Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 13 September 2019

Fri Sep 13 03:15:11 CAT 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 13 September 2019

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*  Kenya targets officials' overseas trips in "brutal" spending cuts

*  Nigeria plans VAT increase in push to raise non-oil revenues

*  South African regulator fines Steinhoff for misleading markets

*  Distell accuses AB InBev, SABMiller merger of breach -S.Africa regulator

*  BA cancels 27 Sept flights ahead of next pilot strike

*  Eurozone gets fresh help to bolster flagging growth

*  Google to pay €1bn to end French tax probe

*  US gun laws must be stricter, say business chiefs

*  Huawei chief offers to share 5G know-how for a fee

*  Facebook's Libra should be blocked in Europe, France says

*  Trump delays tariff hikes on Chinese goods ahead of talks

*  Yusaku Maezawa to sell Zozo stake to Yahoo Japan in $3.7bn deal

*  Kia Ora: Air New Zealand faces boycott over trademark bid

*  John Lewis in no-deal Brexit warning as it falls to a loss

*   

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Kenya targets officials' overseas trips in "brutal" spending cuts

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya plans “brutal” cuts to spending, including on government officials’ overseas trips, in an effort to rein in the fiscal deficit, its acting finance minister said on Thursday.

The government in its annual budget in June set a target to bring the fiscal deficit down to 5.6% of gross domestic product for the 2019/20 financial year (July-June), from 7.7% in 2018/19.

Critics have accused President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government of ramping up borrowing at a rate that will saddle future generations with too much debt. The government has defended the borrowing, saying it is required to fund infrastructure.

Acting Finance Minister Ukur Yatani said all non-core expenditure will be reviewed to ensure the government can make savings and fund its programmes without relying too much on debt.

“The cuts will be brutal and sustained... because the success of this government will depend on our dignity as a country to be self-sufficient,” he told a public meeting to plan the budget for the next fiscal year.

Yatani’s predecessor, Henry Rotich, was criticised for increasing spending in June and unveiling additional tax measures on already squeezed taxpayers.

As well as runaway spending, Kenyatta’s government has been criticised for failing to stamp out widespread corruption as hundreds of billions of shillings in government funds are lost every year.

Rotich was removed as finance minister after he and other senior officials were charged over the misuse of funds for the construction of two dams. He has denied the charges and was freed on bail.

The government plans to cut the budget deficit to 3.5% of GDP by the 2022/23 fiscal year, Yatani said.

Julius Muia, the finance ministry’s principal secretary, told the same meeting that the budget deficit was expected to fall to 4.8% of GDP in 2020/21.

Muia also said the Treasury now expects Kenya’s economy to expand by 6.0% this calendar year, rather than the 6.3% growth it forecast in June and slowing from 6.3% growth in 2018.

“In the face of the slowdown in global growth, our government has adopted an all-inclusive fiscal consolidation policy package, encompassing fiscal, monetary and financial policies,” Yatani said.

Yatani singled out overseas trips by state officials - which often involve lavish travel allowances - and advertising by government departments - as examples of wasteful spending.

The use of state vehicles and the size of government delegations for foreign meetings will also be limited to help the state make savings, Yatani said.

On capital expenditure, the government plans to only fund existing public projects and not start new ones, the minister said.

“In particular, emphasis should be on projects nearing completion to ensure citizens benefit from such public investments,” he said.

Muia, the principal secretary, said the Treasury expects the current account will fall to 4.5% of GDP from 5% in 2018.

He attributed the benign current account outlook to strong remittances - or cash sent home by Kenyans abroad - earnings from tourism and horticulture exports as well as slower growth in imports.

“Our economy is fairly strong and resilient,” Muia said.

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Nigeria plans VAT increase in push to raise non-oil revenues

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria plans to increase value-added tax on goods, the finance minister said, as Africa’s biggest oil exporter seeks to reduce its reliance on crude sales.

Zainab Ahmed, addressing journalists late on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting, said the government proposed raising VAT next year to 7.2% - up from 5%. The current level is one of the lowest in the world.

