Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 25 March 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 25 March 2020

 


 

 


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ü  South African mining sector braces for coronavirus lockdown

ü  In wait-and-see mode, Nigeria's central bank holds rates

ü  Kenya to seek IMF help, pay arrears and speed tax refunds

ü  South Africa's foreign direct investment dips in 2019

ü  Kenya shilling weakening caused by 'malicious actors' - central banker

ü  Kenyan shilling inches down against dollar, spreads widen

ü  Tunisia discussing new IMF programme - finance minister

ü  Virus-control measures to hit Rio Tinto operations in South Africa,
Canada

ü  Fired Old Mutual boss Moyo's appeal dismissed - Old Mutual

ü  S.Africa's rand rises on Fed support even as lockdown looms

ü  Coronavirus: No extra help for airlines, chancellor says

ü  Burger King boss: We’re not going to pay our rent

ü  US tech giants team up to tackle coronavirus

ü  Marini naturals: The haircare business that reaches 12 countries

ü  Global stock markets surge after weeks of losses

 


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South African mining sector braces for coronavirus lockdown

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African mining companies are bracing for a
heavy hit from the country’s looming nationwide lockdown to slow the spread
of the coronavirus, warning of an expected leap in costs in addition to
their lost output.

 

A leading producer of metals and minerals such as platinum, palladium, coal,
gold and iron ore, South Africa’s labour-intensive mining industry is a
potential hotbed of infection among the thousands of miners who often work
in confined spaces, with some living nearby in cramped accommodation.

 

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday imposed a 21-day lockdown from midnight
on Thursday after a surge in coronavirus cases.[nL8N2BG5N0]

 

Furnaces and underground mines will have to be put on care and maintenance,
which means operations would stop but are kept in a condition to reopen in
future.

 

“The lockdown could result in some major capital expenditure to reopen
certain deep-level shafts,” said SP Angel mining analyst Johan Meyer.

 

South Africa’s Minerals Council said it was exploring what would be required
to prevent permanent damage of the sector.

 

“There are marginal and loss-making mines that would likely be unable to
reopen should they be required to close fully, without remedial measures,”
it said.

 

AngloGold Ashanti, owner of Mponeng - the world’s deepest mine - said it was
developing plans to restore production safely. The gold miner has already
suspended production at its Cerro Vanguardia mine in Argentina.

 

Pan African Resources said it has sufficient liquidity but would look to
reschedule its short-term senior debt obligations in the event the lockdown
extends into a prolonged period.

 

PRODUCTION HIT

Harmony Gold said the shutdown would “negatively impact” its annual
production guidance of 1.4 million ounces and its full-year earnings.

 

“This is an unprecedented time in the history of the mining industry and our
country,” said Chief Executive Peter Steenkamp.

 

South32 also said it would withdraw its full-year guidance for South African
operations, which include thermal coal, aluminum, manganese and a smelter.

 

Impala Platinum said it planning an orderly transition to
care-and-maintenance status at its mining, smelting and refining operations
while also working on an analysis of the impact.

 

“These are unprecedented and extraordinary times and we all need to make
sacrifices for the greater good,” said Impala CEO Nico Muller.

 

Sibanye Stillwater, the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, and
Anglo American Platinum said they would comply with government measures but
could not comment further at this stage.

 

While miners try to quantify the financial impact from the crisis, the South
Africa’s mining minister is meeting mining and energy executives on Tuesday
to consider how to execute the lockdown.

 

Palladium prices surged as much as 12.7% on Tuesday for the biggest daily
gain since 2000, spurred partly by concerns over supply. Spot gold and
platinum also rose sharply.

 

“The country accounts for some 70% of global platinum mined supply and 35%
of palladium, with a 21-day lockdown possibly resulting in a 4% and 2% of
2020 supply reduction,” said Dmitry Glushakov, head of metals and mining
research at VTB Capital.

