Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 26 August 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 26 August 2019

 


 

 


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*  Zambia introduces maize price cap to keep it affordable

*  Rate cut to save Telecom Egypt 20% on financing costs -official

*  Tanzania central bank threatens hefty fines for lenders over data
compliance

*  China Molybendum's Congo mine blames mining tax, low metal prices for
loss

*  Splitting South African power firm could take 4 years

*  South Africa pledges fiscal discipline in sweeping health reform

*  U.S. EXIM Bank seeks vote on $5 bln loan to Mozambique LNG project

*  Nigerian stocks rally to 3-week high as investors eye reforms

*  South Africa's Northam Platinum FY profit soars three-fold on higher
metal prices

*  Trump's regrets on China trade war 'misunderstood'

*  British Airways strike: Passengers angry at airline 'silence'

*  Trump responds with fury over Fed chief's speech

*  US-China trade war: Trump announces new retaliatory tariff hikes

*  Hasbro to buy Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One for $4bn

 

 

 

 


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Zambia introduces maize price cap to keep it affordable

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia has introduced a cap on the price of maize to keep
the staple food affordable, sparking protest from commercial farmers who
accused the government of bringing back price controls.

 

Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo said on Sunday that millers, stockfeed
manufacturers, chain stores and grain traders agreed in a meeting with the
government to peg the price of maize at a maximum of 2,600 kwacha ($198.93)
per tonne.

 

The price of maize meal, Zambia’s staple food, has in some cases doubled to
150 kwacha per 25 kg bag from 75 kwacha early this year.

 

Zambia’s 2019 maize production is expected to fall 16% to about 2 million
tonnes from 2.39 million tonnes last year largely due to prolonged dry
weather, Katambo said in May.

 

Katambo said on Sunday that the private sector panicked and rushed into the
market thinking that there was not enough maize and this pushed up prices.

 

“Maize prices were rising every week because of this panic and the
implication was that the mealie meal price was getting higher,” Katambo
said, referring to maize meal.

 

Katambo said Zambia still had sufficient maize stocks and indications were
that less than 1 million tonnes of maize had been bought from the 2 million
tonnes the country produced.

 

“This price is not coming from the government but the private sector players
who attended the meeting,” Katambo said.

 

In a statement on Sunday, the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU), which
represents commercial farmers condemned the cap, saying prices should be
left to market forces.

 

ZNFU said its members were not invited to the gathering where the price was
agreed and had called for an urgent meeting this week to discuss the
decision.

 

($1 = 13.0700 Zambian kwachas)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Rate cut to save Telecom Egypt 20% on financing costs -official

CAIRO (Reuters) - Telecom Egypt will save 20% on financing costs after the
Central Bank of Egypt cut interest rates, a company official has said.

 

    “The interest rate cut positively affects Telecom Egypt’s profits, as it
will reduce financing expenses by 20% on the company’s loans, estimated at
11.7 billion pounds ($708 million),” the official told Reuters on condition
of anonymity.

 

 

 

    The official did not elaborate.

 

The central bank cut key interest rates by 150 basis points on Thursday for
the first time since February.

 

It cut the overnight deposit rate to 14.25 percent from 15.75 percent and
the overnight lending rate to 15.25 percent from 16.75 percent.

 

    Industry leaders hailed the central bank’s decision to cut rates, saying
it would stimulate investment, though they cautioned that further cuts are
needed.

 

($1 = 16.5200 Egyptian pounds)

 

 

 

Tanzania central bank threatens hefty fines for lenders over data compliance

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania’s central bank has given banks and
financial institutions three months to establish data centres in the East
African nation, saying it will impose hefty fines on lenders that fail to
comply.

 

A Bank of Tanzania spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on Sunday the regulator
issued a circular on Friday that imposes a fine of 5 billion Tanzanian
shillings ($2.18 million) for lenders that have not set up an in-country
data centre.

 

“The bank of Tanzania has noted with serious concern that most of the banks
and financial institutions have not provided a true position on compliance
with the requirements to put in place a primary or secondary data centre in
Tanzania,” Bernard Kibesse, deputy central bank governor for financial
stability said in a circular seen by Reuters.

