Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 September 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 September 2019

 


 

 


 <http://www.nedbank.co.zw/> 

 


 

 


 

 

*  AngloGold Ashanti, B2Gold in deal over Colombia project

*  Petra Diamonds profit misses estimates, shares hit all-time low

*  South African rand weaker as risk appetite ebbs

*  Nigerian stocks rise to more than one-month high

*  Kenyan shilling stable against the dollar

*  Tanzania plans to extend its gas pipeline network

*  Egypt expects several share offerings by end of year - official

*  Egypt's economy to grow by 8% annually by 2022-PM

*  West African leaders pledge $1 bln to fight Islamist threat

*  UAE regulator not optimistic on Boeing 737 MAX return this year

*  Helium shortage: 'Prices just keep going up and up'

*  Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy in the US

*  Oil prices soar after attacks on Saudi facilities

*  Climate change: Germany's conservatives mull doubling air travel tax

*  Aldi plans to open a new supermarket each week

*  App that cancels subscriptions launches in UK

*  Rise in teenage money mules prompts warnings

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

AngloGold Ashanti, B2Gold in deal over Colombia project

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti Ltd has entered into an agreement with B2Gold at its Gramalote project in Colombia that will see its Canadian joint venture partner raise its stake and assume management of the project.

 

AngloGold Ashanti said as part of the agreement B2Gold will fund investment and exploration to the value of $13.9 million at the project next year in return for taking its stake up to 50% and will assume management of the project in January 2020.

 

B2Gold currently owns a 48.3% stake with AngloGold

 

Ashanti, which also has operations in South Africa, holding the remaining 51.7%.

 

“B2Gold has proven itself a strong, experienced player in exploration, feasibility studies and project execution, which makes it an excellent partner for us,” said AngloGold Ashanti CEO Kelvin Dushnisky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Petra Diamonds profit misses estimates, shares hit all-time low

LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in African diamond miner Petra Diamonds hit an all-time low on Monday after it missed forecasts with a 22% fall in annual profit, as a Sino-U.S. trade row and protests in Hong Kong dented demand in big Asian markets.

 

The miner has been fixing its balance sheet after spending much of this decade investing in its flagship Cullinan mine in South Africa.

 

Petra’s share price fell to an all-time low of 7.25 pence, recovering slightly to trade down 8% by 0830 GMT at 7.45 pence. The stock is down about 80% this year.

 

The miner said on Monday it had generated positive cash flow for the first time since embarking on its major expansion plan in 2011 and had a programme to improve efficiency and cut debt.

 

Operational cash flow in 2019 was positive at $70.5 million compared with outflows last year.

 

 

But adjusted core profit fell to $153 million in the year ended June 30 from $195.4 million a year earlier, compared with analysts' average expectations of $172 million, according to company-compiled consensus here of seven estimates.

 

Alongside the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade dispute and protests in Hong Kong, some analysts blame manmade stones for price weakness and soft demand. Natural diamond producers say their product is distinct.

 

CEO Richard Duffy, who took over in April, said in an interview he expected the market to remain under pressure. In the longer term, actions by major producers, led by Anglo American unit De Beers, to restrict supply should help.

 

Duffy has been overseeing a three-year plan to cut debt. Petra said net debt was $541 million at the end of June.

 

Launched in July, Project 2022 aims to reduce debt by delivering $150 million to $200 million in cumulative free cash flow through efficiencies and improvement across the business.

 

 

Petra said on Monday non-executive Chairman Adonis Pouroulis would leave the board by the end of the third quarter 2020, once a successor had been appointed. Duffy said it was a natural moment in the company’s plans for Pouroulis to step down.

 

Kieron Hodgson, an analyst at Panmure Gordon who rates the company “hold”, said “The ability to deliver on the stated goals of ‘Project 2022’ will be crucial.”

 

 

 

South African rand weaker as risk appetite ebbs

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand weakened in early trade on Monday as an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities dented risk appetite, while investors braced for monetary policy decisions from major central bank meetings due this week.

 

At 0635 GMT, the rand traded 0.53% weaker at 14.6575 per dollar.

 

The rand, along with other emerging market assets, last week benefited from increased risk appetite after Washington and Beijing officials made concessions on retaliatory tariffs, while the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates and promised more stimulus.

 

However, the risk-on mood soured somewhat after an attack on Saudi Arabian refining facilities that disrupted global oil supply and heightened Middle East tensions.

