Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 13 August 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 13 August 2021

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  U.S. jobless claims fall; producer prices post solid rise

ü  Fed framework gives rise to mash-up of views, averaging strategies

ü  U.S. employers get religion with vaccine mandates

ü  Pret a Manger makes staff pay cuts permanent

ü  Cryptocurrency heist hacker returns $260m in funds

ü  China says crackdown on business to go on for years

ü  Shell pays $111m over 1970s oil spill in Nigeria

ü  Tui boss: UK falling behind European travel recovery

ü  UK economy rebounds as Covid restrictions ease

ü  Four beats five as pandemic prompts shorter working week trials

ü  Wall Street set for muted open after jobs, inflation data

ü  Baidu quarterly results top estimates on ad sales, AI demand

ü  Banks take steps to reduce potential cloud computing risks, Google survey

ü  Fund managers position for transitory U.S. inflation

ü  Tesla's Musk says must keep to schedule on European gigafactory -
minister

ü  Crypto fashion: why people pay real money for virtual clothes

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

U.S. jobless claims fall; producer prices post solid rise

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing claims for
unemployment benefits fell again last week as the economic recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic continued but producer prices posted their largest annual
increase in more than a decade amid inflation pressures.

 

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 12,000 to a seasonally
adjusted 375,000 for the week ended August 7. Data for the prior week was
revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.

 

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 375,000 applications for the
latest week. Unadjusted claims, which offer a better read of the labor
market, decreased 5,198 to 320,517 last week.

 

Claims remain well above their pre-pandemic level of 256,000, though they
have dropped from a record 6.149 million in early April 2020.

 

There are still fears that rising coronavirus cases caused by the Delta
variant could slow the employment recovery amid a shortage of workers. There
were a record 10.1 million job openings at the end of June. About 8.7
million people are officially unemployed.

 

The claims report showed the number of people continuing to receive benefits
after an initial week of aid fell 114,000 to 2.866 million during the week
ended July 31.

 

The labor market recovery has a long way to go. About 12.055 million people,
the same as the prior report, were receiving unemployment checks under all
programs in late July, the lowest level since late March 2020.

 

The economy has swiftly regained momentum and past its pre-pandemic peak in
the second quarter as trillions in government relief and increasing
vaccinations against COVID-19 fueled spending on goods and services.

 

PRODUCER PRICES AT DECADE HIGH

 

Elsewhere, U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in June, a
separate Labor Department report showed on Friday, suggesting inflation
could remain high as strong demand fueled by the recovery continues to hurt
supply chains.

 

In the 12 months through July, the PPI jumped 7.8%, a record high since the
measure was introduced just over a decade ago.

 

The producer price index for final demand increased 1.0% last month after
rising 1.0% in June. Three-quarters of the gain was driven by a record
one-month increase in final demand services, while the goods advance was
half what it was in June.

 

The report followed data on Wednesday that showed U.S. consumer prices
increases slowed in July even as they remained at a 13-year high on a yearly
basis amid tentative signs inflation has peaked as supply-chain disruptions
caused by the pandemic work their way through the economy. read more

 

The swiftness of the economic recovery has caused a mismatch between supply
and demand. Producers have had to grapple with low inventories, higher
commodity prices, a global shipping container crisis and increased labor
costs due to a shortage of willing workers.

 

The lack of inventory because of supply chain issues are making it easier
for producers to pass on the costs to consumers.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Fed framework gives rise to mash-up of views, averaging strategies

(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's new approach to monetary policy, meant to
provide a clear path for the central bank to reach its inflation target, has
led for now to a conflicting array of interpretations as officials turn
perhaps sooner than anticipated to a debate about when to raise interest
rates.

 

That decision seemed far away last December when the Fed laid out what
seemed a clear test for when its inflation goal would be achieved and make
it appropriate for rates to rise from near zero.

 

But this year's inflation jump has some officials already declaring the new
benchmark tests have been met, others saying the goal remains a long way
off, and others shrugging their shoulders over the level of uncertainty
remaining around the pandemic reopening.

 

It's a division some analysts anticipated when the Fed adopted a new
framework focused on average inflation over time, with periods of higher
prices offsetting lower ones, but did not pin down key concepts like the
length of the averaging period or the level of overshoot it would tolerate.
That will now have to be sorted out as data arrives and officials promote
competing forecasts for inflation and competing narratives for the proper
policy response.

