Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 January 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 January 2020

 


 

 


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ü  South Africa's Eskom extends power cuts into Monday

ü  Canada's First Quantum weighs $1 billion Zambian copper mine expansion
-document

ü  Billionaire dos Santos' suitability as shareholder in question after
asset freeze - Bank of Portugal

ü  Rand slips to 2-week low as Middle East tensions sour risk demand

ü  Kenyan shilling stable as business resumes for new year

ü  Uber Eats goes local to find its niche in South African food fight

ü  Egypt has planted nearly 3 mln feddans of wheat - official

ü  FTSE chief executive 'earn average salary within three days'

ü  What will happen to oil if there is another war?

ü  Oil prices jump after top Iranian general killed by US

ü  The female entrepreneur stopping food waste

ü  Google denies Xiaomi access over security bug

ü  Bank currency services hit by Travelex site attack

ü  Next lifts profit forecast after Christmas sales boost

 

 

 

 

 

 


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South Africa's Eskom extends power cuts into Monday

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s struggling state power firm Eskom
said on Sunday that it would extend electricity cuts until 5 a.m. local time
(0300 GMT) on Monday.

 

Eskom said late on Saturday that it would cut up to 2,000 megawatts (MW)
from the national grid from 2000 GMT on Saturday until 0600 GMT on Sunday,
after a conveyor belt failure at its Medupi coal-fired power station.

 

The cash-strapped utility said on Sunday that the conveyor belt had been
repaired but that plant breakdowns were still constraining the power system
in Africa’s most industrialised economy.

 

Eskom has been battling to keep the lights on, despite low electricity
demand over the Christmas and New Year public holidays. It last implemented
power cuts in mid-December.

 

It is rushing to bring back online some generating units from repairs and
maintenance, and to replenish diesel and water levels at backup generators
so it can meet demand on Monday, when many people will return to work.

 

Around a third of Eskom’s 44,000 MW nominal generating capacity was offline
on Saturday because of plant breakdowns.

 

Eskom executives have blamed repeated problems at coal-fired power plants on
a lack of critical mid-life maintenance at older stations, and design flaws
on the mammoth Medupi and Kusile projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Canada's First Quantum weighs $1 billion Zambian copper mine expansion
-document

TORONTO/LONDON (Reuters) - Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd is
weighing investment of around $1 billion to lift output at Africa’s biggest
copper mine in Zambia, a company document seen by Reuters showed.

 

The investment would add a decade of life and head off production declines
at the Kansanshi copper mine, increasing annual production to 300,000 tonnes
over time from an expected 235,000 tonnes last year, according to a company
presentation given to Zambian government officials.

 

But securing board approval, which would be needed over the coming year, is
likely to be complicated by disputes between miners and the Zambian
government over taxes and assets, according to analysts and miners with
knowledge of the country.

 

Western miners are on edge as Zambia and neighboring countries seek to
increase their share of revenue from natural resources.

 

A source close to First Quantum said the plans will be presented to the
company’s board this year but the project is unlikely to win approval
without significant changes to Zambia’s tax regime.

 

Canadian-listed First Quantum is studying the expansion even as it is
entangled with Zambian state miner ZCCM-IH over profits from the mine that
have been set aside for the project. ZCCM-IH owns 20% of Kansanshi Mining
PLC, with First Quantum holding the balance.

 

First Quantum last month began arbitration proceedings against ZCCM-IH
following a criminal complaint made by the state miner to Zambian police
over a transfer by Kansanshi Mining to a First Quantum subsidiary.

 

At issue is a transfer of $520 million, a separate document seen by Reuters
showed. Two sources said the money had been set aside in a high-interest
account to help fund expansion at Kansanshi.

 

First Quantum was not available for immediate comment on Friday. ZCCM-IH did
not immediately respond to a Reuters query.

 

Sources declined to be identified as the information was not public.

 

 

 

Billionaire dos Santos' suitability as shareholder in question after asset
freeze - Bank of Portugal

LISBON (Reuters) - The Bank of Portugal is evaluating Angolan billionaire
businesswoman Isabel dos Santos’ suitability as a shareholder of Portuguese
banks, it told Reuters on Thursday, after an Angolan court ordered that her
assets in the country be frozen earlier this week.

