Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 March 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 March 2020

 


 

 


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ü  US pushes direct payment plan as part of $1tn stimulus

ü  British tourists stranded after flight suspensions

ü  Stocks bounce as volatility continues

ü  Coronavirus: 'We have gone from £140,000 a year to nothing'

ü  Amazon: Staff told to work overtime as virus spikes demand

ü  Hospitality industry 'faces thousands of closures'

ü  South Africa's Taste Holdings to liquidate food business, hitting 770 jobs

ü  AngloGold Ashanti worker in Ghana tests positive for coronavirus

ü  Endeavour Mining employee in Burkina Faso tests positive for coronavirus

ü  Conferences, events cancelled at S.Africa's Sun International over virus fears

ü  Kenya's Safaricom waives fees for small M-Pesa transfers amid virus outbreak

ü  U.S. prosecutors believe Credit Suisse is culpable in Mozambique scandal-sources

ü  S.Africa's Old Mutual wants new CEO within months; shares drop after earnings

ü  Tunisair to lose $24.6 million this month, CEO says

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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US pushes direct payment plan as part of $1tn stimulus

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he supports sending money directly to Americans as part of a $1tn (£830bn) stimulus aimed at averting an economic crisis caused by the coronavirus.

 

"We're looking at sending cheques to Americans immediately," he said.

 

The $250bn (£207bn) in cheques are part of a huge aid package which the White House is discussing with Congress.

 

It follows widespread school and shop closures as the number of coronavirus cases in the US approached 6,000.

 

The US has been debating how to provide relief as activity grinds to a halt in response to curfews and other measures intended to slow the spread of the virus.

 

Details such as the size of the cheques, and who would qualify for them, are still under discussion.

 

A $1tn aid package - roughly the size of the entire UK budget - would be larger than the US response to the 2008 financial crisis, amounting to nearly a quarter of what the US federal government spent last year.

 

In addition to the $250bn in cheques for families, the plan includes a bailout for airlines and hotels, among other measures. The proposal must be approved by Congress to move forward.

 

Wall Street rebounded sharply on Tuesday after the plan was announced, though not nearly enough to make up for the previous day's heavy losses.

 

Separate from the $1tn package, Mr Mnuchin said the government would also allow companies and individuals to delay their tax payments for 90 days.

 

"We look forward to having bipartisan support to pass this legislation very quickly," he said.

 

US President Donald Trump initially proposed a payroll tax cut, which would reduce the money the government automatically withholds from worker pay to pay for social programmes.

 

However, critics said that relief would come too slowly and leave out those without jobs. Several high-profile economists had urged more direct assistance, including $1,000 payments, winning support from lawmakers such as Republican Senator Mitt Romney.

 

Mr Trump said he had come round to the view that faster, more direct relief is necessary.

 

"With this invisible enemy, we don't want people losing their jobs and not having money to live," Mr Trump said, adding that he wanted to target the relief to those who need it.

 

Mr Mnuchin said he hoped to send the cheques within two weeks.

 

"Americans need cash now and the president wants to give cash now and I mean now, in the next two weeks."

 

Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard University who had championed the idea, wrote on Twitter that he was thrilled to see it gain traction.

 

Speaking to the BBC earlier, he said direct payments would help, even with so many shops closed for business.

 

"It would enable people to not work, if that's what they need to do. It will prevent some people from not making their rent payments," said Mr Furman, who served as a top economic adviser under former President Barack Obama.

 

"There are a lot of ways to spend money that don't involve going out."

 

But economist Gabriel Zucman, a professor at the University of California who has advised Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, said the government should prioritise help to businesses if it wants to avoid mass layoffs and company failures.

 

"What the US needs is massive support to small businesses to cover wages and maintenance costs during shutdown," he said, adding that lawmakers could opt to do both.

 

The White House push for relief comes as Republicans and Democrats in Congress remain divided about what help is necessary.

 

It follows actions by the Federal Reserve to ease financial strains.

 

The bank on Tuesday said it will use emergency powers to purchase up to $1tr in short-term corporate debt directly from companies, reinstating a funding facility that was created during the 2008 financial crisis.

 

It is also offering another $500bn in overnight loans to banks. It has previously enacted two emergency rate cuts, and other stimulus measures.

