Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 20 January 2020

[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::: 20 January 2020

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

 

ü  Pound Falls Against Australian Dollar Owing to Poor UK Retail Sales

ü  Why Centralized Exchanges Are Decentralizing

ü  Qatar signs $470 mn solar deal

ü  Bitcoin and Altcoins Approaching Largest Cycle Yet, BTC Heading to $100,000: Crypto Analyst DataDash

ü  S.African stocks hit near 7-month highs, led by Richemont, miners

ü  Rwanda GDP to grow 8% in 2020 -IMF

ü  Nigeria to talk to concessionary lenders about $2.8 bln borrowing: debt office

ü  Kenya in talks with World Bank for loan of as much as $1 bln

ü  Nigeria's lender Access acquires Kenya's Transnational Bank

ü  Mali's new mining code sets "stability period" at 20 years

ü  Amid Kenya power struggle, IMF says investment programme in crisis

ü  Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis: BCH/USD nurtures momentum above $340, all eyes focus on $400

ü  Weak British Economy Could Spell Trouble for Cable 0

ü  Foreign investors bought less Nigeria bonds last year -debt office

ü  Nigeria producing 1.774 mln barrels of crude per day: minister

ü  Anheuser-Busch InBev’s South African Breweries Goes Electric With The Mitsubishi Fuso eCanter

ü  Isabel dos Santos: Africa's richest woman 'ripped off Angola'

ü  Disney culls 'Fox' from 20th Century Fox in rebrand

ü  Brexit: Price rises warning after chancellor vows EU rules divergence

ü  What has Donald Trump actually achieved on trade?

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Pound Falls Against Australian Dollar Owing to Poor UK Retail Sales

The Pound has fallen against the Australian Dollar at the end of the week after some very disappointing UK economic data.

 

UK Retail Sales showed a drop year on year for December to 0.9% from the expectation of 2.6%.

 

This highlights a real problem for the high street in what is typically one of its busiest periods of the year.

 

The Bank of England have already hinted that they may be gearing up to cut interest rates so with consumers not spending as much as expected could this give the central bank enough evidence to warrant a rate cut towards the end of this month?

 

Earlier in the week on Wednesday the UK also confirmed a fall in the inflation level. Typically if inflation is falling then a central bank will often look to cut rates to stimulate the economy. Therefore, could this be another factor in the Bank of England’s decision?

 

The Bank of England are due to meet on 30th January so if we see an interest rate cut happening this could cause movement for GBPAUD exchange rates.

 

Chinese problems cause issues for the Australian Dollar

In the meantime the Australian Dollar has also experienced its own problems. According to the recent data China’s economy has grown by just 6.1% last year which is its lowest growth on record in almost thirty years.

 

The US China trade wars appear to have moved forward but during last year it is clear that they had an impact on the Chinese economy.

 

Back in 1990 Chinese growth was 3.9% so even though the growth was measured at 6.1% it is still a lot stronger.

 

However, as far as the Australian Dollar is concerned as China is its largest trading partner any slowdown in the world’s second largest economy can have a negative impact on the value of the Australian Dollar.

 

If you would like to learn more about what may affect the GBP/AUD or have an upcoming currency transfer, please contact me, Tom Holian, using the form below.--poundsterlingforecast.com

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


Why Centralized Exchanges Are Decentralizing

In an industry built on an ethos of decentralization and the empowerment of individuals, where the key idea is that each and every person should have control of their own wealth and begin acting as their own bank, we’ve seen centralized custodial exchanges lead the charge up until now. Now, as the industry continues to develop ethos, we’re seeing centralized exchanges beginning to adopt more properties of decentralization.

 

Decentralization advances the protection of funds, transparency, economic inclusion and regulatory clarity while empowering each individual to become the custodians of their own funds. As centralized exchanges begin to recognize the benefits of decentralizing, the end result is a stronger, more trusting consumer and industry.

 

Trust

Trust is the foundation on which all relationships are built — with partners, family, friends and businesses — all are rooted deeply in trust. But trust isn’t given freely, it must be earned. Trust is more than an asset, it is the lifeline that dictates the longevity of a relationship.

 

The loss of trust in centralized entities has given birth to blockchain, a technology based on decentralization, in the hopes of redefining the concept of trust for the next wave of financial systems.

 

Blockchain technology has the potential to turn financial systems upside down by redefining trust. However, we mustn’t be misinformed. Just because an organization or business claims to employ blockchain technology, this doesn’t automatically make them more trustworthy. The trustworthiness in blockchain stems from the design choices businesses make when employing them.

 

We are reminded from time to time of the consequences of these design choices. This includes over $4 billion in stolen funds from crypto-related cyberattacks in 2019, with some of the biggest exchanges targeted by cybercriminals. Most notable this year are the incidents on Coinbase, Binance and BitHumb. These are all reminders of how people’s trust in blockchain has been tarnished. The foundations of the technology looking to disrupt the financial systems are still fragile.

 

But it doesn’t have to be this way

And for this reason, leaders in the industry are making design choices that entirely change how trust is handled. These leaders are decentralizing key business functions to strengthen their foundation. This can be seen first and foremost with exchanges and custody solutions that are transitioning to non-custodial solutions. On an exchange that uses custodial solutions, users need to deposit their funds into a centrally controlled wallet in order to trade. Non-custodial solutions, however, allow users to fully interact with the exchange without requiring deposits into a centrally controlled wallet. Access and control of funds never sits with a third-party, only with the owner of the funds, and counterparty risk is completely removed.

 

To illustrate this point, imagine the following scenario with centralized, custodial solutions. John wants to buy one BTC with another digital currency, such as EOS. To buy this Bitcoin, John must first transfer his EOS onto an exchange. Once the EOS enters the exchange, he can then interact with the exchange and trade his EOS for the one Bitcoin. At this stage, John is essentially trusting the exchange to hold custody over his assets. During this time, his assets are exposed to several risks. His assets are vulnerable to hackers, exchange shutdowns, flight risks, insolvency or freezing of his account. In all cases, John may lose access to his funds forever.

 

The scenario is quite different for non-custodial solutions. Non-custodial solutions eliminate the need to trust a third-party with precious assets. Assuming again that John wants to buy one BTC with his EOS, he would go on a non-custodial exchange and initiate a trade for one Bitcoin directly from his wallet. John does this through a trustless smart contract, a transparent computer protocol which enforces the performance of a contract when certain conditions are met. In this case, John agrees to the actions being taken on his funds, and that there are no errors in the transaction. The smart contract recognizes that John has deposited enough EOS to receive one Bitcoin, and the trade is executed, resulting in one BTC being deposited directly into John’s wallet. At this stage, John can do whatever he wishes with his new Bitcoin, as it is already in his possession. He has avoided all the risks of entrusting a central intermediary with custody of his assets.

 

Decentralizing the element of custody — a small change in business models — ultimately leads to the decentralization of trust. By redefining how trust is handled through a trustless system, exchanges are slowly rebuilding some of the lost reputation with consumers while paving the way for new relationships, where the element of trust is no longer an obstacle in doing business.

 

Decentralization redistributes power and trust

As centralized entities shift their focus toward decentralization, the end result is beneficial to both consumers and the industry. Decentralization promotes security, transparency, financial inclusion and regulatory clarity, and empowers the individual.