 

“This attack and any retaliation will keep markets volatile and could result in risk-off trading conditions, which would result in weakness for EM currencies and equity markets,” RMB analyst Siobhan Redford said in a note.

 

Beyond that, currency markets are awaiting the outcome of several major central bank meetings, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

 

“This week, we have various central bank events; the primary focus will be on the outcome of the FOMC on Wednesday, followed by the SARB on Thursday, as global tensions have risen as a result of the events in Saudi Arabia,” Nedbank analysts said in a note.

 

Bonds also weakened, with the yield on the benchmark instrument due in 2026 adding 10.5 basis points to 8.245%.

 

 

 

Nigerian stocks rise to more than one-month high

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian stocks extended gains on Monday, rising to a more than one-month high as investors snapped up shares in the relatively liquid banking sector and heavy weight Dangote Cement gained.

 

The main stock index, which has had a lacklustre performance this year, was up 0.7% at 27,965 points, a level last seen in July although the market is still down 12% in the year to date.

 

 

Kenyan shilling stable against the dollar

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar on Monday with inflows from offshore investors buying government debt helping ease pressure from merchandise importers and excess liquidity in the local money market, traders said.

 

At 0847 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 103.65/85 per dollar, compared with 103.70/90 at Friday’s close.

 

 

 

Tanzania plans to extend its gas pipeline network

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania said on Monday it planned to construct a 30-km pipeline to extend the country’s natural gas supply network from the capital Dar es Salaam to the nearby town of Bagamoyo to provide cheaper energy for factories and households there.

 

The country has been eager to expand supplies of natural gas to more towns to allow factories in particular to replace more costly sources of energy such as coal and imported diesel.

 

Evaline Rweikiza, an official at state-run Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) who is in charge of the expansion project, told Reuters a tender to select a developer will be announced by early October at the latest.

 

“We are targeting all households, institutions and factories along the pipeline to Bagamoyo. The pipeline will be completed early in the 2020/21 financial year,” she said

 

Bagamoyo, in eastern Tanzania, is a fast-growing town and home to a range of large and medium-sized factories producing various products including steel and beverages.

 

Tanzania is currently pushing to increase the uptake of natural gas as a cheaper source of energy to help fuel President John Magufuli’s industrialisation drive.

 

Currently more than half of the electricity generated in the country is produced from natural gas.

 

In May this year, Tanzania’s energy ministry said the country’s natural gas consumption had increased by 84% to 59.2 billion cubic feet (bcft) in 2018 from three years earlier.

 

Tanzania boasts estimated recoverable gas reserves of over 57 trillion cubic feet (tcf), mostly in southern offshore fields.

 

 

 

Egypt expects several share offerings by end of year - official

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt expects two state companies and one private pharmaceuticals firm worth more than one billion Egyptian pounds ($61.3 million) to make share offerings by the end of the year, an official at the Financial Regulatory Authority said on Sunday.

 

One small company worth about 50 million Egyptian pounds was also expected to offer shares on the Nile Stock Exchange, which specialises in small and medium sized enterprises, said Sayed Abdel Fadeel, head of the authority’s corporate finance department. He did not name the companies.

 

Egypt promised to sell minority stakes in several state companies in late 2018 but postponed the offerings following emerging market turbulence.

 

($1 = 16.3200 Egyptian pounds)

 

 

Egypt's economy to grow by 8% annually by 2022-PM

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt expects its economy to grow by an annual rate of 8% by 2022 as the government improves the investment climate, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Sunday.

 

“The Egyptian government expects growth to gradually pick up to 8 percent by 2022,” he told a meeting of Arab central bank governors.

 

In July, Madbouly said gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.6% in the 2018/19 fiscal year.

 

Barring the oil industry, Egypt’s economy has struggled to attract foreign investors since the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

 

Madbouli told the central bank governors that the government wanted to “alter the face of private investment to spur growth.”

 

This includes “continued efforts to improve the business climate, especially by simplifying and lowering the cost of -forming companies and expanding new investment zones,” he said.

 

 

 

West African leaders pledge $1 bln to fight Islamist threat

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - West African leaders have pledged $1 billion to combat the spiralling threat of Islamist militancy in the region, the head of the regional ECOWAS bloc said on Saturday.

 

Groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State have strengthened their foothold across the arid Sahel region this year, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking local ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.

