Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 12 April 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 12 April 2021

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Alibaba: Chinese regulator slaps huge fine on tech giant

ü  Ghana's farmers eye sweet success from chocolate

ü  Amazon's win in union fight shows harsh realities facing labor movement

ü  Berkshire Hathaway gives activist okay to phone it in on May 1

ü  Wall St Week Ahead With stocks at record highs, investors look to
upcoming earnings

ü  Airlines pull some Boeing 737 MAX jets after production snag

ü  U.S. producer inflation heats up in March as prices increase broadly

ü  Uber, Lyft use rides to vaccines to get drivers, customers back on the
platform

ü  Bitcoin above $60,000 again on talk of reduced supply

ü  ECB must accept no further delay in lifting inflation: Panetta

ü  Saudi Aramco in $12.4bln oil pipeline deal with EIG-led group

ü  Elon Musk Says Tesla's Full-Self Driving Beta V9.0 Is Almost Ready

ü  ‘Mother of All Recoveries’ Ignites Bullish Trades Across Europe

ü  Why XRP Is Surging 39%

ü  Africa: Biden Lifts Trump's Financial Veto On Developing Nations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Alibaba: Chinese regulator slaps huge fine on tech giant

The world's biggest online retailer - China's Alibaba - has been hit with a
record fine equivalent to $2.75bn (just over £2bn).

 

Regulators in China said the internet giant had abused its dominant market
position for several years.

 

In a statement the company said it accepted the ruling and would "ensure its
compliance".

 

Analysts say the fine shows China intends to move against internet platforms
that it thinks are too big.

 

While not well known outside China, inside the country Alibaba is an
ever-present behemoth, the BBC's Robin Brant reports from Shanghai.

 

The company is China's Amazon meets eBay, our correspondent says. Retail is
its main activity but its work has spread to digital payments, credit and
cloud computing.

 

The fine amounts to 4% of Alibaba's revenue in 2019.

 

Regulators say Alibaba restricted competition by stopping some sellers using
other platforms.

 

It is the latest in a chain of events targeting the company that kicked off
last October, just after its high-profile co-founder, Jack Ma, told a
gathering of China's leading regulators that they were stifling innovation.

 

Jack Ma is well-known in China as one of the country's most successful
entrepreneurs.

 

Why did China's most famous tech titan disappear?

"This penalty will be viewed as a closure to the anti-monopoly case for now
by the market," Hong Hao, head of research at BOCOM International in Hong
Kong, told Reuters news agency.

 

"It's indeed the highest profile anti-monopoly case in China. The market has
been anticipating some sort of penalty for some time... but people need to
pay attention to the measures beyond the anti-monopoly investigation."

 

The country's other tech giants are also coming under increasing pressure
from regulators worried about their growing influence.

 

Last month 12 companies were fined over deals that violated anti-monopoly
rules. The companies included Tencent, Baidu, Didi Chuxing, SoftBank and a
ByteDance-backed firm.-BBC

 

 

 

Ghana's farmers eye sweet success from chocolate

There is a lot of money in chocolate but the producers of the raw material
see very little of it.

 

Last year the retail industry was worth $107bn (£78bn), according to one
projection, but Ghana - the world's second largest cocoa producer - earned
just around $2bn.

 

This is a familiar pattern for many African countries where the economy is
still shaped by a colonial relationship in which they export commodities to
be processed elsewhere.

 

Ghana's President, Nana Akufo-Addo, served notice on this last year when he
told an audience in Switzerland that "there can be no future prosperity for
the Ghanaian people" if this way of doing things continues.

 

The country currently processes about 30% of its cocoa crop, but despite
plans for growing the domestic chocolate industry there are still many
obstacles in the way.

 

Ambitious cocoa farmer Nana Aduna II - a traditional ruler, who inherited
his 80-acre plantation two decades ago - is well aware of the difficulties.

 

He is among a number of Ghanaian entrepreneurs who are keen to seize the
opportunity to process cocoa in Ghana itself, before exporting a more
lucrative finished product.

 

But when it comes to the sweet stuff, Nana Aduna "decided not to go down the
chocolate route", he tells the BBC.

 

"The equipment to make chocolate is very expensive," he explains. "Plus we
don't have a local sugar industry and we don't have a local dairy industry."

 

Instead he makes an income from offering tours where visitors can witness
the fermentation process and observe how the cocoa pods are left outdoors to
dry in the sun before they are processed into teas, wines and cacao nibs to
be sold.

 

To make chocolate, on the other hand, would require Nana Aduna to import
milk and sugar, which would drive up the cost of production.

 

He also says producing the confectionary requires consistent refrigeration,
but the high cost of the equipment to achieve that is a major obstacle for
entrepreneurs without substantial funds.

 

The farmer's teas and wines are not typically associated with cocoa, but the
goods are selling well, according to Nana Aduna, who says he can make 15 to
20 times more on these products than the raw beans.

 

Chocolate could have more of a mass market appeal and also offer good
returns but for the moment, he says that's not viable.

 

There are others with ambitions to set up a processing plant in Ghana but
who are currently taking the cocoa beans overseas.

 

Listen: Is Africa getting enough from cocoa - Africa Daily

They include British-Ghanaian farm-owner and chocolate-maker Raphael Dapaah,
who is based in London.

 

In 2016, he decided to add value to the cocoa that his family has been
growing in Ghana for six decades by co-founding premium vegan brand Dapaah
Chocolates.

 

He refines batches of chocolate in his London factory incorporating
ingredients such as coconut milk powder and sea salt from Ghana's Atlantic
coast.

 

Relocate to Ghana

The former civil servant, who has global ambitions for his brand, says
setting up production in the UK was a carefully considered strategy as it is
closer to important markets.

 

"Once we're able to establish a foothold in the UK and across Europe and
North America, we would then relocate the bulk of our production to Ghana,"
Mr Dapaah says.

 

Nevertheless, he acknowledges that infrastructure challenges in Ghana also
influenced his decision to set up shop in the UK.

 

He highlights similar concerns to Nana Aduna about the business environment
in Ghana.

 

He says he was worried about the inconsistent supply of energy in rural
parts of Ghana and the large upfront capital expenditure required to buy
equipment such as refrigerated lorries to transport the finished products to
the port.