 

The decentralization of custody means that we are no longer trusting a single entity to have authority over deposits, withdrawals, and the storage and security of funds. Customer funds will no longer be centrally located, giving birth to an entirely new paradigm. Institutions and exchanges will no longer be a central point of attack, eliminating the lurking fear of victimization by cybercriminals, who will no longer be in a position to engage in foul play with funds.

 

Decentralization redistributes power and trust back to the individual. Gone are the days where customers can’t withdraw or access their funds due to an exchange becoming hacked or insolvent. Customers can instantly interact with multiple exchanges without waiting to transfer funds from one exchange to another.

 

Decentralization is more secure by design, and in an industry expecting $5 trillion in losses due to cybercrime in 2021, it’s important that industry leaders innovate to meet this challenge. Losses and exchange hacks are some of the biggest concerns of regulatory authorities, but decentralization can relieve most of them.

 

The hurdles faced in adopting decentralized solutions

While decentralizing certain business aspects has clear benefits, there are several obstacles businesses must overcome before they can deliver the same user experience as their nondecentralized counterparts and achieve wider adoption. Three of the biggest hurdles to the widespread use of decentralized financial systems are:

 

Liquidity: Exchanges that are based on decentralization have significantly less liquidity compared to their centralized counterparts. The widespread use of these exchanges has yet to reach the majority of users, as there is an entirely new learning curve in getting accustomed to such platforms. Users need to learn how to keep custody of their own funds while connecting their wallets to the platform. The lack of users equates to a lack of liquidity, so it’s important for exchanges to attract more users or to provide liquidity from other sources.

Throughput and speed: Throughput and speed are limitations of decentralized exchanges. These exchanges often rely on a blockchain network for settling trades. So, exchanges that are built on Ethereum for example are at the mercy of Ethereum’s maximum transaction throughput of about 15 transactions per second. Even if millions of users were to switch to a decentralized exchange today, some exchanges wouldn’t be in a position to adequately handle the demand. Exchanges need to be able to handle hundreds, if not thousands, of trades their users make each second. A low transaction throughput limit can cause major delays in transactions or even prevent them from being executed and can lead to millions of dollars in losses.

User experience and features: With decentralized exchanges still in the early stages of development, they are often lacking in features, putting limitations on users’ trading experience. Different order types, from basic limit orders to more advanced order types like Immediate or Cancel orders, and Fill or Kill orders are often missing on decentralized exchanges. Other users may need to margin trade or connect with the exchange’s API to get real-time financial data for analysis. The truth is, users won’t make the transition to a platform that is lacking features that are critical to their trading strategies.

Instilling trust today for the financial systems of tomorrow

The financial systems of tomorrow will be responsible for the trade of real estate, gold, money, securities, cryptocurrencies and other assets, digitally. With trillions of dollars flowing through these systems, the design choices we make today are more important than ever in instilling trust in these systems — trust that our assets are always in our possession; trust that our assets are secure; trust that the companies we do business with are being honest and fair.

 

Decentralization, when executed properly, results in systems that offer more transparent, secure and higher-performing solutions. It is an essential building block for systems to build trust. Successful implementation of decentralized technology means empowerment for millions of people, whereas failure will result in the loss of all its benefits.

 

For the greater good of financial systems and their participants, conscious steps toward decentralization need to be taken.--cointelegrapgh.com

 

 

 

Qatar signs $470 mn solar deal

Gas-rich Qatar signed a $470-million deal on Sunday to build its first solar energy plant, capable of meeting up to one-tenth of peak national power demand.

 

The Al-Kharsaah plant, near the capital, is a 10-square-kilometre (4-sq-mile) joint venture with French and Japanese partners due for completion in 2022 ahead of the football World Cup.

 

"Eight times the solar power pledged in the World Cup bid will be produced," Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told a media briefing in Doha.

 

Qatar's ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, vowed at the United Nations last year that the tournament would be carbon neutral, but gave little detail on how this would be achieved.

 

"Production capacity will be around 800 megawatts and 10 percent of peak demand," said Kaabi following a signing ceremony between Qatari state firms, France's Total and Japan's Marubeni.

 

"Eight-hundred megawatts will be the largest (solar power plant) built by Total," said the French energy giant's chief executive, Patrick Pouyanne.

 

By contrast, Abu Dhabi's Sweihan plant, one of the world's largest solar projects, produces 1,177 megawatts.

 

The capital cost of the venture is 1.7 billion riyals ($470 million), Kaabi said, with state firms taking a 60-percent stake and foreign investors 40 percent.

 

Marubeni will take 51 percent of the minority holding, while Total will have 49 percent.

 

"It's a pilot project, you have to assess how successful it is," added Kaabi.

 

Gulf states, heavily depend on oil and gas, have invested tens of billions of dollars in clean energy projects, mainly in solar and nuclear.

 

But critics say many such projects are slow to get off the drawing board.

 

The United Arab Emirates said last week its first nuclear power plant would start operating within months after repeated delays to meet safety and regulatory conditions.

 

The UAE will have the first operational nuclear reactor in the Arab world.

 

Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude oil exporter, has said it plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors, but the projects have yet to materialise.

 

Critics say the addiction to oil is hard to kick, particularly when supplies remain abundant and the high costs of investment in infrastructure needed to switch to renewables.--france24.com

 

 

 

Bitcoin and Altcoins Approaching Largest Cycle Yet, BTC Heading to $100,000: Crypto Analyst DataDash 

Crypto analyst Nicholas Merten says Bitcoin and the altcoin markets are just getting started.

 

On a new episode of Datadash, Merten says he believes Bitcoin will hit $100,000 in its next cycle and will increasingly get exposure in the mainstream as it breaks through its previous all-time high of just over $20,000.

 

“My idea here is that Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies, have yet to go through their largest cycle yet. To really take this asset class from a kind of niche community where it is right now into the broad institutional world of retail, in this case retail meaning everyday people. How can we expect that in the next two to three years we’re going to see this happen?

 

It’s important to understand that there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to observing Bitcoin. A lot of people look at Bitcoin’s price and they think there’s no way it can go higher than it is now. And that’s a very big misconception because you should never be focused on price. Now, if price is going up, that’s good. It means that you’re investment is going up. But the problem is that you have to look at something known as market capitalization.”

 

Merten says a comparison between the crypto markets and the dot com bubble offers a glimpse at how high Bitcoin’s market cap could go in the long run.

 

“From that cycle, we had a valuation of about $17 to $18 trillion at the peak of the dot com bubble. This is very important and significant to take into mind, because we’re talking about equities. And the important thing to note about equities is they are dwarfed by currency markets. And that’s what cryptocurrencies are. They are an emerging currency and speculative asset class. So you get all the great speculation of assets, like you did with tech stocks. But you also get the absolute size and scale of currency markets and storing value.

 

So it’s kind of a hybrid between three markets I’d say. You get the store of value aspect that we’ve seen in gold and silver, which is about a $7 or $8 trillion market today. You get the speculative room that we got in the dot com bubble and what we could see generally in equities, and you also get the fundamental ability to be seen in a currency in this case. It’s a win-win in every case for Bitcoin and how it’s perceived by the world and how it’s serving as this kind of native asset for world commerce, for world store of value, for a little bit of speculation and hedge against the fear in the world with everything being over inflated in value. So there’s all these benefits for Bitcoin.