 

The fifteen members of the West African bloc and the presidents of Mauritania and Chad had gathered for an extraordinary summit in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ougadougou, to address the growing insecurity.

 

ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said the commission had decided to “contribute financially and urgently to joint efforts in the fight against terrorism” by pledging $1 billion.

 

In a speech following the closed meeting, Brou also called on the United Nations to strengthen its MINUSMA peacekeeping mission, which has been based in Mali since 2013.

 

In July, the U.N. said Islamist attacks were spreading so fast in West Africa that the region should consider bolstering its response beyond current military efforts.

 

In 2017, five countries - Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mali and Mauritania - backed by France, launched the G5 Sahel task force to combat the insurgents. But the initiative has been perennially underfunded.

 

The situation in Burkina Faso has deteriorated in particular in recent weeks. An attack in late August killed 24 soldiers, one of the heaviest losses yet in the nation’s fight against Islamist militants. Last week, 29 people were killed in separate attacks in its troubled central-northern region.

 

Once a pocket of relative calm in the Sahel, Burkina has suffered a homegrown insurgency for the past three years, which has been amplified by a spillover of jihadist violence and criminality from its chaotic neighbour Mali.

 

Large swathes of Burkina’s north are now out of control, and France’s military Sahel mission began limited operations there earlier this year.

 

 

 

UAE regulator not optimistic on Boeing 737 MAX return this year

DUBAI (Reuters) - The head of the United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority said on Sunday he was not optimistic that the Boeing 737 MAX would return to operations this year and that the first quarter of 2020 was more likely.

 

The 737 MAX has been grounded since March while Boeing updates flight control software at the centre of two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that together killed 346 people within a span of five months.

 

Boeing Co is targeting regulator approval for the fixes in October, though the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has said it does not have a firm time for the aircraft to be flying again.

 

The GCAA will conduct its own assessment to allow the MAX to return to UAE airspace, rather than follow the FAA, Director General Said Mohammed al-Suwaidi told reporters in Dubai.

 

He said the GCAA would look at the FAA decision and that the UAE regulator had so far not seen details of Boeing’s fixes.

 

The FAA has traditionally taken the lead on certifying Boeing jets, though other regulators have indicated they would conduct their own analysis.

 

UAE airline Flydubai is one of the largest MAX customers, having ordered 250 of the fast-selling narrow-body jets.

 

It has not said when it expects the aircraft to be operational again. American Airlines has cancelled flights through Dec. 3, United Airlines until Dec. 19 and Southwest Airlines Co into early January.

 

 

Helium shortage: 'Prices just keep going up and up'

If you want to buy a helium-filled balloon for a celebration, then it's likely you'll be paying a bit more for the privilege.

 

"Prices just keep going up and up," says Steve Durnford, director of family business Balloons of London.

 

The store, which sells party balloons to both individuals and firms, is a victim of a global shortage in helium that has seen prices for the gas surge.

 

Mr Durnford says the cost of the helium he buys has risen three times this year, between 8% and 10% each time.

 

It's not just celebrations suffering. The gas is also essential in medicine, electronics and deep-sea diving.

 

For example, it's crucial in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans that doctors use to get detailed images from inside patients.

 

It's also important in deep sea diving and in scientific research, as well as for the production of computer chips and liquid crystal displays such as TV screens.

 

There's no central wholesale price for the gas, because it is not traded on global markets.

 

Phil Kornbluth, the founder of Kornbluth Helium Consulting, which advises clients on commercial aspects of the global helium business, says the "price has gone up an awful lot in a short space of time".

 

"There's no magic number. The price of helium varies quite a bit around the world, depending on where you are in the supply chain and whether you're buying at source and how you're buying it as a liquid or as a gas, for example," he says.

 

"But it's safe to say the price has gone up 50% to 100%, depending on who you are and where you are in the supply chain."

 

Mr Kornbluth says the catalyst for the latest rise in price was a US government auction of crude helium in August last year.

 

The national helium reserve is now one of the biggest suppliers of helium. It was originally set up as a strategic store for supplying gas to US airships, but has auctioned its supplies annually to private industry since 2013. However, this was the last such auction until 2021.

 

At the auction, the average price for crude helium rose a whopping 135% year-on-year as industrial users acted to boost stocks for future years.

 

"It wasn't very difficult for major suppliers to pass this increase on to their customers, so it did affect worldwide pricing," says Mr Kornbluth.

