Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 August 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 August 2019

 


 

 


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*  South Africa's rand hits 7-week low as trade tensions heat up

*  Kenya private sector activity little changed in July -PMI

*  Kosmos Energy sees Mauritania, Senegal deal by year-end

*  Zambian will delay sales tax until January, finance minister says

*  South Africa's private-sector activity slips further in July -PMI

*  The 'Amazon of Africa' faces a big challenge: No addresses

*  U.S. Intervention Odds Rise as Yuan Plunge Fuels Trump’s FX Fury

*  Brexit-related headlines likely to keep hurting Sterling

*  Rand weakens on renewed China/US trade war fears

*  Twitter, Facebook stocks fall on shooting regulations

*  Tesco to cut 4,500 jobs across 153 Metro stores

*  McDonald's paper straws cannot be recycled

*  US officially labels China a 'currency manipulator'

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

South Africa's rand hits 7-week low as trade tensions heat up

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand slipped to seven-week lows
against the dollar on Monday, as prospects of a sharp escalation in the
U.S.-China trade war turned investors risk-averse.

 

Emerging market currencies also softened broadly, with MSCI’s index of 25
currencies, which is heavily skewed towards Asian currencies such as South
Korea’s won, Taiwan’s dollar and China’s yuan, dropped 1.2%, the biggest
daily decline since June 2016.

 

The fall came after Beijing vowed on Friday to retaliate against U.S.
President Donald Trump’s decision to slap 10% tariffs on the remaining $300
billion of Chinese imports, a move that ended a month-long trade truce.

 

At 1517 GMT, the rand was 0.61% lower at 14.8800 per dollar, trading at its
weakest levels since June 13.

 

“With little in the way of good news, we can expect the rand to try and test
the R15.00 level with risk sentiment currently hugely in favour of
safe-haven assets,” Andre Botha, a Senior Dealer at TreasuryONE, said in a
note.

 

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026
added 7 basis points to 8.440%.

 

In the equities market, both major indexes were also hammered by fast
receding risk appetite, with the Johannesburg All-Share index and Top-40
index weakening to more than two-month lows.

 

With the global fallout most evident in the Asia region, China’s Tencent, in
which Naspers holds a over 30% stake, fell 4.27%.

 

This resulted in the South African e-commerce giant Naspers weakening 4.58%
to 3,350 rand.

 

“Global markets are rather ugly at the moment, which is not a great way to
start the week,” portfolio managers at Vestact said in a note.

 

The All-Share index closed 2.31% lower at 54,975 points, while the Top-40
index ended the day 2.52% down to 49,066 points, after both weakened to
levels last seen on May 30.

 

Bucking the trend, the Gold index strengthened 6.67% as investors sought
safe-haven assets. Gold Fields jumped 8.14% to 85.55 rand,
Sibanye-Stillwater climbed 6.97% to 19.94 rand, while Harmony Gold rose
6.40% to 41.37 rand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

South Africa's private-sector activity slips further in July -PMI

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African private sector activity contracted in
July for a third consecutive month as demand and factory output fell, a
survey showed on Monday.

 

IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.4 in July from 49.7
in June, further below the 50 point mark that separates expansion from
growth.

 

All five sub-indexes in the survey showed a contraction, with the new orders
component falling at its steepest pace in nine months while employment slid
into contractionary territory for the first time since March.

 

South Africa’s unemployment rate hit an 11-year high of 29% in the second
quarter, driven by job cuts in private households, transport and mining.
[nL8N24V2YB]

 

The dire unemployment figures followed a shock contraction in growth in the
first quarter, piling pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pledge to
deliver a turnaround.

 

“July data suggest that businesses are struggling to achieve further growth
at the start of the second half of 2019,” said David Owen, an economist at
IHS Markit.

 

 

 

 

Kenya private sector activity little changed in July -PMI

(Reuters) - Kenya’s private sector activity was little changed in July, as
firms struggled to cope with increased demand, a survey showed on Monday.

 

The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for
manufacturing and services came in at 54.1 in July, slightly lower from 54.3
in June. Any reading above 50 indicates growth.

 

A move by the government to start paying outstanding bills — often
long-delayed — to its suppliers of goods and services had boosted sentiment
during the month, survey respondents said.

 

In June, the finance ministry said the government would make it a priority
to pay 10.9 billion shillings ($105.93 million) owed to its suppliers by the
end of that month.