 

It is almost foregone that in coming months the central bank will begin
reducing its pandemic emergency support by trimming its $120 billion in
monthly bond purchases. What's less certain by far is the timing and pace of
any subsequent interest rate increase, a more consequential step that will
hinge on which view of inflation wins out.

 

"I thought it was going to be the flat Phillips curve that was going to be
the problem," Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said this week, referring
to the dynamics that kept inflation weak for the past decade.

 

Instead inflation has not just exceeded their 2% target but come in so far
above it that debate has broken out over whether the Fed may have already
met the aims of its new framework.

 

In the Fed's policy statement, that has translated into a promise to keep
rates low until "inflation has risen to 2% and is on track to moderately
exceed 2% for some time."

 

A preferred Fed measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures
price index excluding food and energy, is currently up 3.5% year-over-year,
and three regional bank officials said over the last week that may be enough
to meet the standard.

 

"This is quite the large impulse and it is enough to have made up for some
of the past misses to the downside, which was a core part of the discussion"
in devising the new framework, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said
last week. "In my mind we should declare success on this."

 

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic made a similar argument this week -
inflation this year will bring a multi-year average up to 2% - and suggested
officials need to begin debating what their new inflation language means in
practice.

 

On Wednesday, Kansas City Fed President Esther George said "one might argue"
the inflation being experienced today is enough to "align" with the stated
threshold for raising rates.

 

'NO SUGAR-COATING'

 

The separate goal of maximum employment is also under debate, with its own
nuances and disagreement over how near the economy is to achieving it.

 

But the inflation discussion is especially complex and it has come on fast.
As Evans noted, officials expected they'd be fighting to nurse inflation
higher, and were prepared to leave policy loose for a long time to do so -
all the while allowing job gains to accumulate and press the boundaries of
"maximum employment" in a way that benefits workers.

 

Instead the unexpected shocks of reopening - labor shortages, global supply
problems, demand surging beyond the economy's ability to produce goods and
services - have eroded faith that inflation will forever remain contained.

 

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin this week said his base case remains
that inflation has "crested" and should ease next year. But he acknowledges
it has persisted longer than expected, and he is open to both possibilities
- of inflation easing next year, or of subsequent shocks that keep prices
higher. The Fed needs to be ready for either outcome.

 

Barkin rattled off a list of key unknowns that could shape the outcome.

 

"Will this Delta variant hammer commerce or is it going to turn into the
flu? Is it going to impact labor availability and all of a sudden we are
going to not have our fall recovery but have really tight labor markets for
a number of months? ... What's our relationship with China going to be six
or nine months from now?" he said.

 

Evans has anchored what last December had been the near consensus view that
inflation would rise for a bit, help the Fed lift longer-term inflation
towards its target, but not threaten a full-scale outbreak that would force
a reaction.

 

This week, he said he still believes weak inflation is the bigger risk over
time and said he would regret the Fed reacting to the current jump in prices
only to get in the way of job growth the economy sorely needs.

 

But he acknowledged the discussion has gotten more complex.

 

"There is no sugar-coating the pain" of the price increases, Evans said.
"The question is more what the inflation outlook is going to be into 2022
and 2023. Some of these prices will turn around."

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

U.S. employers get religion with vaccine mandates

(Reuters) - As coronavirus infections rise again, U.S. companies mandating
vaccinations are confronting an uncomfortable question rarely asked by an
employer - what is an employee's religious belief?

 

Google's parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Walmart Inc (WMT.N), and Tyson Foods
Inc (TSN.N) are among the growing list of employers requiring some or all
staff to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

But with each mandate comes exceptions. Employers have to make reasonable
accommodations for staff who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons or
refuse vaccination because of "sincerely held religious beliefs," according
to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

 

"It's such a touchy subject for both sides," said Erin McLaughlin, a
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney lawyer who advises large employers.

 

"This issue has moved to the forefront as we see more and more mandatory
vaccination policies," she said. She said there had been more regulator
guidance on exemptions for disabilities than religious beliefs, adding to
the challenge as companies draft vaccine policies.

 

The widespread availability of coronavirus vaccines in the United States
caused infections to drop dramatically from January to June, but driven
largely by the Delta variant, the current 7-day moving average of daily new
cases is up 33.7 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.

 

The EEOC defines religion broadly to include moral and ethical beliefs and
can even include opposition to receiving injections of certain chemicals,
said Raeann Burgo, an attorney with Fisher Phillips, a law firm which
represents companies.

 

Legal experts said it could take months for lawsuits to emerge over COVID-19
vaccines, but there are precedents that serve as a guide.