 

“Any bank or financial institution, which will be found not to have complied
with the above requirements, shall be liable to a penalty of 5 billion
shillings,” according to the circular. The central bank will conduct
inspections on the status of lenders on the new data centre rules seven days
after the issuance of the circular, it read.

 

The central bank circular read that every bank or financial institution must
establish a data centre within three months from the date of the circular.
Any institution found not compliant will be fined 500 million shillings per
month until it complies, it read.

 

The central said it had issued three previous circulars to banks and
financial institutions since 2014 on the requirement for data centres to be
located in Tanzania instead of on servers abroad, but some lenders were yet
to comply.

 

The central bank said last month it had fined Diamond Trust Bank Tanzania
Limited 1 billion Tanzanian shillings for breaching regulatory rules on data
and service availability.

 

Tanzania has tightened regulatory oversight over commercial banks and other
financial institutions over the past few years.

 

The country’s financial services sector, which is dominated by lenders like
CRDB Bank and NMB Bank, has been hit by a spike in bad loans, which have
stifled the growth of credit to the private sector.

 

In December, the International Monetary Fund said nearly half of Tanzania’s
45 banks were vulnerable to adverse shocks and risked insolvency in the
event of a global financial crisis.

 

Tanzania’s central bank has revoked the licenses of at least nine banks
since 2017, saying the move was aimed at safeguarding the stability of the
sector.

 

The closure of the banks comes after President John Magufuli ordered the
central bank to take action against failing financial institutions.

 

($1 = 2,294.0000 Tanzanian shillings)

 

 

 

China Molybendum's Congo mine blames mining tax, low metal prices for loss

GOMA (Reuters) - One of the biggest copper and cobalt mines in Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), China Molybdenum-owned Tenke Fungurume, has told
employees it had missed production targets and is operating at a loss.

 

The miner blamed sliding copper and cobalt prices as well as a heavy tax
burden due to DRC’s new mining code which increased the tax rate for cobalt,
angering multinational mining companies operating in the country.

 

Tenke Fungurume Mining, which is 80% owned by China Molybdenum with the
remainder controlled by state mining company Gecamines, also said power
failures, issues with production equipment, and a deteriorating ore grade
contributed to the target miss.

 

“The company is in a deficit zone,” a letter from management sent to
employees on Aug. 16 read.

 

China Molybdenum did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Tenke Fungurume is also grappling with trespassing from illegal miners,
which came to a head in June when Congo’s military deployed hundreds of
soldiers to protect the mine.

 

The mine’s struggles reflect a more difficult operating environment for
miners in DRC in general.

 

Glencore earlier this month said it would halt production at its Mutanda
cobalt mine in DRC, the world’s biggest, for an expected two years, citing
DRC’s revised mining code among the factors behind the decision.

 

Tenke Fungurume management acknowledged the move in the letter, saying “some
mining companies are reducing or stopping overall production to cope with
the current situation”.

 

 

 

Splitting South African power firm could take 4 years

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The legal separation of South African state power
firm Eskom into three business units could take four years in total, the
company said in an internal presentation seen by Reuters.

 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to split Eskom into
different units for generation, transmission and distribution earlier this
year, as part of steps to make the struggling utility more efficient.

 

Eskom, which supplies more than 90% of the power in Africa’s most advanced
economy, is reliant on state bailouts to survive and made a mammoth 20.7
billion rand ($1.4 billion) loss in the most recent financial year.

 

The presentation also said a proposal to hive off Eskom’s transmission unit
into a separate state-owned company could take up to five years.

 

It is not clear whether those timelines have been approved by Eskom’s board
or the government.

 

An Eskom spokeswoman confirmed that the company’s “executive forum” met on
Aug. 22 and said Eskom was meeting stakeholders on its turnaround plan. She
said aspects of that plan could change, depending on those meetings.

 

Fixing Eskom is one of the biggest challenges faced by Ramaphosa, whose
economic reform drive has been jeopardised by power outages that have dented
growth this year.

 

The root causes of Eskom’s financial woes lie partly in a steep run-up in
its salary, fuel and debt-servicing costs over the past decade. But its
financial performance has also been hurt by corruption and repeated tariff
awards by the country’s energy regulator that are below what Eskom says it
needs to recoup its costs.

