Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 13 January 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 13 January 2020

 


 

 


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ü  Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

ü  S.Africa's Eskom chair resigns after power cuts during holidays

ü  Equatorial Guinea to add 20,000 bpd of oil production this year

ü  Nigeria backs down in $2 bln dispute with telecoms giant MTN

ü  South Africa's Reserve Bank to keep repo rate at 6.5% on Jan 16

ü  Kenya's tourism earnings, arrivals rise in 2019

ü  Paper packaging company Mondi's top boss to leave

ü  Egypt plans to launch commodities exchange within a year

ü  Sibanye-Stillwater boosts stake in DRDGOLD to 50%

ü  Bank of England policy-maker hints at possible rate cut

ü  Department store Beales warns of collapse risk

ü  Mothercare staff: 'We're devastated, it was our family'

ü  US jobs growth slows in December

ü  Sweden sees rare fall in air passengers, as flight-shaming takes off

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

(Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were
reported by 2100 GMT on Friday:

 

** A federal judge who is set to assess the Justice Department’s approval of
T-Mobile US’s plan to buy smaller rival Sprint Corp said he would likely
open the docket for comments on the $26 billion telecoms merger.

 

** China’s Geely Automobile Holding is in talks with Aston Martin management
and investors about taking a stake in the luxury carmaker, according to a
source close to the discussions and a report by the Financial Times,
sparking a sharp jump in the British company’s share price.

 

** Online food ordering company Takeaway.com has won the battle for
Britain’s Just Eat with a 6.2 billion pound ($8 billion) share offer that
will create one of the world’s largest meal delivery companies.

 

** Thyssenkrupp is considering reviving plans for a steel merger with
smaller German peer Salzgitter, magazine Der Spiegel reported, not citing
where it obtained the information.

 

** Italy’s Benetton-backed Atlantia is preparing to restart an auction
process to sell up to 49% of its toll-road payment business, Telepass, after
bids last year valued the entire business at more than 2 billion euros ($2.2
billion), three sources said.

 

** Eli Lilly and Co said it would buy skin disease specialist Dermira Inc
for about $1.1 billion in cash, bolstering its arsenal with an experimental
therapy for skin condition atopic dermatitis.

 

** Sorrento Therapeutics Inc said it had received a proposal from a private
equity fund interested in acquiring a majority or all of its outstanding
shares, valuing the company at as much as $993 million.

 

** Private equity firm Blackstone Group Inc has secured $3.4 billion from
investors for its first fund dedicated to investments in the life sciences
sector, targeting $4.6 billion in total, a regulatory filing showed on
Thursday.

 

** South African gold producer Sibanye-Stillwater has exercised an option to
acquire an additional 12% interest in DRDGOLD, bringing its total stake to
50.1%, the smaller miner announced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

S.Africa's Eskom chair resigns after power cuts during holidays

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The chairman of struggling South African
state-owned utility Eskom, Jabu Mabuza, resigned on Friday after apologising
for failing to halt power cuts over the Christmas and New Year public
holidays, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said.

 

Eskom implemented severe nationwide power cuts in several bursts last year
and again sporadically this week, despite low electricity demand as many
businesses and factories were closed for the holidays. [nL8N29E0JX]

 

Eskom officials had told Ramaphosa at a meeting at the company’s
headquarters in Johannesburg on Dec. 11 that there would be no power cuts
from mid-December until mid-January. [nL8N28L1K1]

 

“In the wake of Mr Mabuza’s resignation, government will soon announce a
re-configured Eskom board with the appropriate mix of electricity industry,
engineering and corporate governance experience,” Ramaphosa’s office said in
a statement.

 

The power cuts implemented by Eskom dented economic output last year and
sapped investor confidence in Ramaphosa’s efforts to turn around Africa’s
most industrialised economy.

 

Eskom supplies more than 90% of the country’s power, but repeated faults at
its creaking fleet of coal-fired power plants mean it struggles to meet
electricity demand.

 

Mabuza was appointed to the Eskom board of directors shortly after Ramaphosa
became leader of the governing African National Congress party in December
2017.

