Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 20 December 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 20 December 2019

 


 

 


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*  Zambia suspends 15% export duty on gemstones -S.Africa's Gemfields

*  AngloGold aims to produce 350,000–400,000 oz of gold a year from Ghana
mine

*  South Africa's rand nearly unchanged after Fitch's ratings decision

*  Japan's Toyota Tsusho wins contract to build Egyptian vehicle terminal

*  IMF board approves financing package to pave way for Somalia debt relief

*  MTN South Africa's mobile money service to go live in Jan 2020

*  Hitachi, MHI reach settlement over South African project

*  Nigeria's Buhari approves record 2020 budget, on time for his first time

*  South Africa's rand down as gains on global sentiment fade

*  South Africa energy minister vows to keep burning coal for power

*  Call for Bank of England executive to quit over security breach

*  Airbnb is not an estate agent, EU court rules

*  Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold

*  Boeing 'is not a trustworthy company anymore'

*  Retail sales fall sharply in November

 

 


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Zambia suspends 15% export duty on gemstones -S.Africa's Gemfields

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African gemstone miner Gemfields Group Ltd
said on Thursday that the Zambian government has suspended a 15% export duty
on gemstones, excluding diamonds, from Jan. 1, 2020.

 

Miners say the duty, announced in a September 2018 budget, has hurt their
operations - one pain point in a wider dispute with the mining industry over
tax rates.

 

“Gemfields is pleased to announce that the Government of the Republic of
Zambia has suspended the 15% export duty on precious gemstones (excluding
diamonds) with effect from 1 January 2020,” Gemfields said in a stock market
statement, without elaborating further.

 

It posted on its website a copy of a statement to Zambia’s government
gazette, signed by the minister of finance Bwalya Ng’andu and dated Dec. 13,
2019, saying the export duty would be suspended from Jan. 1, 2020.

 

The finance ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. A
spokesman for the Zambian Revenue Authority did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.

 

Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, has tried to levy higher
taxes on the mining industry - a key sector - as it grapples with high
levels of debt and low growth.

 

However, push back from the industry has forced it to roll back plans to
replace its value-added tax with a non-refundable sales tax, a big bone of
contention in the industry.

 

 

 


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AngloGold aims to produce 350,000–400,000 oz of gold a year from Ghana mine

(Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti said it expects its Obuasi gold mine in Ghana
to produce about 350,000 to 400,000 ounces per year for the first ten years,
after achieving its first gold pour since it was suspended five years ago.

 

The initial capital expenditure for the mine, which has been in the process
of redevelopment since last year, remains in the range of $495 million to
$545 million, the company said on Thursday.

 

“Following a ramp-up period, AngloGold Ashanti estimates mining at a rate of
2,000 tons per day from Obuasi during 2020, climbing to 4,000 tons per day
by year-end,” it said.

 

 

 

South Africa's rand nearly unchanged after Fitch's ratings decision

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s rand held firm against the dollar on Thursday,
after Fitch affirmed the country’s both long-term foreign and local currency
debt ratings and positive global sentiment pushed it to a four-and-a-half
month high in the previous session.

 

Rand was trading at 14.310 versus the greenback at 0506 GMT, a 0.07% rise
from the previous day’s close, when it hit 14.2670, its highest level since
July 31.

 

Fitch on Wednesday decided to leave the country’s credit rating at one notch
below junk with a negative outlook.

 

“We can expect the rand to test a sustained break below R14.30 with a range
of R14.28 to R14.40 on the cards for now,” Peregrine Treasury Solutions said
in a note.

 

It added that globally, markets would also be watching retail sales data and
an interest rate decision from the United Kingdom, and later job and home
sales data from the United States.

 

While local factors can have an impact, the rand is highly sensitive to
global sentiment and has benefited recently from optimism over a U.S.-China
trade deal.

 

Government bonds were flat, with the yield on benchmark 2026 instrument up
0.05 basis points to 8.29%.

 

 

 

Japan's Toyota Tsusho wins contract to build Egyptian vehicle terminal

CAIRO (Reuters) - A consortium led by Toyota Tsusho Corp, a unit of Japan’s
Toyota Group, signed a contract on Thursday to set up and operate a roll-on,
roll-off vehicle terminal at East Port Said in Egypt, the Suez Canal
Economic Zone (SCZone) said.

