), up from 3.75 Rwandan francs ($0.0041)in 2017.

($1 = 904.6947 Rwandan francs)

Trade war: What you need to know about US-China talks

The US and China are due to begin a fresh round of talks in Beijing on Tuesday as they edge closer to resolving their damaging trade dispute.

The discussions will be led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

Talks have dragged on for months, with both sides struggling to agree on key issues.

The trade war has hurt the economy and challenged the multilateral system that has governed world trade for decades.

There has been cautious optimism surrounding the talks in recent months but also a sense that both sides remain divided on some points.

The next US-China battleground

Grappling with China's growing power

US-China trade war in 300 words

How did we get here?

The US, which accuses China of unfair trading practices, imposed tariffs on $250bn (£193.2bn) worth of Chinese products last year.

Beijing has retaliated with duties on $110bn worth of American products.

Tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese goods were due to more than double at the start of the year, rising from 10% to 25%.

But both countries agreed to suspend tit-for-tat tariffs after they struck a truce in December, and began negotiations to work towards a deal.

US President Donald Trump recently said the US and China had agreed on "a lot of the most difficult points" but that "we have some ways to go".

What are the sticking points?

Sticking points in negotiations in recent months have included how a deal would be enforced, issues around intellectual property protection, and how fast to roll back tariffs.

Gary Hufbauer from the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington said enforcement was a crucial issue, but remained optimistic about the prospect of a deal.

"China will make lots of promises, the US remains sceptical on implementation," he said.

Still, he expects a deal to be announced by mid-May. The latest round of talks are expected to be followed by further negotiations in Washington on 8 May.

The US accuses China of stealing intellectual property and wants Beijing to make changes to its economic policies, which it says unfairly favour domestic companies through subsidies. It also wants China to buy more US goods to rein in a lofty trade deficit.

Mr Xi addressed some of these concerns last week at the Belt and Road forum in Beijing ahead of the trade talks.

He said China would boost efforts to secure intellectual property protection, increase imports of goods and services and ensure a fair trading environment for firms.

But what makes trade negotiations particularly difficult to resolve is the fact they are part of a broader power struggle between the world's two largest economies.

China's growing influence has put many Western governments - and particularly the US on the defensive. Some in China see the trade war as part of US efforts to curb its rise.

Against this backdrop, there is a view that the trade deal will not put an end to a US-China rivalry, which is already playing out in the technology sector.

What's at stake?

The trade war is already having an impact on the world economy.

International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said the escalation of US-China trade tensions was one factor that had contributed to a "significantly weakened global expansion, especially in the second half of 2018." The IMF cut its growth forecast for this year by 0.2 percentage points to 3.3%.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also said tariffs imposed by the US and China last year had slowed economic growth in the world's two largest economies.

Beyond the tangible economic fallout, some fear the trade war is challenging the multilateral system which has governed global trade for decades, including through the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

"The system is already fragile. An all out trade war, in which both sides break their WTO commitments, will be very damaging," Mr Hufbauer said.--BBC

Google owner Alphabet misses sales forecasts

Google's parent company, Alphabet, saw its shares drop in after-hours trading after the internet giant missed revenue forecasts.

Alphabet, which also owns YouTube, reported $36.3bn (£28bn) in sales for the first quarter, below expectations of $37.33bn.

Profits also fell during the three months to 31 March.

It was impacted by a fine from the European Commission for blocking rival online search advertisers.

Google had to pay €1.5bn (£1.3bn) after it was accused of abusing its market dominance by restricting third-party competitors from displaying search adverts between 2006 and 2016.

Including the fine, Alphabet's operating profit dropped to $6.6bn from a previous $7.6bn.

Sales growth slowed to 17% in the first three months of the year, below the expansion rate of the previous three months and down from a 26% increase in the same period last year.

Alphabet's share price dropped nearly 7% in after-hours trading.

Ad fears

Alphabet also said that the rate of growth in "paid clicks" decelerated, slowing to 39% growth compared to 59% at the beginning of 2018.

Under the model, companies pay a fee each time one of their adverts is clicked on.

Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat said the firm was experimenting with its ad products as users grow reliant on mobile devices and that it was seeing revenue volatility as a result.

The majority of the firm's revenues (84.5%) came from Google's ad business, which sells links, banners and commercials across its own websites and apps and those of partners.

Google's three billion users help make it the world's largest seller of internet ads, according to market research firm EMarketer.

George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Another EU fine won't have washed well with investors, but in reality it's not the cheque on its way to Brussels that's causing the shares to drop.

"Instead, it's a nasty combination of growth in traffic to Google ads slowing and lower revenue per click from those ads that's upset the market."--BBC

Boeing safety system not at fault, says chief executive

Boeing's boss has refused to admit that a system introduced in its 737 Max 8 aircraft was flawed following two fatal plane crashes.

Appearing in front of investors and the media, Dennis Muilenburg maintained the system was only one factor in a chain of events that led to the disasters.

But new reports have raised fresh questions about the plane's safety.

It has emerged that whistleblowers connected to Boeing contacted the US airline regulator about the system.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Boeing failed to activate a safety feature linked to sensors on 737 Max planes bought by its biggest customer, Southwest Airlines.

The 737 Max is grounded worldwide after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed near Addis Ababa in March, killing all 157 people on board.

It follows a crash by Lion Air in Indonesia five months earlier, which claimed 189 lives.

Facing shareholders and the press for the first time since the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy, Mr Muilenburg said that both accidents occurred because of faulty data from a sensor which triggered the plane's Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).

The system, which is designed to stop the plane from tipping higher and stalling by forcing the nose lower, was a new addition to the 737 Max when the aircraft was launched in 2017.

Mr Muilenburg said that the MCAS system met its "design and certification criteria" and pointed to a number of other scenarios that may have contributed to the fatal accidents including actions taken or not taken by pilots.

He added: "As in most accidents, there are a chain of events that occur. It is not correct to attribute that to any single item."

A preliminary report into the Ethiopian Airlines flight found that the plane nosedived several times before hitting the ground.

In the case of the Lion Air flight, a report suggested that the system malfunctioned, and forced the plane's nose down more than 20 times before it plummeted into the sea.

Boeing has developed and is testing a software update for MCAS.

Mr Muilenburg appeared amid reports that a number of whistleblowers had contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the Ethiopian Airlines crash, regarding issues related to the sensors and MCAS system.

It also emerged that Boeing did not activate a "disagree alert" feature on the 737 Max 8 that warned pilots if the sensor was transmitting faulty data about position of the plane's nose.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Southwest was not aware of the "angle of attack" sensor feature until after the Lion Air crash and that the warning was available only if a company bought an additional safety feature.

Mr Muilenburg claimed early on Monday: "We don't make safety features optional."

In a later statement, Boeing then said: "The disagree alert was intended to be a standard, stand-alone feature on Max airplanes. However, the disagree alert was not operable on all airplanes because the feature was not activated as intended.

"The disagree alert was tied or linked into the angle of attack indicator, which is an optional feature on the Max. Unless an airline opted for the angle of attack indicator, the disagree alert was not operable."

It said that once the 737 Max 8 returns to the skies, it will "have an activated and operable disagree alert and an optional angle of attack indicator".

Customer pressure

Boeing has already seen a $1bn (£773m) drop in revenues related to the 737 Max crisis and some customers have reviewed their orders.

On Tuesday, Virgin Australia said it had reached an agreement with Boeing to defer deliveries of 737 Max aircraft.

In a statement, the company said it would delay first deliveries of Boeing Max 737 jets from November 2019 to July 2021.

"We will not introduce any new aircraft to the fleet unless we are completely satisfied with its safety," Virgin Australia Chief Executive Paul Scurrah said.--BBC

WeWork office giant plans US share listing

Shared office provider WeWork has filed paperwork to enable it to list its shares on the US stock market as it seeks further funds for expansion.

The firm offers shared office space and services, allowing clients to shrink or grow their number of desks for the period they need them for.

Founded in the US in 2010, WeWork is already London and New York's largest private office occupier.

But it has yet to make a profit, with losses last year doubling to $1.9bn.