 

Separately, Eskom said in a statement that it had met labour unions on
Friday and would hold further meetings to strengthen relations.

 

Striking workers forced Eskom into power cuts last year during fraught wage
negotiations. Some unions have said they are opposed to the plan to split
Eskom because they think it will lead to job losses.

 

($1 = 15.2170 rand)

 

 

 

South Africa pledges fiscal discipline in sweeping health reform

PRETORIA (Reuters) - A proposed switch to universal health coverage in South
Africa will be managed in a fiscally responsible way, a senior presidential
aide told Reuters, forecasting the landmark reform would cost the state $2.2
billion per year by 2025/26.

 

The National Health Insurance (NHI) programme, to be debated in parliament
soon, is one of the country’s biggest policy changes since white minority
rule ended in 1994, and a cornerstone of government plans to fix a
crisis-ridden system in which deep racial disparities persist.

 

Against a backdrop of a struggling economy and a corruption-riddled
corporate sector, some opposition politicians and analysts have however
questioned its affordability.

 

Responding to that concern, Olive Shisana - a special advisor to President
Cyril Ramaphosa - said the programme would be phased in over a number of
years.

 

“This government is not going to do something that will collapse the
economy,” she told Reuters in an interview.

 

“(The plan) is for gradual, incremental implementation in a fiscally
responsible manner.”

 

Expenditure for NHI in the current fiscal year, which began on April 1, is
budgeted at around 2 billion rand.

 

Shisana said this would rise to around 33 billion rand ($2.2 billion) in the
2025/26 fiscal year.

 

NHI is designed to improve the quality of public health services and change
the way private companies in the sector can operate.

 

Fewer than 20% of South Africa’s 58 million people can afford private
healthcare, while a majority of poor black people queue at understaffed
state hospitals short of equipment.

 

To keep costs within budget, Shisana said the government would initially
focus on a set of targeted interventions. Those could include hiring more
doctors and improving hospital infrastructure in the public system.

 

At a later stage, the government is considering extending a medicine
distribution programme for chronic diseases and rolling out a payment system
for general practitioners based on the number of patients they serve and the
health conditions in which they operate.

 

When the programme is fully launched, at a date yet to be determined,
private medical insurance schemes won’t be allowed to cover services
reimbursed by a central NHI Fund. Private hospitals and clinics will
accredit with the fund.

 

Alex van den Heever, a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand who
specialises in health, suggested Shisana’s assumptions on spending would not
stretch to universal coverage.

 

“NHI envisages a shift to centralised medical cover, 30 billion rand won’t
buy you that,” van den Heever said.

 

He estimated a full-scale rollout of NHI would involve raising tax revenue
upwards of 3% of gross domestic product, or well over 100 billion rand.

 

The government introduced NHI legislation to parliament this month, but
lawmakers have yet to debate the proposals.

 

($1 = 15.1617 rand)

 

 

 

U.S. EXIM Bank seeks vote on $5 bln loan to Mozambique LNG project

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Export-Import Bank said on Thursday its
board intends to vote on a $5 billion direct loan for the development of a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, the bank’s biggest export
financing deal in years.

 

The government export lender said it has notified the U.S. Congress of the
transaction, which will be ready for a final board vote in 35 days.

 

If approved, the transaction would support U.S. exports of goods and
services for the engineering, procurement and construction of the onshore
LNG plant and related facilities on the Afungi Peninsula in northern
Mozambique.

 

EXIM said over the five-year construction period the financing could support
16,400 American jobs among suppliers in Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New
York, Tennessee, Florida and the District of Columbia.

 

It estimated interest and fee income from the transaction of more than $600
million from a consortium led by Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s recently
acquired Anadarko Petroleum Co.

 

U.S. exports to supply the project, however, face competition from financing
offered by foreign export credit agencies.

 

The project would be the single biggest financing deal since EXIM’s full
lending powers were restored in May with the confirmation of three new board
members. That ended a drought of nearly four years in which the bank could
not approve loans and guarantees of more than $10 million due to a
protracted fight in Congress over its future.