 

US markets rallied about 6% following Tuesday's announcements after steep falls a day earlier. They have been in turmoil for weeks, as investors respond to the likelihood that the coronavirus will cause a sharp contraction in the US economy in coming months.--BBC

 


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British tourists stranded after flight suspensions

British tourists in Morocco and Peru have told the BBC they are stranded and unsure how they will get home after their flights were suspended.

 

EasyJet and British Airways told the BBC they were running rescue flights from Morocco after general flights from there to the UK were cancelled.

 

But tourist Beth Marletta said she would have to wait weeks to get home.

 

"Just off the phone to BA who have said they can't reschedule our flight until April now," she told the BBC.

 

"There are no rescue flights despite what the news are saying."

 

Beth and her partner have been in Morocco for a week-and-a-half. They were due to fly back from Marrakech to Heathrow and then on to Edinburgh with BA on Saturday.

 

On her original call to British Airways, she was told the next available flight was in August.

 

Another British woman told the BBC she was supposed to fly back from Morocco with EasyJet. She said she had had trouble booking herself onto a rescue flight and that the situation was very confusing.

 

Thomas Reilly, the British ambassador in Morocco, tweeted that there would be a number of rescue flights operated by British Airways, Ryanair, EasyJet and Tui over the next three days.

 

Meanwhile, another British tourist, Amir Mahmood, has tweeted a video from the airport talking about his experience of trying to get home.

 

He was due to fly home from Morocco with EasyJet on Tuesday and the airline's website said his flight was leaving on schedule.

 

He said he queued up for five hours at the airport, only to be told when he reached the front of the queue that there were no flights.

 

Amir said in the video: "We don't know what to do. We feel completely stranded along with hundreds of other British people."

 

Since publishing his video, however, he has been booked on a flight back to the UK on Tuesday evening.

 

EasyJet and BA said while they were running rescue flights they could not comment on individual cases.

 

Meanwhile, two British women are on forced lockdown in a hostel in Peru with other Britons, after they were unable to book flights out of the country.

 

Tess Bettison and her friend Stevie Chandler said they were also concerned for their safety.

 

"We saw on the news in Peru that the Peruvian government were locking down the country and we were given 24 hours to get out. We were not informed by the British Embassy or our travel company," said Tess.

 

"We started looking for flights out of the country but all of them back to the UK were cancelled as were ones to places like the US and Chile. We tried getting out to anywhere else like Mexico but the flights were £2,000-3,000 and when you clicked on them they were gone.

 

"There is rising tension in Peru with a lot of xenophobia towards the Chinese and European people as they blame us for bringing the coronavirus to their country.

 

"We have been locked inside our hostel for safety alongside other British nationals but we don't know how long we'll be allowed to stay here."

 

'Nervous about health'

The Department for Transport has been in discussion with airlines to ensure that rescue flights continue from destinations around the world even when tight travel restrictions kick in, to make sure British tourists can get home.

 

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We recognise that any British people currently overseas may be nervous about the impact of coronavirus on their travel and their health."

 

Another operator, Tui, said it was "working hard" to bring back its customers from Morocco, following local authority travel restrictions.

 

"We're in direct contact with customers to keep them updated of their new departure flight times and our reps in-resort are able to help with the latest information."--BBC

 

 

 

Stocks bounce as volatility continues

Financial markets remain turbulent as a massive slowdown in economic activity due to the coronavirus takes hold across Europe and the US.

 

In the US, shares rebounded about 6% after steep falls on Monday.

 

London's FTSE 100 also jumped 2.7% after being down more than 1% earlier on Tuesday. Other major European markets made similar moves.

 

It comes amid fresh promises of financial aid to helped bolster growth.

 

In the US, President Donald Trump's administration said it was considering sending cheques to Americans as part of a $1tn stimulus package.

 

The US Federal Reserve also said it would use emergency powers to purchase up to $1tn in short-term corporate debt directly from companies, reinstating a funding facility that was created during the 2008 financial crisis.

 

The Dow ended 5.2% higher, while the S&P 500 gained 6% and the Nasdaq rose 6.23%.

 

Meanwhile, in the UK, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced £330bn in financial help for UK firms affected by the outbreak.