 

A Luandan court document dated Dec. 23 ordered an asset freeze of the
personal bank accounts of dos Santos, her husband Sindika Dokolo and Mario
da Silva in Angola as well as stakes they hold in nine Angolan firms after
the government accused them of causing the state losses of over $1 billion.

 

Dos Santos and her husband have denied the allegations, calling them
“politically motivated”. Da Silva, chairman of Banco de Fomento Angola
(BFA), has not publicly commented.

 

Dos Santos holds significant stakes in several important Portuguese firms,
including a 42.5% stake in Eurobic bank and shares in telecoms company NOS,
and engineering company Efacec.

 

She is also a stakeholder in oil and gas company Galp Energia, whose largest
shareholder Amorim Group is partly owned by a holding company jointly
controlled by Angolan state oil company Sonangol and a firm called Exem
Energy, of which dos Santos, Dokolo and da Silva are beneficiaries.

 

In an email to Reuters, the Bank of Portugal said it is “considering all the
newly available information which could be relevant for the evaluation of
her suitability as a shareholder of the institutions we supervise.”

 

Dos Santos is not on the board of any entity subject to their supervision
but holds 42.5% of Eurobic bank. She does not currently hold shares in any
other Portuguese banks.

 

Portugal’s market regulator CMVM also said they are “following the
implications of the court’s decision” in relation to possible consequences
for the companies in which dos Santos holds shares.

 

 

 

Rand slips to 2-week low as Middle East tensions sour risk demand

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was weaker early on Friday,
continuing a trend from the previous session, as investors fled risky assets
after a U.S. air strike on Baghdad airport killed a top Iranian military
commander.

 

At 0700 GMT the rand was 0.73% weaker at 14.1950 to the dollar, its softest
level since Dec. 23, compared to an overnight close of 14.0880.

 

The local currency tracked its Asian peers lower after U.S. air strikes on
Baghdad airport killed senior Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani,
stoking tensions in the Middle East and lifting the price of oil.

 

Bonds also weakened, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 paper up 5.5 basis
points to 8.265%.

 

 

Kenyan shilling stable as business resumes for new year

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was stable on Friday with inflows
from remittances and offshore investors buying government debt meeting
dollar demand from merchandise importers, traders said.

 

At 0800 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 100.90/101.10 per
dollar, the same as Thursday’s close.

 

 

Uber Eats goes local to find its niche in South African food fight

SOWETO, South Africa (Reuters) - A stone’s throw from Nelson Mandela’s
former home in South Africa’s Soweto township, Dumile Badela’s restaurant is
now more hectic and lucrative than ever, thanks to Uber Eats, his hungriest
customer yet.

 

Having already dominated Africa’s ride-hailing sector, Uber is trying to
conquer the food delivery market by leveraging its massive fleet of drivers
in the continent’s most developed economy and tracking popular food choices
and destinations.

 

The prize is big. The country’s online food delivery industry was worth
10.49 billion rand ($713 million) in 2019, according to data portal
Statista. And with growth pegged at nearly 14% annually, it will hit 17.6
billion rand by 2023.

 

Surprisingly perhaps, Uber got off to a tricky start.

 

An initial focus on high-end restaurants proved to be a mistake in a country
perpetually on the verge of recession. The San Francisco-based app is now
targeting traditional, local fare.

 

In May, it launched in Soweto, where it works with around 20 partners and is
adding more local foods to its 480,000 menu items, dispatching dishes like
stewed tripe, caterpillars, cow heels and sheep’s head to mostly
middle-class customers who crave a taste of home.

 

“I’d say Uber Eats has improved our sales by about 15% to 20%. But I’m
targeting even more, up to 50%,” Badela says. “There’s huge opportunity.”

 

It could be a win-win; Uber posted a $1.16 billion third-quarter loss and
Uber Eats is the company’s fastest-growing business, contributing more than
10% of its quarterly revenue of $3.8 billion.

 

TAKING ON MR D

Uber isn’t alone in wanting a large piece of the South African pie.