 

What is helium and what is it used for?

Helium is an inert gas, which means that it does not react with other substances. It has the lowest boiling point of any element at -269C and a low density, which is why it is used to make items float

It is used in the space industry to keep satellite instruments cool and clean out rocket engines. It was also used to cool the liquid oxygen and hydrogen that powered the Apollo space vehicles

Helium is used as a cooling medium for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the superconducting magnets in medical MRI scanners

Helium is often used to fill party balloons, weather balloons and airships because of its low density

A mixture of 80% helium and 20% oxygen is used by deep-sea divers and others working under pressurised conditions

Helium-neon gas lasers are used to scan barcodes at supermarket checkouts.

A single auction can have so much influence over pricing because there are very few helium suppliers.

 

The gas, which is formed by the decay of radioactive rocks in the earth's crust, accumulates in natural gas deposits and is collected as a by-product of the gas industry.

 

Separating the helium from the natural gas and storing the helium is expensive, time-consuming and difficult and therefore relatively rare.

 

One of the UK's biggest helium suppliers, BOC warns on its website that orders may be restricted because of the current shortage.

 

"Due to a global helium shortage, all pure helium and balloon gas orders are currently on a full-for-empty basis only and are being fairly allocated to all our customers," it says.

 

People have different opinions about whether or not helium should be allowed to be used in balloons

Balloons of London's Mr Durnford said the cost has meant that in some cases they have started using air-filled balloons instead of helium, using a cardboard support to create structures such as arches.

 

And they've had to increase prices. Buying 50 standard-sized balloons costs £6.49, but if a customer wants those filled with helium, the price is just over 10 times that at £69.

 

"People still spend the same, but they get less balloons for their money. So for a kid's party where they would have bought 50, they might now only get 30," he says.

 

New supplies

Mr Kornbluth says the current shortage should ease from next year, with new supplies then expected to come into the market from Algeria and Qatar, and subsequently from Russia in 2021.

 

But David Cole-Hamilton, emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of St Andrews, says given helium's importance in medical fields, its use for balloons should be banned.

 

He estimates that about 10% of the overall supply of helium is used for balloons, something he says is "absurd" given its supply is so limited.

 

"If you said to people, do you want a helium balloon or an MRI scan for your daughter, it's an obvious choice," he says.

 

But Mr Durnford says people will continue to buy them for special occasions. "People are only 30, 40 or 50 once. If they want it, they will have it," he says.--bbc

 

 

Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy in the US

US drug-maker Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy protection, as part of efforts to deal with thousands of lawsuits that accuse the firm of fuelling the US opioid crisis.

 

The company's board approved the Chapter 11 filing on Sunday.

 

The move is designed in part to resolve more than 2,600 lawsuits filed against Purdue over its alleged role in the opioid epidemic.

 

Last week, the firm reached a tentative deal to settle most of those lawsuits.

 

Purdue had been facing legal action from thousands of cities and counties across the US. The lawsuits claimed that Purdue and its owners, the billionaire Sackler family, had aggressively marketed the prescription painkiller OxyContin, while at the same time misleading doctors and patients over addiction and overdose risks.

 

The drugmaker has reached a deal with 24 states and five US territories, but another two dozen states remain opposed to the proposed settlement.

 

In a statement reported by Reuters, members of the Sackler family said: "It is our hope the bankruptcy reorganisation process that is now under way will end our ownership of Purdue and ensure its assets are dedicated for the public benefit."

 

Terms of the deal

Chapter 11, a section of the US Bankruptcy Code, postpones a US company's obligations to its creditors, giving it time to reorganise its debts or sell parts of the business.

 

Under the terms of the deal, Purdue is to be dissolved and the money raised - estimated to be about $10bn-$12bn (£8bn-£9.7bn), including a minimum cash contribution of $3bn from the Sackler family - will go towards settling the lawsuits. The Sacklers have also offered an additional $1.5bn from the eventual sale of Mundipharma, another pharmaceutical firm owned by the family.

 

 

Several of the states that oppose the deal, such as New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, have questioned how Purdue came up with the contribution figure.

 

The states want the Sackler family to put in more of its own money into the deal.

 

New York state prosecutors have alleged that the Sacklers had been moving billions of dollars offshore to different banks, including accounts in Switzerland.