 

“We don’t think it’s a coincidence that the government has begun releasing
some withheld payments during this period that is subsequently boosting
business confidence,” said Jibran Qureishi, regional economist for East
Africa at Stanbic Bank.

 

The move was also “further emboldening firms to increase their purchasing
activities”, Qureishi said.

 

He cautioned however that the government needed to keep paying all those
bills for the benefits to trickle down through the wider economy.

 

 

“It will be paramount for the clearance of private sector arrears to be
consistent in order to continue anchoring the private sector,” he said.

 

Experts have blamed a surge in bad debts in the banking industry in part on
delayed payments by the government to private firms — the result of
bureaucratic inefficiencies and sometimes corruption.

 

The Kenyan economy grew by 5.6% in the first quarter, slowing from 6.5% in
the same period a year earlier, mainly due to the impact of dry weather.

 

The government forecasts the economy will expand by 6.3% in 2019, the same
rate as last year, while the central bank forecasts growth of at least 6%
this year.

 

 

($1 = 102.9000 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

 

Kosmos Energy sees Mauritania, Senegal deal by year-end

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil and gas explorer Kosmos Energy expects to have agreed
by the end of this year to sell down its stake in projects off the coast of
Mauritania and Senegal in which it partners with BP, Kosmos said on Monday.

 

In December, BP and its partners gave the green light for the development of
the large Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project off the coast of Mauritania and
Senegal, a first for the two West African nations.

 

Kosmos has a 30% stake in Senegal and 28% in Mauritania. In May, it said it
had received interest in the projects leading to a formal process to reduce
its interest.

 

The Tortue floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility will produce 2.5
million tonnes of LNG per year. The field holds total gas resources
estimated at around 15 trillion cubic feet.

 

“The previously announced process to sell down Kosmos’ interest in the
broader Mauritania/Senegal region to 10 percent is ongoing and is targeting
a transaction announcement by year end,” Kosmos said reporting half-year
results.

 

 

 

Zambian will delay sales tax until January, finance minister says

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia will delay implementing a new sales tax until
January 2020 to allow for further refinement of the law, Finance Minister
Bwalya Ng’andu said on Friday.

 

Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, plans to replace an
existing value-added tax with a non-refundable sales tax, but the move has
met substantial opposition from businesses.

 

Addressing parliament, Ng’andu said he was withdrawing the draft law and
would re-introduce it in the next session in September, the ministry of
finance said in a statement.

 

“This will allow for sufficient time to address the concerns in the Sales
Tax Bill that stakeholders raised,” Ng’andu said.

 

Zambia’s mining industry fiercely opposes the tax - just one sore point
between the government and the economy’s most important sector.

 

Since being appointed last month, Ng’andu has sought to mend fences with the
miners, with relations deteriorating following tax changes and an ownership
dispute over Konkola Copper Mines.

 

The across-the-board 9% tax on sales of goods and services, originally due
to be introduced in April, was intended to help rebalance Zambia’s
debt-laden economy.

 

 

 

The 'Amazon of Africa' faces a big challenge: No addresses

Abidjan, Ivory Coast - She had eight hours, 32 packages to deliver and no
addresses.

 

So, the woman on the front lines of Africa's burgeoning e-commerce industry
stayed on the phone, listening to directions: Look for the ice cream cart.

 

Viviane Lakpa's job was to find the customers - even if they were nowhere
near the ice cream cart - and stay polite, even when they demanded to open
an order before handing her money.

 

Few people in her West African city of 4.4 million have numbers on their
houses. Credit cards are rare. So is trust in online shopping.

 

"You have to have patience," Lakpa said in her blue Mazda van crammed with
microwaves, printers, shoe racks and soap. "Lots of patience."

 

Internet users in Africa now outnumber America's population by some
estimates, but reaching that exploding market is among the continent's most
pressing business challenges. Hopes of leaping into the world of same-day
delivery are colliding with the lack of street signs, dominance of cash,
threat of robbery and fear of knockoffs.

 

Labyrinths of red tape, meanwhile, stall packages at the borders, making it
easier for someone in Ivory Coast to buy something from Germany than
neighboring Ghana.

 

Today only 1% of goods sold in Africa are purchased on a screen, but if that
share swells to 10% - closer to U.S. and European levels - McKinsey analysts
forecast annual sales will hit $75 billion, unleashing an economic boom and
a new age of convenience on the continent.

 

Lakpa, 39, wants to make convenience her career.