 

Launched in the early 1990s as a call-and-deliver service, South Africa’s Mr
D Food - part of Naspers-controlled e-commerce firm Take-a-Lot - is the
established player.

 

Some two million South Africans have downloaded its app. It boasts 700,000
active monthly users, and over the past 12 months processed 1.5 billion rand
in food orders.

 

Uber Eats said it’s recorded 2.1 million app downloads since its 2016
launch, but declined to give figures for food sales.

 

Between them, the two companies have captured around 80%-90% of South
Africa’s food-hailing market, according to research firm Insight Surveys.

 

They’ll soon be joined by Bolt, the ride-hailing firm formerly known as
Taxify, which is Uber’s main competition in Africa. The Estonian company
plans to launch its food delivery service in South Africa early next year.

 

“There is space for three, possibly four key market players, as the market
is still in its infancy and will continue to show rapid growth in the
future,” said Yashvir Maharaj, research director at Insight Surveys.

 

LOCAL FLAVOUR

Uber is using data from its rides service to monitor popular food
destinations and is tracking popular food searches on the Uber Eats app to
gauge what people are craving.

 

In South Africa, it has found that Soweto and other traditionally black
townships have a reservoir of middle-class consumers who may move further
afield and crave a taste of home.

 

“Now that we’re in Soweto we want to take those experiences and expand them
to other townships, and go even deeper into Soweto,” Dave Kitley, Uber Eats’
General Manager for South Africa, told Reuters.

 

“We’re thinking a lot about migration ... When they move, their taste buds
move with them.”

 

That’s something George Makume, the Soweto-raised owner of So Cafe,
understands.

 

Three years ago, he opened his restaurant in the middle-class suburb of
Roodepoort, 25 kilometres (16 miles) west of Soweto, noticing a lack of
traditional food options despite a growing number of black professionals
moving to the area.

 

“People grew up with this kind of food, but it’s difficult to find unless
you travel 20 or 30 kilometres to Soweto,” he said.

 

Among his best-sellers are skopo - sheep’s head steam-cooked or grilled on
an open fire - followed by “Mogodu Mondays” - a 2-for-1 special of spicy
tripe and maize porridge.

 

Since partnering with Uber Eats, and more recently Mr D Food, Makume said
his weekday sales have jumped 30%-40%.

 

Back at Badela’s restaurant where evening prep is under way, he says there’s
plenty of business to go around.

 

“I’m not the only one in Soweto offering this kind of food. There are many
places,” he says. “So if I succeed, the guys selling amanqina (pig
trotters), namaotwana (chicken feet) and skopo will say ‘Yo! I can do it as
well.’”

 

That’s a potential boon for black communities, where unemployment typically
outstrips the nationwide average of nearly 30%.

 

($1 = 14.7075 rand)

 

 

 

Egypt has planted nearly 3 mln feddans of wheat - official

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will have planted 3 million feddans (1.26 million
hectares) of wheat within the next two to three days and still aims to plant
a total of 3.5 million feddans this season, an Agriculture Ministry official
said on Wednesday.

 

The previously announced target is part of efforts by Egypt, the world’s
largest wheat importer, to increase the area used for growing strategic
crops and improve food security, said Abbas al-Shennawi, head of services
and follow-up at the ministry.

 

Egypt harvested 8.5 million tonnes of domestic wheat from around 3.16
million feddans last season. Its current planting season began in
mid-November.

 

 

FTSE chief executive 'earn average salary within three days'

Bosses of Britain's leading firms will be paid more within three working
days of 2020 than the average employees' annual wage, according to research.

 

FTSE 100 chief executives starting work on 2 January will by 17:00 GMT today
have been paid more than the average wage of £29,559, the report suggests.

 

The data was compiled by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development and the High Pay Centre think tank.

 

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said the apparent pay gap was
"concerning".

 

The figures - based on the latest available data - suggests the average FTSE
100 chief was paid £3.46m in 2018, equivalent to £901.30 an hour.

 

The average full-time annual salary of £29,559 works out at £14.37 an hour,
the report said, meaning that top bosses earned about 117 times their
average employee.