 

But to take it into that market of scale here, we’re sitting at $160 billion [market cap]. We just talked, just as a comparison, to the peak of the dot com bubble around $17 to $18 trillion. You think we’ve got a ways to go? I think we do. Because if we were to reach those valuations, that would mean that Bitcoin is going to go through a 100x in valuations. It’s very simple math here. Even more than 100x valuation, because if we multiply $160 billion by 100, that’s going to put us at $16 trillion.”

 

Merten says he’s not expecting BTC to reach those valuations in this cycle. His target for the next bull run is a $2 trillion market cap.

 

“I’ve already told you guys my expectation is that we’re going to $100,000 in this cycle, which will mean that we’re likely going to go somewhere around $2 trillion give or take. And that’s not that crazy to ask for. To think that an emerging store of value, an emerging speculative play on the global scale and something that could be perceived as a hedge for a lot of people in currency markets in all kinds of different nations where it’s needed, that could be a very reasonable valuation.”

 

Merten warns that past performance is not indicative of future results and that anything can happen in the risky, volatile and nascent crypto markets. Traders could lose everything. He points to the fact that many traders bought at the top of the last bull run and remain in heavy losses, despite the fact that throughout Bitcoin’s 10+ year history, it has been a profitable buy 92.7% of the time.

 

“It shows you that if you get eager about Bitcoin in these periods where no one is talking about it, it’s very likely that if you wait patiently, history shows you can turn a profit. There’s no guarantee of future profits, but we’ll see if it happens again. I like to bet on history and I like to see these kind of parabolic run ups. There aren’t many asset classes that do this. The mathematics make it so Bitcoin can do this. And it’s a new, emerging asset, so there’s a lot of room to grow.” --dailyhodl.com

 

 

 

S.African stocks hit near 7-month highs, led by Richemont, miners

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African stocks rose to near seven-month highs on Friday, underpinned by gains in heavyweight Richemont and mining firms, while the rand fell against a broadly stronger dollar.

 

People walk near the reception at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa December, file. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Richemont led the To-40 index higher, surging 5.82% after the world’s second-biggest luxury goods group, reported a 4% rise in third quarter sales, helped by double-digit growth in China and South Korea.

 

Resources continued to do some heavy lifting, with the mining index 2.66% firmer amid gains in gold, platinum and iron ore producers.

 

Gold edged higher on Friday but was on track to post its first weekly decline in six as solid Chinese data and a preliminary U.S.-China trade deal improved risk appetite. [GOL/]

 

Palladium jumped over 9% to register a record high as the market grapples with deep supply shortages, while platinum rose 1.01%.

 

This boosted Sibanye-Stillwater by 5.32%, African Rainbow Minerals by 4.54%, Impala Platinum by 3.11% and Glencore by 1.32%.

 

The bourse also got a lift from improved global risk appetite following Chinese growth figures that suggested the world’s second-biggest economy was stabilising.

 

The Johannesburg All-Share index rose 1.35% to 59,001 points, a level last seen on June 24, while the Top 40 index climbed 1.48% to 52,735 points.

 

In the currency market, the rand gave up morning gains as rate cut momentum gave way to the impact of a broadly stronger dollar. At 1603 GMT, the rand traded at 14.4650 per dollar, 0.4% weaker than its previous close.

 

Market participants were also cautious as the ruling African National Congress started a four-day National Executive meeting and the party’s Lekgotla gathering.

 

The ANC is expected to discuss options for struggling state-owned firms such as power utility Eskom and South African Airways, as well as trying to unify dividing voices on proposals to nationalise the central bank.

 

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni came out against that plan this week on Twitter.

 

“Policy uncertainty remains the name of the game,” Bianca Botes, Treasury Partner at Peregrine Treasury Solutions, said in a note.

 

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond was down 1 basis points at 8.18%.

 

 

 

Rwanda GDP to grow 8% in 2020 -IMF

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda’s economy is expected to grow by 8% this year and in 2021 versus an estimated 8.5% in 2019, boosted by private investment and trade, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

 

The small East African nation’s economy relies largely on agriculture, tourism and mining. The government also forecasts it will grow 8.5% in 2019.

 

It grew 11.9% in third quarter versus 7.7% in the third quarter of 2018, reflecting an improved performance in manufacturing, construction and services.

 

“Upside risks (to growth) are a continuation of strong private investment, more regional trade, and growth payoffs from large public investment projects,” the IMF said.

 

Factors that could slow growth include high fuel prices, unpredictable weather and regional issues, the IMF said in a statement late on Friday.

 

It did not elaborate on those regional issues.

 

Early last year, Rwanda closed its main border crossing with neighbouring Uganda. It was briefly re-opened to cargo trucks in June but then closed again.

 

Rwandans were banned from travelling to Uganda, which has accused Rwanda of effectively imposing a trade embargo.

 

In August, the two countries’ presidents signed a pact agreeing the two sides would respect each other’s sovereignty, refrain from action that destabilises the other’s territory, and resume cross-border activities.

 

 

 

Nigeria to talk to concessionary lenders about $2.8 bln borrowing: debt office

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria plans to talk to concessionary lenders about 850 billion naira ($2.8 billion) in external borrowings earmarked in its 2020 budget, the head of the debt office said on Friday.

 

“The 850 billion naira does not mean Eurobonds. We will still talk with concessionary lenders,” Debt Management Office Director General Patience Oniha told reporters.

 

Nigeria has been borrowing to fund growth after a 2016 recession slashed income and weakened its currency. The government is now seeking to raise revenues through value-added tax hikes, but the cost of debt service is also rising.

 

Oniha said the strategy is to seek concessionary loans first due to the lower interest rate and longer maturities, and any shortfall might be raised from commercial sources.

 

Nigeria has budgeted to spend 10.59 trillion naira ($34.6 billion) for 2020, which assumes a deficit of 1.52% of the estimated gross domestic product - around 2.18 trillion naira - to be funded through foreign and domestic borrowing.

 

The debt office said Nigeria has a debt-to-GDP ratio of 18.47% - below its limit of 25% and comparing favourably with those of developed countries, some of which are above 100%.

 

However, Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, spends more than half of its revenues in debt service, the debt office said.

 

Total public debt rose to 26.2 trillion naira as of September, up 16.88% from a year earlier. The debt office said it has managed to stretch out the maturity profile of its borrowings in favour of longer term debt.

 

For new local financing, the debt office said the government would issue 150 billion naira worth of sukuk this year, in addition to bonds and treasury bills.

 

In a presentation seen by Reuters on Thursday, the debt office said it would introduce a 15-year maturity for the first time and sell a new 30-year bond, after launching the tenor last year, to extend the maturity profile of its debt.

 

Last year, foreign investors cut their participation in Nigerian government bond auctions after yields fell and an oil prices drop reignited fears that the currency could come under pressure.

 

Yields have fallen from as high as 15% to around 11% for the benchmark 10-year bond.

 

 

 

Kenya in talks with World Bank for loan of as much as $1 bln

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya is in advanced talks with the World Bank for “a fairly priced” loan of up to 100 billion shillings ($991.57 million), nearly half of its required external funding this fiscal year, a senior Treasury official said on Friday.

 

The East African nation wants to cut debt from overseas capital markets, after a borrowing binge in recent years, including Eurobond offerings, a package of Chinese loans and syndicated commercial loans.