 

The New York Attorney General's office has requested records from 33 financial institutions. However it found $1bn in wire transfers in records from just one institution.

 

What is the opioid crisis?

Opioids are a group of drugs that range from codeine to illegal drugs such as heroin. Prescription opioids are primarily used for pain relief but can be highly addictive.

 

On average, 130 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which says more than 200,000 Americans have died from opioid-related overdoses in the last two decades.

 

Media captionOn America's trail of destruction

Fatal drug overdose numbers rose every year from 1999 to 2017, including a sharp spike between 2014 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

Experts partially blame the over-prescription of powerful and addictive painkillers for the epidemic.

 

Firms including Purdue are accused of using deceptive practices to sell opioids, including downplaying their addictive quality.

 

Purdue argued the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, had approved labels for OxyContin that had warnings about the risks.--bbc

 

 

 

Oil prices soar after attacks on Saudi facilities

Oil prices ended nearly 15% higher on Monday, with the Brent benchmark seeing its biggest jump in about 30 years.

 

The rise came after two attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities on Saturday knocked out about 5% of global supply.

 

Brent crude initially surged 20% at the start of trading, but eased back to end at $69 a barrel, up 14.6%. US oil prices finished up 14.7%, the biggest jump since 2008.

 

Prices fell back after President Donald Trump vowed to release US reserves.

 

The strike, which the US blames on Iran, has sparked fears of increased risk to energy supplies in the region.

 

However, prices remain below Brent's 12-month high of $86.29 a barrel seen last October, when West Texas Intermediate also climbed to more than $76 a barrel.

 

The drone attacks on plants in the heartland of Saudi Arabia's oil industry hit the world's biggest petroleum-processing facility as well as a nearby oil field, both of which are operated by energy giant Aramco.

 

Together they account for about 50% of Saudi Arabia's oil output, or 5% of daily global oil production. It could take weeks before the facilities are fully back on line.

 

Aneeka Gupta, commodities strategist at the fund manager Wisdom Tree, said that higher oil prices would not have an immediate impact on consumers as they "could take a bit of time of feed through".

 

However, she says that if the outage lasts for more than six weeks, oil prices could hit "north of" $75 a barrel.

 

Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group and a former energy adviser in George W. Bush's administration, told the BBC: "I think it's going to last. As long as the United States and Saudi Arabia on one hand and Iran on the other remain in this escalatory conflict then we're going to build in a risk premium because it's getting very serious."

 

Saudi oil attacks: US says intelligence shows Iran involved

Will Saudi oil attacks raise fuel prices?

Attack on Saudis destabilises already volatile region

Iran-US tensions: What's going on?

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that Tehran was behind the attacks. Iran accused the US of "deceit."

 

Later, Mr Trump said in a tweet the US knew who the culprit was and was "locked and loaded" but waiting to hear from the Saudis about how they wanted to proceed.

 

 

What will be the impact on oil supplies?

The Saudis have provided little detail about the attacks, apart from saying there were no casualties, but have given a few more indications about oil production.

 

Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said some of the fall in production would be made up by tapping huge storage facilities.

 

The kingdom is the world's biggest oil exporter, shipping more than seven million barrels daily. Saudi stocks stood at 188 million barrels in June, according to official data.

 

"Saudi authorities have claimed to control the fires, but this falls far short of extinguishing them," said Abhishek Kumar, head of analytics at Interfax Energy in London. "The damage to facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais appears to be extensive, and it may be weeks before oil supplies are normalised."

 

However, Jeffery Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, said the disruption would not affect crude supplies in the near-term.

 

"There's enough capacity in storage to meet the shortfall in the short-term."

 

Will petrol prices rise?

Drivers will not immediately see an increase at the pump, according to international energy policy expert Prof Nick Butler.

 

"The direct impact of the attacks could be short-lived," he said.

 

"The market has adjusted without blinking over the last two years to the loss for political reasons of over two millions barrels a day of production from Venezuela and Iran."

 

In the UK, 40% of the price of a litre of petrol is made up of oil, fuel production and profit. The rest is tax.

 

"There are currently savings in the wholesale price that have only just started to be passed on to drivers by retailers," says Simon Williams from the RAC.

 

"Many retailers cut their prices by 3p on Friday and we believe that average prices were six pence too high before that, so the impact of these fires may not be too great."