 

Access to funds is a big problem and Nana Aduna says that high interest
rates on bank loans are an issue for fledgling businesses and at the moment
he cannot afford to borrow money.

 

"You cannot grow a business when you have to service interest rates of
18-20% or even more," he says.

 

But the government has pledged to address these structural issues.

 

'Break the narrative'

Echoing the president's words, Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen
says that industrialisation is a major tenet of government policy.

 

"It only makes sense that the most important commodity in our country, which
is cocoa
 should become the target for a major programme of
industrialisation," he tells the BBC.

 

"If you look at all the most powerful nations globally they also happen to
be the most industrialised economies."

 

Ghana, however, is not known for its chocolate.

 

There are some local brands, like Golden Tree and artisanal label '57
Chocolate, but President Akufo-Addo's government still needs to do a lot of
work to overcome production issues.

 

His One District One Factory programme aims to kickstart industrialisation
by providing the infrastructure for agribusiness.

 

The establishment of processing plants in some of the big cocoa-growing
areas is a key goal.

 

The fact that it has become easier for the private sector to invest in food
processing is a welcome move, according to commodities expert Ekow Dontoh,
who works for Bloomberg news.

 

He also highlights the big tax rebate available to processing companies that
set up in the country's free zones - designated areas to encourage economic
activity - in a bid to help them export.

 

"There have been signs that there are prospects coming up that are
exciting," he says.

 

"All these are laudable ideas, [but] some of them still have teething
problems. In principle we can say that there's been some good steps, but the
full impact is yet to be shown in the economy."

 

Perhaps when the path is fully cleared, the likes of Nana Aduna and Mr
Dapaah will become part of the country's chocolate-exporting sector.

 

Mr Dapaah says this is his ambition, which developed once he realised the
imbalance in earnings between cocoa producers like his family and Western
chocolate manufacturers and brands.

 

"I thought it was about time our family took action to break that narrative

[and about] how I could return to Ghana and be of service to my family and
the ambitions of the nation."--BBC

 

 

 

Amazon's win in union fight shows harsh realities facing labor movement

Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) fierce resistance to unionization, skepticism
among workers that organizing could get them a better deal and decisions on
election parameters all contributed to the apparently lopsided defeat of a
labor drive at the company's warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, people close to
the events said.

 

A vote by workers on whether to unionize failed on Friday by a more than
2-to-1 margin in a major win for the world's largest online retailer. The
union plans to challenge the results based on Amazon's conduct during the
election. read more

 

Union leaders had hoped the campaign just outside Birmingham would create
Amazon's first organized workplace in the country and spark a new era of
worker activism. Instead, it has illustrated the continued challenges facing
the labor movement.

 

Officials at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) argued
that Amazon's unfair tactics were to blame in an election where only just
over half of eligible workers cast ballots.

 

In a statement, the RWDSU said, "The results of the election should be set
aside because conduct by the employer created an atmosphere of confusion,
coercion and/or fear of reprisals and thus interfered with the employees'
freedom of choice."

 

Amazon in a blog post denied the outcome resulted from intimidation of its
employees.

 

"We've always worked hard to listen to them, take their feedback, make
continuous improvements, and invest heavily to offer great pay and benefits
in a safe and inclusive workplace," it said.

 

The e-commerce company campaigned for weeks, plastering the warehouse and
even a bathroom stall with anti-union notices, stopping work for mandatory
employee meetings on the election, and bombarding staff with text messages
criticizing the RWDSU.

 

In one of the messages seen by Reuters, warehouse leadership warned that
collective bargaining could result in workers losing benefits - something
the union has disputed. "Everything is on the table," the text declared.

 

And in one of the mandatory meetings, presentations asserted union leaders
used membership dues for improper purposes such as expensive cars and
vacations, a former employee at the company's warehouse told Reuters. The
union did not immediately comment on the claim.

 

But some warehouse workers pointed to shortcomings in the union drive. Many
younger workers, lacking experience with unions and knowledge of labor
history, were never persuaded of the benefits of organizing, these people
said. Some cited Amazon's above-average wages, and better working conditions
overall than other local employers.

 

'GOOD PAYING JOB'

 

Denean Plott, 56, who picked customer orders at the warehouse until March
and voted for the union, said, "It is a good paying job. They do have
wonderful benefits." And young employees "don't feel they need a union
because they’re not putting health and safety at risk as much."

 

Some cited fear that voting for a union would mean a constant battle with
management they would rather avoid.

 

A group of warehouse dock employees who do heavy lifting were against the
unionization effort and appreciated Amazon's current benefits, which include
receiving health insurance upon hiring, according to one of the former
fulfillment center employees. These dock workers also held skeptical views
of unions generally, associating them with corruption, the former employee
said.

 

Union leaders had hoped the election would fuel a revival of worker
activism, at a time when only 6.3% of private sector workers belonged to
unions in 2020, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics. Private
sector union membership declined by 428,000 in 2020 from the year before.

 

High-profile union organizing drives have failed at factories in the South
run by Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), and aircraft
maker Boeing Co (BA.N). In each of those cases, as at Amazon, union leaders
bet that workers unhappy with wages and working conditions would jump at the
chance to have a union go toe-to-toe with management. In each case, the
unions were wrong.

 

The retail workers' union also struggled in Bessemer with some of the
challenges that carmakers previously hurled at the auto workers' union,
known as the UAW. Car company officials made much of the conviction of
several UAW leaders on charges of embezzling union funds, for instance.
William Stokes, a process assistant at the Amazon warehouse who voted no,
told journalists he had concerns about union conduct.

 

Other union decisions may have backfired. In December, Amazon lawyers filed
lengthy exhibits with regulators delineating thousands of additional
individual employees at the Bessemer warehouse they said should be allowed
to vote, beyond the 1,500 the union originally proposed. The union later
accepted sending ballots to more than 5,800 workers.

 

Companies often try to pack such proposed bargaining units with additional
workers to dilute union support, making it harder to achieve a majority,
according to labor experts including former U.S. National Labor Relations
Board members.

 

Harry Johnson, a Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP partner representing Amazon,
said Amazon simply wanted "to make sure that everybody essentially doing the
same job at the fulfillment center would have a chance to vote." He added
that, generally, additional voters can include temporary workers not
necessarily more inclined to side with the company.

 

Stuart Appelbaum, the RWDSU's president, said in an interview, "The
bargaining unit size was larger than we thought appropriate, but the
alternative was to go through several years of litigation if we didn't
accept it, prior to the vote."