 

The bank, seen by some conservatives as providing taxpayer-backed “corporate
welfare” and “crony capitalism,” was unable to finance major infrastructure
projects like the Mozambique LNG plant and commercial aircraft built by
Boeing Co. It needs Congress to renew its charter before Sept. 30 to keep
operating.

 

 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration views the bank as a tool to
boost U.S. exports in an increasingly competitive trade environment.

 

“This critical project is not only a win for American companies and workers,
supporting over 10,000 jobs in the United States, but also for the people of
Mozambique as well,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a
statement.

 

EXIM said the Mozambique LNG project would begin to develop the Rovuma
Basin, one of he world’s most extensive untapped reserves of natural gas,
with a major impact on Mozambique’s economy.

 

 

 

Nigerian stocks rally to 3-week high as investors eye reforms

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian stocks extended their rally on Friday to a
three-week high following President Muhammed Buhari’s inauguration of
cabinet ministers, boosting hopes for reforms that could lift growth for
Africa’s biggest economy, traders said.

 

Nigeria’s economy has grappled with low growth since recovery from recession
three years ago. Buhari, who began a second four-year term in May, has
pledged to revive the economy. But investors have been waiting for policy
signals that could lift economic growth.

 

Buhari assigned portfolios to ministers on Wednesday, retaining 14 from his
past administration while appointing 29 new ministers, in a cabinet made up
of political loyalists, analysts say, lifting a layer of uncertainty for
reforms.

 

The stock market rose for the third session on Friday to 27,830 point, up
0.73%.

 

Analysts said the rise was a relief rally and that half year corporate
results, particularly from banks, were also supportive. Local banks have
been trading at low book values, weighed down by weak sentiment over the
economy.

 

Stocks had been on a losing streak since end of May, when Buhari was sworn
in, due to his failure to appoint a cabinet months after winning a second
term in February’s election. That prompted foreign investors to trim their
holdings.

 

However, bonds had seen foreign inflows as the central bank’s tight monetary
policies boosted yields.

 

Buhari has pursued protectionist policies since first taking office in 2015.
He has backed a currency intervention that has seen the central bank pump
billions of dollars into the foreign exchange market and policies aimed at
curbing imports to boost local production.

 

The index of Nigeria’s top 10 lenders gained 2.18% while oil and consumer
stocks rose marginally. Dangote Cement, the biggest firm by market cap,
climbed 1.2%, to help lift the index.

 

 

 

South Africa's Northam Platinum FY profit soars three-fold on higher metal
prices

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Northam Platinum said on Friday its
annual profit surged three-fold, underpinned by a surge in metal prices,
improved performance and lower costs.

 

Normalised headline earning per share (HEPS) for the year ended June 30
soared 227% to 270.1 cents, from 82.7 cents during a year-ago period.

 

HEPS is the main profit measure used in South Africa which strips out
certain one-off items.

 

“Our operations are performing well and we expect to deliver further
production growth in the new year. We will continue to focus on costs in
order to grow our margins and maintain our relative cost position,” said
Chief Executive Paul Dunne in a statement.

 

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) surged
to 2.6 billion rand ($170.84 million) from 1.1 billion rand posted in the
previous year, the platinum miner said.

 

The group refined production rose by 7.4% to 519,954 ounces with increased
contributions from its local Booysendal and Zondereinde operations.

 

Group capital expenditure came in at 2.9 billion rand for the finiancial
year, the South African firm said, adding that it expects it to taper
further next year. The miner’s group capital expenditure had peaked at 3.8
billion rand last year.

 

($1 = 15.2192 rand)

 

 

 

Trump's regrets on China trade war 'misunderstood'

Reports that the US president regretted escalating the trade war with China
have been misinterpreted, according to the White House.

 

Donald Trump had earlier responded "Sure, why not?" when asked whether he
had second thoughts about the move.

 

The White House said Mr Trump's answer was "misinterpreted... He regrets not
raising the tariffs higher."

 

On Friday, Mr Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports, hours after China
unveiled plans to increase US duties.

 

The move was the latest salvo in a bitter tit-for-tat war which has seen the
US impose tariffs on more than $250bn (£204bn) of Chinese goods.

 

In reaction, China has put tariffs on almost all US goods imported into the
country.