 

The consortium, which also includes Bollore Africa Logistics and Nippon
Yusen Kaisha, will develop and operate a 600-metre quay and a new
21.2-hectare terminal for the import, export and transshipment of vehicles,
an SCZone statement said.

 

It will invest $150 million in equipment and infrastructure to enable the
terminal to handle 800,000 vehicles a year, plus an annual $233 million for
the operating concession, the statement quoted SCZone chairman Yehia Zaki as
saying.

 

East Port Said lies along the Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal,
which is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and one of the
Egyptian government’s main sources of foreign currency.

 

The government hopes to turn East Port Said into a major transshipment hub,
meaning goods will flow through the facility on the way to other
destinations.

 

 

 

IMF board approves financing package to pave way for Somalia debt relief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has
approved a financing plan that will help the IMF cover its share of debt
relief for Somalia, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a
statement on Wednesday.

 

The financing plan includes cash grants from member countries and IMF
internal resources, she said, without providing any further details of the
financing package. Those funds will be used to clear Somalia’s arrears to
the IMF.

 

“This marks a critical step in helping Somalia advance the process of
normalizing relations with the international community and making progress
towards achieving debt relief under the Heavily-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC)
initiative,” Georgieva said.

 

A decision unlocking debt relief could come as soon as members provided the
necessary financial commitments, assuming Somalia’s government continued its
strong reform efforts, she added, without giving a specific date.

 

The African nation has about $5 billion in external debt, accounting for
about 100% of its GDP, which the Fund has declared to be unsustainable.

 

Somali’s finance minister, Abdirahman Duale Beileh, welcomed the news in a
posting on Twitter, adding, “We are grateful to all partners for their
continued support in our journey to debt cancellation. We will march on with
economic reforms.”

 

Beileh in October cited positive discussions with the United States,
Somalia’s biggest creditor, Britain and others during the IMF/World Bank
annual meetings, and said he expected a decision in favor of debt relief in
February.

 

Georgieva on Wednesday described debt relief for Somalia was as a priority
for the Fund and said she was encouraged by the support of IMF members on
the issue.

 

Debt relief would “help unlock significant new financial resources to
address Somalia’s large development needs and poverty reduction,” she said.

 

 

 

MTN South Africa's mobile money service to go live in Jan 2020

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - MTN’s mobile money service will go live in January
in South Africa, allowing customers to send, receive, save money and pay for
goods using their mobile phones, the mobile operator said on Wednesday.

 

Last year group Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter told a telecoms
conference in Cape Town that the company would relaunch mobile money
services in South Africa, three years after canning the service.

 

Shuter, who has experience in banking, is in the middle of a strategic
revamp of Africa’s biggest telecoms group to hunt for returns in everything
from financial services, music and video games.

 

“The introduction of this mobile money service is a pivotal step in MTN’s
strategy and represents MTN’s participation in the next phase of increasing
convergence we are seeing between financial services and mobile technology,”
MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa said in a statement.

 

The service, called MoMo, will run on the Ericsson Converged Wallet. During
the initial phase it will be available to MTN customers and offer basic
services such as sending money to any mobile phone number in the country,
buying prepaid services like electricity and paying for purchases at
selected till points, the firm said.

 

MTN will kick off the service in a country where about 11 million South
Africans remain unbanked, while 50% of the adult population remains thinly
served, according to MTN South Africa Chief Officer of Mobile Financial
Services, Felix Kamenga.

 

“MoMo aims to bridge this gap with this innovative mobile money offering,
providing a payments solution that encourages financial inclusion,” he
added.

 

The announcement comes months after a subsidiary of MTN Nigeria was granted
a “full super agent” licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria that would allow
it to provide financial services.

 

 

 

Hitachi, MHI reach settlement over South African project

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Hitachi Ltd and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd
(MHI) said on Wednesday they had reached an out-of-court settlement of their
dispute over losses stemming from a South Africa power plant project.

 

Hitachi will pay MHI a settlement of 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in March
and transfer to MHI its entire 35% stake in their joint venture Mitsubishi
Hitachi Power Systems, the companies said in separate statements.

