Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 25 September 2019

[Bulls n' Bears]

 <http://www.bulls.co.zw/> Bulls.co.zw
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=View%20and%20Comments> Views & Comments
<http://www.bulls.co.zw/blog> Bullish Thoughts
<http://www.twitter.com/BullsBears2010> Twitter
<https://www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe> Facebook
<http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bulls-n-bears-zimbabwe/57/577/72> LinkedIn
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe

 


 

 


Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 25 September 2019

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

 

*  S.Africa rides investor demand to raise $5 bln from bonds sale

*  Kenyan central banker sees easing cycle if fiscal cuts sustained

*  Kenya central bank says banking sector consolidation to continue

*  Kenya's Mumias Sugar placed under receivership - KCB Group

*  Uganda shilling unchanged, expected to strengthen due to charity inflows

*  Morocco central bank holds benchmark interest rate at 2.25%

*  Egypt's central bank seen making second straight interest rate cut

*  Zambia to import 300 MW power from Eskom for 6 mths -utility official

*  Sudan will ask World Bank for $2 billion in support - finance minister

*  Judgement deferred in contempt of court case between Old Mutual, fired
CEO

*  Desperate Central Bankers Grab for More Power

*  WeWork founder Adam Neumann to step down as chief executive

*  Western Union Announces Expansion of Real-Time Payment Capabilities

*  Google veteran Tony Wang joins 500 Startups as managing partner

*  THOMAS COOK PASSENGERS AND CREW ‘HELD TO RANSOM’ IN CUBA

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

S.Africa rides investor demand to raise $5 bln from bonds sale

(Reuters) - The South African government said on Tuesday it raised $5
billion from the sale of two new bonds in international markets, as strong
demand from investors helped it raise 25% more than it had originally
planned.

 

The transaction was more than twice oversubscribed with interest from
insurance and pension funds, financial institutions, hedge funds and others
from across nearly all continents.

 

Only one of the top three ratings firms, Moody’s, ranks Pretoria’s debt at
investment grade, while Fitch and S&P Global Ratings have the country’s
sovereign debt on junk status.

 

“The South African government sees the success of the transaction, believed
to be the largest ever out of Sub-Saharan Africa, as an expression of
investor confidence in the country’s sound macro-economic policy framework
and prudent fiscal management,” The National Treasury said in a statement.

 

Africa’s most developed economy was able to pre-fund an additional $1
billion over the $4 billion it had originally planned to raise, according to
the statement.

 

The country recorded better-than-expected growth of 3.1% in the second
quarter following a deep first quarter contraction, but analysts fear
maintaining growth at that level is unlikely.

 

The treasury said it sold the bonds on Sept. 23 in two tranches, raising $2
billion from 10-year notes with a 4.85% coupon and $3 billion from 30-year
notes with 5.75% coupon.

 

Citi, Deutsche Bank/Nedbank consortium, Rand Merchant Bank, and Standard
Bank were joint bookrunners on the deal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Kenyan central banker sees easing cycle if fiscal cuts sustained

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s central bank will start loosening its monetary
policy if the government sustains efforts to cut a gaping budget deficit,
the bank’s governor said on Tuesday.

 

The finance ministry has set a fiscal deficit of 5.9% for this fiscal year
(July 2019-June 2020), which will be lower than the actual deficit of 7.6%
in the 2018/19 financial year, Governor Patrick Njoroge told a news
conference.

 

“If this continues there will be scope for monetary accommodation, so a sort
of loosening of monetary policy as fiscal policy tightens,” he said.

 

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has been criticised for increasing
borrowing since coming to power in 2013. Total public debt stands at 55% of
GDP, up from 42% when he took over.

 

The envisaged rebalancing of fiscal and monetary policy would stabilise the
management of the economy and give authorities room to manoeuvre in case of
unforeseen shocks in the future, Njoroge said.

 

“Fiscal (Treasury) had its foot flat out on the accelerator and we as
monetary authorities, in order for the thing not to crash, we had our foot
firmly on the brake,” he said.