The planned rise must be approved by parliament before it can become law.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has repeatedly said it wants to boost non-oil revenues since oil sales make up 90% of foreign exchange receipts. Raising more money from taxes has proved difficult in a country where so many small business are not registered.

Ahmed said the cabinet approved the proposed VAT rise when it met on Wednesday.

“This is important because the federal government only retains 15% of the VAT, 85% is actually for the states and local government. The states need additional revenue to be able to meet the obligations of the minimum wage,” she said.

Nigeria’s minimum wage was increased in April to 30,000 naira ($98) a month from 18,000.

Prior to the minimum wage rise the government had argued that many of Nigeria’s 36 states struggled to pay salaries of state employees.

The proposed VAT hike is part of a broader drive to increase tax revenues. Last week Nigeria’s tax chief told Reuters 5.32 trillion naira ($17.39 billion) was collected in taxes in 2018 and his office was targeting 8.9 trillion naira this year.

South African regulator fines Steinhoff for misleading markets

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s market regulator has fined retailer Steinhoff a record 53 million rand ($3.6 million) for making “false, misleading or deceptive statements” to the market, the company said on Thursday.

Steinhoff disclosed the hole in its accounts in December 2017 which shocked investors and wiped more than 200 billion rand off its stock market value.

The company said the penalty would have been 1.5 billion rand, but was reduced in recognition of the fact that the fraud was perpetrated by former employees and that the company had cooperated with regulators.

“Even after this reduction it remains the largest single fine ever imposed by the FSCA,” Steinhoff said in a statement, quoting the regulator.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) ruled that multiple, significant restatements of the company’s accounts after December 2017 supported the conclusion that Steinhoff failed to meet its obligations under the Financial Markets Act.

Steinhoff CEO Louis du Preez said there were no more further FSCA enforcement actions outstanding against the Steinhoff.

“We are pleased that the matter has now been brought to a conclusion and that the FSCA has recognised our full co-operation with the investigation,” said Preez.

An independent report by PwC released in March found Steinhoff had overstated profits over several years in a $7.4 billion accounting fraud involving a small group of top executives and outsiders.

($1 = 14.6256 rand)

Distell accuses AB InBev, SABMiller merger of breach -S.Africa regulator

(Reuters) - South Africa’s Competition Tribunal on Wednesday said it was looking into allegations by South African alcoholic drinks firm Distell Group that the entity formed from the 2016 merger of the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev with SABMiller breached merger conditions.

AB InBev and SABMiller were not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.

Distell approached the Competition Commission with allegations that the merged entity removed competitors’ advertising material from retail outlets, among others, the tribunal said in a statement, adding that the Commission found there was no breach.

Distell has now asked for a detailed review and for a full investigation to be conducted, the competition regulator said.

The tribunal said that it will consider Distell’s submissions during a hearing scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

SABMiller argues that Distell’s complaint is an “attempt to restrict competition and is unrelated to the merger conditions” and that the complaints “have no merit and should be dismissed,” the tribunal added.

South Africa cleared Anheuser-Busch Inbev's $100 billion-plus deal to acquire SABMiller in 2016 here. The sale of SABMiller's Distell stake was a condition of the Competition Tribunal's approval of the merger.

The merger brought together AB InBev’s Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona brands with SABMiller’s Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell and brews almost a third of the world’s beer, dwarfing rivals Heineken and Carlsberg.

BA cancels 27 Sept flights ahead of next pilot strike

British Airways has started emailing passengers to cancel flights two weeks ahead of another strike by pilots.

The industrial action on 27 September is expected to affect hundreds of flights and tens of thousands of passengers.

The dispute is over a pay-rise which pilots say is not high enough.

Pilots staged a 48-hour walkout earlier this week, forcing nearly 200,000 passengers to change their travel plans.

A spokeswoman for BA said the decision had been made "to give customers as much certainty as possible". Passengers were being offered a full refund or to rebook on an alternative date or airline.

"We are very sorry that Balpa's actions will affect thousands more travel plans," she said. "We urge them to call off their strike and return to negotiations."

The airline had previously estimated the strike would cost it £40m a day.