 

He said that despite Friday's result, the Bessemer campaign had created
momentum. "We have breathed life into the labor movement" and "opened the
door to Amazon organizing."

 

DEFEATING THE UNION

 

The union’s push for a mail-in vote, rather than the socially distanced
in-person election that Amazon proposed, was successful. But the NLRB had
set a March 29 deadline for submitting ballots, several weeks after they
were mailed. That gave Amazon nearly two additional months to bombard
workers with text messages and other communications urging them to vote
against unionization.

 

"Time is the weapon employers use to defeat the union," said Mark Pearce, a
Democratic NLRB chair during the Obama administration.

 

Concerns about U.S. Postal Service operations, prominent leading up to the
November 2020 U.S. presidential election, likely contributed to allowing
weeks between the mailing of ballots and the deadline for returning them,
Pearce said. Regardless, the additional time likely conferred some benefit
to Amazon, he added.

 

The union did garner support from U.S. lawmakers and President Joe Biden as
the vote drew closer. Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and rapper
Killer Mike held rallies in Bessemer supporting the union drive.

 

But some labor advocates including U.S. Representative Andy Levin of
Michigan said the power imbalance between the workers and the company was
just too much to overcome.

 

"The pressure a company like Amazon builds up against you can feel like a
1,000 lb weight on your chest," Levin wrote on Twitter. "The company’s goal
is to create so much pressure, anxiety and fear — and to make workers feel
that pressure will never go away as long as the union is around."

 

The setup of Amazon's warehouse itself may have tipped the vote in the
retailer's favor. The size of many football fields, it was not a space for
social gathering, let alone union organizing discussion.

 

The buzz of machines obscured people's voices, desks were spread out,
social-distancing became the norm due to COVID-19, and cell phone use while
on the clock was not allowed, current and former workers told Reuters.

 

Plott, one of the former Amazon employees, said, "You might be in that area
for hours and not see a soul."- The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Berkshire Hathaway gives activist okay to phone it in on May 1

Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) reversed course on Friday and told an
activist group it could present a shareholder proposal remotely for the
company's May 1 annual meeting, in line with renewed guidance from the U.S.
securities regulator.

 

Warren Buffett's insurance and investment company traditionally draws
thousands to its extravagant annual meeting in Omaha but, like many top U.S.
corporations during the coronavirus pandemic, had asked investors to log in
to the meeting remotely instead of attending in person.

 

The shift to online has stymied many activist investor groups whose
shareholder resolutions often animate the meetings, however. Some have been
muted via the technology or told they could only present resolutions in
person despite the health risks.

 

That was the case at Berkshire for As You Sow of Berkeley, California, which
filed a measure calling for the company's subsidiaries to report on
diversity and inclusion efforts, and was told it would have to send a
representative to Los Angeles where some directors and staff would gather
for the livestreamed webcast.

 

Asked about the situation on Friday, Berkshire Chief Financial Officer Marc
Hamburg told Reuters via e-mail:

 

"We would have preferred that As You Sow present their proposal at the
location of the shareholders meeting in Los Angeles. However, we will
provide As You Sow an opportunity to provide a recording to be played at the
meeting as a means of presenting their shareholder proposal."

 

As You Sow welcomed the decision. The organization is "unwilling to risk
other people’s health, so we are relieved that the company changed course,"
President Danielle Fugere told Reuters.

 

When Berkshire Hathaway contacted the group, it cited new instructions from
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, As You Sow said.

 

As You Sow was among a group of activists and investors that on April 5
asked the SEC to extend last year's guidance to allow the virtual
presentation of proposals, which a number of companies seemed to be
prohibiting this year, in time for the 2021 springtime shareholder meeting
season.

 

"From the standpoint of pandemic safety, it is not yet time to require
proponents to appear personally," the letter stated.

 

In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the SEC said that in light
of COVID concerns, corporations were encouraged to "provide shareholder
proponents or their representatives with the ability to present their
proposals through alternative means, such as by phone" during the 2021
season.

 

The agency also said proponents who couldn't travel to meetings would have
good cause to refile their proposals later.

 

Hamburg did not respond to questions about how it would be handling other
shareholder groups.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Wall St Week Ahead With stocks at record highs, investors look to upcoming
earnings

Wall Street is kicking off a crucial reporting season as U.S. companies
provide quarterly results a year after the coronavirus pandemic crippled the
economy and as investors look for reasons to support a stock market at
record highs.

 

Results begin in earnest next week with major banks. Overall S&P 500
earnings are expected to have jumped 25% in the first quarter from a year
ago, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

 

That would be the biggest quarterly gain since 2018, when tax cuts under
former President Donald Trump drove a surge in profit growth.

 

With the S&P 500 index (.SPX) at record highs, valuations are stretched
heading into the season, leaving some investors looking to earnings for
further support.

 

"We've seen earnings estimates go up, but... when you look at the market
price as a multiple of those forward earnings, it has stayed pretty steadily
at around 22 times," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at
Commonwealth Financial Network.

 

"If we're going to see significant moves going forward, it's going to come
from earnings."

 

The S&P 500 was trading at 22.3 times forward earnings as of Friday compared
with a long-term average of about 15, based on Refinitiv's data.

 

Early quarterly results have been strong. Strategists say that bodes well
for the rest of the season, and it could be a sign that results may exceed
already high expectations.

 

The 20 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings as of Thursday topped
analyst estimates by 11% on average, said Nick Raich, chief executive of The
Earnings Scout, an independent research firm. That is about 1.5 times the
average for those companies over the last three years and about triple the
longer-term average, he said.

 

Another positive sign is that estimates overall have been rising heading
into the earnings period. Estimates typically drop ahead of a reporting
period after companies give conservative outlooks.

 

At the start of March, analysts expected first-quarter S&P 500 earnings
growth of 22%, based on Refinitiv data.

 

Still, some fear that investors will be disappointed after the sharp run up
in earnings expectations, which could dent stock prices after a months-long
rally led by economically sensitive groups including energy and financials.

 

Investors have bet that these stocks are the most likely to benefit from the
reopening of the U.S. economy. read more

 

For all of 2021, S&P 500 earnings growth is expected to be 26.5% versus a
decline of 12.6% last year.