 

She's one of thousands in the region who deliver goods by car, truck and
motorcycle for Jumia, Africa's biggest web retailer with approximately 4
million users.

 

The fleet fluctuates with demand. Jumia enlists local firms to manage
delivery staffers on contract in 14 countries. Pay, benefits and schedules
vary.

 

Lakpa was on a two-week run that would net her 60,000 West African CFA
francs, or about $100 - a step up from selling ginger juice out of her home.

 

She likes the revolving door of problems to solve. The go, go, go. Being a
mom of four, she said, gave her the necessary skills.

 

"You have to communicate and be creative," she said on a recent route.

 

She'd never considered buying stuff online when two French entrepreneurs
founded Jumia seven years ago in Nigeria. She'd walk to markets in her
neighbourhood - or, on special occasions, ask someone to bring her something
from somewhere.

 

"This is the future," she said.

 

 

Jumia became the first start-up from the continent to list on Wall Street
this year, prompting pundits to dub it "the Amazon of Africa." Reporters
deemed the event "historic." The firm's stock shot up. Critics noted that a
digital marketplace steered by Europeans shouldn't be called African.

 

Both potential and struggle manifested in Jumia's first earnings report as a
public company. Sales jumped by 58% over the last quarter to $268 million,
executives reported in May, but losses deepened to nearly $51 million from
$38 million.

 

Lakpa lives some of those losses.

 

She works in a team of two with a former taxi driver, 37-year-old Anzoumana
Gbane. He sits behind the wheel while she talks to customers, trying to
figure out where they are and what time they can meet.

 

"Hello," she says again and again on a recent summer morning. "This is
Jumia."

 

One customer no longer wants her soap. ("Are you sure?")

 

One man doesn't recall placing an order. ("I have that you wanted this for
Tuesday.")

 

Another woman won't answer her phone.

 

All in the span of 10 minutes.

 

Service cuts in and out. "Hello?" Lakpa says as they bump from a paved road
to a dirt path. "Hello? I can't understand you."

 

People normally tell her to meet near a landmark - pharmacies, hotels,
banks, schools.

 

They start the day at a college campus and wait six minutes for a student
who bought a printer to meet them.

 

They park next in front of a hair salon and wait seven to sell a phone.

 

They park next on a patch of gravel to drop off a lighter. No one comes. The
phone rings. The customer is actually a half-mile down the street. They pull
up. There he is.

 

Cash is king in Ivory Coast and most other African nations. No sale is
complete until money changes hands.

 

Sometimes, this leads Lakpa inside a customer's house or workplace. She
follows a lawyer into his gray office and watches him open a cardboard box.

 

No one speaks as he pulls out an electric kettle. His assistant rushes over,
fills it up with water and plugs it into the wall.

 

"I want to confirm that it works," the lawyer says.

 

Lakpa keeps an eye on the clock.

 

Jumia's warehouse in the industrial Koumassi suburb has steel gates,
concrete walls and a line of workers waiting outside just after sunrise.

 

They've come to sort packages, load cars, grab a new list of phone numbers
and zip into the city, where they complete as many as 30,000 daily orders.

 

Half of Jumia's packages in Africa go to pickup centers. It's easier for
rural folks, who sometimes lack reliable phones, to grab their goods from a
physical location.

 

The other half is carried off by the contract workers. Many grew up in these
neighbourhoods.

 

"You can never replace the local knowledge, the local interaction," chief
executive Sacha Poignonnec said. "It's about the details."

 

The details separate good staffers from lousy ones, said Martial Ohoukou,
who supervises the Ivory Coast delivery team. Some days, that's 100 people.
Some days, 250. (Jumia won't disclose the exact continentwide number.)

 

Yes, they start as contractors, agents of the global gig economy. There are
upsides (flexibility, good pay in a country where the average person
annually makes $1,692) and downsides (irregular work, fear of messing up and
never hearing from your boss again).

 

America's Amazon Flex and China's Alibaba follow similar labor models for
what analysts call the last mile. But the work is much harder here. No one
can rely on GPS. (Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington
Post.)

 

"You have to be more than a common driver to advance at this company,"
Ohoukou said. "You have to know the products. You shouldn't be calling your
supervisor all the time and asking, 'What should I do?'"

 

Those with tenacity can move up, he said. Salaried employees tend to work in
management, marketing and human resources.

 

"My night manager started as a simple delivery agent," he said. "You can
double your pay after two years or so."