 

The report said high pay will be a key issue in 2020 as this is the first
year that publicly listed firms with more than 250 UK employees must
disclose the ratio between chief executive pay and that of their average
workers, and explain the reasons for their executive pay ratios.

 

Justify pay

The CIPD and High Pay Centre called on businesses not to treat the new
reporting requirements as a "tick-box" exercise and to use it as an
opportunity to fully explain chief executive pay levels.

 

Peter Cheese, chief executive at the CIPD, said: "This is the first year
where businesses are really being held to account on executive pay. Pay
ratio reporting will rightly increase scrutiny on pay and reward practices,
but reporting the numbers is just the start.

 

"We need businesses to step up and justify very high levels of pay for top
executives, particularly in relation to how the rest of the workforce is
being rewarded."

 

Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, said: "CEOs are paid
extraordinarily highly compared to the wider workforce, helping to make the
UK one of the most unequal countries in Europe."

 

Ms Leadsom accepted that the figures were a concern, but said changes to the
rules on reporting executive pay would help shine a light on the issue.

 

She said: "Today's figures will be eye-watering for the vast majority of
hard-working people across the UK.

 

"The numbers are better than they were - down a quarter since 2012 and 13%
on average since last year - but the situation is still concerning,
especially in those cases where executives have been rewarded despite
failing their employees and customers."

 

But Ms Leadsom added that changes to the way companies report pay would
"increase transparency around how directors meet their responsibilities".

 

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said the report "tells you everything
about how unfair our economy is".--BBC

 

 

What will happen to oil if there is another war?

Mitch Kahn remembers how, when fighting began in the second war in Iraq,
prices for US crude oil spiked $10 per barrel overnight.

 

That would have meant a profit of $50,000 if a trader had made the smallest
purchasing trade possible. Or, just as big a loss if the trader had decided
to sell.

 

Mr Kahn was working as an independent trader on the New York Mercantile
Exchange (NYMEX) on Vesey Street in downtown Manhattan, where crude oil, gas
and heating oil were traded downstairs and precious metals were traded
upstairs.

 

In 2004, when the second war in Iraq broke out, prices were decided by open
outcry: the shouts and yells of (mostly) men who stood in a ring. Some
bought, some sold, the price settled between what sellers and buyers were
offering.

 

The ring got so loud that several traders wore earplugs, Mr Kahn says. But
for him, the adrenaline was enough to keep his hearing clear.

 

While trading today is 24-hours, in 2004, when the bell buzzed at 14:30 EST,
the market shut.

 

That day in 2004, when the market opened, the trader on his right began to
shout.

 

He remembers the trader next to him trying to sell some oil, "and the market
collapsed."

 

Within minutes, a barrel of oil was $20 cheaper. But that is less likely to
happen today.

 

"Markets move differently now," he says.

 

In fact, Mr Kahn points out, despite Friday's price spike, everything about
the oil markets are different today than the last time war started in Iraq.

 

Places it is produced, the way it is refined and how it is traded bear no
resemblance to oil he was working with when his adrenaline carried him
through screaming price moves of the past.

 

The rules have changed

The price of Brent crude vaulted more than 4% to hit $69.50 a barrel on
Friday.

 

Oil prices swung on news that Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in
a US drone strike at Baghdad airport, which the Pentagon described as
"defensive action".

 

Stock prices of BP and Royal Dutch Shell both rose around the 1.5%.

 

The single biggest factor that changes the game in oil from 2004 to now,
says Michael Widmer, a commodities strategist at Bank of America, is that
the US makes enough oil to be independent.

 

The US is no longer reliant on crude from the Middle East.

 

"The rules have changed materially," says Mr Widmer.

 

The drone attacks on the Saudi Arabian oil plants in September serve as a
good example.

 

"This is one of the biggest ever hits to the global oil market, in terms of
supply and it had no sustained impact," he says.

 

That day the market surged almost $10 a barrel, but not much happened in the
aftermath.

 

While tensions rose on the political scene with terse rhetoric flying
between Iran and the US and a plan to deploy new sanctions, oil slid back
down to below $60 a barrel a fortnight later.