Balpa called the decision to cancel flights "irresponsible and inconsiderate to its customers" and said it was a strategy designed to save the airline money.

By giving passengers two weeks' notice, the airline avoids having to pay compensation.

Balpa said it had set the second strike period at the later date to allow time for negotiations to take place, but that BA had not responded to its latest proposals.

The union said it had given BA "multiple opportunities" to work with them to avoid the strike.

British Airways (BA) has offered pilots a pay rise of 11.5% over three years, which it says would boost the pay of some captains to £200,000.

However, Balpa says many of its members earn much less than that, with new pilots starting on less than £30,000.

When BA cancelled flights a fortnight ahead of the two-day strike earlier this week, it mistakenly cancelled extra flights as well.

The airline was forced to draft in extra customer relations staff over the August bank holiday weekend to deal with hundreds of thousands of phone calls and messages, after customers found they could not get through to change their flights.--bbc

Eurozone gets fresh help to bolster flagging growth

The European Central Bank has unveiled fresh stimulus measures to bolster the eurozone, including cutting a key interest rate.

The deposit facility rate, paid by banks on reserves parked at the ECB, was already negative, but has now been cut from minus 0.4% to minus 0.5%.

The ECB also said it was re-starting quantitative easing. It will buy €20bn of debt a month from 1 November.

The eurozone's main interest rate has remained unchanged at zero.

The moves come as the ECB combats an economic slowdown. The bank said its asset purchase programme would "run for as long as necessary", while interest rates would remain "at their present or lower levels" until eurozone inflation reached its target rate of 2%.

Quantitative easing, or QE, is a way for central banks to pump money into the financial system when interest rates are ultra-low and conventional stimulus methods no longer work.

The central bank buys assets, usually government bonds, with money it has "printed" - or, more accurately, created electronically.

Making more money available in this way is supposed to encourage financial institutions to lend more to businesses and individuals.

What is quantitative easing?

Under its previous QE programme, the ECB bought €2.6 trillion of bonds between 2015 and 2018.

ECB chief Mario Draghi told a news conference that the inflation outlook had been further downgraded.

"Headline inflation is likely to decline before rising again towards the end of the year," he said.

Mr Draghi also announced that the ECB had lowered this year's and next year's GDP growth forecasts for the eurozone. It now expects growth of 1.1% this year and 1.2% in 2020.

He said the eurozone was suffering from the "prevailing weakness of international trade in an environment of prolonged global uncertainties".

The eurozone's biggest economy, Germany, is widely thought to be on the brink of recession.

Germany steels itself to face recession threat

The ECB's decisions drew a swift reaction from US President Donald Trump, who tweeted that the ECB was "trying, and succeeding, in depreciating the euro against the VERY strong dollar".

Responding to Mr Trump's comments, Mr Draghi referred to him as "the First Tweeter".

"We have a mandate, we pursue price stability, and we do not target exchange rates, period," he said.

'Serious policy easing'

Mr Draghi is due to make way for incoming ECB President Christine Lagarde on 1 November.

The ECB's main refinancing rate has been at zero since March 2016.

"At first glance, the ECB has not quite thrown the kitchen sink at the eurozone economy," said Ranko Berich, head of market analysis at Monex Europe.

"The QE package is shy of market expectations, which were €30bn a month. But the Bank is clearly back in the business of serious policy easing and more aggressive action could easily be taken in response to a worsening in conditions."

So the ECB has fired off another volley of its monetary policy ammunition. But will it hit the target? Will it get inflation up towards the ECB's target and will it stimulate the eurozone's flagging economy? Many people are very sceptical.

The interest rate move takes us even further into the strange world of negative rates. There is a view that that measure is actually counterproductive, that it has an adverse impact on bank profitability. Perhaps ECB policy more widely has reached the limit of its ability to stimulate economic activity.

The other main weapon against economic weakness is in the hands of governments - fiscal policy, or public spending and taxation. For some governments in the eurozone, their scope to use that weapon is constrained by the amount of debt they already have and by eurozone rules. But the likely next head of the ECB, Christine Lagarde has called for more action in that area.