 

“We believe that this might provide significant support to PGM (platinum
group metals) prices in the short term.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

In wait-and-see mode, Nigeria's central bank holds rates

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria’s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at
13.5% on Tuesday, as its governor said it would take time to assess measures
already taken to support the economy in response to the coronavirus
outbreak.

 

Godwin Emefiele said the bank’s monetary policy committee voted unanimously
to retain the rate.

 

Nigeria relies on crude sales for 90% of foreign exchange earnings and has
come under pressure after oil prices plunged amid a price war between Russia
and Saudi Arabia. The pandemic has also hit global demand for oil.

 

Last week the bank devalued Nigeria’s naira currency and announced a
stimulus package to support Africa’s biggest economy.

 

Emefiele said that, in light of recent actions already taken by the bank,
the committee “resolved to allow time for the measures to permeate the
economy” before deciding on any other steps that may be required.

 

The move bucks a global trend of monetary easing. Other African countries -
including Ghana, Kenya and Congo - have cut their main lending rates in the
last few days.

 

As of Monday, Nigeria had 40 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death, a
67-year-old former oil official.

 

 

 

Kenya to seek IMF help, pay arrears and speed tax refunds

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s government plans to seek help from the
International Monetary Fund, pay pending bills to suppliers and quickly
process company tax refunds to support the economy in the face of the
coronavirus crisis, officials said.

 

Patrick Njoroge, the central bank governor, told a news conference on
Tuesday that the government is seeking emergency assistance from the IMF of
up to $350 million.

 

“This is assistance that doesn’t have the conditionalities of programmes ...
a lot of this could be directed towards budget support,” Njoroge said,
adding that $750 million will be sought from the World Bank.

 

It was not immediately clear whether the governor was including a World Bank
loan of between $500 million and $1 billion it was reported to be seeking in
January.

 

Kenya has 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the disease is hurting crucial
tourism and farm exports.

 

The government expects revenue collection to be hit as both imports and
domestic consumption slow, Finance Minister Ukur Yatani told Reuters late on
Monday.

 

“We are looking at underperformance as a result of just COVID-19, of about
70 billion (shillings) ... in terms of revenue for the remaining three
months (of this financial year),” he said, adding that the situation was
evolving fast.

 

Yatani said the government would shift planned spending towards urgent
development projects.

 

It plans to release 49 billion shillings ($460 million) to suppliers for
unpaid bills and expedite payment of close to 10 billion shillings in
value-added tax refunds to businesses in the next two to three months, he
said.

 

The World Bank is making $60 million available to Kenya’s health sector to
help it to deal with the outbreak.

 

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been meeting business executives, said on
Monday that fiscal stimulus measures would be announced this week.

 

Kenya’s central bank has already implemented stimulus measures, cutting
interest rates by a larger than expected 100 basis points on Monday and
reducing the amount of cash that banks are required to hold as reserves.

 

It is also allowing borrowers to restructure loans if they encounter
difficulties because of the outbreak.

 

Njoroge said on Tuesday that the central bank will offer banks flexibility
with the classification and provisioning of bad debts that were performing
on March 2 but were subsequently restructured because of the outbreak.

 

Yatani said the government and companies were seeking new sources of raw
materials imports to keep industries going during the crisis.

 

“We already have challenges with the inflow of (materials) inputs,” he said,
adding that they are either delayed or not arriving as required.

 

($1 = 106.6000 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

South Africa's foreign direct investment dips in 2019

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa saw a dip in foreign direct investment in
2019 compared to the previous year, with inflows falling to 66.8 billion
rand ($3.78 billion) from 72.1 billion rand, the central bank said on
Tuesday.

 

A key part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s plan to revive growth in Africa’s
most developed economy hinges on luring foreign capital, but prolonged power
outages caused confidence among investors to wane along with industrial
activity.

 

The sharp jump in local coronavirus infections, which saw Ramaphosa announce
a nationwide lockdown for 21 days starting on Thursday, is set to pile
further pressure on an economy already in recession and suffering intense
financial market volatility.