 

But the sour political discourse outlasted any fears of price disruption.

 

That is because more countries, notably Russia and the US, are pumping out
oil now.

 

Opec, the cartel of mainly middle eastern countries which used to control
much of the supply of oil, no longer holds the same sway.

 

"Now when Opec cuts its production numbers, it just makes more breathing
space for other countries to increase theirs," says Mr Widmer.

 

Alan Gelder, head of Wood Mackenzie's marketing and research team, says one
way to look at it is that Opec used to produce half the world's oil, but now
makes less than a third of it.

 

In the Gulf War, which began in 1990, oil came from two places. Either it
was made by Opec, or it was produced in places considered expensive and
risky, like the North Sea.

 

Finding oil and getting it out of the ground from the ocean, especially 40
years ago, was an unpredictable and dangerous affair.

 

UN 'cannot confirm Iran behind Saudi oil attacks'

Now, because of the fracking done in North America, there is a glut of oil.

 

"Back then, commodity markets were just getting established. There are lots
more participants in the market now," says Mr Gelder.

 

And far more information is available today than it was five years ago, he
adds.

 

When Saudi Arabian producers were attacked last September, satellite imagery
of ships leaving port and the plants themselves, showed that production
restarted quickly and exports had resumed.

 

"Years ago, people would be frantically calling one another, trying to
figure out what was going on," he says.

 

At the moment Opec and other oil producing companies like Russia have agreed
to hold back on pumping out as much oil as they can.

 

 

That makes it particularly difficult to know what will happen to the price
of oil as tensions rise in the Middle East.

 

In the short term, analysts at Citibank expect prices to stay high on
retaliation fears.

 

Attacks on US oil company pipelines, or where Western and American oil
companies have invested in new exploration, would drive crude higher.

 

Any resolution of the conflict between Iran and the US will de-escalate the
situation and prices will deflate, they say.--BBC

 

 

 

Oil prices jump after top Iranian general killed by US

Oil prices have risen sharply after the killing of a top Iranian general in
Iraq.

 

Analysts warned the action could escalate tensions in the region and affect
global oil production.

 

The price of Brent crude jumped by more than 3% and at one point hit $69.50
a barrel, the highest since September.

 

It came after General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike at
Baghdad airport, which the Pentagon described as "defensive action".

 

The price spike pushed oil stocks on the London stock exchange higher, with
BP up 2.7% and Royal Dutch Shell nearly 1.9% higher.

 

Shares in US oil companies such as Exxon Mobil dropped, however, amid a
wider US market fall prompted by weak manufacturing data and concerns about
the implications of the Middle East conflict.

 

The Dow and the Nasdaq closed down about 0.8%, while the S&P 500 dropped by
0.7%. The declines followed record highs a day earlier.

 

"2020 opened on a very positive note," said Aneeka Gupta of WisdomTree
Investments. "This event has actually stalled the bullish optimism we've
seen."

 

Sanctions

Tensions between the US and Iran have been rising since 2018, when the US
pulled out of a nuclear deal meant to curb Iran's nuclear programme and
prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons.

 

The US also re-imposed sanctions on Iran, a move that has shattered the
country's economy and severely restricted its oil exports.

 

This recent strike has sparked fears of increased risk to energy supplies in
the region. The price of the international benchmark, Brent Crude, climbed
3.5% on Friday, while US oil - known as West Texas Intermediate - increased
about 3%.

 

That rise is somewhat muted, suggesting that investors expect the reaction
to the killing will be contained, said Adnan Mazarei, senior fellow at the
Peterson Institute for International Economics and former deputy director
for the Middle East at the International Monetary Fund.

 

But if the strike leads to wider military confrontation, as he expects, that
could prompt an even bigger spike in prices.

 

"It is not likely that this issue will just die out," he said. "I expect the
most likely scenario is a pick-up in the tensions ... and if that happens,
[there will be] a more sustained increase in the price of oil."

 

The Middle East is home to several of the world's biggest oil producers,
including Iraq, where the US and Iran have clashed before.