 

Hitachi said the stake transfer would reduce its burden by 70 billion yen,
meaning it would pay 130 billion yen to MHI.

 

In 2007, Hitachi won a contract to build 12 boilers for the Medupi and
Kusile power plants of South African utility Eskom.

 

It later transferred the contract to the joint venture, Mitsubishi Hitachi
Power Systems Ltd, which was set up in February 2014 by combining the
thermal power generation businesses of the two companies.

 

But the power stations were hit by cost overruns and delays, and Hitachi and
MHI disagreed on whether some costs were incurred before or after the
creation of the venture.

 

Hitachi said it would book expenses of 378 billion yen related to the
settlement for the fiscal year ending March 31. As a result of this and
other factors it lowered its annual net profit forecast to 170 billion yen
from 360 billion yen previously.

 

($1 = 14.7075 rand)

 

 

 

Nigeria's Buhari approves record 2020 budget, on time for his first time

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari approved a record
10.59 trillion naira ($34.62 billion) budget for 2020 on Tuesday, marking
the leader’s first spending plan not beset by major delays.

 

The president’s signature paves the way for a likely return to the
international debt market next year as Nigeria still struggles to shake off
the impact of a 2016 recession it emerged from the following year.

 

The budget, passed by lawmakers earlier this month, assumes a deficit of
1.52% of the estimated gross domestic product - representing around 2.18
trillion naira - to be financed through foreign and domestic borrowing.

 

Crude production is assumed at 2.18 million barrels a day with an oil price
of $57 per barrel, according to the spending plan. Nigeria is Africa’s top
oil producer.

 

Buhari’s budgets during his first term were plagued by delays, only being
approved well into the spending plans’ affected years after tussles with
opposition lawmakers and ruling party politicians who disagreed with the
presidency’s fund allocations.

 

But since Buhari’s re-election last February those days have ended. His win
came with parliamentary victories for loyalists in his All Progressives
Congress party.

 

Economists say Nigeria’s budgets, while large, are not always realistic,
with the amount disbursed each year often falling short of the projected
spending.

 

($1 = 305.9 naira)

 

 

 

South Africa's rand down as gains on global sentiment fade

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s rand slipped against a stronger dollar on
Wednesday.

 

The rand was 14.4480 versus the greenback by 0814 GMT, 0.4% weaker than the
previous day’s close.

 

An index measuring the dollar against a basket of six major currencies
jumped to a six-day high of 97.343 and was last up 0.1% at 97.302 after
strong U.S. economic data.

 

The rand had already fallen a day earlier as recent gains over optimism
about a preliminary US-China trade deal gave way to profit-taking and
concerns about Britain’s exit from the European Union.

 

Wayne McCurrie, of FNB Wealth and Investments, told Reuters while the rand
had lost a couple of cents it has performed very well recently, bolstered by
international events even in the face of problems with the economy and power
supply at home.

 

“The specific little bit of weakness today, there is no news or event you
can put your finger on,” he said. “It’s nothing in the bigger scheme of
things.”

 

Stocks were higher, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index up
0.89% and the broader all-share index also up 0.79%.

 

Government bonds were flat, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 instrument
up 0.1 basis point at 8.3%.

 

 

 

 

South Africa energy minister vows to keep burning coal for power

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s energy minister vowed on Tuesday to
keep burning coal to generate electricity, even as the continent’s biggest
greenhouse gas emitter adopts more renewable energy sources to meet its
commitments on tackling climate change.

 

Africa’s most industrialised economy is also grappling with a power crisis
that has hurt growth, temporarily shut down mining operations and threatened
its remaining investment grade rating.

 

“As much as we intend to utilise the sun and wind resources we have, we
intend to continue to use our fossil fuel resources, and to increase
investment in ... clean coal technologies,” Minister of Mineral Resources
and Energy, Gwede Mantashe told delegates at a local launch of the IEA Coal
2019 report.

 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) report, which predicted that global
coal demand would remain stable until 2024, as growth in Asia offsets weaker
Western demand, was published on Tuesday.

 

The government had already shrunk its dependence on coal for power
generation to 75%, from 90% a few years ago, he said, adding that the
government had “given renewables the biggest growth allocation”, in future
projects.