"After a lot of thought, last week we decided to file the first amendment to our submission, which is a step towards allowing us to decide to become a public company," chief executive Adam Neumann wrote in a letter to staff.

The firm's business model is based on short-term revenue agreements and long-term loan liabilities.

Ratings agencies have given it a "junk" or risky credit score because it has borrowed heavily to fund its expansion.

Despite this, the firm - which operates in 600 cities globally - was valued at some $47bn by private investors when it raised fresh funding in January.

Are internet unicorns really worth billions?

Flexible office space 'set to soar'

Is Uber really worth $90bn?

The flexibility of WeWork's business model has proved popular with small employers and workers who enjoy the modern collaborative feel of a shared office, as well as larger employers who are not forced to sign long leases on expensive, bespoke, trophy buildings.

Perks such as free beer for tenants of WeWork offices in New York proved so popular that the company was forced to impose a four pint limit per person after reports of inappropriate behaviour.

The New York firm said it had filed its registration for the public stock market listing confidentially in December.

The confidential filing allows firms to kickstart the listing process before providing key information about their finances.

"This process will enable WeWork to make the decision to become publicly traded, subject to market and other conditions," it said.

The firm provided no information on how much money it would seek to raise, its valuation or the timing of its offering.

The plan to sell shares comes after Japanese tech giant SoftBank invested $2bn in the company in January, well below the $16bn WeWork was reported to have been seeking.

WeWork's plan comes amid a rush of share listings from similar start-up firms including ride-hailing app Uber and other tech firms including online scrapbook company Pinterest.--BBC

Woodstock 50 anniversary festival cancelled, investor says

A three-day festival to mark the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival has been cancelled four months before it was due to take place, the main financial backer says.

Rapper Jay-Z, singer Miley Cyrus and the Killers band had all been booked to play at Woodstock 50 in New York state.

The chief funder said it could not ensure the "health and safety of the artists, partners and attendees".

The festival organiser "vehemently denied" it had been cancelled.

"Woodstock 50 vehemently denies the festival's cancellation and legal remedy will (be) sought," the organiser told US local newspaper the Poughkeepsie Journal.

But Japanese PR and advertising giant Dentsu Aegis Network whose investment arm Amplifi Live is the lead funder for the festival, said it had a clause in its contract with the organisers that gave it the option to cancel the festival.

Reports suggested that $30m (£23.2m) had already been spent on booking the artists. Dentsu declined to comment on the figure, but told the BBC that all contractual obligations had been met.

The firm said the decision to cancel the festival had been made after careful consideration.

"As difficult as it is, we believe this is the most prudent decision for all parties involved," the firm added.

Artists including Dead and Co, Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers, Chance the Rapper, Sturgill Simpson, Halsey and Cage the Elephant had been lined up to play at the three-day event due to take place from 16 to 18 August.

Around 100,000 people were expected to attend.

First signs of problems emerged when the festival tickets did not go on sale on 22 April as planned.

The original August 1969 Woodstock festival, billed as "three days of peace and music," is regarded as one of the pivotal moments in music history symbolising much of the idealism of the 1960s.--BBC

Mastercard and Visa agree to cut overseas card fees

Mastercard and Visa have both agreed to cut their fees for tourists using their cards in the EU, after a long-running battle with the European Commission.

The credit card firms will now charge retailers around 40% less on non-EU credit and debit cards payments.

The European Commission said the deal would lead to "lower prices for European retailers to do business".

Ultimately, the commission said this should lead to lower prices for tourists to the European Union.

The European Commission, which has waged a decades-long crackdown on payment and credit card fees, believes that so-called interchange fees - which the credit card firms charge businesses for accepting payments from consumers - result in higher prices.

According to the terms of the deal, Visa, the world's largest payments network operator, and rival Mastercard, will charge a 0.2% fee on non-EU debit card payments carried out in shops and a 0.3% fee on credit card payments, the Commission said.

This would bring their fees in line with those charged for EU cards.

'Important milestone'

The newly agreed rates will come into force on 19 October and apply for five years.

Ultimately the hope is that the EU agreement will make it cheaper when a person uses their debit or credit card overseas.