 

The World Bank, which has multiple development funding programs with Kenya worth billions of dollars, is seen as one of the viable alternatives to commercial debt.

 

The Washington D.C.-based financier lent money straight to the Kenyan ministry of finance for the first time last year, changing past practice where it channelled cash straight to the projects, bypassing the Treasury.

 

The size of the loan from the World Bank will be determined by how much its own funders can put together, said Julius Muia, the principal secretary in the ministry of finance.

 

“We are thinking something between 50-100 billion (shillings) depending on what kind of interest there will be,” he told Reuters.

 

The loan will be cheaper than commercial debt, the official said, in line with the government’s policy of cutting its funding costs.

 

“It is very competitive, it is fairly priced,” Muia said, adding it was likely to be just above the bank’s concessional rate of 200 basis points in interest.

 

Kenya became a middle-income country in 2014 after it rebased the economy, meaning it cannot secure funds from the World Bank at the concessional rates offered to low-income states.

 

The finance ministry has set a budget deficit of 6.3% of GDP for this financial year to the end of June and Muia said about 213 billion shillings is expected from external sources.

 

The balance of the funds will be raised through Kenya’s first sovereign green bond, he said, with the country taking advantage of next week’s UK-Africa investment summit in London to gauge investor demand for the potential issue.

 

“It is taking shape as we go,” Muia said.

 

The Treasury projects that the budget deficit will shrink to 5.7% of GDP in 2020/21. The gap, which peaked at 9.1% of GDP in 2016/17 financial year, is expected to narrow further to the desired level of 3.3% in 2023/24.

 

Muia said he was confident that this year’s deficit will be fully covered through affordable loans.

 

“We are very clear in our minds that we want to keep the cost of debt down.”

 

($1 = 100.8500 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

Nigeria's lender Access acquires Kenya's Transnational Bank

NAIROBI/LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria’s top lender by assets, Access Bank, has acquired Kenya’s Transnational Bank, the Kenyan central bank said on Friday.

 

The deal is the latest in the East African nation’s banking sector, where a cap on lending rates, tougher supervision by the central bank and an over-proliferation of lenders has sparked a consolidation round in the industry since 2017.

 

Access, which has assets of $16 billion, focuses on corporate retail banking and it is expected to boost the growth of Transantional’s business, the Kenyan central bank said in a statement.

 

“The acquisition is expected to strengthen the resilience of Kenya’s banking sector,” it said.

 

It did not disclose the terms of the transaction. Transnational has 28 outlets around the country.

 

The top-tier Nigerian bank has operations in seven African countries and Britain as wells as representative offices in China, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and India.

 

Access Bank plans to expand to Cameroon, Mozambique and Sierra Leone this year following the acquisition, the bank’s spokesman said.

 

Patrick Njoroge, the governor of the central bank in Kenya, said last September that he expected consolidation in the industry to continue, adding that market-driven tie-ups were working. [nL5N26F29R]

 

Last year’s all share acquisition of National Bank of Kenya by KCB Group last year has been touted as one of the biggest deals in the Kenyan sector.

 

Access became Nigeria’s biggest lender last year, a status it achieved after it acquired rival Diamond Bank in a $235 million deal that it said was meant to create Africa’s largest bank by customers. [nL5N20S5QD][nL8N1YM62W]

 

Nigerian lenders have been trying to find new avenues to grow after slow economic growth at home following a 2016 recession, caused loans to turn sour, leaving banks parking cash in government bonds whose yields have now declined.

 

 

 

Mali's new mining code sets "stability period" at 20 years

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Under a new mining code, companies operating in Mali will be protected from fiscal changes for 20 years, down from the previous “stability period” of 30 years, the mines minister said late on Thursday.

 

Mali had previously proposed a 10-year stability period. But that came under criticism for being too short and likely to discourage investors.

 

“We have to consider that the research phase can take at least seven, eight or nine years,” said Mines Minister Lelenta Hawa Baba Bah. “So we’ve gone for... a 20 years stability period.”

 

Companies operating in the country include Barrick Gold Corp, B2Gold, Hummingbird Resources and AngloGold Ashanti.

 

 

 

Amid Kenya power struggle, IMF says investment programme in crisis

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Hundreds of mismanaged infrastructure projects have stalled in Kenya and it will cost around $10 billion to revive them, the IMF said in a report whose findings point to a growing power struggle at the heart of government.

 

Amid mounting public anger over ballooning state debt and a series of graft scandals, President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday confirmed acting finance minister Ukur Yatani in the post after its previous incumbent, Henry Rotich, was charged with financial misconduct - an accusation he denies.

 

The government has acknowledged that some past investment projects did not pass muster, and Yatani told a budget preparation meeting on Wednesday that available resources would be “dedicated only to projects and programmes that will ensure higher economic and social returns.”

 

Yatani, an ally of Kenyatta while Rotich was closer to Deputy President William Ruto, has won support from voters since provisionally taking over at the ministry in July.

 

The International Monetary Fund report, published on Wednesday, lays bare the scale of the task Yatani now faces.

 

It said an estimated 500 projects - around half of the total - had ground to a halt due to “non-payment to contractors, insufficient allocation of funds to projects, and litigation cases in court.”

 

The state would need to raise around 1 trillion shillings ($10 billion) to complete them, the report said.

 

Kenya has ramped up public investment projects since 2010.

 

But that increase “occurred without enough screening for project viability and readiness before they entered the budget,” the IMF said.

 

“There has been a subsequent squeeze on ongoing projects in the absence of fiscal space, which is now accruing large costs to the government.”

 

The fund named no specific projects, but construction of roads, markets and stadiums has stalled all over the country.

 

Unpaid bills from the infrastructure department to suppliers and contractors totalled 78 billion shillings as of June, the IMF said.

 

Yatani said the government was reconstituting its planning and project monitoring unit to “ensure timely completion of projects and realisation of value for money.”

 

His confirmation as finance minister was part of a government reshuffle that adds to signs of a rift between Kenyatta, who must step down when his second five-year term finishes in 2022, and Ruto, who considers himself the heir apparent but has begun to fall out of favour.

 

($1 = 100.8000 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

Weak British Economy Could Spell Trouble for Cable

GBP/USD showed limited movement last week, closing the week just above the symbolic 1.30 level. There are five events on the schedule in the upcoming week. Here is an outlook for the highlights and an updated technical analysis for GBP/USD.

 

The U.K. posted a host of weak numbers last week, but the pound managed to escape with only slight losses. The monthly GDP report showed a contraction of 0.3% in November, shy of the estimate of zero. Manufacturing Production declined by 1.7%, its sharpest decline since March. There was no relief from key consumer indicators. CPI slowed to 1.3%, its weakest gain since November 2016. The week ended with retail sales, which declined by 0.6% for a second straight month. Analysts had projected a gain of 0.5%.

 

Over in the U.S., consumer numbers were in the spotlight. Retail sales, the primary gauge of consumer spending, were positive in December. The headline reading improved to 0.3%, up from 0.2% a month earlier. Core retail sales impressed with a gain of 0.7%, above the estimate of 0.5%. The strong numbers were a result of a late-holiday shopping spree by consumers. Consumer inflation has been losing ground and remains below the Federal Reserve target of 2.0 percent. The downturn continued in December. CPI slowed to 0.2%, compared to 0.3% a month earlier. Core CPI dipped to 0.1%, down from 0.2%.