 

“South Africa is a major producer of coal,” Mantashe added. “Entire towns
and settlements exist around coal mining areas, and as such, our focus must
be on how to mitigate the impact of coal sector downscaling.”

 

The government’s long term power plan, released in October, provides for
1,500 megawatts (MW) of new coal power, 2,500 MW of hydropower, 6,000 MW
from photovoltaic, 14,400 MW from wind and 3,000 MW from natural gas.

 

The plan aims to relieve the country’s frequent, crippling power shortages
which worsened last week when heavy rains caused outages at its Medupi coal
fire power plant and at open pit coal mines.

 

Such plants make South Africa one of the world’s top 20 emitters of carbon
dioxide, a cause of controversy at home.

 

“Coal no longer makes sense,” the Mail & Guardian weekly wrote in its latest
edition, ahead of the IEA launch. “It pollutes rivers and fills our lungs
with poison ... It drives the climate crisis, which is already destroying
communities.”

 

Mantanshe told delegates in Johannesburg he would not be swayed by anti-coal
activists.

 

“I listen to them, but their story is not the only story in town,” he said.
“We are not consumed by denialism when it comes to climate change ... (but)
We must ensure a balanced approach.”

 

 

 

Call for Bank of England executive to quit over security breach

A former member of the Bank of England has called for the resignation of its
chief operating officer after it emerged an audio feed of sensitive
information had been leaked to traders.

 

The Bank admitted one of its suppliers had "misused" the feed to give hedge
funds early access to information.

 

Danny Blanchflower, who previously served on the rate-setting Monetary
Policy Committee, said Joanna Place should step down following the breach.

 

The Bank of England refused to comment.

 

Many Bank press conferences are broadcast via video, but there is also a
back-up audio feed in case of problems. The audio is available between five
and eight seconds before the video.

 

It meant that high-speed financial traders had access to the words of
Governor Mark Carney and his officials before their remarks were more widely
broadcast.

 

Ms Place reports directly to Mr Carney and has had responsibility for
information security since July 2017.

 

Mr Blanchflower said: "The question I ask is did the chief operating officer
at the Bank of England know that access was being sold? If so, she should
resign. And if she didn't know she should resign as well.

 

"I just don't know how her position is maintained because this could have
created a lot of harm. People could have made a lot of money."

 

The Bank of England said it had disabled the audio supplier's access.

 

The hijacking of the audio feed, first reported in the Times, gave an
advantage to high-speed traders, such as currency speculators, who can make
millions of pounds on tiny market moves.

 

Comments from Bank officials about market sensitive matters such as interest
rate decisions can affect the value of sterling and other market assets
within fractions of a second.

 

The Times said it understood that the eavesdropping on the press conferences
had been happening at least since the beginning of this year.

 

Mr Blanchflower said the "astonishing" revelation was "a stain" on Mr Carney
as he prepares to step down as Governor on 31 January.

 

Commenting on who could be in line to replace Mr Carney, Mr Blanchflower
said his "old graduate school room mate" Gerard Lyons, who was Prime
Minister Boris Johnson's former chief economist when he was Mayor of London,
may "rise to the top of pack".

 

Investigation

The Bank of England said the leak "was wholly unacceptable use of the audio
feed" and the way hedge funds were allowed to make use of it was "without
the Bank's knowledge or consent, and is being investigated further".

 

The matter has been referred to the market regulator, the Financial Conduct
Authority, which told the BBC it was "looking at the issue".

 

Being able to hear the press conference early would provide an unfair
advantage. Interest rates, economic guidance, and the financial health of
banks and the markets are frequently discussed at the press conferences.

 

The Bank sets rates eight times a year and holds a press conference on four
of those occasions. A report on financial stability comes out twice, which
also includes a press conference.

 

All of this is broadcast on video provided by Bloomberg, which is shared to
other news outlets.

 

The company that provides the audio feed, which is separate from the video
feed, has not been identified.

 

A spokesperson from Bloomberg confirmed to the BBC that the company does not
provide the audio. "Bloomberg provides a distinct and independent video feed
for the BoE's press conferences. This is completely separate to the backup
audio feed."

 

Why do those few seconds matter?