 

Mabuza’s resignation comes the same week that Eskom’s new Chief Executive
Andre de Ruyter took up his post. De Ruyter will oversee a government plan
to split the company into three units after its previous chief executive
stepped down. [nL8N29B1RV]

 

Eskom said in a statement on Friday that power cuts would stop at 11 p.m.
(2100 GMT) on Friday before resuming at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

 

 

 

Equatorial Guinea to add 20,000 bpd of oil production this year

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea will add 20,000 barrels per day
(bpd) of oil production by October, the country’s oil minister said on
Sunday.

 

“We expect an increase this year of around 20,000 bpd additional because of
the new discoveries,” Gabriel Obiang Lima told reporters on the sidelines of
an energy event.

 

Equatorial Guinea, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC), currently produces 120,000 bpd.

 

Asked about the need to extend the OPEC+ production cuts agreement beyond
March, the minister said the deal should be maintained if the oil price
range remains between $60 and $70 a barrel.

 

“As an OPEC member, if the price is between $60 to $70 then we are happy, we
are achieving. If we do evaluation and that price continues then we should
maintain the deal and continue forward,” he said.

 

In the country’s budget for 2020, the oil prices is forecast at $51 a
barrel, he said.

 

Obiang Lima also said agreements and memorandums of understanding for two
new oil refineries would be announced in April.

 

Plans for new energy projects worth $1 billion, including the two
refineries, were announced in November.

 

Construction of the two refineries, which are expected to process up to
40,000 bpd of crude oil, is expected to start by the end of the year, Lima
said.

 

Equatorial Guinea will also probably announce a new bidding round for
several exploration blocks in April, the minister said.

 

“In April we are probably going to announce new blocks that will be put for
licensing...it will be direct negotiations.. they are about four to five
blocks,” he said.

 

U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil plans to shed its operations in the country along
with $25 billion worth of other assets worldwide as it seeks to free up cash
to focus on a handful of mega-projects.

 

On Sunday, Obiang Lima said an announcement would be made in June on who
would invest in the Zafiro oilfield after Exxon exits.

 

“For the development of Zafiro we are talking to companies from Russia, the
UK and Equatorial Guinea itself,” he said, adding that in the south of the
field there is a discovery he believes is the same size as the field itself.

 

“Production in Zafiro field is currently 90,000 (bpd).”

 

 

 

Nigeria backs down in $2 bln dispute with telecoms giant MTN

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria’s attorney general has withdrawn a $2 billion tax
demand against South African telecoms giant MTN Group, a closely watched
case that critics said damaged Nigeria’s appeal to foreign investors.

 

In a letter filed with the Nigerian stock exchange, MTN said the government
had decided to drop its case and refer the issue to tax and customs
authorities “with a view to resolving contentious issues.”

 

“We are very pleased with the decision of the (attorney general) and we
commend him for his wisdom,” MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Ferdi Moolman
said in a statement.

 

Shares in MTN Group rose by more than 4% after the announcement. Nigeria is
its biggest market, with roughly 60 million users.

 

Attorney General Abubakar Malami had ruled that the firm owed taxes relating
to the import of equipment and payments to foreign suppliers from 2007 to
2017. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

 

MTN, whose local unit listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange last year, has
said it would sell more shares to the public and increase local ownership
once the tax row is resolved.

 

($1 = 305.9500 naira)

 

 

 

South Africa's Reserve Bank to keep repo rate at 6.5% on Jan 16

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Reserve Bank will keep interest
rates unchanged on Thursday as it awaits a February budget and a ratings
review by Moody’s due in the next few months, but will cut by 25 basis
points in May, a Reuters poll found on Friday.

 

All but three of the 24 economists surveyed over the past three days said
the repo rate would be kept unchanged at 6.5% on Jan. 16. That would be the
third meeting to leave policy unchanged since the bank cut rates in July by
a quarter of a percent.

 

Francesca Beausang at Continuum Economics said the Reserve Bank would avoid
a rate cut in the first quarter ahead of the February budget which is
expected to have significant implications for Moody’s decision on the
country’s credit rating.

 

The poll suggests the Reserve Bank will cut rates in May by 25 basis points
to 6.25% and then hold steady through next year.

 

Beausang said one last cut in the second quarter was needed to give
consumers a confidence boost and offset some of the short-term disruptions
hit to growth from a disrupted electricity supply.

 

“However, inflation should then accelerate and peak in Q3-2020 given farmers
are expected to sow 2.8% fewer hectares of maize than in the previous season
and electricity tariffs are likely to increase,” she said.