 

The outgoing head of the Office For Budget Responsibility, Robert Chote, has said a temporary spike in borrowing would be sensible.

 

Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee he said it was better to spend a "little too much" than too little, adding: "When the fire is large enough, you just spray water" (and worry about the clean up after).

 

 

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said his government would guarantee €300bn of loans, and pledged that no French company would be allowed to collapse.

 

Italy, Germany, Japan and Spain have also all announced hundreds of billions of dollars in government relief.

 

The scale of the US response - from both the central bank and the government - has been the most aggressive, even if many details remain unknown, said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Markit.

 

"The good news is they're talking about it now, which is more than I can say about the Japanese or the Europeans," he said.

 

"It's too late to do anything to stop the recession. All you can do is limit the pain, limit the damage," he added.

 

 

Earlier on Tuesday, Asian shares continued to see volatile trading on with markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai swinging between losses and gains.

 

The turbulence follows one of the worst days in history for US markets. The Dow Jones lost close to 13% and the S&P 500 fell almost 12%, marking the biggest one-day falls for both indexes since "Black Monday" in 1987.

 

That followed the US Federal Reserve making another emergency rate cut on Sunday, prompting central banks around the world to ease policy in the biggest co-ordinated response since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

 

In the last month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has racked up the five biggest one-day points falls in its 135-year history. In March alone the index has also seen its four biggest one-day points gains on record.

 

Wall Street's so-called "Fear Gauge" has just topped the levels seen during the financial crisis more than a decade ago. The Chicago Board Options Exchange's VIX, a measure of stock market volatility, surged by almost 43%, surpassing the level seen in 2008.--BBC

 

 

 

Coronavirus: 'We have gone from £140,000 a year to nothing'

"We don't want the business to fail, we've worked really hard and we love it," says Emma Gregory, who - together with Caroline Wakil - has built Urbanberry into a £140,000-a-year business.

 

But since the coronavirus outbreak, all the interviews set up by the fledging travel recruitment firm have been cancelled.

 

"This is devastating for us, it means no income indefinitely and all the people we love helping are losing their jobs and we have nothing to offer them," Emma told the BBC.

 

They are just one of the millions of small firms trying to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Many industries are suffering due to the impact of social distancing and self-isolation, with the travel industry being one of the hardest hit.

 

Emma and Caroline started their specialist firm in October 2017 with the aim of creating a business that also enabled them to have a life.

 

But, despite splitting the working week to make time for family Ms Gregory says they never have a day off.

 

"We basically do anything to try to build our business."

 

Future in doubt

Emma and Caroline worry that the future of that business is in doubt as a result of firms putting a freeze on hiring amid uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic.

 

They hope the government will step in to help small businesses through the crisis.

 

"We don't have the resources or additional revenue streams that a larger business will have and for us, a delay in paying corporation tax bills that are due in July would be beneficial," Emma says.

 

"Temporary help with childcare costs to enable us to keep ploughing away at recovering our business and not have to withdraw our children from coveted nursery spots - which would then impact the childcare provider themselves - would also be hugely appreciated."

 

'Increasingly bleak' prospects

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) chair Mike Cherry told the BBC: "Many will feel like they are being made to choose between their health and the very survival of their business. Nobody should have to make this choice."

 

Small business in the UK

5.8 million

small businesses in the UK at the start of 2019

 

16.6 millionemployed by them

 

50%of turnover in the private sector

 

£2.2 trillionestimated annual turnover

 

Source: Federation of Small Businesses

"These are already very difficult times for all small businesses right across the country. There are huge concerns over supply chains, while on top of this footfall continues to drop. The prospect for these businesses over the coming weeks is increasingly bleak.

 

"The self-employed in particular will be worried about their livelihoods if they lose contracts or must go into self-isolation," he said.

 

"It's critical that the necessary support is in place to support the 5.8 million small businesses and self-employed."

 

The leisure and hospitality industry has also been calling for help after Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged everyone to avoid unnecessary social contact and to stay away from pubs and restaurants.

 

Even before the prime minister's announcement, restaurant reservation app OpenTable had reported a 31% UK-wide drop in bookings compared to the same period in 2019.

 

Gavin Webb has run a successful music-based promotion and events company in Essex for almost two decades.