Visa said it had played "a central role negotiating a resolution that achieves the best outcome for all parties."

"European merchants and cardholders continue to enjoy the significant benefits of international card payments, both in store and online, which make an important contribution to European economies," it added.

Mastercard said the closure of this antitrust case "was an important milestone for the company".

Earlier this year, the European Commission fined Mastercard €573m ($650m, £504m) for anti-competitive behaviour.

It said Mastercard had prevented retailers using cheaper banking services outside their home country.--BBC

Huawei: US official warns 'no safe level' of involvement with tech giant

The US has warned that its intelligence sharing with other countries would have to be re-evaluated if those countries use Huawei to build their 5G networks.

Senior US official Rob Strayer said any such role for the firm posed an "unacceptable risk" to security.

It has been reported that the UK might allow the Chinese telecoms firm into the non-core parts of its 5G network.

But opponents of the plan have raised concerns about Huawei's ties to the Chinese government.

Last week, a leak from the UK's National Security Council indicated the government had decided to allow the Chinese telecoms firm to have a limited role in bringing 5G to the UK.

The news provoked controversy, with reports several of Prime Minister Theresa May's senior cabinet ministers had warned against the move.

The US expressed serious concerns at the time, since, along with Australia and New Zealand, it belives the Chinese firm is a security risk because of its ties to the state.

Responding to Mr Strayer's intervention, Mrs May's official spokesman said: "Our position has always been that where national security concerns arise in any foreign investment the government will assess the risks and consider what course of action to take."

China's ambassador in London said Britain should resist pressure from other nations, and that the company had a "good track record on security".

Mr Strayer, the deputy assistant secretary for cyber and international communications at the US State Department, said the US was letting other countries know that if they put "unsecure and untrusted vendors" into their 5G networks, "in any place" then it was "going to have to consider the risk that produces to our information-sharing arrangements with them".

5G is the next - and fifth - generation of mobile internet connectivity, promising much faster data download and upload speeds, wider coverage and more stable connections.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Strayer said: "We think the stakes couldn't be higher with regard to 5G technology, because of all of the things we build out over the coming years on top of that tech.

"This is truly a monumental decision being made now... we think there's unacceptable risk in letting untrusted vendors provide that base infrastructure because they could disrupt any of those critical services.

"In addition we're concerned about the ability for a government that has the track record... that China has, to potentially have access to that massive increase in data, personal data in many cases, that could be used in nefarious ways."

Mr Strayer earlier told journalists even allowing an "untrustworthy" operator into the "edges" of the network created risks of espionage or sabotage.

He added: "We should be concerned about all parts of the 5G network. No part of the 5G network should have parts or software coming from a vendor that could be under the control of an authoritarian government."

It is understood telecoms operators who use Huawei equipment in their networks have been asked to attend a meeting with officials including Mr Strayer at the US Embassy in London on Tuesday.

5G is the next (fifth) generation of mobile internet connectivity, promising much faster data download and upload speeds, wider coverage and more stable connections.

The world is going mobile and existing spectrum bands are becoming congested, leading to breakdowns, particularly when many people in one area are trying to access services at the same time.

5G is also much better at handling thousands of devices simultaneously, from phones to equipment sensors, video cameras to smart street lights.

Current 4G mobile networks can offer speeds of about 45Mbps (megabits per second) on average and experts say 5G - which is starting to be rolled out in the UK this year - could achieve browsing and downloads up to 20 times faster.

What is 5G and what will it mean for you?

Six UK cities named as 5G pioneers

What is Huawei?

Huawei was started by a former People's Liberation Army officer in 1987.

The company started out making equipment for phone networks and has grown rapidly to become a global leader.

It is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and is owned by 80,000 of its 180,000 employees.

More recently it has started making smartphones as well, and Huawei has now captured about 16% of the global market, making it the world's third-largest supplier after Samsung and Apple.

The US points to its founder's military background and potential interference from the Chinese government to argue it represents a risk to national security.

Australia and New Zealand have blocked telecoms companies from using Huawei equipment in 5G networks, citing security concerns.