 

GBP/USD daily graph with resistance and support lines on it. Click to enlarge:

 

 

 

Employment Reports: Tuesday, 9:30. Wage growth has slipped in the second half of 2019 and fell to 3.2% in October. This was sharply lower than the 3.6% gain in September. The downward trend is expected to continue in November, with an estimate of 3.1%. Unemployment rolls fell to 28.8 thousand in November, but this was higher than the forecast of 21.2 thousand. Analysts are braced for a weak release in December, with an estimate of 33.4 thousand.

Public Sector Net Borrowing: Wednesday, 9:30. The UK’s budget deficit narrowed to GBP 4.9 billion in November, lower than the estimate of 5.2 billion. This was down sharply from the deficit of GBP 10.5 billion a month earlier. The deficit is expected to drop to 4.5 billion in December.

CBI Industrial Expectations: Wednesday, 11:00. Manufacturers expect order volume to continue to decrease. In December, the indicator came in at -28 pts. The estimate for January stands at -25 pts.

Flash Manufacturing PMI: Friday, 9:30. The British manufacturing sector continues to sputter. The PMI slipped to 47.4 in December, shy of the estimate of 49.1 pts. This points to contraction in manufacturing. The forecast for January stands at 48.8 pts.

Flash Services PMI: Friday, 9:30. The PMI remains below the 50-level, which separates expansion from contraction. In December, the index improved to 49.0 and is expected to improve to 51.1 pts.

GBP/USD Technical analysis

Technical lines from top to bottom:

 

We start with resistance at 1.3375. This line has held since mid-December, when the pound went on an extended slide. 1.3300 is next.

 

1.3170 has been in a resistance role since the first week in January.

 

1.3070 remains relevant and was tested in resistance late in the week.

 

1.3000 (mentioned last week) is fluid. Currently, it is an immediate support level.

 

1.2910 has held in support since early December. 1.2850 is next.

 

1.2728 has provided support since mid-October.

 

1.2616 is the final support level for now.

 

I remain bearish on GBP/USD

 

It has been a rough start to the year for GBP/USD, which is down close to 2 percent. With economic data pointing to a slowdown in the British economy, I expect the pound to be under pressure.--forexcrunch.com

 

 

 

Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis: BCH/USD nurtures momentum above $340, all eyes focus on $400

Bitcoin Cash bounces off the trendline support for the second time in one week.

Sideways trading is likely based on the ranging RSI.

The bulls are back in action on Sunday after wallowing in selling pressure on Saturday. The majority of the major cryptos are in the green posting gains between 1% and 10% on the day. Bitcoin Cash is dancing 4% higher on the day following a bullish correction from $339.38 (opening value). The fourth-largest cryptocurrency grew exponentially towards $400 but formed a high around $365 before adjusting to $351 (market value).

 

Last week, Bitcoin Cash was flipped from the fourth spot on the market by its controversial Bitcoin SV. The latter surged massively to highs around $458 while Bitcoin Cash only managed to hit highs around $403. BSV market cap also corrected higher surpassing that of BCH. However, Bitcoin Cash has since reclaimed its position amid an ongoing Bitcoin SV sell-off.

 

At the time of writing, BCH is struggling to hold above $350 and push past the next resistance at $360. The bulls would like nothing more than to see the price back above $400. However, the sideways trending RSI suggests that rapid movements either side are unlikely in the short term. Therefore, I am more inclined to believe that BCH would hold above $350 while the upside capped at $360 in the near term until a proper technical picture develops. --fxstreet.com

 

 

 

Foreign investors bought less Nigeria bonds last year -debt office

LAGOS (Reuters) - Foreign investors cut their participation in Nigerian government bond auctions last year, buying just 4.39% of all bonds issued compared with the previous year when they bought 10.99%, a debt office presentation showed.

 

The debt office said local fund managers bought most of the bonds in 2019, accounting for more than a third of total demand.

 

In 2017, foreigners bought 11.7% of Nigerian government bonds, the debt office said in a presentation to traders.

 

Foreign investors reduced their participation in Nigerian government bond auctions last year after yields fell and an oil prices drop reignited fears that the currency could come under pressure.

 

Yields have fallen from as high as 15% to around 11% for the benchmark 10-year bond.

 

The debt office said a total of 3.26 trillion naira worth of local debt would mature this year while it planned to issue a total of 3.58 trillion naira in debt.

 

It will introduce a 15-year maturity for the first time and sell a new 30-year bond, after it introduced the tenor last year, to attract long-term investors and extend the maturity profile of its debt.

 

Nigeria would tap external borrowing of 850 billion naira as part of plans to fund its 2020 budget, but the debt office did not mention whether it would return to the Eurobond market this year.

 

 

 

Nigeria producing 1.774 mln barrels of crude per day: minister

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria is currently producing 1.774 million barrels of crude oil per day, its oil minister Timipre Sylva said on Thursday, above an estimate given by state oil firm NNPC in November of 1.6 million-1.7 million bpd.

 

An NNPC official said in November that the country would continue to comply with OPEC output cuts. The group of more than 20 producers agreed last month to increase their targeted output cut to 1.7 million bpd.

 

Last month Sylva told Saudi Energy Minister bin Salman that Nigeria’s compliance with OPEC cuts had improved substantially since August.

 

Nigeria had OPEC’s largest production drop in December, of 80,000 bpd, and also exported less crude, based on ship-tracking data and loading schedules.

 

“Today Nigeria is producing according to OPEC 1.774 million bpd,” Sylva told a media briefing in Abuja.

 

Sylva said he was working to get a long-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) passed within the second quarter, after which Nigeria would conduct a bid round for major oil blocks.

 

Nigeria has not had a licensing round in more than a decade owing to a lack of clarity regarding fiscal terms for oil exploration.

 

The PIB, a key piece of legislation which has been nearly two decades in the making, aims to increase transparency, change the fiscal regime for oil producers and stimulate growth in the country’s oil industry.

 

Under the last parliament in 2018, the bill was broken up into two parts to help to get it past lawmakers, but the president refused to sign it into law. This time, Sylva said the bill will be passed as one.

 

He said the government will conduct bid rounds for marginal fields this year with or without the passing of the oil bill.

 

 

 

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s South African Breweries Goes Electric With The Mitsubishi Fuso eCanter

South African Breweries (SAB), part of the ABInBev family, launched its first electric commercial vehicle at its Chamdor Brewery in Krugersdorp on the 16th of January. Many thanks to Hideki Machida, who attended the launch event and shared some lovely pictures of SAB’s new eCanter with CleanTechnica.

 

Electrification of its fleet is part of ABInBev’s 2025 sustainability goals, which also include the company’s global renewable energy initiative, which will see the company powering all of its plants with 100% renewable energy by 2025. It’s great to see large corporations with large fleets starting to adopt electric vehicles in this part of the world. We hope this will inspire a “Keeping up with the Joneses” phenomenon that will drive other corporations to transition to electric mobility on the African continent.

 

We are starting to see more and more companies choose to go electric on their delivery routes. As we recently shared, Greenspoon in Kenya has added electric vans on its delivery routes. The unit economics definitely make sense. According to Mitsubishi, the eCanter offers savings of up to €1000 per 10,000 km on operational costs compared to an equivalent diesel truck. Large fleet operators in Africa will benefit significantly by increasing the penetration of electric vehicles in their fleets.