 

The events division of Catman Boogie Music & Entertainments is the biggest part of the company. It puts on private music festivals as well as events for schools and colleges.

 

But its schedule for the next two months has been emptied due to cancellations in response to the pandemic.

 

He told the BBC: "In the last week we have had our entire turnover from now until mid-May completely cancelled."

 

Mr Webb says the significant drop in income has had a devastating impact on the rest of his business.

 

"As a result we have had to lay some of our workforce off this week," he said.

 

"This morning we have also had to give our landlord notice to withdraw from our recording studio complex which helps local artists with recording and media services."

 

He added: "I'm not sure we'll survive."

 

Founder of Exhale Pilates, Gaby Noble, said she was trying to remain positive in the face of the pandemic.

 

She said: "Being a small business there is always a vulnerability," but added that the coronavirus had spurred her to provide online lessons sooner rather than later.

 

"It was a matter of time until I was going to offer this service, I just didn't think it would be made under these circumstances."

 

In her studio where she trains some celebrities, there is additional deep cleaning going on.

 

Overall, she's trying to maintain a sense of normality, as many other firms will in the face of uncertainty.

 

"I have wanted to maintain as much calmness as possible to keep the morale high for my self-employed teachers who are uncertain whether they will have enough money to pay their rent if and when the studio might have to close."--BBC

 

 

 

Amazon: Staff told to work overtime as virus spikes demand

Workers at Amazon's UK warehouses are being told to work overtime to tackle huge demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite government calls to restrict social contact.

 

The GMB union says that workers across at least four different sites were informed that they had to work "compulsory overtime" from Monday.

 

National officer Mick Rix said Amazon had put "profit before safety".

 

Amazon said it was working to ensure it can continue to deliver to customers.

 

Compulsory overtime means that some employees must work additional hours as requested by an employer - if their contract says so.

 

'Huge spike in demand'

Amazon employs 27,000 people in the UK and has 17 warehouses.

 

One worker at Amazon's Dunfermline warehouse in Scotland, who asked not to be named, told the BBC that staff in the "inbound goods" department are having additional hours imposed.

 

The worker, who thinks they have a compulsory overtime clause in their contract, believes this will be for at least two weeks.

 

They said that there is extra pressure on the workforce to deal with an influx of goods the company is bringing in due to a spike in demand.

 

Sought-after items include bleach, handwash, nappies, large boxes of rice and powdered milk.

 

The worker added that these actions were "very rare" outside of the Christmas trading period or Amazon "Prime week", where the firm offers discounts on goods for subscribers.

 

The worker said other departments in the Dunfermline warehouse are not saying staff should do more hours, but offering them up to 60 hours of voluntary overtime.

 

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed that the company had ramped up shifts across the UK.

 

They said: "As demand continues to increase, we are working to ensure we can continue to deliver to the most-impacted customers while keeping our people safe".

 

"Many of these customers have no other way to get essential items and we want to be sure that we have the right resources in place to deliver on their needs.

 

"Starting this week, we'll be prioritising the intake and dispatch of items most needed by our customers right now. These are items such as food, health and personal care products, items needed to work from home, books and toys for children."

 

Amazon also said that there is an exemptions process in place for employees who cannot work additional hours for personal reasons, such as caring responsibilities.

 

'No regard' for safety

On Monday, Boris Johnson said people should work from home where possible as part of a range of stringent new measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.

 

The GMB union's national officer Mick Rix called the overtime reports "extremely concerning", and accused Amazon of "imposing its demands on workers without any regard for their safety".

 

Mr Rix said he was concerned that if staff are overworked, stress will make them more susceptible to the Covid-19 virus.

 

Sarah Evans, employment law partner at JMW solicitors, said that if a worker's contract has a clause in it that says there "may be an element of compulsory overtime", then a boss is entitled to use it to make them do additional hours.

 

Image caption

Amazon has seen a spike in demand for health and personal care products amid the coronavirus pandemic

She pointed out that under Working Time Regulations in the UK, overtime is limited to a maximum of 48 hours per week, averaged over a 17-week period.

 

Workers can "opt out" of the maximum weekly limit, however, and some are required to do so as a condition of employment.