Countries such as Germany have strong government finances, but so far have been wary of departing from what they see as prudent financial management. There is, however, a growing debate about what the eurozone needs.--bbc

Google to pay €1bn to end French tax probe

Google is to pay French authorities almost €1bn (£900m) to end a long-running investigation into its taxes.

The settlement includes a €500m fine and additional taxes of €465m, but it is less than the tax bill authorities had accused Google of evading.

It rounds off a four year investigation that saw authorities raid Google's Paris headquarters in 2016.

Investigators said Google owed about €1.6bn in unpaid taxes amid a wider crackdown on tax planning of big firms.

French authorities had been seeking to establish whether Google, which has its European headquarters in Dublin, failed to declare some of its activities in the country.

The search giant, which is part of Alphabet, pays little tax in most European countries because it reports almost all of its sales in Ireland.

It is able to do that thanks to a loophole in international tax law. However, that loophole hinges on staff in Dublin concluding all sales contracts.

The agreement allows Google "to settle once for all these past disputes," said Antonin Levy, one of the firm's lawyers.

In March, the EU hit Google with a €1.5bn fine for blocking rival online search advertisers and last year the European Commission levelled a record €4.3bn fine against the firm over its Android mobile operating system.

In January, France fined Google €50m a breach of the EU's data protection rules.--bbc

US gun laws must be stricter, say business chiefs

The leaders of 145 US companies have sent a letter urging Congress to enact stricter gun laws as pressure builds on lawmakers to respond to gun violence.

The letter calls on Congress to expand background checks and create new ways to prevent access to firearms.

It follows mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio that left dozens dead.

Signatories included dozens of tech companies, such as Airbnb and Uber, as well as media and financial firms.

Also signing his name was Joshua Kushner, head of Thrive Capital and brother to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor.

"Gun violence in America is not inevitable; it's preventable," the business chiefs wrote in the letter. "There are steps Congress can, and must, take to prevent and reduce gun violence."

An average of 100 people a day are shot and killed in the US. Polls have shows that nearly half of all Americans expect another mass shooting to happen soon.

Businesses have long avoided the controversial subject, but in recent years a spate of high-profile attacks at schools and festivals have pushed them into the debate.

Retailers, including most recently Walmart, have limited or banned gun sales and asked the public not to carry weapons openly in their stores even where legally permitted.

In Wednesday's letter, the business chiefs from companies such as Levi Strauss, Pinterest, Bain Capital, Gap and Brookfield Property Group, called the situation an "urgent public health crisis".

"Doing nothing about America's gun violence crisis is simply unacceptable and it is time to stand with the American public on gun safety," they wrote.

What do US Democrats want to do about guns?

America's gun culture in charts

US gun debate: Four dates that explain how we got here

It remains unclear whether Congress will act.

This week, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives took up bills that seek to remove guns from people deemed a risk, ban high-capacity ammunition magazines and prohibit people convicted of violent hate crime misdemeanors from possessing firearms.

But the Senate, which has a Republican majority, has stayed quiet on the subject, and US President Donald Trump has waffled on his position.--bbc

Huawei chief offers to share 5G know-how for a fee

Huawei's chief executive has proposed selling its current 5G know-how to a Western firm as a way to address security concerns voiced by the US and others about its business.

Ren Zhengfei said the buyer would be free to "change the software code".

That would allow any flaws or supposed backdoors to be addressed without Huawei's involvement.

The US and Australia have banned their networks from using Huawei's equipment. The UK is still weighing a decision.

Huawei has repeatedly denied claims that it would help the Chinese government spy on or disrupt other countries' telecoms systems, and says it is a private enterprise owned by its workers.

One expert, who had previously cast doubts on Huawei's claims to independence, said the idea of it helping another country's business to compete represented an "extraordinary offer".

"Perhaps the explanation is that Huawei recognises that it is unlikely to be able to bypass the efforts the Trump administration is putting into minimising its scope to operate in North America, Western Europe and Australasia," said Prof Steve Tsang from Soas University of London.

"But it's difficult to see Nokia or Ericsson being interested in buying it. And it's also difficult to see how an American company would be able to reassure the Trump administration that it's absolutely top notch American technology.