 

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in its quarterly bulletin
nationwide blackouts by state power firm Eskom since the beginning of 2020
had triggered broad-based economic weakness, while the impact of the
coronavirus outbreak was also beginning to tell as global risk aversion
spiked.

 

Inflows of portfolio investments, which involves the trade currencies, bonds
and stocks, shrank dramatically on a quarterly basis, to 9.3 billion rand in
the final quarter of 2019 from 40.2 billion rand in the previous one.

 

Since the beginning of February, as coronavirus infections climbed, the rand
plunged more than 10%, bond yields rose to all-time highs, while around 4.5
trillion rand exited the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

 

The bank’s figures in the quarterly bulletin showed equity outflows of
nearly 63 billion rand in 2019, with sales of 33 billion rand in the fourth
quarter and 32 billion in the third.

 

($1 = 17.6815 rand)

 

 

 

 

Kenya shilling weakening caused by 'malicious actors' - central banker

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Some of the Kenyan shilling’s recent weakening was
caused by market misunderstanding of the central bank’s plan to boost its
reserved by buying dollars from the market, and some “malicious actors”,
central bank governor Patrick Njoroge said on Tuesday.

 

The shilling is hovering close to its record low of 106.70 per dollar,
mainly due to the strengthening of the dollar and concerns about the impact
of the coronavirus on Kenya’s export earnings.

 

Njoroge, however, attributed some of the weakening to traders who did not
understand the central bank’s offer of buying $100 million a month for four
months to shore up reserves, which was announced on March 3. [nL8N2AW0YE]

 

He also accused unnamed traders, or “malicious actors”, of contributing to
the weakening through indiscipline.

 

“Unfortunately, we are not saved of that scourge,” he told a live-streamed
news conference.

 

Policymakers cut rates by a larger than expected 100 basis points on Monday,
and reduced the amount of cash commercial banks are required to hold, to
stave off the potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy.

 

Njoroge said they will also triple the length of repurchase agreements they
enter with banks to 90 days from the current 28, in order to further boost
liquidity in the financial sector.

 

“They can bring in their Treasury bills and we can enter repurchase
agreements with them all the way to 90 days,” he said.

 

 

 

Kenyan shilling inches down against dollar, spreads widen

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling edged down against the dollar on
Tuesday and the spread between offers and bids continued to widen due to
extreme market volatility, traders said.

 

At 0645 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 106.60/107.20 per
dollar, compared with Monday’s close of 106.40/106.60.

 

Like other frontier currencies, the shilling has been pummelled by the
outbreak of the coronavirus and it is hovering close to its record low of
106.70 against the dollar.

 

Traders said the central bank’s decision to slash rates and to reduce the
cash reserve ratio (CRR) for banks could both support and work against the
shilling.

 

“By cutting CRR, they have increased liquidity to help people buy dollars,
but on the other hand reducing the benchmark rate makes it unattractive to
hold shillings,” said a senior currency trader at a commercial bank.

 

 

 

Tunisia discussing new IMF programme - finance minister

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia has started negotiations with the International
Monetary Fund for a new loan programme, but a plan to issue bonds is on hold
because of the coronavirus, the finance minister said on Monday.

 

Nizar Yaich told Reuters in an interview that the value of the new programme
had not yet been decided, but that it should last for four or five years.

 

Tunisia’s current IMF programme, worth $2.8 billion, was scheduled to end in
April but Tunisia has agreed with the IMF to suspend it.

 

Only $ 1.6 billion of that programme was dispersed because some of the
reforms lenders wanted were not implemented.

 

Tunisia had previously said it plans to issue bonds of up to 800 million
euros in the international market this year.

 

However, Yaich said that plan was “my last option now, as market reaction is
still unpredictable and lending rates are very high”.