 

Hannah Ford, a partner and employment law expert at Stevens & Bolton, said that these were "unprecedented times, but all employers must operate within the law."

 

She added: "All employers also owe an implied duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of its employees... this extends to mental health as well as physical health."

 

Extra delivery workers

Workers in the US have also been posting on social media about working overtime at Amazon fulfilment centres.

 

Amazon has said it will hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the United States to deal with the surge in sales due to pandemic.

 

The online retail giant also said it would increase pay for its staff in the UK, US and Europe.

 

Amazon said it would increase hourly wages by $2 in the US, £2 in the UK, and €2 in Europe. The company said it expects the pay rises expected to cost it more than $350m (£285m).--BBC

 

 

Hospitality industry 'faces thousands of closures'

The hospitality industry has warned the new government restrictions around coronavirus could shut down firms.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged everyone to avoid social contact and stay away from pubs and restaurants.

 

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade association Hospitality UK, said it was "catastrophic for businesses and jobs".

 

"This announcement will lead to thousands of businesses closing their doors for good, and hundreds of thousands of job losses," she said.

 

"Over the past few weeks the industry has suffered unprecedented drops in visits and many business are already on their knees. This latest advice leaves the industry in limbo, with no recourse to insurance.

 

"The government must act now to stop them going under and protect the people's jobs."

 

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to outline a rescue package in the government's daily briefing on the outbreak on Tuesday afternoon.

 

His £7bn Budget package to help businesses deal with the crisis included business rates relief and a new hardship fund, but Mr Sunak said in his Budget speech that he would "not hesitate to act" if more was needed.

 

Carolyn Fairbairn, head of the CBI business lobby group, called for co-ordinated, fast, interventions, and said: "We do not want to look back and say we acted too late."

 

The chief executive of the Carluccio's restaurant chain, Mark Jones, backed the calls for help, and said that the firm "was days away from large-scale closures" without state aid.

 

He told the BBC's Today programme: "We understand the role we have to play in public health, so I won't question the government's advice on that. But to do that to an industry without any fiscal support whatsoever condemns us to death, effectively."

 

Mr Jones added that the government restrictions announced last night meant "we'll be in a situation where sales start to decline even more rapidly from today onwards".

 

The Italian chain, made up of 73 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, has seen the largest declines in London, he said.

 

Many industry figures have expressed anger that the prime minister advised people to stay away from social venues while not forcing premises to close. This could have given them financial protection for interruption to their business.

 

However, most businesses do not have insurance cover to compensate them for coronavirus losses, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

 

"Irrespective of whether or not the government order closure of a business, the vast majority of firms won't have purchased cover that will enable them to claim on their insurance to compensate for their business being closed by the coronavirus," the ABI said in a statement.

 

"Standard business interruption cover - the type the majority of businesses purchase - does not include forced closure by authorities as it is intended to respond to physical damage at the property which results in the business being unable to continue to trade.

 

"A small minority of typically larger firms might have purchased an extension to their cover for closure due to any infectious disease.

 

"In this instance an enforced closure could help them make the claim, but this will depend on the precise nature of the cover they have purchased so they should check with their insurer or broker to see if they are covered."

 

Other UK firms that have been affected by new coronavirus containment measures include catering giant Compass Group.

 

It warned that its half-yearly operating profit would be lower than expected due to steps taken by governments in Europe and the United States. It now expects a loss of revenue of up to 30% across the business.

 

The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have introduced measures to help businesses.

 

Scotland has announced a £320m rescue package for businesses

Small businesses in Wales will be given more than £200m

The Northern Ireland executive will introduce measures including rates relief for businesses

To close or not to close?

 

That is the question facing thousands of theatres, restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs. While the UK government - in contrast to many other countries - has not ordered a shutdown of social spaces in reaction to coronavirus, it has recommended that people don't go.

 

That is the worst of all possible worlds according to the trade body, UK Hospitality, whose boss Kate Nicholls described the latest government advice as a potentially catastrophic state of limbo for an industry that employs more than three million people.

 

Other hospitality industry sources have told the BBC that they fear mixed messages from the government could compromise their ability to claim on insurance policies. Others say the main issue should be providing a financial lifeline to the industry.

 

Last week, the government announced a support package including a potential tax and business rates holiday along with loans available to affected businesses.