 

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s South African Breweries

One of the Mitsubishi Fuso eCanters bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev’s South African Breweries. Photo by Hideki Machida.

 

This electrification of vehicles in this segment makes a lot of sense, as most of the vehicles in this segment are usually deployed on city routes. The start-stop nature of these routes is perfect for electric trucks like the eCanter since the truck’s utilisation will be able to take full advantage of regenerative braking.

 

The eCanter has six Mercedes-Benz liquid-cooled, high voltage, 13.8 kWh lithium-ion batteries that come together to make an 82.8 kWh pack that has a usable capacity of 66 kWh. It’s great that it also comes with an actively cooled battery, especially in hot and sunny South Africa. This should assure users of excellent battery health in the long term. Accelerated battery degradation has been an issue before in South Africa, with reports of rapid degradation in some of the first-generation Nissan Leafs that didn’t have any active cooling.

 

The eCanter comes with a maximum power of 135 kW (equivalent to 180 hp), a top speed of 80 km/h, maximum torque of 390 Nm, and a range of about 100 km. The maximum payload for this body type is 4,125 kg.

 

When the eCanter was introduced commercially in 2017, vehicles from a limited production run were taken up by several firms, such as Seven-Eleven Co., Ltd in Japan and United Postal Services in the USA. Mass production of the eCanter was set to commence in 2019.

 

Africa is not always top of the list as a market for many of the large international OEMs when it comes to electric vehicles, as most of them are still struggling to produce large numbers of vehicles due to “battery supply constraints,” amongst other things. We certainly hope that seeing the eCanter in South Africa is a sign that some level of volume production of the eCanter has started and we will soon see more and more electric trucks in South Africa and in the rest of Africa.

 

Some may be wary of the ever-present electricity blackouts in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, but the scheduled nature of delivery/logistic routes can allow fleet operators to plan their charging sessions around this. Plus, more and more large corporations, including ABInBev, are starting to install onsite solar power plants. The stationary battery storage market is also starting to come alive in the region and will help mitigate against the effects of the power cuts.--https://cleantechnica.com/

 

 

 

Isabel dos Santos: Africa's richest woman 'ripped off Angola'

Leaked documents reveal how Africa's richest woman made her fortune through exploiting her own country, and corruption.

 

Isabel dos Santos got access to lucrative deals involving land, oil, diamonds and telecoms when her father was president of Angola, a southern African country rich in natural resources.

 

The documents show how she and her husband were allowed to buy valuable state assets in a series of suspicious deals.

 

Ms Dos Santos says the allegations against her are entirely false and that there is a politically motivated witch-hunt by the Angolan government.

 

The former president's daughter has made the UK her home and owns expensive properties in central London.

 

She is already under criminal investigation by the authorities in Angola for corruption and her assets in the country have been frozen.

 

Now BBC Panorama has been given access to more than 700,000 leaked documents about the billionaire's business empire.

 

Most were obtained by the Platform to Protect Whistle-blowers in Africa and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

 

They've been investigated by 37 media organisations including The Guardian and Portugal's Expresso newspaper.

 

Andrew Feinstein, the head of Corruption Watch, says the documents show how Ms Dos Santos exploited her country at the expense of ordinary Angolans.

 

"Every time she appears on the cover of some glossy magazine somewhere in the world, every time that she hosts one of her glamorous parties in the south of France, she is doing so by trampling on the aspirations of the citizens of Angola."

 

The ICIJ have called the documents The Luanda Leaks.

 

The oil connection

One of the most suspicious deals was run from London through a UK subsidiary of the Angolan state oil company Sonangol.

 

Ms Dos Santos had been put in charge of the struggling Sonangol in 2016, thanks to a presidential decree from her father Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who kept a tight grip on his country for the 38 years he was in power.

 

But when he retired as president in September 2017 her position was soon under threat, even though his hand-picked successor came from the same party. Ms Dos Santos was sacked two months later.

 

Many Angolans have been surprised at the way that President Joao Lourenço has gone after the business interests of his predecessor's family.

 

The leaked documents show that as she left Sonangol, Ms Dos Santos approved $58m of suspicious payments to a consultancy company in Dubai called Matter Business Solutions.

 

She says she has no financial interest in Matter, but the leaked documents reveal it was run by her business manager and owned by a friend.

 

Panorama understands that Matter sent more than 50 invoices to Sonangol in London on the day that she was fired.

 

Ms Dos Santos appears to have approved payments to her friend's company after she was sacked.

 

Although some consultancy work had been carried out by Matter, there's very little detail on the invoices to justify such large bills.

 

One asks for €472,196 for unspecified expenses, another asks for $928,517 for unspecified legal services.

 

Two of the invoices - each for €676,339.97 - are for exactly the same work on the same date and Ms Dos Santos signed them both off anyway.

 

Lawyers for Matter Business Solutions say it was brought in to help restructure the oil industry in Angola, and that the invoices were for work that had already been carried out by other consultancy companies it had hired.

 

"Regarding the invoices related with expenses, it is common for consultancy companies to add expenses to invoices as a general item. This is often due to those expenses involving large amounts of paperwork... Matter can produce documentary evidence to confirm all expenses incurred."

 

Ms Dos Santos's lawyers said her actions with regard to the Matter payments were entirely lawful and that she had not authorised payments after she had been dismissed from Sonangol.

 

They said: "All invoices paid were in relation to services contracted and agreed between the two parties, under a contract that was approved with the full knowledge and approval of the Sonangol Board of Directors."

 

Media captionIsabel dos Santos: "I regret that Angola has chosen this path"

The ICIJ and Panorama have also uncovered new details about the business deals that made Ms Dos Santos rich.

 

Much of her fortune is based on her ownership of a stake in the Portuguese energy company Galp, which one of her companies bought from Sonangol in 2006.

 

The documents show it only had to pay 15% of the price upfront and that the remaining €63m ($70m) was turned into a low-interest loan from Sonangol.

 

Under the generous terms of the loan, her debt to the Angolan people didn't have to be repaid for 11 years.

 

Her stake in Galp is now worth more than €750m.

 

Ms Dos Santos's company did offer to repay the Sonangol loan in 2017.

 

The repayment offer should have been rejected because it didn't include almost €9m of interest owing.

 

But Ms Dos Santos was in charge of Sonangol at the time and she accepted the money as full payment of her own debt.

 

She was fired six days later and the payment was returned by the new Sonangol management.

 

Ms Dos Santos says she initiated the purchase of the stake in Galp, and that Sonangol made money from the deal as well.

 

"There's absolutely no wrongdoing in any of those transactions. This investment is the investment that in history has generated the most benefit for the national oil company and all the contracts that were drafted are perfectly legal contracts, there are no wrongdoings."

 

Her lawyers say the repayment offer in 2017 covered what Sonangol had indicated was owed.

 

The diamond connection

It's a similar story in the diamond industry.

 

Ms Dos Santos's husband, Sindika Dokolo, signed a one-sided agreement in 2012 with Angolan state diamond company Sodiam.

 

They were supposed to be 50-50 partners in a deal to buy a stake in the Swiss luxury jeweller De Grisogono.