 

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center fired customer service
representative Sakile Chenzira in 2010 for refusing a flu vaccine because
she was a vegan. Chenzira sued and the hospital wanted the case dismissed,
arguing she was mistaking a dietary habit for a religious belief. The
federal judge ruled in her favor based on the sincerity of her views. The
parties settled privately.

 

"As an employer, you can inquire whether an employee has a sincerely held
religious belief. It's just kind of a fraught investigation," said Brian
Dean Abramson, an author and specialist in vaccine law.

 

He said employers have to be careful not to appear to be invading the
worker's privacy or harassing them and businesses have to be aware that
employees' religious views may change over time.

 

'UNDUE BURDEN'

 

Alina Glukhovsky was fired from her job as a skin specialist at a Chicago
salon in 1990 after she refused to work on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
She sued.

 

She had not asked off for the holiday during prior years, and she testified
that she was not particularly religious when she started working at the
salon in 1982, but her beliefs evolved after the death of her father and
birth of a son.

 

The court ruled in her favor.

 

Burgo said businesses should assume that employees seeking an exemption
sincerely hold their beliefs. She said the bigger challenge can be
accommodating those exemptions which the employer can refuse if it results
in an "undue burden" on workplace safety and efficiency.

 

Brett Horvath cited religious beliefs when he refused a tetanus, diphtheria,
and pertussis vaccine in 2016 that was required by the City of Leander Fire
Department in Texas where he worked as a driver and pump operator.

 

The department gave him a choice. Instead of being vaccinated, he could wear
a mask and submit to testing or switch to a job in code enforcement with
hours that were less convenient. He refused and was fired.

 

He sued and last year the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the
dismissal, finding the face mask requirement accommodated his religion while
allowing him to perform his job.

 

Lawyers said that vaccine accommodations such as regular testing and masking
have become standard since the start of the pandemic and that might lessen
disagreements over vaccine mandates.

 

But employees may also demand to work from home, creating a challenge for
reluctant employers to explain why mandatory in-person attendance is
essential after months of remote work.

 

"There will be a few employers who get it wrong before we get through the
process to get pretty good established guidance on how to handle this,
especially with vaccines," said McLaughlin, the lawyer for large employers.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Pret a Manger makes staff pay cuts permanent

Pret a Manger has told its staff that a temporary pay cut will now be made
permanent as trade remains "significantly below" pre-Covid levels.

 

The sandwich chain stopped paying workers during their breaks last September
in a effort to cut costs.

 

However, it has now told workers that the measure will be kept in place.

 

Pret said: "This is in no way a reflection of the hard work of our teams and
we're incredibly grateful for their dedication and commitment."

 

The company has also confirmed that a special bonus for good service, which
was paused last year and reinstated in April, will continue at a reduced
rate.

 

The Guardian has reported that staff are considering strike action following
the move. Pret declined to comment on whether staff were planning to walk
out.

 

But it said: "Like others in the hospitality industry, the pandemic had a
big impact on our business, so last year we adjusted our business model. The
business is still trading significantly below pre-pandemic levels, but we
continue to review our benefits."

 

A spokesman for Pret said there would be a pay review in April next year.

 

Despite the UK economy reopening in recent months, many people continue to
work - and eat their lunch - at home.

 

Pret has tried to counter the drop in trade by introducing new lines of
business such as its coffee subscription service, allowing customers up to
five cups of coffee a day for a £20 monthly fee.

 

It is also trialling cafes within the likes of Tesco to adjust its business
"to a new way of living and working",

 

Since the beginning of pandemic, Pret has closed 39 shops in the UK, as well
as 33 EAT outlets, which it also owns. It also shut 22 Pret sites in the US.

 

It has cut 3,771 jobs in the UK, according to its most recent accounts, as
well as 1,292 roles in the US at a cost of £15.3m.

 

Pret received a capital injection of £185m last year from shareholders and
has access to a finance facility of £150m which runs until December this
year, but can be extended for a further six months.--BBC

 

 

 

Cryptocurrency heist hacker returns $260m in funds

The hacker behind one of the largest cryptocurrency heists to date has
returned almost half of the $600m (£433m) stolen assets.

 

On Tuesday, the firm affected, Poly Network wrote a letter on Twitter,
asking the individual to get in touch "to work out a solution".

 

The hacker then posted messages pledging to return funds, claiming to be
"not very interested in money".

 

On Wednesday, Poly Network said it had received $260m back.

 

The company, a blockchain platform which lets users swap different types of
digital tokens, posted on Twitter that it had been sent back three
cryptocurrencies, including $3.3m worth of Ethereum, $256m worth of Binance
Coin and $1m worth of Polygon.