But the company is keen to portray itself as a firm with no ties to the Chinese government. It says it prioritises safety and security and that at least some of the hostility is because the firm poses a competitive threat.--BBC

Operators say government should lose oversight of rail

An independent body should oversee the rail network, according to Britain's railway companies.

In submissions made to a government-appointed review into rail, the firms also said long-distance routes should be serviced by more than one company.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) also said control of commuter routes could be handed over to local authorities.

It suggested commuter routes could be organised in a similar way to Transport for London in the capital.

There local authority oversee timetables and organisation, with private operators subcontracted under them.

"In the major Northern cities and across the Northern Powerhouse this devolution would make it possible to integrate transport better, which is already being worked towards with more touch in and out travel within and in between our towns and cities in the North," said Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

"This would be used by more of us as passengers if the government supports the fare system being reformed more quickly."

Currently, most UK rail services are operated by fixed-term franchises, which involve the Department for Transport (DfT) setting out a specification covering areas such as service levels, upgrades and performance.

Train companies then submit bids to run the franchise and the DfT selects one of the applicants.

Government control

Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary Mick Cash said the RDG was proposing a "deregulated free-for-all" that would lead to fare rises for customers.

The Rail Delivery Group's vision is likely to be seen as an attempt to stave off nationalisation, as proposed by Labour.

But the government has said privatisation has helped "transform" the industry.

The UK's rail network has been beset by problems, with the East Coast Mainline brought back under government control in May - for the third time in a decade.

Last year, hundreds of trains were cancelled amid a huge timetable reorganisation on services including Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern.

This month Virgin and Stagecoach were barred from three rail franchise bids. The Department for Transport (DfT) disallowed the bids because they did not meet pensions rules.

Virgin was bidding to renew the West Coast franchise in partnership with Stagecoach and France's SNCF.

Stagecoach had also applied for the East Midlands and South Eastern franchises, both of which have been rejected.

Keith Williams, former chief executive of British Airways, is due to deliver a report on the future of the industry this autumn.--BBC

Labour's John McDonnell says UK economy requires 'revolution'

Labour is planning a "revolution" for the UK economy, John McDonnell has told the BBC.

The shadow chancellor was speaking to Newsnight for a series of reports to mark 40 years since the election of Margaret Thatcher.

He said he saw parallels between today and 1979 when Mrs Thatcher swept to power in a major political sea-change.

"Things aren't working for people, so they're looking for change," Mr McDonnell said.

Asked whether Labour's plans represented evolution or revolution he said: "OK it will be a revolution. Transformative - because we are going to change society and that's what's demanded of us now."

He added: "And do you know? I think most people accept that now. We'll do it by taking people with us. But it will be done on a very pragmatic basis.

Is the UK economy at a new moment of sea-change?

Labour plans national bank using Post Office network

Thames Water outlines 'nationalisation refund' if Labour enacts policy

How could Labour's plans for greater public ownership work?

"It is common sense socialism and the point about that first period of office when we go into government will be to lay the foundations for this transformation that we want.

"So we are in a hurry - because the issues are so desperate now."

Liz Truss said Labour's plans for higher tax will "choke" economic growth.

Labour is advocating higher taxes on the wealthy and companies, a major expansion of public investment, the re-nationalisation of certain utilities and moves to give many more workers a direct financial ownership stake in their firms.

Critics and advocates alike say this would represent a major break from the Thatcherite legacy of lower taxes, free markets, deregulation and privatisation.

'Something big'

Speaking in the same Newsnight film on the future of the UK's economic settlement, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, agreed the UK was on the verge of a major change.

"I do think there is something happening, something big. Politics is now debating ideas again from first principles. We went through a few years - the Blair years, the Cameron years - where it was all about managerial politics... now we are having a more fundamental debate about our economy."

But she rejected Labour's policy agenda, particularly on tax and a bigger role for the state.

"I think higher taxes just choke economic growth," she said.

"Money that is taken in taxes is money that can't be invested in the wider economy. I look at countries like Japan and Korea which run very successful economies and the size of the state is lower.

"There's no reason we can't be more successful. Our challenge as a government is to raise economic growth. Getting growth up means more money is going into tax and public services."--BBC

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

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.

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