The pronouncements of central bank chiefs can sound like boring technical
gobbledy-gook. But every word, every nuance, is carefully studied by
financial markets for the slightest hint about the Bank's intentions and can
cause big movements in the value of the pound and government bonds.

 

So getting wind of any potential future changes, even a few seconds ahead of
the rest of the market, could be extremely valuable.

 

Computerised trading programs can execute thousands of transactions a
second, so the four-to-eight second advantage enjoyed by those traders
accessing the back-up audio feed is a vast amount of time in terms of market
movements.

 

The Bank of England is usually very careful in managing the dissemination of
sensitive information and the Bank was keen to stress that the information
breach did not apply to the release of decisions on interest rates - just
the press conferences afterwards. But those press conferences can - and do -
move markets so this is still an embarrassing admission.

 

The Times said it had seen documents revealing how the service was sold on
to traders. The supply cost between £2,500 and £5,000 each press conference
for each client in addition to a subscription fee.

 

Automated options

It is unclear whether the leaked audio feed was used by traditional traders
at their desks to steal a march on rivals, or whether algorithm-driven
software, that can conduct thousands of transactions a second, could be used
to exploit those few seconds advantage.

 

Hypothetically a computer program could be designed to pick out key words
from the Bank Governor's comments and trade on them. But central bankers are
notoriously euphemistic.

 

"[Early access] would be more important to a traditional voice trader or
hedge fund," says Malcolm Baker, co-Founder at FX FWD, a trading firm.

 

"Central bankers can speak in language that is hard to understand and there
is a lot that's implied. It's like old Elizabethan language and can be
misleading. A trader like me just wants to understand - is it hawkish? Or
dovish?"

 

The Bank has not named the audio supplier, but market intelligence firm
Statisma has posted a denial that it offers its customers information not
available to the public.

 

Statisma, operating under the same management as a production firm called
Encoded Media, advertises on Twitter a service where traders can hear
central bank announcements first.

 

Press conferences from the European Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve and
the Bank of Canada were also on offer to trading firms. Traders signed up to
Statisma's service receive an email detailing the speeches with dial in
numbers.

 

In a response to several calls made from the BBC and other media outlets, it
posted on its website this statement: "We DO NOT carry embargoed information
and we DO NOT release information without it first being made available to
the public".

 

An ECB spokesman said the central bank moved to address possible issues with
audio broadcasts in September, effectively delaying the feed.

 

"Since September this year the ECB offers a low latency audio feed for each
monetary policy press conference to address exactly the issues that were in
the news today.

 

"Therefore, it doesn't make any sense for anyone to use commercially offered
solutions because the solution we offer is the fastest option available and
it is free for everyone," the spokesman said.--BBC

 

 

 

Airbnb is not an estate agent, EU court rules

The accommodation-booking service Airbnb does not need an estate agent's
licence to operate in France, Europe's top court has ruled.

 

The French tourism association had complained that Airbnb did not comply
with French property laws.

 

It means the app's users avoid a threat of disruption to its service in the
country.

 

Had the court ruled the other way it would have served as a precedent for
other EU regulators.

 

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)'s decision was based on
its determination that Airbnb was an "information society service" rather
than a property broker.

 

The judges involved also drew a distinction between Airbnb and Uber on the
basis of how much control the property-booking app had over transactions on
its service.

 

Airbnb said it would "move forward and continue working with cities".

 

What was the case about?

Airbnb is designed to let people rent out spare rooms or entire properties
to holiday-makers on a short-term basis.

 

France's Association for Professional Tourism and Accommodation (AHTOP)
complained that Airbnb was acting as an estate agency without a licence,
breaching a local act known as the Hoguet Law.

 

Airbnb argued that it was protected by EU laws on "electronic commerce".

 

What did the court find?

The CJEU said it was satisfied that Airbnb was an "information society
service" rather than an estate agent because:

 

In addition, it said the French authorities had failed to inform the
European Commission about the Hoguet Law at the time the EU directive on
electronic commerce was being prepared.

 

It suggested France's "failure to fulfil its obligation" could be used as a
defence in future court cases.

 

Why is Airbnb different to Uber?

In December 2017, the CJEU ruled that car-sharing company Uber was a taxi
firm and not simply an "information society service".