 

But Mr Halley said that global fuel prices are likely to increase: "You'll see price hikes in gasoline all over world. Consumers will first notice it quite quickly in higher petrol prices."

 

He also warned to "watch airline fuel surcharges" which could also rise, depending on an airline's fuel price hedging policies.

 

How much oil is held in reserve?

The US held 644.8 million barrels of oil in storage as of 6 September, according to the Department of Energy.

 

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve keeps the oil in underground salt caverns across four sites in Texas and Louisiana along the Gulf of Mexico coast.

 

The cylindrical caverns are typically 200 foot in diameter and 2,000 foot high, and in total they can store up to 727 million barrels of oil.

 

The US also has around 416.1 million barrels of oil in commercial storage held by the likes of oil producers and refineries, based on data from the US Energy Information Administration.

 

In Saudi Arabia, oil production has plunged by 5.7 million barrels a day because of the attacks.

 

It has around 188 million barrels of oil in reserve, according to energy consultancy the Rapidan Energy Group.--bbc

 

 

 

Climate change: Germany's conservatives mull doubling air travel tax

Germany's ruling conservatives have proposed doubling taxes on domestic flights, as part of a wider package to cut CO2 emissions.

 

The decision was taken by the leadership of the Christian Democrats (CDU), who form a coalition with the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD).

 

Tax of €7.38 (£6.5; $8.1) per ticket is currently levied on domestic flights.

 

Connecting flights that are part of long-haul journey will be exempt.

 

Climate change: German MPs want higher meat tax

Faster pace of climate change is 'scary'

In its policy document (in German), the CDU also says that engines not powered by fossil fuels should be free of aviation tax.

 

"We will invest, together with the aviation industry, to make electric-powered flight standard for short-haul flights and to create synthetic fuel to achieve climate-neutrality on medium- and long-haul flights," the document says.

 

Travelling by plane has never been more popular, with four billion passengers around the world flying every year.

 

Plant-based diet can fight climate change - UN

But aviation emissions contribute to climate change, and scientists say more needs to be done to tackle the problem.

 

Germany's governing coalition is expected to unveil a major climate package on 20 September.

 

It envisages more grants for electric car buyers, encouraging the usage of trains and raising road taxes for polluting vehicles.

 

However, reports say the coalition partners are still divided on how to finance the package which is believed to be costing several billions of euros per year initially.--BBC

 

 

 

Aldi plans to open a new supermarket each week

Aldi plans to open a new store in the UK every week on average for the next two years, its boss has told the BBC.

 

Giles Hurley said the discount retailer would invest £1bn to achieve its aim.

 

"The reality is that almost 50% of the population of the UK doesn't currently shop with us and they tell us the main reason for that is that they don't have a store near us," he said.

 

Aldi's pledge came as it reported a sales rise for last year, but saw profits fall sharply.

 

Last year, the company attracted more than 800,000 new customers, adding an extra £1.1bn in sales, up 11% on the previous twelve months. But most of this sales growth is from opening new stores.

 

 

Profits for the same period fell 18%, partly due to price cuts aimed at keeping its competitive edge.

 

Whilst the big established grocers are opening few, if any new stores, Aldi is still expanding, stealing their customers and growing market share. And that is set to continue.

 

"Over the next two years we're going to invest a further billion pounds in the UK and that shows our intent," says Mr Hurley, Aldi's chief executive for the UK and Ireland.

 

Aldi now has over 840 stores and is increasing its focus on London. It wants to double the number of stores inside the M25, from 45 to 100, by the end of 2025.

 

"Within Greater London, our market share is around half of what it is in the rest of the country so there's clearly a big opportunity for us to expand the business. In the long term, we can comfortably see us opening 200-250 stores within London," says Mr Hurley.

 

But will they be able to find enough locations to fit their low-cost business model?

 

"It's not straightforward as you don't have the parking spaces," says Adam Leyland, editor of the Grocer magazine.

 

"It's also harder to get good sites in London. So you have to have a very flexible model and Aldi is so formulaic as a discounter that this is harder to manage.

 

"But they are determined to do it and they are a very capable grocer. We've seen over the years how they've responded to the dynamics of the UK market."

 

Queuing round the block

When Aldi opens a new store the shoppers come.

 

Here in Ruabon, on the outskirts of Wrexham, customers were queuing round the block, lured by the promise of an early freebie.

 

It felt like Black Friday had come early.