 

“The car obviously was struggling...you can’t continue like that for too
long.”

 

Policymakers held the benchmark lending rate at 9.0% on Monday, saying
inflation was well anchored within the government’s preferred band.

 

The oil price spike caused by an attack earlier this month on Saudi Arabia’s
largest oil processing facility would have little impact on inflation, the
governor said.

 

“It won’t have a significant impact on inflation,” he said.

 

The central bank still expected the economy to grow by 6% this year, Njoroge
said, citing good performance in the tourism sector, a top hard currency
earner and employer for Kenya.

 

The bank was set to review that growth forecast when the statistics office
issues growth numbers for the second quarter at the end of this month, he
added.

 

He warned, however, that there were significant risks, including the
U.S.-China trade war and the ensuing softening of the global economy.

 

“The external sector is worsening dramatically,” he said.

 

“On top of that there is uncertainty about the policy response to the things
that are happening in the global environment.”

 

On the banking sector, Njoroge said he expected recent consolidation in the
sector to continue.

 

“We are not done yet,” he said, adding that the market-driven consolidation
was working.

 

There has been significant deals among lenders since two mid-sized lenders
were closed in 2015/16 due to liquidity problems. The most recent major
transaction was the acquisition of National Bank of Kenya by KCB Group.

 

 

 

Kenya central bank says banking sector consolidation to continue

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya central bank governor said on Tuesday ongoing
consolidation in the banking sector will continue.

 

“We are not done yet,” Patrick Njoroge told a news conference, adding that
the market-driven consolidation was working.

 

There has been significant consolidation among Kenyan banks since two
mid-sized lenders were closed due to liquidity problems, with the most
recent major deal being the acquisition of National Bank of Kenya by KCB
Group.

 

 

 

Kenya's Mumias Sugar placed under receivership - KCB Group

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s loss-making Mumias Sugar Company has been placed
under receivership to protect its assets and maintain its operations, KCB
Group said on Tuesday.

 

“The Bank has appointed Mr. PVR Rao (Tact Consultancy Services) as the sugar
company’s receiver manager,” KCB said in a statement.

 

 

Uganda shilling unchanged, expected to strengthen due to charity inflows

KAMPALA (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling was unchanged on Tuesday and was
forecast to gain ground, helped by dollar inflows from non-governmental
organisations.

 

At 1108 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,670/3,680, the same
level as Monday’s close.

 

 

 

Morocco central bank holds benchmark interest rate at 2.25%

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate
unchanged at 2.25 on Tuesday, saying current borrowing costs were in line
with the medium-term prospects of inflation, growth and public finances.

 

Inflation is expected to slow to 0.7% in 2019 from 1.9% last year on the
back of a drop in food prices, before picking up to 1.2% in 2020 as domestic
demand improves, the bank said in a statement following its board meeting.

 

 

 

Egypt's central bank seen making second straight interest rate cut

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s central bank is likely to cut its key interest
rates by 50 to 150 basis points on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, as
inflation continues to retreat and after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates
again last week.

 

All 11 economists polled by Reuters predicted a cut. Five said the Central
Bank of Egypt would clip rates by 100 basis points (bps), three predicted
150 bps and another three 50 bps.

 

“We foresee the current strong disinflation trajectory lasting until
November and to register its lowest reading in October,” said Mona Bedir,
senior economist at Egyptian investment bank Prime Holding, who predicted a
100-bps cut.

 

The central bank slashed rates by 150 bps at its meeting on Aug. 22 after
July’s inflation figures significantly beat expectations. Inflation eased
further in August, with the headline figure falling to 7.5% year-on-year, a
six-year low, from 8.7% in July.

 

August’s cut was the bank’s first since February and left the overnight
deposit rate at 14.25% and the overnight lending rate at 15.25%.

 

“In a global environment of such low deposit and lending rates, inflows into
Egypt’s debt markets should continue to be strong from global institutions,”
said Angus Blair, chairman of business and economic forecasting think-tank
Signet.