"And if they can't do that, why would they want to spend tens of billions of US dollars on something that will quickly become out-of-date."

Seeking 'balance'

Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei made the proposal in interviews with the Economist and the New York Times.

It would include ongoing access to the firm's existing 5G patents, licences, code, technical blueprints and production engineering knowledge.

"[Huawei is] open to sharing our 5G technologies and techniques with US companies, so that they can build up their own 5G industry," the NYT quoted Ren as saying.

"This would create a balanced situation between China, the US and Europe."

Speaking to the Economist he added: "A balanced distribution of interests is conducive to Huawei's survival."

A spokesman for Huawei has confirmed the quotes are accurate and the idea represents a "genuine proposal".

At present, Europe's Nokia and Ericsson are the main alternatives to Huawei when it comes to networks selecting what 5G cell tower base stations and other equipment to install.

South Korea's Samsung and China's ZTE are other alternatives.

But while American firms including Cisco, Dell EMC and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have developed 5G-related technologies, the US lacks an infrastructure-equipment specialist of its own.

Beyond the licensing fee, Huawei could benefit because it might convince Washington to drop restrictions that currently prevent it buying US-linked technologies for its own use.

One consequence of this is that Huawei faces having to launch an Android smartphone later this month that will not offer Google apps such as YouTube or the Play Store.

A deal would also help ensure Huawei gets its 5G technologies widely adopted.

For instance, 5G supports two different coding techniques for data transmission to help tackle interference.

Huawei has developed a technique called "polar codes", which it says will give 5G devices longer battery life than an alternative favoured by many Western firms called "low density parity check".

If polar codes are widely adopted, Huawei will earn more patent fees from device-makers that support them.

Intelligence law

One company-watcher, however, suggested Ren's proposal was doomed to fail.

"Huawei misunderstands the underlying problem," Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, from the European Centre for International Political Economy, told the BBC.

"The issue is not the trustworthiness of Huawei as a vendor but the legal obligations that the Chinese government imposes on it.

"China's National Intelligence Law requires Chinese businesses and citizens to surrender any data or 'communication tools' they may have access to, under strict punitive sanctions.

"Any equipment or software that Huawei licenses to an US entity would still fall under this obligation, and there is no way that the licensing entity or the intelligence agencies could scrutinise millions of lines of code for potential backdoors."

But Prof Tsang said the proposal was still a "smart move".

Even if Huawei's offer is ultimately rejected, he explained, it demonstrates that the company is willing to go to remarkable lengths to try and win the West's trust.--bbc

Facebook's Libra should be blocked in Europe, France says

France says it will block development of Facebook's Libra digital currency in Europe because it threatens the "monetary sovereignty" of governments.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Libra posed financial risks and could be open to abuse.

However, he did not spell out how France could keep Libra out of the 28-member European Union.

The social media giant announced plans for a currency in July, but the project has faced hostility and scepticism.

Talking about Libra at a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in Paris, Mr Le Maire said: "This eventual privatisation of money contains risks of abuse of dominant position, risks to sovereignty and risks for consumers and for companies."

Mr Le Maire said he had been in touch with both the incoming and outgoing heads of the European Central Bank about setting up a "public digital currency" under the aegis of international financial institutions.

'Serious concerns'

"Libra also represents a systemic risk from the moment when you have two billion users. Any breakdown in the functioning of this currency, in the management of its reserves, could create considerable financial disruption," said Mr Le Maire.

"All these concerns about Libra are serious. I therefore want to say with plenty of clarity: in these conditions, we cannot authorise the development of Libra on European soil."

Although Libra would not be decentralised, like other cryptocurrencies, control would be give to a Switzerland-based non-profit association.

But in another setback for Libra, this week Switzerland said the proposed payments system could face strict rules that typically apply to banks, on top of tough anti-money laundering laws.

Could Facebook’s new currency be stopped in its tracks?

Carney gives Facebook currency cautious welcome

Facebook urged to pause currency project

The European Commission has responded to Mr Le Maire's announcement, saying it would look at all aspects of Libra to understand issues ranging from tax concerns to worries over data privacy.