 

A total of $269m in Ether tokens and $84m in Polygon tokens has yet to be
recovered.

 

A blockchain is a ledger, or log, of every single transaction made of a
cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin.

 

The ledger is distributed to all the users in the network to verify all new
transactions when they occur, instead of being held by any one single
authority.

 

Software flaws

The hacker published a three-page-long Q&A session on one of the blockchains
essentially in the form of a self-interview, according to Tom Robinson,
co-founder of Elliptic, a London-based blockchain analytics and compliance
firm.

 

The hacker claimed to have always planned to return the tokens and said the
heist was carried out to highlight vulnerabilities in Poly Network software.

 

"I know it hurts when people are attacked, but shouldn't they learn
something from those hacks?" the hacker wrote in the notes embedded on the
Ethereum blockchain.

 

The hacker claimed to have spent all night looking for a vulnerability to
exploit. They said they were worried that Poly Network would patch the
security flaw quietly without telling anyone, so they decided to take
millions of dollars in cryptocurrency tokens to make a point.

 

But they stressed that they did not want to cause a "real panic [in] the
crypto-world", so they only took "important coins", leaving behind Dogecoin,
the cryptocurrency that started off as a joke.

 

"Either they just intended to commit theft and steal the assets, or they
were acting like a white hat hacker to expose a bug, to help Poly Network
make themselves more strong and secure," Mr Robinson, who routinely advises
governments and law enforcement agencies about crypto-related crimes, told
the BBC.

 

He added that the nature of blockchain technology makes it hard for
cyber-criminals to profit from stealing digital currencies, because everyone
can see the money being moved across the network into the hackers' wallets.

 

"I wonder whether this hacker stole the funds, realised how much publicity
and attention they were getting, realised wherever they moved the funds they
would be watched, and decided to give it back," said Mr Robinson.

 

"The blockchain itself has operated here flawlessly, but the problem is on
blockchains like Ethereum, you can write your own smart contracts. Various
services have started offering this, including Poly Network.

 

"So whenever a human being writes code, there's a chance they will make a
mistake."

 

Poly Network's platform works by facilitating movement between several
blockchains when people trade one cryptocurrency for another, such as
trading Binance Coin for Ether.

 

"The Poly Network is the thing that facilitates the movement between these
chains - ultimately, it's software, it's code, and code always has
imperfections and defects in it," James Chappell, co-founder of London-based
cyber-security firm Digital Shadows, told the BBC.

 

"And that's true of banks, or any financial system. Unfortunately, what
seems to have happened here is a party has spotted a weakness in the
implementation and exploited it to fool the network into transferring these
tokens incorrectly."

 

Similar attacks have happened to several other services in the last 12
months. These include:

 

After a rollercoaster 24 hours for the crypto community, it seems the hacker
intends to return all or most of the stolen money.

 

As the criminal posted online: "The pain suffered is temporary, but
memorable."

 

The claim that it was all an elaborate way to force Poly Network to fix
security failings is being treated with scepticism.

 

Why the taunting and boasting online if the motive was honourable?

 

There's some suggestion that the net may have been closing in, as one
cyber-security company says it was close to working out the identity of a
suspect.

 

It might have been the case that the hacker bit off way more than they could
chew and got scared, so returned the money.

 

Regardless, the authorities will still no doubt be working hard to find
them.

 

But what this story mostly points to is just how powerful hackers can be and
how powerless the unregulated, decentralised cryptocurrency world is when
someone swipes a large fortune from under its nose.-BBC

 

 

 

China says crackdown on business to go on for years

The Chinese government has unveiled a five-year plan outlining tighter
regulation of much of its economy.

 

It says new rules will be introduced covering areas including national
security, technology and monopolies in the world's second largest economy.

 

The plan comes soon after Beijing started targeting the technology and
education industries.

 

The document references Chairman Mao as China celebrates the 100th
anniversary of the nation's Communist Party.

 

The 10-point plan, which runs to the end of 2025, was released jointly late
on Wednesday by China's State Council and the Communist Party's Central
Committee.

 

It said laws will be strengthened for "important fields" such as science and
technological innovation, culture and education.

 

The plan also said the Chinese government aims to tackle monopolies and
"foreign-related rule of law".

 

Regulations relating to China's digital economy, including "internet
finance, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing etc." will also
be reviewed.

 

The announcement raised fresh concerns that Beijing's crackdown on
technology and private education companies is set to continue and expand in
years to come.