 

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points last month
for the second time this year. The European Central Bank also cut rates
earlier this month.

 

Blair, who predicted a 150-bps cut, said Egyptian debt instruments would
still be attractive to investors after a rate cut.

 

A strengthening Egyptian pound should support lower interest rates, analysts
also said. The currency has appreciated around 9% against the dollar so far
this year.

 

July’s inflation figures came as a surprise to analysts, who expected prices
to increase faster after a round of fuel price hikes that month. But fuel
prices increased 16-30%, lower than previous rounds of hikes, and a
favourable base effect helped bring inflation down.

 

Rolling back fuel subsidies that have strained the budget for decades was a
key plank of a three-year, $12 billion reform package signed with the
International Monetary Fund in late 2016.

 

The IMF deal, aimed at lowering Egypt’s budget deficit after the years of
turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising, also included a sharp devaluation
of the pound and the introduction of a value-added tax.

 

“Continued disinflation should allow CBE to continue its monetary easing it
started last month,” said Mohamed Abu Basha, an economist at Egyptian
investment bank EFG Hermes, who predicted a 50-bps cut because of volatile
markets and rising oil prices.

 

Despite the rosier economic data, millions of Egyptians are still struggling
to make ends meet after the fuel subsidy cuts and the devaluation of the
currency by half.

 

 

 

Zambia to import 300 MW power from Eskom for 6 mths -utility official

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia’s state power utility Zesco Ltd said on Tuesday it
had reached an agreement to import 300 MW of electricity from South Africa’s
Eskom for a period of six months to ease shortages, its acting managing
director said.

 

Africa’s second largest copper producer, Zambia has a power deficit of more
than 750 MW because of low water levels at hydropower dams and last week
announced it would increase the hours for power rationing as water levels
continued to fall.

 

Acting Managing Director Webster Musonda told reporters that imports from
Eskom would start on October 1 and would cost $22 million a month.

 

“The negotiations have been concluded and we have an offer on the table. We
will spread the cost of importing this power to our customers,” said
Musonda.

 

Zambia has historically priced electricity below the cost of production
through subsidies. Only in recent years has the country started to gradually
raise prices.

 

In 2017, the country’s energy regulator approved a 75% price hike for
electricity retail consumers and introduced a flat 9.30 U.S. cents per
kilowatt hour tariff for mining companies.

 

 

 

Sudan will ask World Bank for $2 billion in support - finance minister

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan’s prime minister will ask the World Bank for $2
billion in support during his current visit to New York, the country’s
finance minister said on Monday.

 

Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi also said Sudan had asked the World Bank
to second and fund three Sudanese experts to work in Sudan during the
country’s political transition.

 

 

 

Judgement deferred in contempt of court case between Old Mutual, fired CEO

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African court on Monday deferred judgement
in a contempt of court case between the country’s No.2 insurer, Old Mutual
and the CEO it sacked, Peter Moyo, with the judge outlining a number of
steps the parties should take before a decision is made.

 

Old Mutual fired Moyo in June in a dispute related to a conflict of
interest, but he was later reinstated by a judge. The insurer however did
not allow him to return to work and took further measures to prevent this,
prompting Moyo to apply to have it declared in contempt of court.

 

It was not immediately clear how long the additional steps required by the
court to make a ruling will take.

 

 

 

Desperate Central Bankers Grab for More Power

Central bankers are acknowledging that they are out of ammunition. Mark
Carney, the soon-to-be-retiring head of the Bank of England, said in a
speech at the annual meeting of central bankers in August in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming, “In the longer-term, we need to change the game.” The same point
was made by Philipp Hildebrand, former head of the Swiss National Bank, in
an August 2019 interview with Bloomberg. “Really there is little if any
ammunition left,” he said. “More of the same in terms of monetary policy is
unlikely to be an appropriate response if we get into a recession or sharp
downturn.”