 

One risk to future earnings is the threat of U.S. President Joe Biden's
corporate tax hikes from their current 21%. A 28% tax rate would take 7.4%
off S&P 500 companies' earnings per share, according to UBS. read more

 

BANKS UP FIRST

 

Two sectors to watch are financials and materials, McMillan said, noting:
"If businesses are starting to grow again, they're going to need to borrow
money."

 

Financials are expected to show one of the biggest earnings gains, up 75.6%
year-on-year, while materials are seen up 45.4%.

 

JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) is due to report Wednesday, and results from other
big banks are also due during the week. The banks are expected to produce
astounding bottom-line profit increases from a year-ago as they release
funds held aside for potential loan losses and perhaps report a record
quarter for capital markets revenue.

 

Financials were one of the best performers in the first quarter, with the
S&P financial index (.SPSY) up 15%, while the energy sector (.SPNY) led S&P
500 sector gains in the first quarter, rising 29%. Technology (.SPLRCT) was
one of the worst-performing sectors, rising just about 2% in the quarter.

 

Investors also may be looking to see whether "stay-at-home" companies and
other technology-related names that performed well early in the pandemic can
sustain their growth.

 

Technology shares in recent sessions have begun to outperform more
economically focused shares.

 

Investors are optimistic companies will offer more guidance now after being
reluctant give projections at the start of the pandemic.

 

"We'll probably see more companies giving outlooks," said Tim Ghriskey,
chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. "That will
give the market a lot of confidence."- The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Airlines pull some Boeing 737 MAX jets after production snag

Airlines pulled dozens of 737 MAX jets from service on Friday after Boeing
Co (BA.N) warned them of a possible electrical insulation fault in the
recent production of some planes.

 

The glitch is the latest problem to beset Boeing's most-sold model but is
not related to computer design problems that contributed to a 20-month
safety ban in the wake of two crashes.

 

Regulators said the new problem involved the electrical grounding - or
connections designed to maintain safety in the event of a surge of voltage -
inside a backup power control system.

 

Boeing told airlines a fix could take hours or a few days per airplane,
according to a notification seen by Reuters.

 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said regulators wanted to
ensure "full confidence" in the planes forced to halt flights on Friday,
before they could fly again.

 

Shares in Boeing fell around 1.4% as most analysts told investors the issue
was unlikely to cause lengthy disruption.

 

The issue affects about 90 planes globally, sources briefed on the matter
said. That compares with 453 delivered since the plane first went into
service, based on data up to end-February.

 

Boeing said a total of 16 operators were affected.

 

The top three U.S. 737 MAX operators - Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), American
Airlines (AAL.O) and United Airlines (UAL.O) - said they had removed a total
of 63 jets from service following the notice from Boeing.

 

The chief operating officer of American Airlines, which said the issue
affected 17 of its most recently delivered 737 MAX, told employees that
Boeing has traced the issue to a production change made in the installation
process.

 

People familiar with the matter said the problem had been traced back to a
change in the material used for insulation once production of the 737 MAX
resumed last year. A freeze on deliveries following the crashes was lifted
in late 2020.

 

The status of Boeing deliveries was not immediately clear, with one source
saying they too could be briefly disrupted.

 

A Boeing 737 MAX airplane lands after a test flight at Boeing Field in
Seattle, Washington, U.S. June 29, 2020. REUTERS/Karen Ducey/File Photo

 

 

LATE NIGHT SCRAMBLE

 

Although dozens of flights had to be canceled, Friday's fallout was tiny
compared to the global outcry following two 737 MAX crashes that killed 346
people in 2018 and 2019.

 

But Boeing's reaction to the fault underscored how much is at stake as it
tries to rebuild confidence in its benchmark jet.

 

It scrambled late Thursday to brief staff, regulators and airlines on the
issue, people familiar with the matter said.

 

It is seen as keen to demonstrate transparency after criticism for its
initial defensive reaction to the cockpit safety issue that led to the 737
MAX grounding in 2019.

 

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would ensure the
issue was addressed.

 

Given a worldwide downturn in aviation as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic, analysts said the gap left by the suspension of some MAX jets
could be filled by other models.

 

Southwest, the largest 737 MAX operator, said it was swapping out 30 of its
58 planes but did not expect major disruption to its operations.

 

"We don't think we will have a huge problem," said Cowen analyst Helane
Becker.

 

Air travel has been rebounding in the United States, one of the main markets
for the MAX, after vaccinations for millions of potential travelers but
could dip before end-May, she said.

 

"At that point, we are hopeful any of the grounded 737 MAX will be back in
service," Becker said.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

U.S. producer inflation heats up in March as prices increase broadly

U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in March, resulting in the
largest annual gain in 9-1/2 years and likely marking the start of higher
inflation as the economy reopens amid an improved public health environment
and massive government aid.

 

The report from the Labor Department on Friday also showed solid gains in
underlying producer prices last month. That aligned with business surveys
showing rising cost pressures as strengthening domestic demand pushes
against supply constraints.

 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday reiterated that he believed
the expected rise in inflation will be transitory and that supply chains
will adapt and become more efficient. Most economists agree, citing
considerable slack in the labor market.

 

"Beyond temporary effects, inflation is unlikely to keep accelerating given
ample slack in the labor market," said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist
at High Frequency Economics in White Plains, New York.

 

The producer price index for final demand jumped 1.0% last month as costs
increased across the board. The PPI rose 0.5% in February. In the 12 months
through March, the PPI surged 4.2%. That was the biggest year-on-year rise
since September 2011 and followed a 2.8% advance in February.

 

The year-on-year PPI was boosted as last spring's weak readings dropped out
of the calculation. Prices tumbled early in the pandemic amid mandatory
closures of non-essential businesses across many states to slow the first
wave of COVID-19 cases.

 

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI would increase 0.5% in
March and jump 3.8% on a year-on-year basis. The PPI report was delayed
after the Bureau of Labor Statistics website crashed. The BLS, the Labor
Department's statistics agency, said it was looking into the problem with
the website.

 

Goods prices soared 1.7%, accounting for almost 60% of the increase in the
PPI last month. That was the biggest increase since December 2009 and
followed a 1.4% rise in February. Prices for services shot up 0.7% after
gaining 0.1% in February.

 

Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher. The dollar (.DXY) gained versus a
basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices were mostly lower.