 

As much as a fifth of global supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a
narrow passage which provides access to the Persian Gulf.

 

Mr Mazarei said the economies of other countries in the region, such as
Lebanon, are also vulnerable, with investors and businesses at home and
abroad likely to curtail activity amid uncertainty about how the US-Iranian
conflict will play out.

 

"This set of recent events is ... in some ways going to create significant
troubles for the region in terms of economic performance," Mr Mazarei said.
"One should expect considerable social pressures and hardship."

 

Even if tensions subside, Caroline Bain, analyst at Capital Economics, said
that the firm expects the price of oil to move higher this year due to
"output restraint, slower growth in US oil production and a gradual pick-up
in global economic growth".

 

What does this mean for oil markets?

Analysis by Andrew Walker, BBC World Service economics correspondent

 

The potential disruption to the global oil market from conflict in the Gulf
is severe.

 

The US Energy Information Administration estimates that 21% of oil used in
2018 passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage which has Iran on
its northern shore.

 

Some of the biggest producers would be affected if the Strait could not be
safely navigated. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, UAE and Qatar all ship
some or all of their exports via the Strait.

 

Saudi and the UAE have pipelines that bypass the Strait but they have
nowhere near the capacity to take all the oil. There is also the possibility
of Iranian military action against other countries' oil installations.

 

Last year there was a drone attack on the Saudi industry. Houthi rebels from
Yemen claimed responsibility and they are widely seen as having Iranian
backing.

 

Previous episodes of Middle East conflict have seen higher oil prices which
contributed to global economic slowdowns, from the mid-1970s to the early
1990s.

 

What is different now, and what might moderate the impact, is the presence
of the US shale industry, which can respond relatively quickly to supply
shortfalls and higher prices.--BBC

 

 

 

The female entrepreneur stopping food waste

The BBC's weekly The Boss series profiles different business leaders from
around the world. This week we speak to Mette Lykke, co-founder of fitness
tracker Endomondo, and chief executive of food waste app, Too Good To Go.

 

For many people, leaving the stability of a well-paid job to start your own
business might seem daunting. For Danish entrepreneur Mette Lykke, it's a
leap she's made not just once, but twice.

 

Back in 2007 she was working for management consultancy firm McKinsey, but
decided it was time to change direction. "I was missing the feeling of
having a real impact," she says.

 

In a serendipitous twist she was in New York when a stranger came over and
handed her a postcard. It read: "Whatever our wildest dreams may be, they
only scratch the surface of what's possible."

 

"It was just a nice sign," the 38-year-old recalls. "She gave it to me when
I was waiting at a red light, and she just walked away."

 

Mette decided to go for it and partnered with fellow Danes and McKinsey
colleagues, Christian Birk and ­Jakob Jonck, to launch the personal training
app Endomondo.

 

"I might have done it anyway," she says. "But it definitely didn't feel like
a coincidence at that time."

 

Mette was a competitive horse-rider and for the three sports enthusiasts,
launching an app to "make fitness fun" was a logical fit. Making a success
of their Copenhagen-based idea was no walk in the park though.

 

At that time - 13 years ago - most phones lacked GPS. In the first few
months of Endomondo there were days when no one signed up at all. "It really
felt a little bit uphill," she says.

 

Mette says that her upbringing helped prepare her for the hard graft. She
grew up alongside her family's timber business in Ringkobing, a small town
in Jutland in western Denmark. "I grew up seeing that there are ups and
downs," she says.

 

"Most days are just hard work, [but] if I had known back then that I
wouldn't see any salary for the next two years, I might have reconsidered,"
she laughs. "You just don't know."

 

As an entrepreneur, "you're definitely an optimist," she explains. "We
always thought next month is going to be different."

 

The game-changer came when the Apple App Store opened in 2008 and smart
phone sales boomed. But it still took Endomondo six years to make its first
profit.

 

By 2015, the app had 20 million users and caught the attention of American
sportswear giant, Under Armour.

 

"They were particularly interested in increasing brand awareness in Europe,"
says Mette. "We could help with that, with the vast majority of [our] users
being based here."