 

He added that the government is studying plans to issue bonds on the local
market, without giving details on amount.

 

He said international lenders, including the World Bank, are interested in
helping the young democracy through the current difficult period.

 

Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh said on Saturday that the government was
allocating $850 million to combat the economic and social effects of the
crisis.

 

Tunisia now expects an economic recession, prompting the central bank on
Tuesday to cut its key interest rate by 100 basis points.

 

Fakhfakh has said the government reduced its growth forecast this year to 1%
from 2.7% in part due of coronavirus crisis:

 

The North African country has been hailed as the Arab Spring’s only
democratic success because protests toppled autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
in 2011 without triggering violent upheaval, as happened in Syria and Libya.

 

But since 2011, nine cabinets have failed to resolve Tunisia’s economic
problems, which include high inflation and unemployment, and impatience is
rising among lenders.

 

 

 

Virus-control measures to hit Rio Tinto operations in South Africa, Canada

(Reuters) - Rio Tinto said on Tuesday operations at its mineral sands mine
in South Africa will be halted and activity in Quebec, Canada will slow down
due to government directives in both countries to stem the spread of the
coronavirus.

 

The rapid spread of the coronavirus has caught many countries on the back
foot, leading to a growing number of nations placing themselves on virtual
lockdown.

 

The Anglo-Australian miner said production at its Richards Bay Minerals in
South Africa will be halted on Thursday for 21 days, in line with a
nationwide lockdown after the number of cases sharply rose.

 

It was too early to predict the impact of the disruption to operations on
its production forecast for fiscal 2020, or when things will get back to
normal, Rio said in a statement.

 

In Canada, Rio Tinto said it was working to comply with the Quebec
government’s directive to reduce business activity after the province
tightened restrictions, including ordering the closure of all non-essential
businesses.

 

“We will continue to work with our employees, customers, communities and
suppliers to minimise any impact of action being taken to reduce the spread
of COVID-19,” Chief Executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said.

 

 

 

Fired Old Mutual boss Moyo's appeal dismissed - Old Mutual

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has refused
ex-Old Mutual Chief Executive Peter Moyo leave to appeal a decision
overturning his temporary reinstatement and dismissing the case against his
sacking in June, the insurer said on Monday.

 

“Old Mutual welcomes this ruling as it enhances certainty and is another
important step forward in ending the litigation instituted by Mr Moyo
against Old Mutual,” Old Mutual said in a statement.

 

Moyo’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

 

 

 

S.Africa's rand rises on Fed support even as lockdown looms

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s rand rose against the dollar on Tuesday,
boosted by the promise of unlimited dollar funding from the U.S. Federal
Reserve, which helped sentiment globally, even as an impending 21-day
lockdown threatened the local economy.

 

At 0832 GMT, the rand traded at 17.7200 to the dollar, 0.73% stronger than
its previous close. Stocks also rose.

 

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday that South Africa would shut
down for three weeks from Thursday in a bid to contain the coronavirus,
joining a number of economies around the world taking drastic measures not
usually seen in peacetime.

 

While likely to have huge consequences for an economy that had already
tipped into recession in the final quarter of last year, the measures were
widely praised as the decisive, harsh action needed to contain the outbreak.

 

The rand did not react to this announcement, Peregrine Treasury Solutions
said in a note. The currency is usually led by global factors, and markets
around the world were on Tuesday benefiting from an uptick in sentiment
following the announcement of a package of extraordinary measures from the
Fed.

 

Peregrine said however that the rand would likely remain on the back foot.

 

“The prospects for an already struggling local economy are now even more
bleak, as all businesses except for essential services and goods are to be
halted,” it said.

 

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index was up around 4.5%, with the
broader all-share index also rising by just shy of 4%.

 

Miners were the biggest winners on the blue-chip index, with the likes of
Sibanye-Stillwater, BHP Global and Anglo American Platinum enjoying rises of
13%, 10.9% and 9.9% as prices of commodities like oil, platinum and gold
rose.