 

But industry groups have described these measures as inadequate to cope with the current emergency.--BBC

 

 

 

South Africa's Taste Holdings to liquidate food business, hitting 770 jobs

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Taste Holdings is in the process of placing its food businesses into voluntary liquidation after a failed attempt to offload its Domino’s Pizza franchise.

 

Taste’s move to liquidate the business comes after South Africa entered its second recession in two years in the final quarter of last year.

 

It will see 770 employees lose their jobs, while 55 stores owned by the company have closed, said Taste, whose food businesses own and license Domino’s Pizza franchises in South Africa.

 

In February last year Taste, which has been facing poor retail sales, estimated it required more than 700 million rand ($42 million) to achieve a positive cash flow and expand its food businesses which also included Starbucks store franchises.

 

But despite raising 132 million rand via a rights offer, it failed to secure the required investment. In November it said it would sell its Starbucks and Domino’s Pizza franchises in South Africa, retreating from a food industry that has been hit hard by the sluggish local economy, whose woes have been compounded by the global coronavirus outbreak.

 

However, Taste on Monday said a deal to dispose of its Domino’s franchise business could not be concluded on terms acceptable to all parties.

 

“Domino’s Pizza LLC was extensively involved in finding a buyer for our licence and approached other franchisees in their global network as potential suitors,” Taste Holdings Chief Executive Duncan Crosson said.

 

“However, discussions with three master franchise partners, as well as various global suitors, finally collapsed this week, triggering the voluntary liquidation decision.”

 

It added that it has received no communication on the date of cancellation of the franchising licence, “the group retains the regional franchising licence until further notice”.

 

Following the liquidation of Taste’s food businesses - Taste Food Franchising Proprietary, Taste Commissary Proprietary and Taste Food Trading 1 Proprietary Ltd - the company will have to fully impair the remaining intercompany loans, with the units valued at about 450 million rand ($27.38 million).

 

Taste Food Franchising Proprietary owns and licenses Domino’s Pizza franchises in South Africa.

 

($1 = 16.6449 rand)

 

 

 

AngloGold Ashanti worker in Ghana tests positive for coronavirus

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A worker at AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi gold mine in Ghana tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, the mining company said, the second known case of the new virus at a mine site in Africa.

 

AngloGold Ashanti said operations at the Obuasi mine, where gold production is ramping up, would continue.

 

The infected employee - a Ghanaian recently returned from travel abroad - is in self-isolation at his home and the company is working with Ghana’s ministry of health to trace all contacts, AngloGold Ashanti said in a statement.

 

Ghana has so far reported six cases of the novel coronavirus. On Monday, Tanzania, Liberia, Benin, and Somalia confirmed their first cases of the virus which has now spread to 30 African countries.

 

 

 

Endeavour Mining employee in Burkina Faso tests positive for coronavirus

(Reuters) - Gold producer Endeavour Mining said on Monday an employee at its Houndé mine in Burkina Faso tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday and was placed under quarantine but mining and exploration activities were not disrupted.

 

The employee experienced mild symptoms hours after arriving at the site from Britain, the company said, and the few people who were in contact with the employee have been identified and placed in quarantine.

 

Because the employee did not show symptoms on arrival and passed the company’s mandatory health screening, Endeavour said it was increasing its preventive measures by introducing a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for any employees or contractors arriving in Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso.

 

“Endeavour has not witnessed any impact to production or operations at any of its mines or exploration activities,” the company said in a statement.

 

Endeavour also said it has enough supplies and equipment, and suppliers have confirmed placed and forecast orders are intact.

 

The first confirmed case of the coronavirus at a mine site in Africa highlights the challenges mining companies face in managing large numbers of employees working together in often close quarters, as the virus spreads across the continent.

 

Burkina Faso reported its first two cases of coronavirus on March 9, and had 15 cases of the virus at last count.

 

Endeavour Mining shares were down 20.3% in early trading as stocks worldwide sank in a broad-based selloff.

 

 

 

Conferences, events cancelled at S.Africa's Sun International over virus fears

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African hotel and casino operator Sun International is already handling cancellation of conference bookings and events by clients, CEO Anthony Leeming said on Monday, as companies rush to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Late on Sunday, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster as he announced a range of measures to contain the outbreak that has so far infected 61 and showed the first signs of internal transmission.