 

“More of the same” meant further lowering interest rates, the central
bankers’ stock tool for maintaining their targeted inflation rate in a
downturn. Bargain-basement interest rates are supposed to stimulate the
economy by encouraging borrowers to borrow (since rates are so low) and
savers to spend (since they aren’t making any interest on their deposits and
may have to pay to store them). But over $15 trillion in bonds are now
trading globally at negative interest rates, yet this radical maneuver has
not been shown to measurably improve economic performance. In fact new
research shows that negative interest rates from central banks, rather than
increasing spending, stopping deflation, and stimulating the economy as they
were expected to do, may be having the opposite effects. They are being
blamed for squeezing banks, punishing savers, keeping dying companies on
life support, and fueling a potentially unsustainable surge in asset prices.

 

So what is a central banker to do? Hildebrand’s proposed solution was
presented in a paper he wrote with three of his colleagues at BlackRock, the
world’s largest asset manager, where he is now vice chairman. Released in
August to coincide with the annual Jackson Hole meeting of central bankers,
the paper was co-authored by Stanley Fischer, former governor of the Bank of
Israel and former vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve; Jean Boivin,
former deputy governor of the Bank of Canada; and BlackRock economist Elga
Bartsch. Their proposal calls for “more explicit coordination between
central banks and governments when economies are in a recession so that
monetary and fiscal policy can better work in synergy.” The goal, according
to Hildebrand, is to go “direct with money to consumers and companies in
order to enliven consumption,” putting spending money directly into
consumers’ pockets.

 

It sounds a lot like “helicopter money,” but he was not actually talking
about raining money down on the people. The central bank would maintain a
“Standing Emergency Fiscal Facility” that would be activated when interest
rate manipulation was no longer working and deflation had set in. The
central bank would determine the size of the Facility based on its estimates
of what was needed to get the price level back on target. It sounds good
until you get to who would disburse the funds: “Independent experts would
decide how best to deploy the funds to both maximize impact and meet
strategic investment objectives set by the government.”

 

“Independent experts” is another term for “technocrats” – bureaucrats chosen
for their technical skill rather than by popular vote. They might be using
sophisticated data, algorithms and economic formulae to determine “how best
to deploy the funds,” but the question is, “best for whom?” It was central
bank technocrats who plunged the economies of Greece and Italy into
austerity after 2011, and unelected technocrats who put Detroit into
bankruptcy in 2013.

 

In short, Hildebrand and co-authors are not talking about central banks
giving up their ivory tower independence to work with legislators in
coordinating fiscal and monetary policy. Rather, central bankers would be
acquiring even more power, by giving themselves a new pot of free money that
they could deploy as they saw fit in the service of “government objectives.”

 

Carney’s New Game

The tendency to overreach was also evident in the Jackson Hole speech of BOE
head Mark Carney, in which he said “we need to change the game.” The game
changer he proposed was to break the power of the US dollar as global
reserve currency. This would be done through the issuance of an
international digital currency backed by multiple national currencies, on
the model of Facebook’s “Libra.”

 

Multiple reserve currencies are not a bad idea, but if we’re following the
Libra model, we’re talking about a new, single reserve currency that is
merely “backed” by a basket of other currencies. The question then is who
would issue this global currency, and who would set the rules for obtaining
the reserves.

 

Carney suggested that the new currency might be “best provided by the public
sector, perhaps through a network of central bank digital currencies.” This
raises further questions. Are central banks really “public”? And who would
be the issuer – the banker-controlled Bank for International Settlements,
the bank of central banks in Switzerland? Or perhaps the International
Monetary Fund, which Carney is in line to head?

 

The IMF already issues Special Drawing Rights to supplement global currency
reserves, but they are merely “units of account” which must be exchanged for
national currencies. Allowing the IMF to issue the global reserve currency
outright would give unelected technocrats unprecedented power over nations
and their money. The effect would be similar to the surrender by EU
governments of control over their own currencies, making their central banks
dependent on the European Central Bank for liquidity, with its disastrous
consequences.

 

Time to End the “Independent” Fed?