 

The seeds of the trade war were planted during Mr Trump's 2016 presidential
campaign, when he accused Beijing of "raping" US workers.

 

US-Japan deal

Mr Trump's admission to having second thoughts over China appeared to be a
rare conciliatory statement from a US president who has until now been
unwavering over his plans to protect US jobs and redress what he has said
are unfair trade deals previously agreed with China.

 

The US president was speaking at the G7 summit in France, in response to a
question from a reporter.

 

When asked by a second reporter if he had second thoughts about escalating
the trade war with China, Mr Trump responded: "Might as well. Might as
well... I have second thoughts about everything."

 

White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said: "His answer has been greatly
misinterpreted. President Trump responded in the affirmative - because he
regrets not raising the tariffs higher."

 

On Friday, the president had said he planned to order US firms working in
China to move their operations back to the US. It is unclear how Mr Trump
could force firms to comply.

 

Asked on Sunday if he would declare a national emergency over the issue, the
US president said: "I have no plan right now. Actually, we're getting along
very well with China right now. We're talking. I think they want to make a
deal much more than I do."

 

Separately at the G7, the US and Japan said they had agreed the bulk of a
trade deal, covering agriculture, industrial tariffs and digital trade. Car
tariffs would remain unchanged, in the agreement which is due to be signed
next month.

 

Mr Trump said Japan had agreed to buy corn that US farmers had been left
with due to the tariffs imposed by China.--BBC

 

 

 

British Airways strike: Passengers angry at airline 'silence'

British Airways passengers have expressed their anger at being unable to get
through to the airline following the confusion over cancelled flights.

 

BA pilots are due to strike on 9, 10 and 27 September - but BA also told
customers with tickets booked on other days that their flights were
cancelled.

 

The company admitted on Saturday that it had told some passengers, by
mistake, to rebook or get a refund.

 

It said those who booked other flights could claim the extra costs back.

 

However, it has not commented on how many customers have been affected, or
the reason for the error.

 

BA also said it received nearly 40,000 calls in the first 24 hours and was
working around the clock to help fix people's problems.

 

After initially sending one email informing customers of cancellations -
telling them to rebook or seek refunds - BA then sent a second email to some
people saying their original flights would go ahead as planned.

 

But in the second email, passengers were not given a link to automatically
rebook onto their original flight, meaning they had to contact BA directly.

 

Some customers say they have spent hours trying to get in touch with BA's
customer services without success.

 

One woman, Josie Simpson, told the BBC she called the airline 67 times to
try to rebook a family holiday to Florida.

 

The company's Twitter feed has also been inundated with messages from
frustrated people.

 

In response to one passenger, a BA representative said: "We're extremely
sorry that you're having difficulties trying to rearrange your flights.

 

"Our teams have been working tirelessly to help as many of our customers as
possible, in these unprecedented circumstances."

 

This has not been a good bank holiday weekend for British Airways - but this
was a mess of the airline's own making.

 

>From the moment it made the mistake of sending out emails cancelling flights
that it didn't mean to cancel, it has repeatedly left customers hot and
bothered. People who would have preferred to be enjoying the August sunshine
have instead been spending hours trying to phone the airline to understand
what is going on.

 

Communication does appear to be the issue here - and although BA has
apologised, it has yet to explain how those erroneous emails came to be
sent.

 

The airline's communication team has been very keen to send us statistics to
show how many staff it has brought in to deal with the problems - and has
today reassured those panicking about planned trips that any extra costs
would be covered.

 

But that reassurance has limited effect while people still can't get through
on overwhelmed phone lines.

 

Some affected passengers have told the BBC they will never again book with
BA. It's a sign of the trust that's been lost during a scorching bank
holiday weekend when BA has certainly been feeling the heat.

 

Some customers who were told their flights were not scrapped after all have
been left confused about whether their decision to accept a refund has now
been cancelled.

 

Others said they fear being left out of pocket.

 

Ellie Kormis, from Surrey, spent the whole of Saturday trying to speak to BA
after being told one of her flights for her family's package holiday to
Greece was cancelled.

 

She said they ended up booking new flights - which extended their holiday by
three days - and extra accommodation, costing more than £2,000.