 

But consumer-focused firms likely to be affected by the lockdown suffered.

 

Bonds also took a tumble, with the yield on the benchmark instrument due in
2030 gaining 91 basis points to 13.215%.

 

 

 

 

Coronavirus: No extra help for airlines, chancellor says

The UK chancellor has told airlines to find other forms of funding and not
turn first to the government for help getting through the coronavirus
crisis.

 

Demand for tickets has collapsed forcing companies to ground aircraft.

 

Aviation bosses have been lobbying the government for a targeted aid package
to stop firms going under as a result of the slump in demand.

 

But in a letter on Tuesday Rishi Sunak said the government would only step
in as "a last resort".

 

Mr Sunak instead urged airlines to try and raise money from shareholders.

 

'Apocalypse'

He said the government would only enter into negotiations with individual
airlines once they had "exhausted other options".

 

But industry group the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned
of an "apocalypse" in the aviation sector as it called on governments around
the world for help.

 

The group said annual worldwide revenues from ticket sales would fall by
$252bn (£215bn) if travel bans remain in place for three months, a drop of
44% compared to last year.

 

"Travel restrictions and evaporating demand mean that, aside from cargo,
there is almost no passenger business," IATA boss Alexandre de Juniac, said.

 

"There is a small and shrinking window for governments to provide a lifeline
of financial support to prevent a liquidity crisis from shuttering the
industry."

 

Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair and EasyJet have all grounded most of their fleets,
while BA-owner IAG has cut capacity by 75% and Norwegian Air has cancelled
thousands of flights.

 

This has also affected airports, which have cut hundreds of jobs across the
UK since coronavirus arrived in the country.

 

Karen Dee, who runs the Airport Operators Association (AOA), said the
aviation industry was "surprised" by Mr Sunak's decision and will have to
"fight on its own to protect its workforce and its future".

 

"While countries across Europe have recognised the vital role airports play
and are stepping into the breach, the UK government's decision to take a
case-by-case approach with dozens of UK airports is simply not feasible to
provide the support necessary in the coming days," she said.

 

"Not only does the decision today leave airports struggling to provide
critical services, it will hamper the UK recovery."--BBC

 

 

 

Burger King boss: We’re not going to pay our rent

Burger King chief executive Alasdair Murdoch has said that the fast food
chain will not be paying rent due on its UK restaurants this week.

 

Hundreds of High Street businesses are set to withhold their quarterly rent
payments, which are due on Wednesday, so they can afford to pay their staff.

 

The government has said shops will not forfeit leases if they do not pay,
but will have to pay arrears in the future.

 

Mr Murdoch told the Today programme: "We are not intending to pay our rent."

 

He added: "Most landlords have been reasonable about this. I do think there
are a number of creative solutions as well.

 

"We could add three months on to the end of the lease for those people who
are unable to pay in the short-term at the end of these three months."

 

Restaurants are still allowed to offer a takeaway or delivery service, but
Mr Murdoch added: "We took the decision last night [Monday], after what the
prime minister said, to close all of our UK restaurants.

 

"If there are any trailing on, they will all be closed this morning, but we
closed 500 last night."

 

Richard Hodgson, chief executive of Yo! Sushi, told the Financial Times that
non-payment of rent was "not really a choice. It's just a basic piece of
economics".

 

Landlords told the BBC that they would not be evicting businesses and that
their tenants were looking for different solutions.

 

Some want rent holidays, others want to pay monthly and some do not want to
pay at all at the moment.

 

Landlords, via industry group Revo, have written to the government saying
that rents need to be covered. Banks have been told to be supportive as long
as landlords act responsibly.

 

The government has launched a £350bn package of support for businesses to
deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

It included a new interest-free Business Interruption Loan Scheme for small
and medium-sized firms and a Bank of England finance option for bigger
businesses.