 

- - -

 

The pressure stays on for Lakpa.

 

It's midday. Traffic clogs seemingly every road. She hasn't taken a bathroom
break.

 

The delivery partners must finish by 4 p.m. for security reasons. A Jumia
driver was robbed and killed two years ago in Nigeria while toting iPhones.

 

They roll down the windows on the way to the next destination, a downtown
marketing firm, and breathe the usual smog.

 

The place is called Zen Communications. Relief: It's just off the highway.
Easy to find.

 

They slide into a parking spot. Gbane stays in the van. Lakpa grabs an
orange bag with the Jumia logo. Up the stairs she goes to an office with no
windows.

 

An IT manager in a Hawaiian shirt greets her. He's not smiling.

 

Before they can discuss today's order, he wants to raise a grievance.

 

"I've been waiting for a receipt for a printer since April," he said. "I
can't do my expenses without it."

 

Lakpa nods. She understands. She'll tell someone.

 

The man doesn't seem to believe her. He repeats himself. He really needs to
do his expenses.

 

Then he reaches for her bag and pulls out printer cartridges.

 

His eyes widen.

 

"Magenta?!"

 

He'd ordered black ink.

 

Lakpa stays calm. She's sorry about that. She'll get him the right color.

 

"This ride has been harder than usual," she says, walking outside. Three
hours have passed, and she has delivered only three packages.

 

Gbane starts the engine without a word.

 

They'd go on to deliver 16 of the 32 orders. Worry would grip Lakpa's gut.
She was scheduled to work the rest of the week.

 

Washington Post

 

 

 

U.S. Intervention Odds Rise as Yuan Plunge Fuels Trump’s FX Fury

People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang says the nation won’t use exchange
rates as a tool in the escalating trade dispute with the U.S. But currency
strategists say the Trump administration just might take that step.

 

The risk of a U.S. move to weaken the dollar has climbed in the eyes of some
analysts after the yuan’s plummet to a decade-low below 7 per dollar Monday
prompted fresh criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

 

The U.S. leader decried the yuan’s plunge as “currency manipulation” in a
tweet and indicated he’d like the Federal Reserve to act to counter the
move. The Chinese currency’s tumble came days after Trump threatened to
impose 10% tariffs on another $300 billion of Chinese imports.

 

Speculation is building among strategists that the yuan’s sharp drop could
push the administration to intervene in currency markets. While White House
economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Friday that there are no plans for
intervention, Trump has said he hasn’t ruled out measures to counter the
dollar’s strength. If U.S. authorities do step in, it could sound the death
knell of the strong-dollar policy that’s been in place since the 1990s.

 

“Given that President Trump is reportedly willing to take action without
following the guidance of his advisers, it doesn’t seem like pushing such a
policy through would be especially difficult,” said Shahab Jalinoos, global
head of foreign-exchange trading strategy at Credit Suisse Group AG.

 

Offshore yuan hits record low against the U.S. dollar

China’s offshore yuan slumped as much as 1.9% to a record low of 7.1114 per
dollar on Monday. The currency was 1.7% weaker in New York trading even
after the assurances from the PBOC’s Gang.

 

The U.S. last intervened in FX markets in 2011, along with international
peers, after the yen soared in the wake of that year’s devastating
earthquake in Japan. That effort buoyed the dollar. Now, Trump’s repeated
complaints about the greenback’s strength have analysts contemplating the
wild-card notion that the U.S. could forcibly weaken the dollar -- a step
not taken since 2000. That episode was part of a joint effort to bolster the
euro.

 

Nomura sees a 20% probability that the U.S. intervenes in the next three
months, analyst Jordan Rochester said in a Bloomberg Television interview
Monday. He joins strategists from banks such as Barclays Plc, Goldman Sachs
Group Inc. and Scotiabank in warning of a possible U.S. foray into currency
markets.

 

Uphill Battle

However, the administration would face an uphill battle in trying to
influence a market that generates over $5 trillion in daily turnover. The
Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund holds almost $23 billion in
greenbacks and around $50 billion in special drawing rights that it could
convert. China, by comparison, holds about $3.1 trillion in currency
reserves.

 

“In theory, the U.S. could intervene on the offshore yuan, but whether they
could do so effectively if China was opposed is uncertain,” said Steven
Englander, global head of FX research at Standard Chartered Bank. “The rates
route via pressure on the Fed still looks to be the most promising path to
dollar weakness.”