 

The rush was on for the so called "Aisle of Wonder" - "starbuys" included a £24.99 cordless lawnmower and a cut price vacuum cleaner.

 

Families were dragging six-seater wooden patio sets towards the tills. Another woman's trolley was filled with three Mr Potato Heads, four rabbit-shaped wicker planters and a wooden wishing well for her garden.

 

The first customer, Ken Peters, had been waiting since 5:30am to get in: "I'm hoping for a bargain, or a free food voucher," he says.

 

Aldi is already experimenting with a new, smaller, convenience store format. There are currently eight Aldi "Local" stores in Greater London, including a former Waitrose store in Camden. Aldi thinks that figure could grow to as high as 50 in the longer term.

 

So how long can this rapid expansion last?

 

"The fundamental question for Aldi, Lidl and all the other discounters, like B&M, across the retail sectors is that at some point they will reach their peak physical space," says Patrick O'Brien, UK retail director at market research firm GlobalData.

 

"The rate of growth they're enjoying isn't going to last forever.

 

"So they're going to be in the same boat as their bigger rivals, going head to head for their share of the spend in their existing store estates, and as the discounters have expanded they are more often found in each other's catchment areas, competing with each other rather than the easier job of taking spend from higher priced rivals," he believes.

 

But that's not something Aldi has to worry about right now when it's got years of growth ahead to manage, argues Mr Leyland.

 

"Aldi are clearly performing very well. The crucial thing is that when they open a store people come. Aldi will only have a problem if it opens new stores and people aren't attracted to them and I can't see any evidence of that."

 

But the Big Four supermarket chains aren't making it easy. They've been improving their offer and trying to close the price gap with the discounters.

 

'Long-term view'

Aldi's promise to keep prices lower took its toll on last year's profits. But Mr Hurley, is adamant that it's a promise he's prepared to keep:

 

"Our profits did suffer as a result of the investments we made, but Aldi is not like other supermarkets. We take a very long-term view of our business and the focus is very much on our sales, our customers and our store numbers and not on short term profitability.

 

"The plans we put down last year were carefully considered. We've always said that we will offer the lowest prices in the market," he says.

 

The biggest challenge right now for all the UK's grocers is Brexit.

 

So does Aldi believe there will be gaps on the shelves in the event of a disorderly no deal?

 

"I can't guarantee the availability of every single product," says Mr Hurley.

 

"But actually that's no different from anyone else. What we will do is shield our customers from as many ripple effects as possible. I can't commit that prices won't go up. I'm not alone in the industry on that but what I can guarantee is that customers will always pay the lowest grocery prices with Aldi."

 

Mr Hurely said the chain was working "very closely" with its supply base.

 

"Because of our select range of products that's probably a little easier than some of our competitors.

 

"We also believe we're in a solid position because 75% of what we sell comes from British suppliers and manufacturers", he says.

 

'Double-edged sword'

Aldi is increasing stocks in items like olive oil, tinned tomatoes and pasta, items which aren't produced in the UK.

 

Brexit, says the Grocer's Mr Leyland, is Aldi's biggest worry right now.

 

"It's the biggest challenge for the whole food industry at the moment. Everyone is working crazily to come up with solutions.

 

"Aldi may have fewer products to worry about but it's a double-edged sword because if one product isn't getting through it's harder to flex it. And although they're very competitive, they've struggled to manage inflation like everyone else."

 

Whatever happens, Aldi is clear that Brexit won't change its expansion plans.

 

This business, along with Lidl, has had a profound effect on the UK grocery market.

 

Aldi alone took £7bn of sales in the last year that would otherwise have gone to its rivals, according to the research, data and insight consultancy, Kantar.

 

As long as it is continuing to open new stores, it's likely to be a hugely disruptive force.--BBC

 

 

 

 

App that cancels subscriptions launches in UK

A service which automatically cancels subscriptions at the end of the free trial period has launched in the UK.

 

It was developed by Josh Browder, who as a teenager developed an algorithm called Do Not Pay, which continues to successfully fight parking fines.

 

His new app, Free Trial Surfing, is not linked to a customer's bank account or credit card, but Mr Browder says it is in partnership with a major bank.

 

However, he declined to say which bank was supporting the venture.

 

"The idea for this product came when I realised I was being charged for a $21.99 (£18) gym membership from over a year ago that I was never using," he said.