 

The US company bought Endomondo for $85m (£65m). Mette was just 33 at the
time, and she and her two co-founders were suddenly multimillionaires.

 

"It's a strange thing to sell a business you were part of creating," she
says. "While the deal was a big success from a business perspective and I
was happy with the decision, it was still hard to let go of my baby on a
personal level."

 

After the sale she continued to work for Endomondo and its new parent,
managing teams both in Copenhagen where she was based and also in Texas.

 

It was following a chance encounter on a bus outside Copenhagen in August
2016 that the Dane embarked on her next mission - fighting food waste. She
started chatting to a fellow passenger who showed her an app called Too Good
To Go.

 

"I was not fully aware of how big of an issue in society food waste really
is," recalls Mette. After doing more research she was shocked to learn about
its climate impact. "That was mind-blowing to me."

 

Five young Danish entrepreneurs had launched the online marketplace several
months earlier. Restaurants and shops post what leftover food they have
available, together with a time-slot for collection.

 

Members of the public can then purchase discounted meals or groceries
through the app. The surplus food is saved from being thrown away - the firm
makes money by taking a cut on meals sold.

 

"The fact that we can help solve such a massive issue and then leave
everyone as winners in the process, I thought that was really powerful,"
says Mette.

 

She found the start-up "so exciting" that she invested. Several months later
she left Under Armour and joined Too Good To Go as chief executive. "I
wouldn't have jumped into this if I didn't think I could contribute," she
says.

 

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, one-third of the
world's food is wasted. When ranked alongside countries, food waste is the
world's third-largest producer of carbon dioxide after the USA and China.

 

In recent years dozens of firms have set out to tackle this, including
similar platforms like Olio, Foodcloud and Karma. Alan Hayes, from food and
grocery research group IGD, says these apps have "helped to raise awareness
of food waste in businesses and in schools" as well as empowering consumers.

 

When it comes to changing behaviour about food waste, Trish Caddy, an
analyst at fellow research firm Mintel, thinks consumers respond better to
rewards. "The Too Good to Go app is particularly good at normalising eating
leftovers by promoting end-of-day food at a discount," she says.

 

Mette has overseen a rapid expansion. The firm now employs 450 people,
operates in 13 European countries and is due to roll out in Sweden.

 

"Endomondo took three years to get to the first million users and with Too
Good To Go it took 15 months," she says. "It's just a completely different
time
 the technology is ready."

 

Mette says it is one of Europe's fastest-growing apps with 18 million users
and is gaining an additional 45,000 daily. Customers range from
bargain-hunting students to environmentally-conscious young families, while
women over 50 are another big market. It has also partnered with more than
30,000 food suppliers, from Yo Sushi to Accor Hotels.

 

Mette describes it as a "social impact" company. "Every time we make a euro
in revenue, it's because we did something good."

 

It aims to ultimately be profit making, though Mette says the timeline for
delivering returns isn't yet clear. "At the moment, every revenue we make
goes back into the business. Just growing it and expanding it to more and
more countries. That's our focus."

 

So far the Too Good To Go team reckon they have helped save more than 25
million meals.

 

"I feel like this is just the beginning," says Mette. "It doesn't feel like
we're anywhere near the goal line at all. Within the next five years, we
want to have saved a billion meals."--bbc

 

 

 

Google denies Xiaomi access over security bug

Google has revoked a Chinese tech giant's access rights after a user was
able to view the feed from a stranger's security cameras on his device.

 

A user in the Netherlands alleged that his Google Home Hub began displaying
photos from unidentified locations on its smart screen when he accessed his
camera, made by Xiaomi.

 

Among the stills to appear was a sleeping baby.

 

Xiaomi said it had identified the cause and was working on a permanent fix.

 

Reddit user Dio-V said when he attempted to view images from his own
security camera on his Google Home Hub, which lets owners control all their
smart devices on one display, it showed photos from unidentified camera
feeds.

 

The images included a man sleeping on a porch, what appeared to be a shop
security camera, a stranger's kitchen, and a child resting in a cot.

 

"When I load the Xiaomi camera in my Google Home Hub I get stills from other
people's homes!" the user revealed.