 

SOLID GAINS

 

The government has provided nearly $6 trillion in relief since the pandemic
started in the United States in March 2020, while the Fed has slashed its
benchmark overnight interest rate to near zero and is pumping money into the
economy through monthly bond purchases.

 

Powell said on Thursday that while he expected a surge in demand and
bottlenecks in the supply chain as the economy reopens, "it seems unlikely
that will change the underlying inflation psychology that has taken deep
roots over the course of many years."

 

Employment remains about 8.4 million jobs below its peak in February 2020.
Though vacancies have rebounded above their pre-pandemic level, competition
for jobs remains stiff, limiting workers' ability to bargain for higher
wages.

 

But some economists do not share Powell's inflation assessment, arguing that
businesses have the capacity to pass on the higher production costs to
consumers. Business surveys have indicated that customer inventories are at
record lows and order books are full.

 

"The implication is that manufacturers potentially have the sort of pricing
power we haven't seen in years," said James Knightley, chief international
economist at ING in New York. "With greater scope to pass these price rises
on to customers, the obvious implication is that risks are increasingly
moving in the direction of higher CPI readings."

 

Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on Friday if the expected jump in
inflation did not reverse going into 2022, the U.S. central bank "will have
to take that into account."

 

According to a Reuters survey, the consumer price index likely rose 0.5% in
March, which would boost the year-on-year increase to 2.5% from 1.7% in
February. The report is scheduled to be released on Tuesday.

 

Wholesale energy prices increased 5.9%, accounting for 60% of the
broad-based rise in goods prices in March. Energy prices rose 6.0% in
February. Food prices climbed 0.5% last month.

 

Excluding the volatile food, energy and trade services components, producer
prices increased 0.6%. The so-called core PPI gained 0.2% in February. In
the 12 months through March, the core PPI accelerated 3.1%, the biggest rise
since September 2018, after increasing 2.2% in February.

 

In March, wholesale core goods prices shot up 0.9% after gaining 0.3% in
February. The Fed tracks the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE)
price index for its 2.0% inflation target, a flexible average.

 

The core PCE price index is at 1.5%. Some of the PPI components, which feed
into the core PCE price index, rose moderately last month.

 

Airline tickets increased 1.1% after jumping 3.7% in February. Healthcare
costs rose 0.2% after dipping 0.1% in the prior month. Portfolio management
fees rebounded 1.6% after dropping 1.1% in February.- The Thomson Reuters
Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Uber, Lyft use rides to vaccines to get drivers, customers back on the
platform

Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) are spending millions
of dollars to provide drivers with access to COVID-19 vaccines and offering
tens of millions of free or discounted rides to vaccination sites for people
in communities that lack access to transportation and healthcare services.

 

The effort is both public-spirited, and self-interested.

 

Ride-hailing demand is ramping up throughout the United States from
pandemic-induced lows, but drivers are still slow to return to the road,
slowing the companies' efforts to rebuild revenues.

 

Lack of transportation is a major hurdle to healthcare equity and vaccine
access, and studies show fewer options for medical care in low-income and
Black communities, which are frequently poorly served by public transit and
have lower car ownership rates.

 

At Uber, a large team of employees has started calling thousands of drivers
who left the platform over the past year, asking them what they need to
return, Uber U.S. and Canada Head of Driver Operations Carrol Chang told
Reuters.

 

The company is trying to address drivers' main concerns - safety and
earnings - through mask mandates, a vaccination partnership with Walgreen's
(WBA.O) and $250 million in pay guarantees and incentives. read more

 

The Walgreen's partnership has allowed Uber to distribute unique codes to
more than 240,000 drivers in several states, including California, Illinois,
Virginia and New Jersey, allowing them to book a vaccination appointment at
the pharmacy chain.

 

Lyft said it is emailing drivers when they become eligible for vaccination
in their states. The company requires masks and offers pay incentives and
promotions in select markets.

 

Julia Paige, Uber's director of social impact, who is in charge of the
vaccine rides program, said that in her conversations with company
management "I really tried to show people that there are times when doing
good is good for business."

 

While Uber has not disclosed the costs of the largely self-funded
vaccination programs, analysts estimate the roughly 10 million free and
discounted rides the company has promised will cost $50 million to $100
million.

 

Lyft said its vaccine rides are paid for in partnership with corporate
sponsors, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), Anthem Inc (ANTM.N) and Target
Corp (TGT.N), and private donations.

 

Officials in Chicago, New Orleans and Jersey City, New Jersey, and nonprofit
groups working with the companies said the rides have allowed thousands of
people to get vaccinated who otherwise likely would not have gotten a shot.

 

"There's a huge swath of people sitting on the fence about this vaccine, and
only if they have access to it they'll get it done," said Tamara Mahal,
leader of the Chicago health department's vaccine operation, which has
partnered with Uber to offer free rides to 5,000 people.

 

The Uber and Lyft vaccine rides can be booked by cities or nonprofits on
behalf of residents, or by passengers through access codes. Drivers receive
the regular fare for the trips, an important element for nonprofit United
Way, which partnered with Lyft.

 

"People who are driving for Lyft and Uber are financially challenged in our
society and this creates more work for them," said Suzanne McCormick, the
organization's president.

 

Uber and Lyft say they are not collecting passenger data for vaccine rides,
and the data is protected by health privacy laws.

 

Some city and nonprofit partners said the vaccine service has introduced
older people and those in transit deserts to the potential benefits of
ride-hail services.

 

Uber and Lyft have both set up fledgling health businesses, aimed at
providing non-emergency medical rides to cities and healthcare facilities.
Many of the vaccination rides are provided through those health units, and
closer ties with government agencies and healthcare providers could spell
more business opportunities down the road.

 

Lyft said rides to vaccine centers organized through its healthcare unit
were paid for by the clinics and facilities booking them, but counted toward
its vaccine access campaign goal.

 

In New Orleans, Uber is providing a total of 20,000 free or reduced-price
rides to the city's mass vaccination sites. Laura Mellem, public engagement
officer of New Orleans' office of homeland security and emergency
preparedness, said the city was so happy with the partnership that it was
discussing how Uber could help with evacuations during the yearly hurricane
season.

 

City officials said their vaccine collaboration with the companies does not
change their outlook on other issues, such as driver pay, taxation and
congestion, which have frequently caused rifts between local regulators and
Uber and Lyft.