 

Measures to be taken include travel bans from countries such as Italy, Germany, China and the United States. The government will also prohibit gatherings of more than 100 people and cancel large events and celebrations, Ramaphosa said.

 

Even before the declaration, Sun International had started seeing the impact of travel restrictions, Leeming told Reuters over the phone.

 

“With travel restrictions we’ve definitely lost all international business and conference group bookings are cancelling left right and centre,” he said.

 

“With the President’s announcement, we’re going to have all conferencing cancelled for the next couple of months. So that’s the real impact on the hospitality side.”

 

Events such as music concerts that are usually held at its Times Square arena and Sun City resort have also been called off. Leeming said this will not be a huge loss for the operator.

 

On the casino side, Sun International has not yet seen a significant slow down in foot traffic but Leeming expects “a little bit of slowdown” as people avoid going out.

 

ONLINE SPORTS BETTING

In line with exploring new growth opportunities, Sun International will launch an online sports betting platform in the next month or two in Peru, Leeming told Reuters.

 

“Then that will quickly roll-out in Panama where we have an online sports betting license and then we can roll it out quite quickly if we can secure a license in Brazil and Argentina,” he said.

 

Sun International reported a 91% jump in adjusted headline earnings per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, for the year ended Dec. 31, to 605 cents per share from 316 cents per share a year ago due to lower interest and depreciation and a significantly lower tax rate.

 

Total income rose by 4% to 17.2 billion rand ($1.05 billion), primarily driven by above-market organic growth from key operations in South Africa and the impact of acquisitions made in Latin America during the prior year.

 

($1 = 16.4071 rand)

 

 

 

Kenya's Safaricom waives fees for small M-Pesa transfers amid virus outbreak

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s biggest telecoms operator Safaricom said on Monday it will waive transaction costs on mobile money transfers under 1,000 shillings ($10) after the government said cashless payments can curb the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta encouraged people to use the service because it would cut down on the handling of cash. Kenya has three cases of the virus so far.

 

Safaricom’s M-Pesa mobile money platform is widely used, with more than 20 million subscribers in a population of 47 million.

 

The Central Bank of Kenya has also approved an increase of the daily transaction limit to 300,000 shillings per person from the current 140,000 shillings, Safaricom said in a statement.

 

User will be able to hold more money in their wallets under the new changes, the company added.

 

 

 

U.S. prosecutors believe Credit Suisse is culpable in Mozambique scandal-sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are investigating Credit Suisse Group AG’s role in a $2 billion Mozambique corruption case and believe they have evidence of the Swiss lender’s culpability after three former bankers pleaded guilty last year, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

 

Prosecutors believe Credit Suisse can be held criminally liable for its employees’ crimes if they were committed in the scope of their role and at least partly benefited the bank, said one of the sources who is a U.S. law enforcement official. They believe a plea deal and testimonies from two former bankers at a subsequent trial give them evidence of the bank’s culpability, the sources said.

 

Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York contacted the bank in February and laid out their initial case against it, the second source said.

 

“Credit Suisse continues to cooperate with all investigating authorities,” a Credit Suisse spokesman said.

 

The prosecutor’s view on the bank’s culpability and the latest contact between prosecutors and the bank have not been previously reported.

 

It is not clear whether prosecutors will file any charges against the bank. The second source said talks between prosecutors and Credit Suisse could go on for as long as a year and the bank, which disputes that testimonies from its former bankers proved its guilt, may fight any charges in court.

 

The Justice Department declined to comment. The two sources declined to be named due to sensitivity of the matter.

 

The case stems from loans Credit Suisse helped arrange between 2013 and 2016 to develop Mozambique’s coastal defenses, shipping fleet and tuna fishing industry.

 

The three former Credit Suisse bankers, along with two middlemen and three Mozambican government officials, were charged in 2018 for money laundering and defrauding U.S. investors who had invested in the loans. U.S. prosecutors said at least $200 million of the loans had been diverted to the eight defendants. The former bankers pleaded guilty last year.