 

The CJEU said the case against Airbnb was "unlike" the one made against
Uber, because it could not establish that Airbnb had a "decisive influence"
over the accommodation offered on its platform.

 

Airbnb does not determine the rental price charged for property, and lets
customers choose which home to rent.

 

In contrast, Uber sets the fare for rides in its app, and assigns each
passenger a driver.--BBC

 

 

 

Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold

The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.75% but indicated
it may cut the cost of borrowing if global economic growth fails to recover
or Brexit uncertainties persist.

 

It said the UK economy was expected to pick up from its current weakness.

 

However, the Bank said it would monitor companies' and households' reactions
to Brexit as well as global growth.

 

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 in favour of keeping
the official rate on hold.

 

"If global growth fails to stabilise or if Brexit uncertainties remain
entrenched, monetary policy may need to reinforce the expected recovery in
GDP growth and inflation," the committee said in a statement.

 

Third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.3% was "a little
weaker" than the MPC expected at its November meeting, when members also
voted 7-2 to keep rates on hold.

 

It said household spending continued to grow steadily, but business
investment and export orders had remained weak.

 

The Bank predicted fourth quarter growth of 0.1% which again was a weaker
outlook than at its last meeting.

 

It now expects inflation to subside to 1.25% in the spring. That largely
reflects weakness in the construction sector, it said.

 

The Bank's agents around the UK, who monitor regional economic activity,
gave the construction sector its lowest score in six-and-a-half years.

 

The agents also highlighted falling manufacturing exports, with the
car-making sector suffering one of the biggest declines.

 

'Pressure'

The weak economy meant companies could not fully pass on higher costs to
their customers even as those costs rose, squeezing profit margins.

 

"All sectors were affected, but margins were most squeezed in construction
and consumer facing sectors," the MPC said.

 

For those consumer-facing firms, the pressure on margins was heightened by
the shift towards online shopping, higher business rates and the rise in the
National Living Wage, it added.

 

That was one factor adding to weak investment. "Investment intentions remain
depressed by slower global growth and political uncertainty," the MPC said.

 

However, it also said that if global growth did stabilise and Brexit
uncertainties faded then the next move in interest rates may be up.

 

Outlook 'exceptionally cloudy'

Economists were divided over the direction of rates.

 

Dean Turner, an economist at UBS Wealth Management, said: "After last week's
election result, the short-term clarity we have on Brexit could give a lift
to economic sentiment, especially for businesses. A modest fiscal easing in
the forthcoming budget could also push things along a little.

 

"Overall, though, as attention turns to the December 2020 end of transition
deadline, the mood will likely remain subdued and growth weak. We expect
that the committee will move further towards a rate cut in 2020 and a
quarter point easing in May."

 

But Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "All
told, we still think that interest rates are much more likely to rise next
year than to fall.

 

"But as both the identity of the next [Bank of England] Governor and the
willingness of the Prime Minister to sacrifice the economy to achieve Brexit
by his timetable are unknown, the outlook for monetary policy remains
exceptionally cloudy."--BBC

 

 

Boeing 'is not a trustworthy company anymore'

Boeing is not a trustworthy company anymore, according to Zipporah Kuria,
whose father was killed when a 737 Max plane crashed earlier this year.

 

Ms Kuria, who met with Europe's aviation watchdog on Wednesday, said: "I
wouldn't even use the word trust anywhere near Boeing."

 

Boeing is fighting for its reputation while the 737 Max remains grounded.

 

A company spokesman said: "The safety of passengers and crews flying on our
aircraft is our absolute priority."

 

He said: "We are truly sorry and we continue to offer our deepest sympathies
to the families and friends who lost loved ones in the accidents of Lion Air
Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

 

"We know we have a deep responsibility to everyone who flies on our
airplanes to ensure that the 737 Max is one of the safest aircraft ever to
fly."

 

Ms Kuria met with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) along with other
family members who lost loved ones, to gain reassurances that the Boeing 737
Max will not return to the skies until rigorous tests are carried out.

 

The British woman's father, Joseph Waithaka, died with 156 others on board
an Ethiopian Airlines flight in March.

 

It was the second crash involving a Boeing 737 Max following the Lion Air
disaster in Indonesia which killed all 189 people onboard.