 

In Jersey City, across the Hudson River from New York City, Mayor Steven
Fulop said the city is working with Uber to provide 12,000 free round trip
rides, mainly to seniors. Jersey City has in the past enacted regulations
Uber opposed, such as caps on food delivery fees delivery companies can
charge restaurants.

 

"We've differed with Uber plenty in the past, but it doesn't mean that we're
going to just differ on everything for the sake of disagreeing. Here, we
have an overlapping interest and I'm happy to work with them," Fulop said.-
The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Bitcoin above $60,000 again on talk of reduced supply

(Reuters) -Bitcoin rose above $60,000 to approach record highs on the
weekend, breaking out of a two-week tight range and propelled by talk of
constrained new supplies against evidence of wider adoption.

 

The world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency hit $61,222.22 on
Saturday, its highest in nearly a month. It was slightly lower at $59,907 at
0500 GMT on Sunday.

 

Bitcoin (BTC) is up 116% from the year’s low of $27,734 on Jan. 4. It
crossed the $60,000 mark for the first time on March 13, hitting a record
$61,781.83 on Bitstamp exchange, just after U.S. President Joe Biden signed
his $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package into law.

 

Justin d’Anethan, sales manager at digital asset company Diginex in Hong
Kong, said investors had turned their attention to stock markets and other
cryptocurrencies in the past couple of weeks, leaving Bitcoin idling in the
upper 50-thousand dollar levels.

 

“That changed just yesterday when we pierced through 60K. With miners not
selling recently minted coins, on-exchange reserves hitting multi-year lows
and an incessant stream of corporates, funds, large and small investors
piling into BTC, we punched through,” he said.

 

Bitcoin’s stunning gains this year have been driven by its mainstream
acceptance as an investment and a means of payment, accompanied by the rush
of retail cash into stocks, exchange-traded funds and other risky assets.

 

It soared this year as major firms, such as BNY Mellon, asset manager
BlackRock Inc, credit card giant Mastercard Inc, backed cryptocurrencies,
while those such as Tesla Inc Square Inc and MicroStrategy Inc invested in
bitcoin.

 

Big U.S. banks such as Morgan Stanley are also seeking to offer wealth
management clients access to bitcoin funds.-The Thomson Reuters Trust
Principles.

 

 

 

ECB must accept no further delay in lifting inflation: Panetta

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should accept no further
delay in lifting inflation back to its target as the current outlook is
unsatisfactory and persistent misses risk damaging the economy, ECB board
member Fabio Panetta told Spanish newspaper El Pais.

 

The ECB has already undershot its nearly 2% target for eight years and its
projections indicate that it will continue to miss for years to come as bloc
struggles to absorb the slack left behind a pandemic-induced recession.

 

With stimulus already near its limits, some policymakers argue that the ECB
must simply accept a slower rise in price pressures instead of trying to do
even more but Panetta rejected this argument, warning that the costs
outweigh the benefits.

 

“The argument that we could extend the horizon to meet the aim is not a
convincing one,” El Pais quoted him on Sunday as saying. “The ECB has failed
to reach its aim for too many years already.”

 

“Waiting will be even more costly,” Panetta argued. “It would make it more
difficult to re-anchor inflation expectations and we would risk a permanent
reduction of economic potential.”

 

The ECB ramped up stimulus last month but still only sees inflation rising
to 1.4% by 2023, a level Panetta called unsatisfactory.

 

With vaccinations picking up pace, some policymakers are already making the
case for curbing emergency bond purchases from the third quarter onwards but
Panetta cautioned, arguing that a prudent approach in such a crisis is
injecting too much stimulus rather than too little.

 

Indeed, Panetta even called on European governments to ramp up fiscal
support warning that the bloc’s economy likely suffered more damage from the
pandemic than currently visible.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Saudi Aramco in $12.4bln oil pipeline deal with EIG-led group

Riyadh: Energy giant Saudi Aramco said it has struck a 12.4-billion-dollar
deal to sell a minority stake in a newly formed oil pipeline business to a
consortium led by US-based EIG Global Energy Partners.

 

 

The deal comes as Aramco -- the kingdom´s cash cow -- seeks to monetise its
once-untouchable assets to generate revenue for the Saudi government as it
accelerates efforts to diversify the oil-reliant economy.

 

"Upon closing, Aramco will receive upfront proceeds of around $12.4 billion,
further strengthening its balance sheet through one of the largest energy
infrastructure deals globally," the company said in a statement late Friday.

 

"As part of the transaction, a newly-formed Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Oil
Pipelines Company, will lease usage rights in Aramco´s stabilised crude oil
pipelines network for a 25-year period."

 

The EIG-led consortium will hold a 49 percent stake in the subsidiary,
Aramco said, adding that it will retain "full ownership and operational
control".

 

Aramco did not say which other companies were part of the consortium.

 

In the statement, Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser hailed the deal as a
"landmark transaction" that would help "maximise returns for our
shareholders".

 

The announcement comes after Aramco posted consecutive falls in profits
since it began disclosing earnings in 2019, piling pressure on government
finances as Riyadh pursues multi-billion dollar projects to diversify the
economy.

 

Last month, Aramco posted a 44.4 percent slump in 2020 net profit due to
lower crude prices.

 

Saudi Arabia, the world´s biggest crude exporter, was hammered last year by
low prices as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on global demand, prompting
sharp cuts in production.

 

Even so, Aramco said it stuck to its commitment of paying shareholders
dividends worth $75 billion in 2020 -- an amount that exceeds the declared
profit and available cash flow.

 

Dividend payments from Aramco help the Saudi government, the company´s
biggest shareholder, manage its ballooning budget deficit.

 

Long seen as the kingdom´s "crown jewel", Aramco and its assets were once
tightly under government control and considered off-limits to outside
investment.

 

But with the rise of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is
pushing to implement his "Vision 2030" reform programme, the kingdom has
shown readiness to cede some control.

 

Aramco sold a sliver of its shares on the Saudi bourse in December 2019,
generating $29.4 billion in the world´s biggest initial public offering.

 

In January, Prince Mohammed said the kingdom would sell more Aramco shares
in the coming years.

 

He said future share offerings would be a key way to boost the Public
Investment Fund, the kingdom´s sovereign wealth fund which is the main
engine of its diversification efforts.