 

One of the former bankers, Andrew Pearse, who was a managing director, said during his plea hearing that he had accepted millions of dollars of unlawful kickbacks to enrich himself and Credit Suisse, according to a court transcript. The bank earned $24 million in fees on the loans, but is still waiting for Mozambique to repay a $270 million portion of the loan, one of the sources said.

 

A second former Credit Suisse banker who pleaded guilty testified at the trial of one of the middlemen that the bank was aware that the value of the ships financed through the loans were false, the sources familiar with the matter said.

 

The banker testified during a cross-examination that the bank failed to notify investors after learning that boats it had financed were worth about $250 million and $400 million less than it had originally indicated on the loan, said the law enforcement official.

 

However, the second source said such disclosures are usually made by the issuer, which in this case is the Mozambican government, and the bank is of the view that its former bankers were not senior enough to prove failure on the part of the lender.

 

 

 

S.Africa's Old Mutual wants new CEO within months; shares drop after earnings

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The board of South Africa’s Old Mutual likely wants to have appointed a new chief executive within a few months, interim CEO Iain Williamson said on Monday, when the insurer announced its full-year results and its shares dropped 8.5%.

 

Old Mutual said full-year adjusted profit rose 7%, versus the already flagged expected increase of up to 9% - which it attributed mostly to higher returns on invested capital due to an improved market, as opposed to performance.

 

The company’s share drop comes after the stock sunk in 2019 partly due to a spat with former boss Peter Moyo over his abrupt sacking in June following a dispute over a conflict of interest.

 

Williamson said that while the hunt for a new CEO was underway, he deferred questions on what stage the process was at and possible time frame to the board.

 

“I suspect they would like it done in the next few months,” he said

 

After initially winning a series of victories, Moyo’s case was dismissed in January - a decision he is appealing.

 

That marked a much-needed win for 175-year-old Old Mutual, whose handling of the matter was criticised by some shareholders and customers, denting the reputation of one of South Africa’s oldest companies.

 

Williamson said this had some impact on its ability to win new business, with the brand’s image hurt by the issue, though it was hard to isolate this from the much larger impact of a tough economy in South Africa.

 

Old Mutual’s results from operations - its measure of operating profit - fell 2%, verses a potential decline of as much as 5% flagged in a trading statement earlier in March.

 

The insurer pointed to economic deterioration in its home market, by far its largest and which tipped into recession this year. Many of its markets outside of South Africa also suffered.

 

Its adjusted headline earnings per share for the year to Dec. 31 stood at 209.3 cents ($0.1283), versus 195.1 cents a year earlier. Headline earnings per share is the main profit measure in South Africa.

 

Old Mutual adjusts its figure to account for factors including the break up of its former conglomerate structure into four separate entities - a U.S. asset manager, British wealth manager, African financial services division and a bank - that executives said would fare better alone.

 

Its shares regained some ground after dropping 8.5% at market open, and were down 5.92% by 0722 GMT, slightly outperforming the local stock market which was down 6%.

 

($1 = 16.3118 rand)

 

 

 

Tunisair to lose $24.6 million this month, CEO says

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia’s national carrier Tunisair is expected to lose 70 million dinars ($24.6 million) in March and 80 million dinars in April due to the coronavirus, Chief Executive Elyes Mankbi told Reuters on Monday.

 

Tunisia has already announced many restrictions on air travel to regions affected by the coronavirus, including some of Tunisair’s busiest destinations in Europe and North Africa.

 

State-owned Tunisair has already been losing money every year since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, prompting urgent demands in parliament for it to be restructured.

 

Its loss in 2017, the last year for which there is official data, was 226 million dinars, and its loss in 2016 was 165 million dinars.

 

Mankbi has previously said the company needs more planes, less onerous state regulation of its procurement processes, a big staff reduction and other measures. Restructuring would cost 1.3 billion dinars ($456 million), he has said.

 

Tunisia’s state-owned enterprises took on very large numbers of new employees after the revolution but their performance has declined, leading to big losses and adding to the growing public debt.

 

International lenders are seeking big reforms to the state-owned companies, including Tunisair, but job losses are opposed by the country’s powerful labour union.

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


Bindura Nickel Corporation

 

 

 


Padenga Holdings

 

 

 


Delta Corporation

 

 

 


Meikles Limited

 

 

 


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DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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