 

Traders ramped up Fed rate-cut bets Monday as global markets convulsed amid
the heightened tensions.

 

Additionally, while the Fed has been an equal participant in the last three
currency interventions, the central bank can opt not to contribute its own
funds. Administration officials believe that for any move on the dollar to
succeed, the Fed must agree with the policy and clearly communicate its
support, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

See here for more reporting on Fed role in intervention.

 

The dollar has strengthened against most of its major peers this year as
investors sought havens amid the trade war and slowing global growth. A
gauge of the greenback has risen in five of the past six months, though it
fell Monday along with increased expectations for lower U.S. borrowing
costs.

 

Surging Yen

The risk of intervention also looms over the yen. Japan is keeping an eye on
“nervous” moves in foreign-exchange markets following the threat of further
U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, and excessive moves aren’t desirable, said
Yoshiki Takeuchi, the top currency official at the Ministry of Finance.

 

The yen rallied to 105.79 to the dollar on Monday, the strongest since the
so-called flash-crash in January. It has climbed about 2% in the past month,
and the strength has prompted Japan’s largest automaker, Toyota Motor Corp.,
to cut its profit outlook.

 

“I don’t think the Bank of Japan will do nothing if this sort of activity
carries on,” said Shyam Devani, senior technical strategist at Citigroup
Inc. in Singapore. “The difficulty is at what stage will they do something.”

 

Not everyone is sure the moves on Monday herald the start of a global
currency war.

 

“I don’t think China is trying to devalue the yuan,” said Masahiro Ichikawa,
a senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “We
need to see whether the central bank will continue to set the yuan lower at
its fixings in coming days.”--bloomberg 

 

 

 

Brexit-related headlines likely to keep hurting Sterling

Odds for a hard-Brexit on the rise to prevent Pound’s advance.

Dollar’s weakness just enough to make the slide slower.

GBP/USD at risk of losing the 1.2000 level and re-test post-referendum lows.

 

 

The GBP/USD pair has spent Friday in consolidative mode, recovering on broad
dollar’s weakness yet closing a third consecutive week in the red around
1.2160. The UK Construction PMI, released Friday came in at 45.3 for July,
better than the previous 43.1 although missing the market’s expectations of
46.0. The limited upward potential of Sterling has to do with increased odds
of a no-deal Brexit after Boris Johnson became the UK PM. News out during
the weekend should keep investors worried about a hard Brexit, as one of
Johnson’s top adviser, Dominic Cummings, said that MPC won’t be able to
prevent the UK leaving the Union on October 31, as given the ongoing recess,
they won’t be able to call for a no-confidence vote until September. In such
a scenario, Cummings said that they could call for elections in October, and
leave without a deal anyway.

 

This Monday, the UK will see the release of the Markit Services PMI for
July, foreseen matching the previous monthly reading with 52.2.

 

GBP/USD short-term technical outlook

The GBP/USD pair is trading at levels last seen in March 2017,  and at risk
of extending its decline due to Brexit turmoil. In the daily chart, the pair
is trading far below all of its moving averages, with the 20 SMA heading
sharply lower at around 1.2400 and the larger ones in the 1.28/1.29 region,
losing relevance for the upcoming days although reflecting the current
negative sentiment toward the Pound. Technical indicators in the mentioned
chart hold within oversold levels, the Momentum recovering modestly and the
RSI still flat. In the 4 hours chart, the pair settled a few pips above a
directionless 20 SMA, the Momentum indicator lost strength upward just below
its mid-line while the RSI indicator advances modestly at 45, all of which
suggest a limited upward potential. The pair could recover on an extension
beyond 1.2220, but sellers will likely take their chances at higher
levels.--fxstreet.com

 

 

 

Rand weakens on renewed China/US trade war fears

China let its currency breach a key 7-per-dollar level Monday for the first
time since the global financial crisis, a move that could spark further
trade conflict with the United States.

 

The rand again weakened against the dollar on Monday morning, compounding
losses from last week. 

 

The local currency opened trade at R14.74 to the greenback and was changing
hands at R14.86/$ at 11:45, down 0.5%. Earlier it fell to a low of R14.94/$
before strengthening briefly. 

 

"There seems so be no end in sight for the rand's woes as it continues to
weaken," said Bianca Botes of Peregrine Treasury Solutions in a note to
clients. "The trade war remains the focus point for the time being."