 

Shares in many Chinese companies listed in the US, Hong Kong and mainland
China have fallen sharply this year as investors' concerns grow over the
crackdown.

 

Beijing has already launched anti-monopoly investigations into some of the
country's biggest technology firms and taken action against a wide range of
other businesses.

 

In April, technology giant Alibaba accepted a record $2.8bn (£2bn) fine
after an investigation found that it had abused its dominant market position
for years.

 

Last month, Tencent was told to end exclusive music licensing deals with
record labels around the world.

 

Also in July, some of the country's biggest online platforms - Kuaishou,
Tencent's messaging tool QQ, Alibaba's Taobao and Weibo - were ordered to
remove inappropriate child-related content.

 

This week, Chinese authorities said they had increased their scrutiny of
after-school tuition services offered by individual teachers.

 

During a recent inspection, one person and six institutions were punished
for offering unlicensed after-school tutoring that broke regulations, the
Beijing Municipal Education Commission said in a statement Monday.

 

The move came as tutoring firms had changed how they operated after a
government crackdown on the industry.

 

Last month, Beijing unveiled a massive overhaul of China's $120bn private
tutoring sector, under which all institutions offering tuition on school
curricula will be registered as non-profit organisations.

 

The new rules said: "Curriculum subject-tutoring institutions are not
allowed to go public for financing; listed companies should not invest in
the institutions, and foreign capital is barred from such institutions."

 

Meanwhile, this week China's banking and insurance watchdog stepped up its
regulation of online insurance companies, according to the Caixin news
agency.

 

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission ordered the firms to
stop improper marketing and pricing or face "severe punishment."-BBC

 

 

 

Shell pays $111m over 1970s oil spill in Nigeria

Oil giant Shell will pay a Nigerian community $111m (£80m) over an oil spill
more than 50 years ago.

 

A spokesman said the payment would mark the "full and final settlement" to
the Ejama-Ebubu community over a spill during the 1967-70 Biafran War.

 

The company has maintained that the damage was caused by third parties.

 

A Nigerian court fined Shell the equivalent of $41.36m in 2010, but the
company launched a number of unsuccessful appeals.

 

Last year, the country's Supreme Court said that, with interest, the fine
owed by the company was more than ten times greater than the original
judgement, although Shell denied this. The case was launched in 1991.

 

Shell has previously said it was not given the opportunity to defend itself
against the claims, and began international arbitration over the case
earlier this year.

 

"They ran out of tricks and decided to come to terms," lawyer Lucius Nwosa,
who represented the local community, was quoted as saying by the AFP news
agency. "The decision is a vindication of the resoluteness of the community
for justice."

 

While the case dates back decades, pollution from leaking oil pipelines
continues to be a major issue in the Niger Delta.

 

Earlier this year, in a separate case, a Dutch appeals court ruled that
Shell's Nigerian branch was responsible for damage caused by leaks in the
Niger Delta from 2004 to 2007.

 

The court ordered Shell Nigeria to pay compensation to Nigerian farmers,
while the subsidiary and its Anglo-Dutch parent company were told to install
equipment to prevent future damage.

 

Shell Nigeria liable for oil spills - Dutch court

Is crude oil killing children in Nigeria?

A group of farmers launched the case in 2008, alleging widespread pollution.

 

Shell argued that the leaks were the result of "sabotage".-BBC

 

 

 

Tui boss: UK falling behind European travel recovery

The UK holiday recovery is lagging behind the rest of Europe, in part due to
uncertainty over shifting travel restrictions, Europe's biggest travel firm
has said.

 

Tui bookings have jumped by 1.5 million since May, primarily driven by
bookings from continental Europe.

 

But the holiday firm said frequent UK rule changes had deterred people.

 

The UK government has consistently said that travel restrictions are needed
to combat the Covid pandemic.

 

Tui chief executive Friedrich Joussen said British holidaymakers had faced
more uncertainty than many other Europeans in recent months and had been put
off by changing policies from the UK government.

 

He pointed out the UK decision to add Portugal to the list of green travel
destinations in mid-May before removing it in early June.

 

"When you change the programme so often, then people cancel," he added.

 

The cost of PCR tests for Covid would also be putting off customers, he
said.

 

Since mid-January, on all but a few days, UK travellers cancelled more
travel for summer 2021 than they booked, according to Tui data.

 

This is in direct contrast to customers from Germany, Belgium and the
Netherlands, where bookings were ahead of cancellations for most of that
period.