Asked about France's stance, Vanessa Mock, a spokeswoman for the commission, said: "It's likely that once we know more [about] the contours of the currency, the project will require some form of authorisation in Europe."

"Then it would be up to the Libra association to contact relevant authorities - be they national or at EU level - to obtain the necessary licenses, if needed, before launching in the EU."

Facebook's Libra Association said Mr Le Maire's comments highlighted the importance of its conversations with regulators around the world.

"We recognise that blockchain is an emerging technology, and that policymakers must carefully consider how its applications fit into their financial system policies," Dante Disparte, head of policy at the association.

Libra, which has the backing of payments firms Visa and Mastercard and taxi apps Lyft and Uber, is expected to launch next year.

The Group of Seven advanced economies warned in July that it would not let Libra proceed until all regulatory concerns had been addressed, saying that a prolonged discussion over the project might first be required.

The US Congress is looking into Libra's potential impact, while central bank chiefs, including the UK's Mark Carney, have voiced scepticism. US President Donald Trump has tweeted he is "not a fan" of the currency.--bbc

Trump delays tariff hikes on Chinese goods ahead of talks

US President Donald Trump will delay a planned tariff hike on $250bn (£202.8bn) of Chinese goods as a "gesture of good will".

In a tweet, Mr Trump said a 5% increase to duties scheduled for 1 October will be postponed for two weeks.

He said the delay had been requested by China, and also follows a move by Beijing to scrap some US tariffs.

It comes as the two sides prepare to hold fresh talks aimed at resolving their long-running trade dispute.

Last month, the US said it would increase the tariff rates on all Chinese goods, which included raising a 25% tax on $250bn of Chinese imports to 30%.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump said China's Vice Premier Liu He had asked him to postpone the upcoming tariff increase from 1 October as the date coincided with the anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

Earlier, China released a list of 16 US imports that will be exempted from tariffs including anti-cancer drugs and animal feed.

Significant US exports to China, like pork, soybeans and American-made cars, are among the goods that will still be hit by the hefty taxes.

Growing tensions

The world's largest economies have been locked in a bruising trade fight for the past year that has hurt businesses and weighed on the global economy.

Tensions escalated in recent months and Washington said it would target all Chinese imports to the US with new duties by the end of the year.

A quick guide to the US-China trade war

The US-China trade war in charts

Against that backdrop, both sides are preparing to return to the negotiating table.

Preliminary meetings are set to take place later this month in Washington before US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and trade representative Robert Lighthizer meet China's Mr Liu in October.

Still, some analysts argue the latest gestures by the US and China have not brought a resolution to their trade row much closer.

"A broad settlement is not in sight," Gary Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics said.

"Beijing is prepared for a continuation of tariffs and hostile rhetoric through 2020. And Trump cannot back down without getting a storm of criticism from the hawks, both Democrats and Republicans."--bbc

Yusaku Maezawa to sell Zozo stake to Yahoo Japan in $3.7bn deal

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has agreed to sell most of his stake in online fashion firm Zozo to Yahoo Japan as part of a deal worth $3.7bn ($3bn).

Mr Maezawa, known for his splashy art collection and space travel ambitions, will also step down as chief executive.

Zozo is Japan's largest online fashion retailer but has struggled recently with falling profits.

The company also made a failed attempt at custom-fit clothing, and later closed its European and US operations.

Yahoo Japan, a subsidiary of tech and investment conglomerate Softbank, has offered to pay 400 billion yen for a 50.1% stake in Zozo.

The move would allow Yahoo Japan to better compete with rivals Amazon and Rakuten.

As part of the deal, Mr Maezawa agreed to sell a stake of around 30% to Yahoo Japan and will step down from Zozo's top job.

"I will entrust Zozo to a new president and take my own path," he said in a Twitter post.

The 43-year-old first became famous as the drummer in punk band Switch Style, but made his fortune in the fashion world.

He's worth $2.2bn, according to Forbes, and has spent a much of his fortune on art.

Japanese billionaire's $98m art spree

Mr Maezawa has most retweeted tweet

Last year he was named as the first private passenger due to be flown around the Moon by SpaceX, the company owned by another famous billionaire, Elon Musk.