 

"You're left in a situation where you can't speak to anyone - and you fear
you'll either lose your holiday or be left out of pocket," she said.

 

BA then contacted her by email to say her flight wasn't cancelled after all.

 

She said it was "an epic mess up on their part", joking that she had lost
hope she would ever get through to speak to someone at BA.

 

A BA spokeswoman said customers who were told their flights were cancelled
in error and had booked alternative flights or incurred other expenses would
be entitled to refunds if they submitted receipts.

 

Earlier, some people said they were told that wasn't the case.

 

Kaelee Matthews, from Cardiff, said BA had told her it wouldn't give her a
refund for her flights to Orlando - which the airline had initially said
were cancelled - because they were still operating.

 

She has booked new flights with Virgin for her and her partner - costing an
extra £440 in total.

 

"We are disgusted with BA," she said. "We don't know what to do now. Virgin
can't refund us, but we understand that. Travel insurers say we're not
covered either."

 

Laura Gillespie, 48, from Perth, was also told by BA she was no longer
entitled to a refund as her flight from London to Edinburgh was going ahead
after all.

 

"I've now got flights booked with two different airlines going to the same
place and I'm £140 down," she said.

 

"I know it's not a lot of money compared to some folk who have spent
thousands but it's so annoying."

 

In response to customers being frustrated at not being able to get through
to customer services, BA said:

 

The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) said on Friday the strikes
were a "last resort" born out of "enormous frustration" with airline
management.

 

Pilots have rejected a pay increase worth 11.5% over three years, which the
airline put forward in July.

 

BA says it carries 145,000 customers every day - with a fleet of more than
280 aircraft - and a BA plane takes off from somewhere in the world every 90
seconds.

 

What can I claim if my flight has been affected by the strikes?

BA advice says you can request a full refund, rebook your flight for another
time in the next 355 days, or use the value of your fare to fly to a
different destination.

 

If your flight has been cancelled because airline staff are striking, the
the Civil Aviation Authority said, then this would be considered within the
airline's control, and therefore you have a legal right to either:

 

A full refund, and this includes flights in the same journey that might be
from a different airline (for example, an onward or return flight)

A replacement flight to get to your destination

Or, if you are part way through your journey and don't want a replacement
flight, you are entitled to a flight back to the airport you originally
departed from

In some cases, passengers may be entitled to additional cash compensation
for the inconvenience - but only if you receive notice that your flight is
affected less than 14 days before departure.--BBC

 

 

 

Trump responds with fury over Fed chief's speech

Donald Trump reacted furiously on Friday after the head of the US central
bank spoke about the economic risks of a trade war with China.

 

The president asked if Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell was a greater
"enemy" than China's leader Xi Jinping.

 

It followed a speech in which Mr Powell said trade tensions were hitting the
global economy and the Fed didn't have a "rulebook" to deal with the
fallout.

 

On Friday, China imposed new tariffs, with Mr Trump promising retaliation.

 

Mr Powell was giving a keynote speech at the annual convention for central
bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Although he said the US economy was in a
"favourable place" he listed a series of economic and geopolitical risks
linked to Mr Trump's trade war with China.

 

There are "no recent precedents to guide any policy response to the current
situation," Mr Powell said, adding that monetary policy "cannot provide a
settled rulebook for international trade".

 

The Fed chief has been under pressure from Mr Trump for a deep cut in
interest rates, and has faced a series of derogatory Twitter posts from the
president.

 

But Friday's attacks were among the most critical. "As usual, the Fed did
NOTHING! It is incredible that they can 'speak' without knowing or asking
what I am doing, which will be announced shortly," Mr Trump wrote on
Twitter. "We have a very strong dollar and a very weak Fed. I will work
'brilliantly' with both, and the US will do great."

 

In another tweet, he said: "My only question is, who is our bigger enemy,
Jay Powel or Chairman Xi?"

 

China said on Friday it would impose retaliatory tariffs against about $75bn
worth of US goods, putting as much as an extra 10% on top of existing rates
in the dispute between the world's top two economies.

 

Mr Trump indicated he was planning retaliation, but it was unclear what that
would be. The president said in a subsequent Twitter post that he would
respond to China's tariffs later on Friday.