 

But Jonathan Downey, founder of Street Feast food markets, told the BBC's
Today programme that it may not help the hospitality industry.

 

"The sad reality is that any business operating hospitality now is
insolvent, so any right-minded lender using normal rules is not going to
lend," he said.

 

"We estimate that 95% of hospitality businesses will not qualify for one of
these loans."--BBC

 

 

 

US tech giants team up to tackle coronavirus

Amazon is teaming up with researchers funded by Microsoft co-founder Bill
Gates to pick up and deliver coronavirus test kits.

 

The Gates Foundation-backed Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN) is
learning how the infection spreads.

 

It involves collecting nasal swabs to track the virus among residents of
Seattle's King County in Washington.

 

Amazon Care, the retail giant's employee medical care arm, is now helping
with deliveries of the kits.

 

King County is one of the places hardest hit by the outbreak in the US.

 

SCAN, a group of medical, public health and research organisations, is
trying to find out how the infection is spreading in different parts of
society, with an aim to seeing how the outbreak is likely to develop.

 

Amazon Care will assist the work by delivering test kits to people's homes
and then picking them up for researchers.

 

If the virus is detected, the participant will then be put in touch with
healthcare workers.

 

“We are grateful to be surrounded by a strong community of public health,
global health and academic leaders and are eager to leverage Amazon Care’s
infrastructure and logistics capabilities to support this local effort,” an
Amazon spokesman said.

 

The partnership could help improve coronavirus testing in the US as it lags
behind other countries in getting people checked for the virus.

 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday reported 33,453
cases of coronavirus in the country. That's an increase of 18,185 cases from
its previous count, while the death toll almost doubled to 400.

 

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation along with research charity Wellcome and
Mastercard's Impact Charity have committed $125m (£107m) in funding to
develop treatments for the coronavirus.

 

Earlier this month, Mr Gates announced he was stepping down from Microsoft's
board to focus on his philanthropic efforts.--BBC

 

 

 

Marini naturals: The haircare business that reaches 12 countries

They say that when a woman gets a new hairstyle it means that there is
something big going on in her life.

 

For Michelle Ntalami back in 2013, the big thing was sadly that her father
was gravely ill with cancer.

 

And when his chemotherapy treatment made him lose all his hair, she decided
to shave hers off in solidarity.

 

Michelle, now 35, also vowed that she would start to "live more healthily
and naturally" to try to reduce her own future risk of being diagnosed with
the condition.

 

So, as her afro hair grew back, she decided that she would stop using the
chemical treatments that most women in Kenya's capital Nairobi use to
straighten their hair.

 

Instead, she would only buy naturally-made haircare products for natural
afro hair. Unfortunately these weren't available to buy in Kenya at the
time, so Michelle started to order them from the US and Europe.

 

As this was very expensive, she started to make her own shampoos,
conditioners, and other products, in her bathroom, using ingredients such as
avocado, egg, rosemary water, and aloe vera.

 

"When I gave them to friends to test, they just loved them," she says. "I
realised that selling natural hair products could become a viable business."

 

Today her Nairobi-based company - Marini Naturals - sells 50,000 bottles and
tubs a month across 12 countries, 10 in Africa, plus Turkey and France.

 

While Michelle says that her parents taught her the importance of "working
hard and following your dreams", they were also able to give her an
upbringing far more comfortable than most Kenyans enjoy.

 

Her father, who passed away in 2014, was a businessman, and the boss of
Kenya's financial regulator, the Capital Markets Authority. Meanwhile, her
mother worked for the United Nations.

 

"My parents were always very driven in terms of career and education," she
says.

 

After school, Michelle got a degree in design and communications from the
University of Nairobi, and then spent time in Italy where she got a master's
in interior design from the Florence Design Academy in Italy.

 

Returning to Kenya, she first worked for an IT company. She then joined the
pan-African advertising agency Sanad Africa.