 

The survey medians suggested inflation was expected to average 4.8% this
year, 0.2 percentage points faster than in last month’s survey.

 

“Inflation is not likely to be a problem but also if (power utility) Eskom
get the 69 billion rands relief from Nersa then that alone will add at least
1% to inflation directly if not close to 1.5% with a normal increase added,”
said Mike Schussler at Economists.co.za.

 

Eskom has lodged a court application to review the National Energy Regulator
of South Africa’s (Nersa) decision to deduct 69 billion rand ($4.85 billion)
of tariff revenues.

 

Last March, Nersa granted Eskom tariff increases of 9.4%, 8.1% and 5.2% over
the next three years, far below what the utility had sought. At the time
Eskom said the tariff awards left it with a projected revenue shortfall of
around 100 billion rand.

 

Schussler added that normally in this situation - without the Moody’s and
Eskom worries - rates could decline up to 75 basis points.

 

The economy is expected to grow 0.9% this year and 1.4% next year. The
previous poll estimated a 0.4% expansion last year but electrical power
shortages at the end of 2019 have likely trimmed last quarter’s performance.

 

Some analysts are of the view that SARB models have consistently
overestimated the rand’s pass-through to consumer inflation in recent years,
thereby overestimating inflation.

 

The rand shed around 2% last year, partly shielded by resilient positive
sentiment for emerging markets.

 

($1 = 14.2265 rand)

 

 

 

Kenya's tourism earnings, arrivals rise in 2019

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s earnings from tourism rose 3.9% last year to
163.56 billion shillings ($1.61 billion), thanks to a slight increase in the
number of visitors, its tourism minister said on Friday.

 

The East African nation, which relies on tourism as a major source of
foreign exchange and jobs, had 2.05 million tourists last year, an increase
of 1%, said Najib Balala.

 

An attack on a hotel and office complex in Nairobi last January, and a
general slowdown in the global tourism business, were to blame for the low
growth in arrival numbers, he said.

 

Along with agricultural exports and money sent home by Kenyans living
abroad, tourism is one of the top foreign exchange earners.

 

Kenya has a variety of products, from beach holidays at the coast to Safaris
in the Maasai Mara wildlife reserve, but it attracts fewer visitors than
African competitors like South Africa due to frequent political upheavals
and insurgent attacks.

 

Between 2012 and 2015, visitor numbers and tourism earnings fell after a
spate of attacks claimed by Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which
wants Nairobi to pull its troops out of Somalia.

 

A reduction in attacks in the years that followed allowed the sector to
rebound.

 

($1 = 101.5000 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

Paper packaging company Mondi's top boss to leave

(Reuters) - Paper packaging company Mondi Plc said on Friday that Chief
Executive Officer Peter Oswald would step down after nearly three years in
the role.

 

Mondi named Chief Financial Officer Andrew King as the interim CEO. He will
take over from Oswald on March 31 and will keep the role until a successor
is appointed, the company said.

 

The FTSE 100 firm did not disclose the reason for Oswald’s departure.

 

 

 

Egypt plans to launch commodities exchange within a year

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt plans to start trading on its first commodities
exchange within the next 36 to 48 weeks, Internal Trade Development
Authority (ITDA) head Ibrahim Ashmawy said on Thursday.

 

The country’s stock exchange said in October that it will form a joint
venture with the Supply Ministry to manage a commodities exchange for spot
trading of commodities with large markets.

 

The commodities to be traded initially include wheat, sugar, corn and rice
that can be produced locally or imported, Ashmawy said.

 

Shareholders in the new exchange will include the General Authority for
Supply Commodities (GASC), Internal Trade Development Authority (ITDA), the
Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage and the Egyptian stock
exchange among others.

 

Egypt has for years long considered setting up a commodities exchange. In
2016,the supply ministry said commodities trading would include agricultural
produce as well as oil and gold.

 

($1 = 15.9500 Egyptian pounds)

 

 

 

Sibanye-Stillwater boosts stake in DRDGOLD to 50%

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African gold producer Sibanye-Stillwater has
exercised an option to acquire an additional 12% interest in DRDGOLD,
bringing its total stake to 50.1%, the smaller miner announced on Friday.

 

The transaction marks the single largest investment ever made by an
individual shareholder in DRDGOLD, its chief executive Niel Pretorius said
in a statement.