 

But it was funded by the state company. The documents show that 18 months after the deal, Sodiam had put $79m into the partnership, while Mr Dokolo had only invested $4m. Sodiam also awarded him a €5m success fee for brokering the deal, so he didn't have to use any of his own money.

 

The diamond deal gets even worse for the Angolan people.

 

The documents reveal how Sodiam borrowed all the cash from a private bank in which Ms Dos Santos is the biggest shareholder.

 

Sodiam has to pay 9% interest and the loan was guaranteed by a presidential decree from her father, so Ms Dos Santos's bank cannot lose out.

 

Bravo da Rosa, the new chief executive of Sodiam, told Panorama that the Angolan people hadn't got a single dollar back from the deal: "In the end, when we have finished paying back this loan, Sodiam will have lost more than $200m."

 

The former president also gave Ms Dos Santos's husband the right to buy some of Angola's raw diamonds.

 

The Angolan government says the diamonds were sold at a knockdown price and sources have told Panorama that almost $1bn may have been lost.

 

Ms Dos Santos told the BBC she couldn't comment because she was not a shareholder of De Grisogono.

 

But the leaked documents show that she is described as a shareholder of De Grisogono by her own financial advisers.

 

Mr Dokolo did put in some money later. His lawyers say he invested $115m and that the takeover of De Grisogono was his idea. They say his company paid above the market rate for the raw diamonds.

 

The land connection

The leaked documents also reveal how Ms Dos Santos bought land from the state in September 2017. Once again she only had to pay a small up-front fee.

 

Her company bought a square kilometre of prime beachfront land in the capital Luanda with the help of presidential decrees signed by her father.

 

The contract says the land was worth $96m, but the documents show her company paid only 5% of that after agreeing to invest the rest in the development.

 

Panorama traced some of the ordinary Angolans who were evicted to make way for the Futungo development.

 

They've been moved from the Luandan seafront to an isolated housing development 30 miles (50km) from the capital.

 

Teresa Vissapa lost her business to Ms Dos Santos' development and is now struggling to bring up her seven children.

 

She said: "I only ask God to make her think a little more about our situation. Maybe she doesn't even know it, but we are suffering."

 

Ms Dos Santos declined to comment on the Futungo development.

 

But it was not the only land deal involving Ms Dos Santos that displaced the local population.

 

About 500 families were evicted from another stretch of the Luandan seafront after Isabel dos Santos got involved in another major redevelopment project.

 

The families are now living in desperate conditions next to an open sewer. Some of their shacks are flooded with sewage whenever the tide rises.

 

Ms Dos Santos says there weren't any evictions linked to her project and that her companies were never paid because the development was cancelled.

 

The telecoms connection

The billionaire has also made big profits from the telecoms industry in Angola.

 

She acquired a 25% stake in the country's biggest mobile phone provider, Unitel. It was granted a telecoms licence by her father in 1999 and she bought her stake the following year from a high ranking government official.

 

Unitel has already paid her $1bn in dividends and her stake is worth another $1bn. But that's not the only way she got cash from the private company.

 

She arranged for Unitel to lend €350m to a new company she set up, called Unitel International Holdings.

 

The company name was misleading because it wasn't connected to Unitel and Ms Dos Santos was the owner.

 

The documents show Ms Dos Santos signed off on the loans as both lender and borrower, which is a blatant conflict of interest.

 

Ms Dos Santos denied that the loans were corrupt. She said: "This loan had both directors' approval and shareholders' approval, and it's a loan that will generate, and has generated, benefit for Unitel."

 

Her lawyers say the loans protected Unitel from currency fluctuations.

 

Most of the companies involved in the dodgy deals were overseen by accountants working for the financial services company, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC). It's made millions providing auditing, consultancy and tax advice to her companies.

 

But PWC has terminated its relationship with the billionaire and her family, after Panorama questioned the way the company had assisted Ms Dos Santos in the deals that had made her rich.

 

PWC says it is holding an inquiry into the "very serious and concerning allegations".

 

Tom Keatinge, director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, told Panorama that PWC had given legitimacy to Ms Dos Santos and her companies.

 

"PWC, if not facilitating the corruption, are providing a veneer of respectability that makes what's happening acceptable or more acceptable than it might otherwise be.

 

"So if I was at PWC I'd be conducting a pretty thorough audit of what decisions were made, and in hindsight actually: 'Did we make the wrong decision to accept this business and should we have reported what we had been presented with?'"

 

PWC says it strives to maintain the highest professional standards and has set expectations for consistent ethical behaviour across its global network.

 

"In response to the very serious and concerning allegations that have been raised, we immediately initiated an investigation and are working to thoroughly evaluate the facts and conclude our inquiry.

 

"We will not hesitate to take appropriate actions to ensure that we always stand for the very highest standards of behaviour, wherever we operate in the world."--BBC

 

 

 

Disney culls 'Fox' from 20th Century Fox in rebrand

Disney executives have cut the word "Fox" from their 20th Century Fox film studio in an apparent bid to distance it from operations of the previous owner, Rupert Murdoch.

 

US media suggests Disney does not want to be associated with the media mogul's highly partisan, right-wing Fox News network.

 

However, Disney has not clarified its reasons.

 

It bought the studio, with other media operations, in a $71bn deal last March.

 

20th Century Fox is known for producing some of the biggest films of all-time, including Avatar and Titanic.

 

Murdoch's son criticises wildfires media coverage

Disney boss on Star Wars, Marvel & Scorsese

Variety magazine, which broke the news about the name change, said it had spoken to an unnamed Disney source, who said: "I think the Fox name means Murdoch, and that is toxic."

 

Hollywood is known for being liberal, unlike the Australian tycoon.

 

Disney has also renamed Fox Searchlight Pictures, the arthouse arm, as simply Searchlight Pictures.

 

Staff emails were changed on Friday, from @fox.com to @20thcenturystudios.com or @searchlight.com.

 

The original 20th Century Fox company was formed in 1935 following a merger.

 

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation bought it in the mid-1980s, and the Fox News channel was created in 1996, growing to become most-watched in the US.

 

News Corporation was later split into News Corp and 21st Century Fox - which Disney acquired as the parent company of various film and television studios, including the renowned 20th Century Fox.

 

The Murdoch family retained the news outlets in a spin-off company, Fox Corporation, which is run by Rupert Murdoch's son Lachland.

 

The Disney-Fox giant in four charts

Disney bets the House of Mouse on streaming

Variety says the 20th Century Fox studio's well-known fanfare theme and searchlight logo will be retained.

 

Disney also runs 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios. Any changes to their names have not been announced.

 

Disney is already a dominant force in US news, as the owner of the ABC network. It is also hoping to challenge Netflix with its own streaming service Disney+, which launched in the US last year.--BBC

 

 

Brexit: Price rises warning after chancellor vows EU rules divergence

Businesses have warned that food prices may rise and jobs may be affected after the chancellor vowed to end alignment with EU rules after Brexit.

 

Sajid Javid told the Financial Times the UK would not be a "ruletaker" after Brexit, urging businesses to "adjust".

 

The Food and Drink Federation said the proposals were likely to cause food prices to rise at the end of this year.

 

The Confederation of British Industry said for many firms, keeping existing EU rules would support jobs.

 

The automotive, food and drink and pharmaceutical industries all warned the government last year that moving away from key EU rules would be damaging.