 

However, she had long wanted to set up her own business, and while at Sanad
she launched her own branding agency, called Brandvine Group. She ran this
together with her best friend Niyati Patel, who would become her co-founder
at Marini.

 

"I always wanted to start my own company, because I love to build something
up from scratch," says Michelle.

 

Launching Marini in 2015, Michelle says she soon realised that she faced "a
heck of a job" to convince Kenyan woman to give up their chemical hair
straighteners, and instead embrace their natural curls.

 

She says that she was fighting against the accepted wisdom. "Most cosmetic
scientists claimed that the African market wasn't ready for natural hair
products, as most African women were still convinced that their natural hair
couldn't be beautiful," she says.

 

But determined to both change matters, and make a success of Marini,
Michelle decided to make some videos, and launch a campaign on YouTube.
Using 30 models she showcased more than 50 natural hairstyles created using
the company's products.

 

"It became a huge success," she says. "People all over the continent shared
our videos on social media, and our YouTube tutorials became an important
part of our marketing strategy."

 

What helped to boost sales was that Michelle was able to say that all the
ingredients were made in Africa, such as coconut oil from Kenya, shea butter
from Uganda, and natural fragrances from South Africa. However, the
packaging is from China, as Michelle says that, disappointingly, she was not
able to find bottles and tubs of sufficient quality within Africa.

 

Already selling Marini Naturals outside of Africa in France and Turkey,
Michelle now has her eye on further global expansion. She says that there is
growing interest in her products as more men and women of African descent
decide to give up straightening their hair.

 

"Thanks to this increasing global demand we now want to scale Marini [more
into] Europe, and into the US," she says.

 

The company also plans to start exporting its new range of skincare
products.

 

Michelle says that while she gets her biggest satisfaction from positive
customer feedback, her late father is often in her thoughts.

 

"I miss him very much," she says. "Maybe Marini Naturals was his gift to me
before he left.

 

"To be able to translate that into a product that is changing lives of
millions of women, men and children around the world is extremely
fulfilling."--BBC

 

 

 

Global stock markets surge after weeks of losses

There was further financial turbulence on Tuesday when stock markets around
the world climbed sharply higher, as investors grappled with the economic
impact of the coronavirus.

 

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.4% - its biggest daily
gain since 1933.

 

The S&P 500 and London's FTSE 100 enjoyed their best days since the 2008
financial crisis, rising more than 9%.

 

The increases follow weeks of losses driven by a global economic slowdown.

 

Business activity in the US and eurozone sank to the lowest level on record
in March, according to survey data from IHS Markit, as authorities closed
schools, shut businesses and limited travel in an effort to slow the spread
of the virus.

 

$1.8tn rescue package

Many countries are now working on finance packages to cushion the economic
blow, but plans have received mixed responses from investors.

 

In the US, congressional leaders said they were close to a deal on a relief
package worth more than $1.8tn, which would include money to bailout
industries that have been affected by the crisis.

 

Any action by the US government would follow aggressive efforts by the
Federal Reserve, including its pledge to buy as much government debt as
needed to soothe markets, while also lending directly to businesses.

 

On US stock markets, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and American Airlines
were among the companies posting the biggest gains, rising 42% and 36%
respectively. The spike followed comments made by President Donald Trump,
who said he wanted to ease measures restricting gatherings by Easter,
despite a surge of Covid-19 cases in the US.

 

The share price gains were global, however. Germany's Dax increased almost
11%, while France's CAC 40 rose 8.4%.

 

Earlier, Asian stocks also increased.

 

Japan's Nikkei soared 7%, its biggest daily gain in four years, while South
Korea's KOSPI exchange climbed 8.6% after the government doubled a planned
economic rescue package. In China - where restrictions on Wuhan Province
were finally eased - mainland shares increased almost 3%.--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


Bindura Nickel Corporation

 

 

 


Padenga Holdings

 

 

 


Delta Corporation

 

 

 


Meikles Limited

 

 

 


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been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
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any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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