 

DRDGOLD acquired the gold assets of Sibanye-Stillwater’s West Rand tailings
retreatment project in July 2018 in exchange for a 38.1% stake in the
smaller firm and a 24-month option to acquire an additional 12%.

 

Pretorius said the proceeds of Sibanye’s stake purchase would go “a long
way” to funding the early-stage development of phase 2 of the tailings
retreatment project.

 

 

 

Bank of England policy-maker hints at possible rate cut

Another Bank of England policy-maker has floated the idea of cutting the
central bank's main interest rate.

 

Gertjan Vlieghe told the Financial Times he will consider voting for a rate
cut depending on how the economy has performed since the December election.

 

The rate is used by banks and other lenders who set borrowing costs.

 

It affects everything from mortgages to business loans and has a big effect
on peoples' and firms' finances.

 

Mr Vlieghe is the third policy setter this week to suggest they may be
willing to cut rates when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) next meets at
the end of this month.

 

Mark Carney, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, said in a speech
on Thursday that it was prepared to take "prompt" action if economic
weakness persists.

 

"With the relatively limited space to cut Bank rate, if evidence builds that
the weakness in activity could persist, risk management considerations would
favour a relatively prompt response," he said.

 

Meanwhile, Silvana Tenreyro, another member of the MPC, told an event hosted
by the Resolution Foundation think tank: "If uncertainty over the future
trading arrangement or subdued global growth continue to weigh on demand,
then my inclination is towards voting for a cut in Bank rate in the near
term."

 

All three committee members were careful to say that they would need to see
more data before making a decision.

 

Another decision is due on 30 January.

 

The last time the committee met, in November, two members voted to cut
rates.

 

Jonathan Haskell has said risks to the economy were "lingering" in a speech
after his vote was cast. The other member to vote for a cut, Michael
Saunders, hasn't yet commented officially about his vote, but is scheduled
to make a speech on 15 January.

 

Currently, the rate is at 0.75%. Cuts and rises have been by 0.25 percentage
points in recent years.--BBC

 

 

 

Department store Beales warns of collapse risk

One of Britain's oldest department stores has warned that it could collapse
into administration.

 

Beales, which began trading in Bournemouth in 1881, said 22 stores and 1,000
jobs were at stake if it cannot find a buyer.

 

The firm is negotiating with its landlords to try and agree rent reductions.

 

It is also in talks with two potential buyers - a rival retailer and a
venture capital investor, the BBC understands.

 

Chief Executive Tony Brown led a management buyout of the firm in 2018.

 

It's a brutal time for retailers. Debenhams began closing 19 shops
yesterday. Mothercare's 79 UK stores will stop trading today.

 

Now Beales, with its 22 stores up and down the country, confirmed that it
may have to call in administrators.

 

Beales has been around for almost 140 years, but poorer than expected
trading over Christmas threatens its survival.

 

Even if its immediate future can be assured, store closures aren't being
ruled out, with a risk to jobs.

 

The British Retail Consortium said last year was the high street's worst on
record.

 

In the year to March 2019, Beale Ltd posted a loss of £3.1m, up from £1.3m
for the year earlier as costs swelled and sales dipped.

 

Beales has stores in the following towns and cities:

 

§  Beccles

§  Bedford

§  Bournemouth

§  Chipping Norton

§  Diss

§  Fareham

§  Hexham

§  Keighley

§  Kendal

§  Lowestoft

§  Mansfield

§  Perth

§  Peterborough

§  Poole

§  Skegness

§  Southport

§  Spalding

§  St Neots

§  Tonbridge

§  Wisbech

§  Worthing

§  Yeovil

It comes after UK retail sales fell for the first time in a quarter of a
century last year.

 

Sales in November and December fell by 0.9%, according to industry body the
British Retail Consortium (BRC).

 

John Lewis has warned that its staff bonus may be in doubt as it reported
Christmas sales at its department stores were down 2% for stores open at
least a year.

 

Last week, fashion chain Superdry warned that its profits could be wiped out
after sales fell sharply over Christmas.

 

The firm, which has been trying to sell more clothes at full price, said it
had been hit by "unprecedented levels of promotional activity" by rivals.

 

A raft of collapses in 2019 including Jessops, card chain Clintons,
Bonmarche and Karen Millen depressed rents and hit landlords.

 

Some companies are prospering, however.

 

Sports fashion retailer JD Sports says it expects to report full-year
profits at the top end of forecasts.