The price Mr Maezawa agreed to pay for his ticket to space has not been disclosed, but according to Mr Musk it was "a lot of money".--bbc

Kia Ora: Air New Zealand faces boycott over trademark bid

Air New Zealand's bid to trademark the image of the words "Kia Ora," the title of its in-flight magazine, has prompted threats of a boycott.

The phrase kia ora is a Maori greeting and the trademark attempt has sparked anger from the indigenous community.

The airline said it wants to trademark the magazine logo, not the phrase itself.

The New Zealand Maori Council described the move as "cultural misappropriation" and "frankly despicable".

The council is a statutory body set up to represent the Maori community.

"My warning to Air New Zealand is I sure as hell will put a stop to this," head of the council Matthew Tukaki said.

"If they don't pull back, [I] will take them to the court system, I will bring on a national campaign boycotting the airline and I will snap them where it hurts."

He said Maori people spend "tens of millions of dollars" on domestic and international travel with the airline.

Air New Zealand is no stranger to controversies involving the Maori community, which make up about 15% of the country's population.

It recently said it would end a ban on staff having visible tattoos after the restrictions drew criticism of the airline's treatment of Maori culture.

In a statement to the BBC, Air New Zealand said it had "great respect" for the Maori language and that the trademark application only referred to the airline's in-flight magazine title.

"This is simply about protecting the logo," a spokesperson said.

"It's standard corporate practice to have all our logos trademarked and we have just started the process given Kia Ora magazine has recently been through a refresh."

Still, Mr Tukaki said he would fight the move until the airline dropped the application altogether.

"This is cultural misappropriation 101. For a private company to go and attempt to trademark a word that does not belong to them but call it a logo is quite frankly despicable."--bbc

John Lewis in no-deal Brexit warning as it falls to a loss

John Lewis has fallen to a half-year loss and says a no-deal Brexit will have a "significant" impact.

The retailer said while it had prepared for no deal, it could not fully offset the effect and the impact on fresh food supplies was a concern.

The stores group, which also owns Waitrose, reported a loss of £25.9m, down from a profit of £0.8m last year.

Sales slipped amid "difficult" trading conditions, which were not helped by "subdued consumer confidence".

John Lewis pointed to "soft demand" for its home and electrical goods as a particular weak spot.

Could a no-deal Brexit still happen on 31 October?

Retailers shut 2,870 stores in first half of 2019

Five ways the High Street is changing

John Lewis to start building home extensions

The partnership, which normally makes most of its profits in the second half of the year, said it had been making preparations for a no-deal Brexit, including building up stocks "where that is sensible".

However, the partnership's chairman, Charlie Mayfield, said: "Should the UK leave the EU without a deal, we expect the effect to be significant and it will not be possible to mitigate that impact.

"Brexit continues to weigh on consumer sentiment at a crucial time for the sector as we enter the peak trading period."

He said the group was worried about the impact of a no-deal Brexit on fresh food supplies and consumer confidence.

"Ultimately, that could have a knock-on impact on profits," he said. "That could be significant."

Salary increases and an IT overhaul also ate into the group's profits, John Lewis said.

Amid what it described as a "weak grocery market" sales at Waitrose slipped slightly to £3.4bn in the six months to 27 July.

However, the supermarket chain also reported a 10.7% growth in online sales, which the partnership said was "well ahead of the market".

At the John Lewis department store business, total sales were £2.1bn, down 1.8%.

"After a disappointing end to last year, and the well-documented problems at fellow department stores Debenhams and House of Fraser, it's no surprise to see John Lewis' like-for-like sales and profits falling," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst George Salmon.

"Weakness in big ticket purchases is particularly interesting because it implies consumers are factoring in Brexit uncertainty before splashing savings on large screen TVs or setting up repayment plans for new furniture."

John Lewis plans to reach more customers by expanding its network of "click and collect" points at Co-op stores.

In May, the department store announced that online shoppers would be able to pick up their purchases at six Co-op stores as part of a trial. John Lewis now plans to extend that to another 50 by the end of October.--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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DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

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