 

"They are not trustworthy anymore - if they had been in the past," Ms Kuria
said.

 

She said the EASA's executive director Patrick Ky had reassured her that "he
would not be caving" to either the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
the US regulator, or Boeing in terms of reclassifying whether the 737 Max is
safe for European air travel.

 

Boeing is hoping that the FAA will allow the Max back into the air in the
early part of next year but the FAA's close relationship with Boeing has
been under intense scrutiny.

 

It recently emerged that the FAA allowed the 737 Max to keep flying after
the first disaster in October last year despite knowing there was a risk of
further crashes.

 

Ms Kuria said: "I think the more discovery is done, the more reason we are
finding not to trust [Boeing] when it comes to the 737 Max.

 

"There are so many things that were hidden that shouldn't have been, so many
things that were bypassed that shouldn't have been and I think every time we
sit down and have a hearing or hear from an aviation authority on documents
of discovery we just find out how preventable the death of our loved ones
was."

 

Mr Ky said that the European regulator will "take their time to recertify"
the plane.

 

Ms Kuria also said her safety concerns not only relate to the plane's
automated flight control system which malfunctioned before both crashes but
other critical safety systems on board the 737 Max.

 

During the meeting, EASA said "they would reassess all the critical safety
systems that are on the 737 Max", according to Ms Kuria.--BBC

 

 

 

Retail sales fall sharply in November

Retail sales fell in November with shoppers keeping a tight grip on spending
amid uncertainty about Brexit and ahead of December's election.

 

Monthly retail sales fell by 0.6% in November, the fourth month in a row
without growth, the Office for National Statistics said.

 

"All main sectors saw their sales fall with the exception of food stores,"
ONS statistician Rhian Murphy said.

 

The data doesn't include Black Friday sales.

 

Black Friday fell on 29 November this year, outside of the ONS reporting
period for the month, which ended on 23 November.

 

However the ONS said it had adjusted for where in the calendar Black Friday
discounting fell when calculating its year-on-year analysis.

 

That figure showed growth of 1% to November, the weakest annual growth since
April 2018 and much lower than the 2.1% rate economists had predicted.

 

"At face value, November's further drop in retail sales is pretty
concerning," said Thomas Pugh, UK economist at consultancy Capital
Economics.

 

Even if Black Friday ended up having a bigger effect than the ONS is
calculating, he predicted this was "not a very merry Christmas for
retailers".

 

Tough year

Figures indicate that Black Friday this year was quite a bright spot in an
otherwise gloomy retail environment.

 

Barclaycard, which processes nearly £1 of every £3 spent in the UK, said at
the beginning of December that sales volumes from 25 November to 2 December
were up 7.1% compared with 2018, while sales value rose by 16.5%.

 

But it has been a tough year for the retail industry in the UK, with a net
1,234 stores disappearing from Britain's top 500 High Streets in the first
six months, according to accountants PwC.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's sweeping election victory last week has all
but eliminated the risk of a disruptive no-deal Brexit on 31 January,
removing some of the uncertainty hanging over the UK economy.

 

Some economists said that in the near term, Mr Johnson's election win should
be good for consumer spending and the economy.

 

Duncan Brewer, a partner at consultancy firm Oliver Wyman, said "the general
euphoria of a Conservative majority and a better exchange rate for the pound
may lead to more spending over Christmas and in the New Year."

 

However, Mr Brewer added that this uplift for consumer spending "will likely
only be short-lived".

 

"Despite more temporary political stability and low unemployment, we expect
that at least two major well-loved British retailers will go bust over the
course of next year, and that 100,000 jobs will be cut across the sector due
to a combination of overall stagnated spending, cost-cutting and increased
automation," he said.

 

Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that
inflation "is set to hover about 1.5% over the next nine months, while a
revival in corporate confidence following the election should lead to
stronger growth in employment."

 

"Disposable incomes also will be boosted by the recent sharp fall in
mortgage rates and a big increase in the threshold for National Insurance
contributions in April," Mr Tombs added.--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


Bindura Nickel Corporation

 

 

 


Padenga Holdings

 

 

 


Delta Corporation

 

 

 


Meikles Limited

 

 

 


 <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
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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
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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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