 

Next lifted its profit forecast after better than expected sales over
Christmas trading period. The company's full-price sales rose by 5.2%.

 

And big companies are using the tough environment to experiment.

 

Ikea will open its first small-format store in the UK, following the
acquisition of a shopping centre in London.

 

The Swedish retail giant paid £170m for the Kings Mall Shopping Centre in
Hammersmith.--BBC

 

 

 

Mothercare staff: 'We're devastated, it was our family'

"We're devastated. It's not just a job, it's a family."

 

Karen and Sue have known each other since they were nine years old, and will
work their final shifts at Mothercare's Romford store this weekend.

 

All of the baby goods retailer's 79 UK shops will be shut by Sunday, with
thousands of jobs lost across the country after the firm called in
administrators last November.

 

Like many struggling retailers, Mothercare found itself squeezed by the big
UK supermarkets, fast fashion brands and the internet.

 

Having worked part-time at the Romford shop for 19 and 27 years
respectively, Karen and Sue have seen customer numbers decreasing.

 

"You don't see regular customers anymore, you see bargain hunters. As soon
as it's reduced, it's gone," says Karen.

 

On Friday, customers queued outside before the doors of the Romford store
opened.

 

They made their way around heavily-discounted goods from clothes, carry cots
and high chairs to office equipment such as staplers, hole punches and even
the store's shelving units.

 

Karen decided to avoid working the final day in the shop on Saturday.

 

"It's just too much," says Sue, wearing a specially-made T-shirt by the
Romford staff. On the back, it reads: "We are family".

 

For now, the staff try to keep their spirits up, playing Coldplay over the
loudspeakers and lighting up sectioned-off, empty parts of the store with
disco lights.

 

Job losses

Mothercare workers won't be the only ones affected by store closures in
early 2020, as tough trading conditions for retailers continue.

 

Fifteen Links of London shops will also close their doors by Sunday,
affecting up to 350 jobs.

 

Department store chain Debenhams will have closed 22 of its shops by the end
of January, resulting in 660 jobs being lost.

 

A further 28 Debenhams stores are due to close within the next five years,
as the ailing chain tries to secure its future.

 

It comes as part of a rescue plan introduced after its previous owners had
saddled it with a huge amount of debt, while it was tied into long leases
for its large properties.

 

The number of job losses in retail overall is also increasing.

 

Figures from the Centre for Retail Research suggest that a total of 143,128
job losses in the sector were announced in 2019. That's an increase of more
than 25,000 from the previous year.

 

Previous research by the British Retail Consortium also warned that there
would be up to 900,000 fewer jobs in retail over the next decade.

 

How many shops have shut?

Hardly a week goes by without an announcement about a fresh wave of store
closures.

 

A net 1,234 stores shut on Britain's top 500 High Streets in the first half
of 2019, according to research by PwC and the Local Data Company.

 

That is up from 1,123 in the same period the previous year and the highest
since the survey began in 2010.

 

The data looks at retail chains with more than five outlets.

 

Fashion stores saw the largest number of closures. Womenswear retailers were
among those to have fallen on hard times in 2019, including chains such as
Bonmarché which has entered administration and is to close 30 stores.

 

As firms issue updates after the crucial Christmas trading period, further
closures could be announced.

 

What's behind the wave of store closures?

In the last few years, things have become a lot harder for traditional
retailers.

 

Companies have had to deal with rising costs such as increasing wages, rents
and business rates. Research by Retail Economics suggests that operating
costs have been increasing at a faster rate than sales for many shops.

 

Richard Lim, its chief executive, said: "Because the National Living Wage
has risen at such pace, retailers are focusing on whether or not they can
reduce labour costs by using things like automated checkouts.

 

He added: "That leaves fewer workers in retail, but those that are, are paid
better wages."

 

At the same time, retailers are trying to adapt to changing shopping habits.
One in every £5 is now spent online.

 

"At the heart of it, those that are doing well are the ones that have a
distinct proposition", says Mr Lim, citing Primark and supermarkets Aldi and
Lidl as firms that are thriving.

 

In Mothercare's Romford store, Karen says she's "well aware" customers doing
more shopping online might have contributed to the company's problems.

 

While the future might see further shops closing down, for some workers it's
hard to think much further ahead.

 

"I'm not rushing to find another job, because I can't imagine working with
another group of people like this," says Karen.