 

In a major new diversification push late last month, Saudi Arabia announced
plans to pump investments worth $3.2 trillion into the national economy by
2030, roping in the kingdom´s biggest companies including Aramco.

 

Under a programme name "Shareek", or partner, Aramco and other top Saudi
companies will lead the investment drive by contributing five trillion
riyals ($1.3 trillion) over the next decade, Prince Mohammed said.

 

In a briefing to reporters, he added that the companies, many of them
listed, had agreed to lower their dividends and redirect the money into the
domestic economy in exchange for incentives such as subsidies.

 

In the statement announcing the deal with the EIG-led group, Nasser said
Aramco was "capitalising on new opportunities that also align strategically
with the recently-launched Shareek programme".

 

 

 

Elon Musk Says Tesla's Full-Self Driving Beta V9.0 Is Almost Ready

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has tweeted new information about Full-Self Driving
(FSD) Beta. Replying to a tweet about the current FSD Beta system, Musk said
V9.0 is almost ready and that it's a significant improvement. 

 

What’s interesting is the fact that the system will stop using the radar
sensor and solely rely on the cameras. Teslas have one forward-facing radar
sensor, eight cameras, and twelve ultrasonic sensors. 

 

The single radar sensor won’t be used anymore and Musk confirmed that Tesla
will be dropping it from production and won’t use it as a backup. Musk is
known for not wanting to use lidar sensors and that’s now the case with
radar sensors. It seems Musk and his team are adamant about just using
cameras.  

 

The tweet also mentions FSD will improve with “weird corner cases and bad
weather.” The bad weather part is obvious but some might be unfamiliar with
weird corner cases, also referred to as edge cases. They are basically very
difficult driving situations that the system might not have ever encountered
before. A very out-of-the-ordinary circumstance that rarely happens like
strange unprotected left turns. 

 

Unprotected left turns is one area that FSD Beta needs to improve on. One
FSD Beta tester did a whole video on one particular unprotected lefthand
turn, and it was a little scary to watch. But at the same time, FSD Beta
also impresses. This video shows FSD performing well in several edge cases.
If you want to see what FSD Beta “sees” superimposed over regular video
footage, check out out this video. 

 

 

Tesla is expanding the amount of FSD Beta testers, the latest figure was
2,000. Soon, there will be an FSD Beta button for Tesla owners to press if
they want to try the system. 

 

Source: Elon Musk (Twitter)

 

 

 

‘Mother of All Recoveries’ Ignites Bullish Trades Across Europe

Europe’s vaccine campaign may be beset with delays, communication blunders
and missteps, but in markets at least investors are united in wagering that
the pandemic is on the way out.

 

 

Stocks in the region have vaulted back to records, and the euro capped its
best week against the dollar so far this year. A big turnaround in projected
profits for corporate Europe shows a brewing recovery in the investment and
consumption cycle.

 

Analysts are ratcheting up estimates for European miners, banks, auto makers
and oil producers -- all industries set to boom as the global economy roars
back to health. Upgrades now outnumber downgrades by most in over a decade,
according to data from Citigroup Inc.

 

European profit upgrades are outpacing cuts by the most since 2010

Whether all that enthusiasm is justified will become clearer this month,
when earnings season kicks off. Behind the bullish shift in markets is a
belief that Europe will be successful in immunizing the bulk of its
population within a few months, and evidence that the U.S. and Asia are on a
solid path of recovery.

 

>From food giant Nestle SA to luxury powerhouse LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis
Vuitton SE, investors are counting on Europe’s flagship names to reap
windfall profits as consumers around the world come out of lockdown ready to
spend.

 

 

“The market rightly anticipates accelerating earnings growth,” said Olga
Bitel, global strategist at William Blair Investment Management. “The
difference this time is magnitude. Specifically, the U.S. and Europe are
likely to experience the mother of all recoveries over the next several
years.”

 

European earnings forecasts are soaring for miners, energy, autos and banks

The gains across European markets show sentiment is turning positive after a
delayed start to immunizations and mistrust over the AstraZeneca Plc
vaccine’s side effects. Now, signs are emerging that Europe’s vaccine
campaign might be getting back on track.

 

France met its goal of inoculating 10 million people a week ahead of
schedule and Germany has doubled its pace of vaccinations. Germany’s
export-led economy is also getting a boost from the wider economic recovery,
helping lift inflation expectations. The country’s 10-year breakeven rate is
at 1.35%, near the highest since 2014.

 

Gauge of inflation expectations soars, nearing highest level since 2014

Granted, European markets still look sleepy compared with elsewhere. The
euro isn’t far from its five-month low against the dollar, and there’s no
sign of a speculative frenzy bubbling up anywhere in equities. Instead, the
investment case for Europe is often one about valuation discounts.

 

The region has been so battered, whether from the pandemic, bureaucratic
infighting, vaccine delays or fiscal restraint, that it doesn’t take much to
spark a turnaround. And at a time when China and the U.S. are booming, bulls
believe Europe can ride the momentum too.

 

To bet on the comeback story, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s equity derivatives team
has told clients to buy calls on the Euro Stoxx 50 and sell them on the S&P
500. The bank’s strategists tout Europe’s cyclical bent and relative
cheapness as all reasons why stocks can keep outperforming.

 

Despite that optimism, there’s plenty evidence that Europe’s recovery is
still on shaky ground. Concern over rare blood clots linked to AstraZeneca
shot has held back vaccination efforts. There’s also growing alarm about a
potentially long delay before money from Europe’s 750 billion-euro ($892
billion) recovery fund reaches crisis-hit countries.

 

For now, all eyes are on consumer spending. In the U.K., shops, gyms and
hairdressers reopen on Monday, and the summer months will be a litmus test
if shoppers are ready to splash out on holidays and new clothes.

 

 

Airlines and mall owners have already soared from investors betting normal
life can quickly return. Bonds of EasyJet Plc and U.K. property manager
Hammerson Plc are among the best performers in Europe this year.

 

Back to Old Habits

Airlines, mall owners dominate list of best-performing credits in euros

 

 

Bond Investors Are Already Betting on Return to Normal Life

 

“As long as the vaccine rollout continues to progress, we would expect to
see consumers start to spend,” said Niall Gallagher, an investment director
of European equities at GAM.

 

 

 

Why XRP Is Surging 39%

The price of major crypto asset XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has seen a spike of about
39% after a ruling in a United States court.