 

Clock to illuminate No 10 as UK leaves the EU

How soon will Brexit happen?

'Death knell'

In an interview with Financial Times, the chancellor said the Treasury would not support manufacturers that favour staying aligned with EU rules, as companies had known since 2016 that the UK was going to leave the EU.

 

"Admittedly they didn't know the exact terms," he said.

 

The UK's 11-month transition period begins after it leaves the EU on 31 January.

 

Mr Javid declined to specify which EU rules he wanted to drop, but said some businesses would benefit from Brexit, while others would not.

 

He added: "There will not be alignment, we will not be a ruletaker, we will not be in the single market and we will not be in the customs union - and we will do this by the end of the year."

 

Tim Rycroft, chief operating officer of the Food and Drink Federation, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it sounded like the "death knell" for frictionless trade with the EU.

 

Acknowledging that some industries might benefit from Brexit, he said: "We also have to make sure the government clearly understands what the consequences will be for industries like ours if they go ahead and change our trading terms."

 

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said it welcomed the chancellor's "ambitious" vision but said the government should not feel an "obligation" to depart from EU rules.

 

Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI director-general, said for many companies, "particularly in some of the most deprived regions of the UK", keeping the same rules would support jobs and maintain competitiveness.

 

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the automotive industry in the UK and EU was "uniquely integrated" and its priority was to avoid "expensive tariffs and other 'behind the border' barriers".

 

It said it was vital to have "early sight" of the government's plans so companies could evaluate their impact.

 

And the Chemical Industries Association said: "The industry continues to support regulatory alignment with our European counterparts, which represents the largest single market for our products."

 

BBC business correspondent Katy Austin pointed out that the association's members were concentrated in the north of England, an area the government is particularly keen to be seen to support.

 

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted that Conservative promises about frictionless trade with the EU after Brexit were "now exposed as not worth paper they were written on".

 

This tough tone from the chancellor appears to have a two-pronged intention.

 

Firstly, there's the message to business, which is, effectively, that Brexit is going to happen so just get on with it.

 

Getting on the wrong side of businesses has never been familiar ground for the Conservatives, but a majority government gives you the freedom to do the uncomfortable stuff.

 

It means the Tories can now be emboldened to say some companies will suffer because of Brexit in a way they never would have before. And with the general election now behind them, they can also pay little heed to warnings from the shadow chancellor that no alignment could lead to food shortages and job cuts.

 

The second motivation for this tough talk is likely to be about positioning ahead of the trade deal yet to be done with the EU.

 

The rhetoric around not being a "rule-taker" suggests the Conservatives want to be seen as preparing to have a tough battle with the EU to secure a deal without regulations - if they can.

 

Could the UK and EU sort a trade deal in months?

The government has not yet agreed a future trading relationship with the EU - it plans to do so during the 11-month transition period.

 

During this period the UK will continue to follow EU rules and contribute to its budget.

 

'Bang for the buck'

The chancellor also said he wanted to double the UK's annual economic growth to between 2.7 and 2.8%.

 

The outgoing governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, told the Financial Times last week he thought the UK's trend growth rate was much lower, at between 1 and 1.5%.

 

Mr Javid said the extra growth would come from spending on skills and infrastructure in the Midlands and the north of England - even if they did not offer as much "bang for the buck" as projects in other parts of the country.

 

He also pledged to rewrite Treasury investment rules, which have tended to favour government investment in places with high economic growth and high productivity.--BBC

 

 

 

What has Donald Trump actually achieved on trade?

Is Donald Trump anything more than, as he once put it, "Tariff Man"?

 

The US president uses the tool against trading partners to fight battles from "unfair" steel price practices to France's digital tax on tech giants.

 

Most prominent has been his trade war with China which has raised border taxes on almost $500bn of annual trade.

 

Mr Trump styles himself as a deal-maker who, as president of the world's largest economy, uses tariffs for leverage in negotiations.

 

So can the US president legitimately claim he has made any progress? The BBC takes a look around the world.

 

China

When Mr Trump first announced a trade deal with China, he hailed it as "very large and comprehensive".

 

It was, he tweeted, "by far, the greatest and biggest deal ever made for our Great Patriot Farmers in the history of our Country".

 

This week, the two sides finally got around to a signing a deal but some were far from convinced that the substance merited Mr Trump's descriptions.

 

Most of the tariffs remain in place. The US will maintain levies of up to 25% on an estimated $360bn worth of Chinese goods while China is expected to keep tariffs on more than $100bn of US imports.

 

Even the Trump administration conceded it fell short of original goals, describing it as a "phase one" agreement.

 

North America

In 2018, the US, Canada and Mexico agreed to a deal that will govern the more than $1.1 trillion in trade between the three countries.

 

The pact, which has been slowly making its way through the legislatures of the three countries, will replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which Mr Trump has described as the "worst".

 

However, despite a name change, a lot of the terms remain the same.

 

There are some differences, including stronger labour provisions and tougher rules on the sourcing of auto parts.

 

But analysts say their significance remains to be seen. Many of the other updates were worked out in negotiations that pre-dated Mr Trump.

 

Japan and South Korea

One of Mr Trump's first moves as president was to withdraw the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership - a proposed 12-country deal that eventually went ahead without America, putting its exports at a disadvantage.

 

Mr Trump has since claimed two bilateral agreements in Asia, with Japan and South Korea, but the changes were so limited that Congressional researchers said they barely qualified as trade deals.

 

What Trump wants from global trade

New cracks in the global economy as exports tumble

China v the US: Not just a trade war

In the case of South Korea, the most notable provision actually preserved US tariffs on light duty trucks.

 

With Japan, the US won either levy cuts or complete elimination on $7bn worth of agricultural goods. But this was the same access America would have received under the Trans Pacific Partnership.

 

Europe

In the case of Europe, there is no trade deal in sight.

 

The two sides went through a round of tit-for-tat tariffs after the US announced the steel and aluminium tariffs - measures that affect more than $10bn worth of two-way trade.

 

Then, in October, the US imposed 25% tariffs on $7.5bn worth of European goods, including Scotch whisky, French wine and Italian cheese.

 

In that instance, Mr Trump's decision had the approval of the World Trade Organization, which had found that the European Union provided illegal subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

 

The US president had made repeated threats to impose tariffs on European cars but that has never materialised.

 

However, the White House continues to dangle the prospect of steep levies on other EU goods such as French produce in retaliation for France's new digital services tax..

 

Brazil and Argentina

Heads spun last month when Mr Trump announced on Twitter he wanted tariffs on steel and aluminium from Brazil and Argentina.

 

Those countries had been exempted from higher duty on both metals but Mr Trump claimed the two nations had been devaluing their currencies "which is not good for our farmers".

 

So far, there has been no follow-up announcement from his administration and the threats have not materialised.

 

Following a phone call with Mr Trump, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he had been assured they would not happen.--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 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) 2020 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 77 344 1674

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=AFQjCNH8LYgdY55h-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%2FBullsBearsZimbabwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA> www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200120/12a1a588/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 23068 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200120/12a1a588/attachment-0005.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 35508 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200120/12a1a588/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 33764 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200120/12a1a588/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 31402 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200120/12a1a588/attachment-0008.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4846 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20200120/12a1a588/attachment-0009.jpg>