 

Last week US president Donald Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs
on $300bn worth of Chinese imports. This dealt a blow to emerging market
currencies, including the rand, as risk sentiment diminished. 

 

Andre Botha of TreasuryONE said in a morning note that China appeared to be
starting to play hardball with the US, which has sent the market towards
safe-haven assets like gold and the Japanese yen.

 

"China ... let the yuan weaken to its weakest level in more than a decade
and ... asked state-owned companies to suspend imports of US agricultural
products," he said.--fin24

 

 

 

Twitter, Facebook stocks fall on shooting regulations

Australia says it will set up the world's first office dedicated to policing
Facebook and Google, part of reforms designed to rein in the U.S. technology
giants.

 

Twitter is on track for its biggest one-day drop since February and
Facebook's plunge from this year's high accelerated as investors weighed the
prospect of government oversight following the shootings over the weekend.

 

President Trump said he ordered federal officials to work with the companies
to try and identify people whose social-media postings indicate they may
commit mass murder before they act. While Trump did not call for any
specific regulations, the companies have been facing increasing scrutiny
over how they police the content users post online and their power to
influence public discourse.

 

 

The president's remarks came in the wake of a pair of rampages in El Paso,
Texas and Dayton, Ohio that killed 29 people. The alleged gunman who killed
20 people at an El Paso shopping center posted anti-immigrant screed online
just before the attack.

 

Facebook, too, may be facing more tangible threats. Last week, the Federal
Trade Commission was reported to be scrutinizing acquisitions by Facebook as
part of an early stage antitrust investigation, according to people familiar
with the matter.

 

 

The Global X Social Media ETF fell as much 4.2%, the most since October.
Twitter, the fund's largest holding, fell as much as 6.3%, its worst
performance since June 3. Facebook, which ranks second in the fund, was down
as much as 4%, extending its decline from this year’s high to 11%. Snap slid
as much as 4.6% while Pinterest lost 4.2%.

 

Video-game stocks were also broadly lower after Trump cited them as a cause
of violence. Firearms makers rose amid renewed calls for gun control
measures, as is typical following mass shootings.

 

The S&P 500 Index dropped as much as 2.9% as US equities were pressured by
the latest escalation of trade tensions between the US and China.--fin24

 

 

Tesco to cut 4,500 jobs across 153 Metro stores

Supermarket giant Tesco says about 4,500 staff in 153 Tesco Metro stores are
set to lose their jobs in the latest round of redundancies.

 

The UK's largest grocer said changes to the way the stores operated would
"serve shoppers better" and help to "run our business more sustainably".

 

It said the stores were operating in an increasingly competitive and
challenging retail environment.

 

Tesco boss Jason Tarry said the firm did not take the jobs decision lightly.

 

'Cost pressures'

The company said the Metro format was originally designed for larger, weekly
shops, but now nearly 70% of customers used them as convenience stores,
buying food for that day.

 

Tesco, which employs about 340,000 people in the UK and Republic of Ireland,
said that changes to the stores would now include:

 

"faster and simpler" ways of filling shelves, with fewer products stored in
the back rooms and more stock going straight to the shop floor staff working
"more flexibly" across the store to improve customer service at the busiest
times of the day and in the right areas of the store "leaner" management
structure.

 

"In a challenging, evolving retail environment, with increasing cost
pressures, we have to continue to review the way we run our stores to ensure
we reflect the way our customers are shopping and do so in the most
efficient way," Mr Tarry added.

 

Tesco Metro shops are sized between Tesco superstores and Tesco Express
shops. They first opened in 1994.

 

It is also making some changes in 134 of its 1,750 Express stores, where
customer footfall is lower.

 

Changes in those stores will include "a slight reduction in opening hours
during quieter trading periods at the start and end of the day, and
simplifying stock routines".

 

Tesco is in the midst of trying to save £1.5bn as the competition between
supermarkets intensifies. It comes as German budget rivals Aldi and Lidl
continue to put pressure on the big four supermarkets.

 

In January, Tesco announced it would close food counters in 90 of its stores
as part of a wider cost-cutting plan that would affect 9,000 staff. Tesco
said  then that its remaining fish, meat and deli counters in 700 stores
would be run on a full-time or flexible basis.

 

It has also opened a discount chain, Jack's, to take on its German rivals.

 

'Concerns'

Pauline Foulkes, Usdaw national officer, said: "Our members at Tesco are
shocked and dismayed by yet another round of potential job losses, coming
just  months after 9,000 staff were put at risk in stores.