 

'It's Santa' hacker tells girl via smart camera

Google and Apple remove alleged UAE spy app ToTok

A Google spokesperson said it was working with Xiaomi on a fix and said it
had suspended any integration with the Chinese firm's devices until further
notice.

 

A spokesperson for Xiaomi told the BBC that the problem "was caused by a
cache update on 26 December 2019, which was designed to improve camera
streaming quality".

 

"Xiaomi has communicated and fixed this issue with Google, and has also
suspended this service until the root cause has been completely solved, to
ensure that such issues will not happen again."

 

They added that only users with "extremely poor network conditions" were
likely to have been affected by the error.--BBC

 

 

 

Bank currency services hit by Travelex site attack

Travel money services for several UK banks are still being affected after
foreign currency seller Travelex took its site offline to deal with a cyber
attack.

 

On Thursday evening, Travelex said it had taken down its site to contain
"the virus and protect data".

 

That has affected Sainsbury's Bank, Barclays and HSBC, among others, which
all use the Travelex platform.

 

There is no indication when the Travelex website will be restored.

 

The company said it has been working on the issue since the software virus
attack on New Year's Eve.

 

A number of banks depend on the Travelex platform to provide online travel
money services.

 

The company delivers the foreign currency to stores for customers to
collect, as well as operating the software that is used to buy the travel
money.

 

'Planned maintenance'

But Travelex's decision to take down its site has meant the firms that use
its services cannot sell currency online.

 

Virgin Money's site showed an error message, which said: "Our online,
foreign currency purchasing service is temporarily unavailable due to
planned maintenance. The system will be back online shortly."

 

Sainsbury's Bank also said its online travel money services were
unavailable, although it said customers could still buy travel money in its
stores. In a statement to the BBC, the bank said: "We're in close contact
with Travelex so that we can resume our online service as soon as possible."

 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for First Direct, which is owned by HSBC, said:
"Unfortunately, our online travel money service is currently unavailable due
to a service issue with third party service provider, Travelex."

 

In a statement on Thusday, Travelex boss Tony D'Souza said: "We regret
having to suspend some of our services in order to contain the virus and
protect data."

 

The company has resorted to carrying out transactions manually, providing
foreign-exchange services over the counter in its branches.

 

"We apologise to all our customers for any inconvenience caused as a
result," Mr D'Souza said in a statement.

 

HSBC told the BBC that some of its branches also stock dollars and euros,
which it is still able to sell.--BBC

 

 

 

Next lifts profit forecast after Christmas sales boost

High Street retailer Next has increased its profit forecast after enjoying
better than expected sales over the Christmas trading period.

 

The company's full-price sales rose by 5.2% from 27 October to 28 December,
1.1% ahead of its own expectations.

 

It said that colder weather this November might have helped its sales
performance.

 

The firm now expects an annual profit of £727m, up by £2m - and an increase
of 0.6% on the last year.

 

Next expects sales to grow 3.9% over the current financial year.

 

'Impressive' performance

Next is the first of the big UK retailers to report on how trading went over
Christmas, which is a crucial trading period for the sector.

 

The retailer's good performance was boosted by an increase in online sales,
which rose by 15.3% over the three-month period.

 

Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, said: "This was an
impressive end to the year as their outstanding online business continues to
set them apart from the competition.

 

"The retailer is benefiting from years of investment in their digital
proposition, continually evolving their business model to meet shoppers'
heightened expectations."

 

However, while Next's online sales were strong, the continued shift away
from the High Street was reflected by the fact that in-store sales saw a
decrease of 3.9%.

 

According to recent data by retail analyst Springboard, overall footfall in
November on UK High Streets fell by 4.3%.

 

It suggested shoppers might have been put off by heavy rainfall in the
run-up to the festive season.

 

Retailers including John Lewis, and Marks and Spencer will release their
Christmas trading updates next week, as well as the big supermarkets -
Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

 

Earlier this week, Next announced that its former chief executive Sir David
Jones had died, aged 76.

 

He led the company for nearly 30 years, and was widely credited with saving
the retail giant from collapse in the 1980s._BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

 


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
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been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
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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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