A media event that provoked even more outrage against central bankers last
month, however, was an August 27th op-ed in Bloomberg by William Dudley,
former president of the New York Fed and a former partner at Goldman Sachs.
Titled “The Fed Shouldn’t Enable Donald Trump,” it concluded:

 

There’s even an argument that the [presidential] election itself falls
within the Fed’s purview. After all, Trump’s reelection arguably presents a
threat to the U.S. and global economy, to the Fed’s independence and its
ability to achieve its employment and inflation objectives. If the goal of
monetary policy is to achieve the best long-term economic outcome, then Fed
officials should consider how their decisions will affect the political
outcome in 2020.

 

The Fed is so independent that, according to former Fed chair Alan
Greenspan, it is answerable to no one. A chief argument for retaining the
Fed’s independence is that it needs to remain a neutral arbiter, beyond
politics and political influence; and Dudley’s op-ed clearly breached that
rule. Critics called it an attempt to overthrow a sitting president, a
treasonous would-be coup that justified ending the Fed altogether.

 

Perhaps, but central banks actually serve some useful functions. Better
would be to nationalize the Fed, turning it into a true public utility,
mandated to serve the interests of the economy and the voting public. Having
the central bank and the federal government work together to coordinate
fiscal and monetary policy is actually a good idea, so long as the process
is transparent and public representatives have control over where the money
is deployed. It’s our money, and we should be able to decide where it
goes.--truthout.org

 

 

 

WeWork founder Adam Neumann to step down as chief executive

The WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann stepped down as chief executive of the
troubled office rental company on Tuesday after shelving plans for a stock
market listing.

 

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Neumann was preparing to step
down. In a statement Neumann said he was “proud of this team and the
incredible company that we have built over the last decade”.

 

“While our business has never been stronger, in recent weeks, the scrutiny
directed toward me has become a significant distraction, and I have decided
that it is in the best interest of the company to step down as chief
executive,” he said. Neumann says he will continue on as non-executive
chairman.

 

The company, now known as We, is one of the world’s most valuable startups
and Neumann’s demotion marks a dramatic fall from grace for one of the most
high-profile executives of the new generation of tech companies.

 

We scrapped plans for an initial public offering last month after investors
balked at the company’s sky-high valuation. We had been valued at $47bn,
despite losing $3bn in the last three years. That price was cut by more than
half ahead of the proposed share sale but even that price seemed too high to
many investors.

 

Investors were also concerned that Neumann had taken $700m out of the
company ahead of the share sale and would keep tight control even after it.

 

Meetings between the board and We’s largest investor, Japan’s SoftBank,
began on Monday to discuss the possibility of Neumann being demoted.

 

Those meetings came after the Journal reported a private jet chartered by
Neumann had to be grounded after a large amount of marijuana was found
onboard. The report also detailed tequila-fuelled company parties and
bizarre statements by Neumann about his plans to become immortal and to use
We to “solve the problem of children without parents”.

 

According to the tech news source the Information, WeWork executives and the
company’s bankers have been discussing laying off a third of We’s workforce,
about 5,000 people, among various plans to cut costs at the heavily
loss-making company.

 

WeWork has shaken up the sleepy world of office rentals by leasing space,
giving them a millennial make-over with potted plants, communal areas and
beer taps and then leasing them to startups and other would-be
entrepreneurs.

 

WeWork reported that it had 527,000 members and 528 locations at the end of
June and said it plans to open 169 new locations. In London, it owns or
leases more spaces than any enterprise except the government. Larger
companies (including the Guardian) also rent WeWork space.

 

But while the company has grown fast, so have its losses and even We has
conceded that it may never make a profit.

 

We’s revenues in 2018 were $1.82bn, more than four times larger than they
were in 2016. At the same time the company lost $2.9bn in the last three
years.

 

The company’s share sale prospectus warned: “We have a history of losses
and, especially if we continue to grow at an accelerated rate, we may be
unable to achieve profitability at a company level 
 for the foreseeable
future.”

 

We has burned through more than $2bn in 2018 and on current projections
could run out of cash sometime next year if its fortunes do not turn or it
fails to raise more money.