 

Wall Street share markets dived on the escalating tensions, with the three
main indexes down between 1.7% and 2% in late morning trading.

 

Some analysts think Mr Trump has been ratcheting up his criticism of Mr
Powell so he can blame the fed chair if the US economy goes into downturn.

 

Karen Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics, told the BBC
earlier this week: "Mr Trump doesn't care what rates are. He cares about who
voters think is to blame for slower growth and market turmoil, and he is
determined to be sure it isn't him," she said.

 

"What's an astute politician to do? Find a fall guy distrusted by
Republicans, Democrats, independents, populists, and progressives."--BBC

 

 

US-China trade war: Trump announces new retaliatory tariff hikes

President Donald Trump has hit back at China by announcing new higher
tariffs on imports - escalating a mounting trade war between the two
nations.

 

In a series of tweets on Friday, Mr Trump announced an additional tariff
increase of 5% on imports from China.

 

The move came hours after the president hit out at Chinese plans to hit
$75bn (£61bn) of US goods with duties.

 

Mr Trump described their action as "politically motivated" and has accused
them of "taking advantage" of the US.

 

"Sadly, past administrations have allowed China to get so far ahead of fair
and balanced trade that it has become a great burden to the American
taxpayer," Mr Trump tweeted. "As president, I can no longer allow this to
happen!"

 

Mr Trump has also said he had "hereby ordered" American companies to look
for alternatives to China and suggested they make products in the US
instead.

 

'We're all paying for this'

The US-China trade war in charts

Who loses out in the US-China trade war?

Earlier, China unveiled plans to increase duties between 5% and 10% on more
than 5,000 US products including agricultural goods, aircraft and crude oil.

 

It will also re-impose a suspended 25% duty on US car imports.

 

The new tariffs, set to affect about $75bn of US goods, will be imposed in
two stages on 1 September and 15 December.

 

What has Trump announced?

In a series of Friday evening tweets, Mr Trump said the US would raise its
tariffs on $250bn of Chinese imports from 25% to 30% starting on 1 October.

 

He also said planned tariffs on $300bn of other Chinese goods will now be
15% instead of 10%.

 

President Trump unveiled the 10% tariff plan on 1 August - blaming China for
not following through on promises to buy more American agricultural
products.

 

Those tariffs, imposed on items like electronics and clothing, were expected
to be introduced at the beginning of September but some have been delayed
until mid-December to avoid hitting US Christmas shoppers.

 

The latest developments in the trade war have sent global financial markets
tumbling.

 

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 620 points, or 2.4%, on
Friday while London's FTSE 100 and the German DAX also turned negative.

 

On Friday Mr Trump turned his fire against the head of the US central bank,
Jerome Powell, after he spoke out about the economic risks of a trade war.

 

In a tweet, the president went as far to question whether Federal Reserve
chairman was a greater "enemy" than China's leader Xi Jinping.-BBC

 

 

 

Hasbro to buy Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One for $4bn

US toy maker Hasbro will acquire Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One for
around £3.3bn ($4bn), the firms said in a statement.

 

Hasbro said the deal would expand its entertainment and "family-oriented
storytelling" portfolio.

 

UK-listed Entertainment One owns other preschool titles including PJ Masks.

 

The deal is the latest in a string of foreign acquisitions of UK-listed
firms including the £4.6bn buyout of pub chain Greene King.

 

Under the all-cash transaction, Entertainment One shareholders will receive
£5.60 for each common share.

 

"Hasbro will leverage Entertainment One immersive entertainment capabilities
to bring our portfolio of brands that have appeal to gamers, fans and
families to all screens globally," the firms said in a statement.

 

The American toy giant is behind a diverse range of titles including the My
Little Pony and Transformers franchises, as well as the Monopoly board game
and Play-Doh.

 

Entertainment One makes a series of film and television titles including the
Peppa Pig cartoon.

 

The firm said the top performing preschool programme has been translated
into more than 40 languages and broadcast in over 180 territories.

 

Peppa Pig blocked on popular Chinese app

It is particularly popular in China, where it was first exported in the
early 2000s. The cartoon has attracted some 34 billion views on domestic
online video platforms.--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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