 

"In fact, I had completely forgotten that I had signed up for a free trial in the first place. Constantly trying to keep track of when a 'free trial' period ends is annoying and time-consuming."

 

He said 10,000 people had signed up to try Free Trial Surfing since its launch six weeks ago in the US, where Mr Browder, who is from the UK, now lives.

 

The two most common subscriptions the service has been used for are porn platforms followed by Netflix, he said.

 

How does it work?

It is currently only available on Apple's app store, with a web version in development.

 

Each customer receives a virtual credit card number and invented name, which they can use to sign up for a service.

 

The card is actually registered to Mr Browder's firm, Do Not Pay.

 

The app can also forward emails between the service provider and the virtual card so that the customer's own email address is secure.

 

Mr Browder says the card will not work if used to pay for any other form of purchase.

 

He said some platforms were trying to block the service by figuring out which cards belong to Do Not Pay.

 

"Our bank is so big they would have to screw a lot of customers to stop the product. They would have to end the entire free-trial programme," he said.

 

Perhaps ironically, he says that one day he may charge a subscription to use the service, which is currently free.

 

"It took around six months to build," he said.

 

"Right now we're testing it - maybe one day it will be a cheap subscription, like $2 per month.

 

"The reason it took so long was that we wanted to be sure it would be declined if it is used with a real purchase. We won't hold people to account - it will be us who takes the hit."

 

'Subscription trap'

Personal finance journalist Felicity Hannah gave the venture a cautious welcome.

 

"It sounds like a great idea because consumers are constantly caught out by these subscription traps," she said. "I consider myself to be fairly savvy but I've been caught out twice in the last year.

 

"But I do have some concerns and, as a consumer, I'd want to see it being used safely by other people before I signed up."

 

Ms Hannah added that the service might only be short-lived if it really rattled retailers and service providers.

 

"Consumers shouldn't worry too much about the ethics but it is breaching the concept of a free trial. You would have to sign up again if you did want to continue with a service so the assumption is clearly that you don't intend to," she said.

 

"If this took off, then I expect it wouldn't be too long before companies tried to find a way around it. [It's] definitely an interesting idea though. 'Fintech' like this can really empower consumers."--BBC

 

 

 

Rise in teenage money mules prompts warnings

Criminals are recruiting a rising number of teenagers to act as money mules to help them launder the proceeds of crime.

 

The number of cases of 14 to 18-year-olds who have allowed their bank accounts to be used to divert funds has grown by 73% in two years.

 

Banks are using the data, from fraud prevention body Cifas, to alert parents to the risks their children face.

 

Teenagers are being recruited to the illegal activity via social media.

 

Sports clubs, schools and colleges are also key recruiting grounds for criminals who want to move money through accounts to make it look less suspicious to banks. The youngsters are given a cut for allowing their account to be used. Often they ask no questions over the source of the money.

 

Most money mules are young men. Those who try to quit may be threatened with violence by the criminals who recruited them.

 

If they are caught, they could face prison, as well as future difficulties with their finances, such as having their bank account closed and finding it difficult to apply for credit in the future.

 

'I was a teenage money mule'

"Have you ever held £2,000 at once in your hand?" That was the line used to tempt Holly into becoming a money mule.

 

At the age of 17 and still at school, Holly (not her real name) was approached on Instagram, then Snapchat, by a person who promised to pay her a decent sum, if she let him use her bank account to move money.

 

"I just eventually gave in," she said.

 

Teenagers can open their first current account in their teenage years. The Cifas figures show that money mule cases last year among 14 to 18-year-olds rose by 20% on the previous year, and by 73% over two years, to 5,819.

 

Mike Haley, chief executive of Cifas, said: "The increasing use of social media means that young people have never been more vulnerable to becoming victims of fraud.

 

"Many youngsters are unaware of the devastating consequences that fraud can have on their future opportunities, and so teachers, parents and carers can play an important role here by ensuring young people have the necessary knowledge and skills to prevent them from unwittingly falling victim to fraud, or even become perpetrators themselves."

 

The dangerous world of teen 'money mules'

What's the new weapon against money laundering gangsters?

Banking trade body UK Finance is behind a new awareness campaign encouraging parents and guardians to look out for danger signs.

 

They include telling youngsters to keep bank details safe, telling them to be cautious of unsolicited offers of easy money, and looking out for signs of their child suddenly having extra cash, or becoming secretive, withdrawn or stressed.--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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