 

"On Monday morning, that's when the reality will hit."--BBC

 

 

 

US jobs growth slows in December

The US economy added 145,000 jobs last month, capping a year of solid but
slowing growth, official figures show.

 

Hiring at retail and health care firms drove the gains, which pushed the US
labour market to a 10th year of expansion.

 

While the country's 3.5% unemployment rate remained at historic lows,
earnings growth slowed from November.

 

The average hourly wage rose at an annual rate of 2.9%, down from November's
rate of 3.1%.

 

December's job gains mark a slowdown from the prior month, when employers
added 256,000 positions.

 

Analysts had expected a slightly stronger performance last month, predicting
an increase of about 164,000. But they said Friday's report from the US
Labor Department showed that the US economy remained solid, despite fears of
a slowdown.

 

"The key point here is that payroll growth is performing far better than
implied by a host of leading indicators in late summer and fall," said Ian
Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

 

World Bank warns on global growth

Trump halts new tariffs in US China trade war

The US economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.1% in the third quarter, down
sharply from the 3.1% rate reported earlier in the year.

 

Trade tensions, declines in manufacturing and weakness abroad had sparked
fears of a slowdown. But consumer spending - the main driver of the US
economy - has remained steady, buoyed in part by the tight labour market.

 

Over the year, the US added an average of 176,000 jobs per month, compared
to 223,000 in 2018, when economists say a sharp tax cut bolstered growth.
The figures remain above the level necessary to meet growth in the labour
force.

 

"We have no reason to believe that a recession is imminent," said Mark
Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com. "But we're also reminded
that the economic expansion is long in the tooth and will end at some
point."

 

Analysts warned that the retail sector's burst of hiring last month was
likely to be temporary. Many national chains, including Macy's and Sears,
have already announced store closures on the back of weak holiday sales.

 

The number of manufacturing jobs also fell by 12,000, compared with a rise
of 58,000 in November, which coincided with the end of a labour strike at
General Motors.

 

The Labor Department also revised down data for October and November to show
14,000 fewer jobs were created than previously estimated.

 

Pay gains also remain unusually muted, given the low unemployment rate, in
part reflecting that many of the new positions are in low paying fields.

 

The benign pay growth suggests the Federal Reserve is not likely to cut
interest rates again anytime soon, said Wells Fargo economist Jay Bryson.

 

"Although not quite as strong as a year ago, this pace of gains is solid,"
he said. "Policymakers at the Federal Reserve likely will look at today's
data and conclude that there is no compelling reason to change monetary
policy."--BBC

 

 

 

Sweden sees rare fall in air passengers, as flight-shaming takes off

Sweden has seen a 4% drop in the number of people flying via its airports, a
rare decrease in recent years for a European country.

 

More than 40 million people travelled through the country's 10 airports,
compared with 42 million during 2018.

 

Domestic travel was down further, at 9%, according to Sweden's airport
operators, Swedavia.

 

The figures come as the Swedish-born movement of "flight shaming" is gaining
prominence.

 

Swedavia spokesman Robert Pletzin said there were a number of reasons for
the decrease, citing Swedish aviation tax, softening economy worries, the
weak Swedish crown and the climate debate.

 

Flygskam or "flight shame" originated in Sweden in 2017, when Swedish singer
Staffan Lingberg pledged to give up flying.

 

 

Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg set an example by crossing
the Atlantic in a zero-emissions yacht last year.

 

In September, Citigroup analysts said greater consumer awareness about
global carbon emissions had already had a tangible effect in Sweden and
could call into question the longer-term growth potential of the entire
industry.

 

The Swedish schoolgirl who inspired a generation

A number of people have since decided to take on the challenge of travelling
without flying. More than 22,500 people have signed a pledge to go
flight-free in 2020.

 

The last occasions where air passenger numbers dropped had distinct reasons
- the 9/11 terror attacks and the financial crash.

 

Aside from Sweden, Europe is still seeing an increase in the number of
people flying. The EU overall saw figures rise to 1.1 billion passengers in
2018, up from 1 billion the year before.

 

In 2018, the UK saw more than 272 million passengers, up from 264 million in
2017.

 

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says current trends
suggest passenger numbers could double to 8.2 billion by 2037. Cities in
Asia are expected to overtake European cities in regards to air passenger
markets.--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
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
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been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its
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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