 

"We will be working hard to make sure that any members potentially affected
by these proposals are supported at this difficult time and throughout the
consultation period.

 

"This issue is not confined to Tesco, our High Streets are in crisis, with
jobs being lost due to shops closing, retailers folding and businesses
engaging in significant restructuring to survive.

 

"We need the government to address the worries and concerns of shop workers
and our members."--BBC

 

 

 

McDonald's paper straws cannot be recycled

McDonald's new paper straws - described as "eco-friendly" by the US fast
food giant - cannot be recycled.

 

Last year, it axed plastic straws, even though they were recyclable, in all
its UK branches as part of a green drive.

 

But the US fast food giant says the new paper straws are not yet easy to
recycle and should be put into general waste.

 

McDonald's says the materials are recyclable, but their thickness makes it
difficult for them to be processed.

 

The firm switched from plastic straws to paper ones in its restaurants in
the UK and Republic of Ireland last autumn.

 

The straws are manufactured by Transcend Packaging, based in Ebbw Vale,
south Wales.

 

 

But some customers were unhappy with the new straws, saying they dissolved
before a drink could be finished, with milkshakes particularly hard to
drink.

 

"As a result of customer feedback, we have strengthened our paper straws, so
while the materials are recyclable, their current thickness makes it
difficult for them to be processed by our waste solution providers, who also
help us recycle our paper cups," a McDonald's spokesman said.

 

The firm said it was working to find a solution, and that current advice, as
first reported by The Sun, to put paper straws in general waste was
therefore temporary.

 

"This waste from our restaurants does not go to landfill, but is used to
generate energy," the company added.

 

A petition by irate McDonald's customers to bring back plastic straws has so
far been signed by 51,000 people.

 

The restaurant chain uses 1.8 million straws a day in the UK, so the move to
paper was a significant step in helping to reduce single-use plastic.

 

Some single-use plastic products can take hundreds of years to decompose if
not recycled.

 

This McDonald's move to paper straws followed a successful trial in selected
restaurants earlier in 2018.

 

In April 2018, the UK government proposed a ban on plastic straws and cotton
buds in England.

 

Most straws are made from plastics such as polypropylene and polystyrene,
which unless recycled, take hundreds of years to decompose.

 

Friends of the Earth's Julian Kirby said: "For too long the debate has been
stuck on recycling and how to deal with waste once it is created. We should
be thinking about how to avoid waste creation.

 

"Lips have been a waste-free alternative to straws for millions of
years."--BBC

 

 

 

 

US officially labels China a 'currency manipulator'

The US has officially named China as a "currency manipulator", a statement
which will intensify tensions between the world's two largest economies.

 

The announcement by the US Treasury follows a sharp fall in the value of the
Chinese yuan against the dollar.

 

The drop caught markets off-guard as Beijing usually supports the currency.

 

Last week, China pledged to retaliate after US President Donald Trump vowed
to impose 10% tariffs on $300m of Chinese imports,On Monday, the yuan passed
the seven-per-dollar level for the first time since 2008, prompting Mr Trump
to accuse China on Twitter of manipulating its currency.

 

The US government said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will now engage with
the International Monetary Fund "to eliminate the unfair competitive
advantage created by China's latest actions".

 

The move is largely symbolic because the US is already engaged in trade
discussions with China and has implemented tariffs on the country's imports.

 

However, it fulfils a presidential campaign promise by Mr Trump who pledged
to name China a currency manipulator on his first day in office.

 

The decision is likely to increase stock market jitters after sharp falls
across the US and Europe on Monday. Wall Street's main stock market indexes
recorded their worst trading day for 2019.

 

The US defines currency manipulation as when "countries manipulate the rate
of exchange between their currency and the United States dollar for purposes
of preventing effective balance of payments adjustment or gaining unfair
competitive advantage in international trade".

 

No country has officially been named a currency manipulator by the US since
Bill Clinton's administration did so to China in 1994.

 

In its announcement, the US Treasury said: "China has a long history of
facilitating an undervalued currency through protracted, large-scale
intervention in the foreign exchange market.

 

"In recent days, China has taken concrete steps to devalue its currency,
while maintaining substantial foreign exchange reserves despite active use
of such  tools in the past."--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


Bindura Nickel Corporation

 

 

 


Padenga Holdings

 

 

 


Delta Corporation

 

 

 


Meikles Limited

 

 

 


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