 

What Happened: Ripple saw another major win by its legal team as a federal
judge exempted Ripple's executives from having to provide their personal
financial records to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

 

Ripple Labs Inc is the developer of XRP.

 

The ruling was made by United States District Court Judge Sarah Netburn, of
the Southern District of New York.

 

In the ruling on Friday, Netburn wrote that the SEC’s requests for the
records were not "relevant or proportional to the needs of the case."

 

On the news, XRP price climbed by nearly 38% from $1.01 up to a high of
$1.39 before correcting and settling at $1.30 as of press time. All of this
price action took place within the last 24 hours.

 

Why It Matters: The news follows this week's reports that the same judge
also granted Ripple access to SEC minutes and memos “expressing the agency’s
interpretation or views.” These records are said to detail why the regulator
has not deemed Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) or Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) securities.

 

Ripple — the firm which developed the XRP ledger used for interbank
communication and settlements by major financial institutions worldwide —
hopes that the documents will help make its case that XRP ought to be
treated in the same way.

 

 

Africa: Biden Lifts Trump's Financial Veto On Developing Nations

Exactly how the Biden administration might impact Africa remains a bit of a
mystery, as the new United States president, predictably, works through a
mountainous backlog of domestic issues left by Donald Trump. However on the
economic side, a picture is emerging.

 

Trump, as we know too well, was the great unilateralist, putting 'America
First', last and only. On taking office, President Joe Biden declared that
'America is back' - and has begun to re-engage with the world.

 

And he and his Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have started putting some
meat on that bone for developing countries. Mainly by lifting Trump's veto
on allowing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to allocate US$650 billion
in special drawing rights (SDRs) to help countries fight the COVID-19
pandemic and recover from its economic fallout.

 

The IMF and United Nations (UN) have both warned of a new emerging market
debt crisis as the global economy emerges from the pandemic and interest
rates rise, drawing capital away from over-borrowed countries.

 

SDR allocation is rare. The last time it happened was in 2009 in the global
financial and economic crisis. Then the total was US$293 billion, which the
current proposal would more than double.

 

Exactly how the Biden administration might impact Africa remains a bit of a
mystery

 

Finance ministers of the G7 club of rich countries supported the US$650
billion allocation at their last meeting in March. The United Kingdom (UK)
Treasury said then that extra SDRs would help poorer countries 'pay for
crucial needs such as vaccines and food imports, and improve the buffers of
emerging markets and low-income countries.'

 

UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, who chaired the meeting, said the agreement
'paves the way for crucial and concerted action to support the world's
low-income countries, ensuring that no country is left behind in the global
economic recovery from [the] coronavirus.'

 

The IMF board of directors are expected to agree on the measure at their
spring meetings now taking place.

 

It is not clear yet, though, how much of the US$650 billion will reach
developing countries, including those in Africa, which have been hardest hit
by the global lockdowns, plunging many of them into seemingly irreversible
debt.

 

SDR allocations are complex financial transactions. The SDR is a purely
theoretical IMF currency, a composite of a basket of five major, real-world
national currencies - the US dollar, euro, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen and
British pound. It's worth about US$1.42. The IMF uses it as the basis for
its emergency loans.

 

 

 

It is not clear yet how much of the US$650 billion will reach developing
countries, including those in Africa

 

Allocating new SDRs is in effect like providing a credit line to countries.
They can simply add them to their reserves without spending them, which
means they don't have to pay interest on them, but can borrow money against
them. Or they can liquidate them, in which case they do have to pay
interest.

 

They are allocated roughly according to the size of a country's economy and
its contribution to IMF reserves, so richer countries will get more. But
wealthier countries that don't need them may transfer them to poorer
countries.

 

Yellen has urged them to do that, saying, 'An allocation of new special
drawing rights at the IMF could enhance liquidity for low-income countries
to facilitate their much-needed health and economic recovery efforts. ...
It's the responsibility of the developed countries to make sure that decades
of progress in fighting poverty [are] not reversed because of the pandemic.'

 

Six richer countries donated their SDRs even before the proposed new
allocation, providing US$9.6 billion out of US$16.9 billion raised to
support zero-interest lending to developing countries through a separate IMF
initiative.

 

The US$650 billion SDR allocation has had mixed reviews. Some have welcomed
it; others feel it is too small. Like the UN, which wanted US$2 trillion,
and the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development, which has joined
250 other non-governmental organisations and companies calling for a US$3
trillion SDR allocation. They insist that is what is needed to address the
COVID-related debt of the developing world, particularly in Africa.

 

A global minimum corporate tax rate is what African countries have long been
urging

 

The amount of US$650 billion was evidently chosen as the maximum that the
veto-wielding US could approve without approval of Congress. Republicans are
firmly opposed to it, believing it will disproportionately benefit foes such
as Iran and China.

 

The Biden administration has also backed other global economic reforms that
should benefit developing countries, including African ones, depending on
how they are eventually structured. These include a global tax on digital
giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google.

 

And this week Yellen called for the adoption of a minimum global corporate
income tax, which could counter the vast drainage of capital from Africa
that has been highlighted by former South African president Thabo Mbeki and
others.

 

Yellen deplored a '30-year race to the bottom' in which countries have
slashed corporate tax rates to attract multinational businesses. Her
proposal is undoubtedly self-serving. She and Biden have proposed hiking the
US corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, undoing Trump's cut from 35%.

 

They fear that the US tax hike will scare off investors to other countries,
and a minimum global corporate tax rate would help counter that exodus. Even
so, a global minimum corporate tax rate is what African countries have long
been urging.

 

'It is about making sure that governments have stable tax systems that raise
sufficient revenue to invest in essential public goods,' Yellen said in her
virtual speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

 

So, even if the Biden administration is not doing as much as every African
would want, it is at least back on the continent and in the world.-ISS
Consultant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

Independence Day

 

18/04/21

 


 

Public Holiday in lieu of Independence Day falling on a Sunday

 

19/04/21

 


 

Workers Day

 

01/05/21

 


FCB

AGM 

virtual

06/05/21 : 3pm

 


 

Africa Day

 

25/05/21

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


ART

PPC

Dairibord

 


Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

 


Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

 


 

 

 

 


 <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) 2021 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com>  www.bullszimbabwe.com Email:
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77
344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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