 

Softbank has invested more than $9bn in the company and has reportedly
soured on Neumann’s leadership in recent months.

 

His departure would be the most high-profile ousting of a tech entrepreneur
since Uber sidelined its co-founder Travis Kalanick in 2017 after a series
of scandals at the ride-sharing company. Uber, which is also heavily
loss-making, managed to press ahead with its IPO but its share sale has
stumbled, and shares are down over 20% since their debut.--theguardian.com

 

 

 

Western Union Announces Expansion of Real-Time Payment Capabilities

Western Union (NYSE: WU), announced on Monday it was expanding its real-time
cross-border platform to accelerate international consumer,
consumer-to-business and business-to-consumer payments to eligible accounts,
cards, and digital wallets.

 

“Globally recognized for daily cross-currency management and settlement via
its vast retail network across 20,000 corridors or pairs of countries for
consumers in local currency, the company’s expanded money in minutes
platform will now power next-generation cross-border payment experiences for
consumers and businesses across a multitude of sectors.”

 

While sharing more details about the expansion, Western Union President and
CEO, Hikmet Ersek, stated:

 

“This is a prime example of how the global reach, inter-connectedness and
speed of our platform generate a meaningful customer benefit that is
difficult to replicate for cross-border transactions. Our unique
cross-border platform cuts through the international complexities so
customers can access their funds in real-time. As we expand from our roots
in C2C remittances, we’re positioning ourselves as the platform that powers
next-generation payment experiences for businesses and FIs for their diverse
cross-border payments needs.”

 

Western Union added its cross-border payments capability is now active when
sending to select banks or digital wallet providers in 17 countries, which
are Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana,
Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. As many as 100 countries are being
assessed for enablement of real-time capabilities by the end of
2020.--crowdfundinsider.com

 

 

 

Google veteran Tony Wang joins 500 Startups as managing partner

San Francisco-based accelerator 500 Startups is expanding its executive team
with the hiring of Tony Wang.

 

Wang is joining the early-stage firm from Color Genomics, a venture-backed
developer of genetic testing kits where he had served as chief operating
officer since 2014. Prior to Color, Wang was the vice president of global
partnerships and development at Twitter and managing counsel for Google’s
international operations.

 

“The venture capital world is undergoing a dramatic shift towards
globalization where 500 Startups  has been the leader and investing for the
past decade,” Wang said in a statement. “There’s no question there are
talented founders around the world, as proven by the number of unicorn
companies in the 500 family.”

 

500 Startups, led by chief executive officer Christine Tsai,  is an early
investor in TalkDesk, Twilio,  GitLab, Canva  and several others.

 

Through its four-month seed program, the 500 Startups seed fund invests
$150,000 in participating companies in exchange for 6% equity. Here’s a
closer look at all the startups to finish 500 Startups’ latest
program.--techcrunch.com

 

 

THOMAS COOK PASSENGERS AND CREW ‘HELD TO RANSOM’ IN CUBA

After the giant holiday company Thomas Cook collapsed, around 60 British
holidaymakers and 11 flight crew are said to have been “held to ransom” in a
hotel in eastern Cuba.

 

The holidaymakers, plus nine cabin crew and two pilots, were due to fly home
on Tuesday afternoon aboard Thomas Cook Airlines flight 2817 from the city
of Holguin to Gatwick.

 

They were due in at 6.30am on Wednesday, but are now waiting for a promised
rescue flight.

 

They have been staying at the Paradisus Rio de Oro hotel, on the north coast
of the island close to the resort of Guardalavaca.

 

Hotel managers in Cuba and other Thomas Cook destinations have been told
that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will foot the bill for
accommodation.

 

But one member of Thomas Cook cabin crew, Danny Cossar, reported on video:
“We were due to check out and get to the airport this afternoon. We were
taken back off the bus, and we were told, as well as the passengers, we all
had to pay. 

 

“We feel completely isolated over here, no real communication at all, it’s
just a matter of waiting and seeing if we can get this flight home tonight
or whether we’ll be here for the night.

 

“We haven’t any rooms, there’s nothing put in place for us, it’s just a
waiting game.”

 

All Thomas Cook flights ceased on Monday morning, leaving passengers and
crew dependent upon an airlift organised by the CAA – code-named “Operation
Matterhorn”.

 

The repatriation mission aims to get most of the 155,000 Thomas Cook
customers abroad back to Britain on the day they were expecting. The CAA is
also seeking to help flight crew.

 

A UK government spokesperson said: “We understand that this is a hugely
distressing situation for Thomas Cook passengers, people with holidays
booked with Thomas Cook and Thomas Cook staff.

 

“The government have deployed teams on the ground to support those affected,
and are in contact with local authorities and hotels.”

 

Betty Knight, 52, who has worked for Thomas Cook as cabin crew for the last
13 years, has been liaising with her colleagues who are currently stranded
in Cuba.

 

She said that some are getting extremely distressed: “Some of them are young
mums, desperate to get home. They have been held to ransom.”

 

The cabin crew say they were asked for £3,000 in cash. When the captain
offered to pay the bill by credit card, he was refused – apparently because
it was issued by a US bank.

 

Because of Washington’s economic embargo against Cuba, American credit cards
are difficult to use in Cuba.

 

The Independent has also been told that British tourists were “being held in
the lobby” of another hotel along the coast, the Brisas Guardalavaca.

 

How travel pioneer Thomas Cook met its end after 178 years

Sherry Bullough said that her parents had been told they must pay for their
stay. She told The Independent: “They are being asked for £1,000 but they
haven’t got the money to pay.

 

“They have had a meeting but been told that they can’t really do anything.
The hotel have turned the wifi off. They aren’t allowing recording of
meetings or confrontations. It’s so very upsetting.”

 

The British Ambassador to Havana, Antony Stokes, became involved and appears
to have successfully negotiated with the Cuban authorities on behalf of the
passengers and crew.

 

He tweeted: “Hotels in #Cuba now have authority/instruction to allow
customers, and air crew, to depart without paying (on basis of ATOL
guarantee).

 

“Very grateful for patience of all affected in distressing circumstances.”

 

Late on Tuesday evening, it emerged that crew from French and German
airlines had offered to help their British colleagues with emergency
accommodation and even offered to help find space on flights to Europe.

 

Cuba is highly dependent on tourism. Under Barack Obama, the US trade
embargo was eased, and tens of thousands of Americans visited the island.
But Donald Trump has tightened the regulations to rule out mainstream
tourism. 

 

British tourists started travelling to Cuba in large numbers in 1994, when
the first charter flights – sold by Thomas Cook – took off from Gatwick to
Holguin.

 

The island will be hard hit by the collapse of Thomas Cook. The firm was
expected to take around 2,000 visitors a week to Cuba during the winter
season. There is no prospect of other companies stepping in at short notice
to launch replacement flights to the island.--https://www.independent.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

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
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.

 


 

 


(c) 2019 Web: <http:// www.bulls.co.zw >  www.bulls.co.zw Email:
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77
344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears

 

Telephone:    <tel:%2B263%204%202927658> +263 4 2927658

Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 719 441 674

Alt. Email:              <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw 

Website:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AF
QjCNH8LYgdY55h-XKseuM8Kpr-JKdfhQ> www.bulls.co.zw

Blog:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw%2Fblog&sa=D&sntz=1
&usg=AFQjCNFoIy6F9IXAiYnSoPSgWDYsr8Sqtw> www.bulls.co.zw/blog

Twitter:                 @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:              Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimba
bwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA>
www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:                  Bulls.Bears 

Whatsapp Group:   <https://chat.whatsapp.com/CF6wllAfScU9Wr6dXxoQnO> Click
Here to Join

 



 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190925/e456f345/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 42384 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190925/e456f345/attachment-0005.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 34707 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190925/e456f345/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 32990 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190925/e456f345/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 30736 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190925/e456f345/attachment-0008.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3256 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20190925/e456f345/attachment-0009.jpg>