 

Booking trends

Despite a jump in summer interest, total Tui bookings were still down 68%
compared with summer 2019.

 

Tui said that about 4.2 million customers had booked for summer 2021, with
an increase of 1.5 million bookings since May.

 

The travel firm said pent-up demand from European holidaymakers was behind
the rise.

 

But while UK bookings are picking up, they are still lagging behind other
countries.

 

UK customers are normally a major part of Tui's business, but only about 17%
of those 4.2 million summer customers were from the UK.

 

Tourists walk holding inflatable mattress at Palma Beach in Palma de
Mallorca on June 7, 2021.

 

In the third quarter, only 50,000 customers departed from Tui's northern
region, composed of the UK and Ireland, the Nordic countries, Canada and
Russia.

 

This reflected "limited green list destinations made available by the UK
government" and the "stop-start nature of permitted destinations under UK
travel restrictions", Tui added.

 

The next UK travel list review is due on or about 25 August.

 

'Not confident to book'

Travel expert Simon Calder said: "The simple reason bookings are so sluggish
in the UK is the unpredictability of government advice."

 

He added: "I am hearing from a lot of prospective travellers that they are
not confident enough to book - and from many of those with bookings that
they wish they hadn't committed."

 

The UK government has a "traffic light" system in place for international
travels, with green, amber and red list countries.

 

This week, it updated the list, with France moving from "amber-plus" status
to normal amber country rules.

 

Most countries are on the amber list, with adults that have been fully
vaccinated in the UK, US and most European countries not having to
self-isolate upon arrival in the UK.

 

The UK government has previously said that while it wants people to be able
to travel, the travel lists are updated "to protect us against new variants"
of Covid.

 

The Department for Transport was approached for comment.

 

Travel firm woes

Tui and many other firms in the travel sector have been hit very hard by the
effects of coronavirus.

 

The travel firm, which has its headquarters in Hanover, has had a number of
bailouts from the German government and loans worth billions of euros.

 

Because of Brexit, its credit line from a British bank could not be extended
beyond summer 2022.-BBC

 

 

UK economy rebounds as Covid restrictions ease

The UK economy grew by 4.8% between April and June, according to official
figures, as most businesses emerged from lockdown.

 

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the expansion in
gross domestic product (GDP) was fuelled by retail, restaurants and hotels.

 

Education also boosted the economy as schools reopened in the second
quarter.

 

However, the figure was slightly below the 5% the Bank of England expected.

 

The UK economy is now 4.4% smaller than it was before the pandemic.

 

What is GDP and how is it measured?

Growth in the second quarter contrasts with the first three months of the
year, when the economy shrank by 1.6% while Covid restrictions were still in
place.

 

Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the BBC: "Today's figures show that the economy
is recovering very strongly, exceeding many people's expectations.

 

"But I'm not complacent. The economy and our public finances have
experienced a significant shock. It is going to take us time to fully
recover from that."

 

UK GDP

Capital Economics said it expected the economy to return to pre-Covid levels
later this year.

 

"We are comfortable with our view that monthly GDP will return to its
February 2020 pre-pandemic size by October and that the economy may yet
surprise most forecasters by emerging from the pandemic without much
scarring," said senior UK economist Ruth Gregory.

 

In April, non-essential retailers reopened, as well as gyms, hairdressers
and outdoor dining. In May, pubs, restaurants and cafes were allowed to
serve customers indoors, while theatres, galleries and cinemas were allowed
to open their doors.

 

The main driver of growth was consumer spending, which rose by 7.3% over the
quarter, ahead of expectations.

 

The UK is not just a nation of shopkeepers, but social animals. And it's
that large proportion of "social spending" - on hotels, restaurants and
leisure - that made our economy so vulnerable to lockdowns. The UK was the
fastest shrinking of the G7 nations in 2020 and conversely, maybe one of the
fastest of the big players to recover in 2021 as restrictions lift.

 

The consumer has led the way, driving output to within 5% of pre-pandemic
levels, despite the Delta variant of Covid. It's growth that some feared
just months ago would take far longer to materialise.

 

But what happens next is still uncertain. The safety net that has protected
livelihoods - the furlough scheme - ends in October. Economists think there
will be some job losses, albeit far fewer than assumed a year ago.

 

The biggest risk, however, will come from further variants and a resurgence
in infections and restrictions. Policymakers are assuming we're done with
the latter. A year ago, they were predicting there'd be no more national
lockdowns: let's hope they're right this time.

 

If so, the impressive vaccination rate in the UK should stand the economy in
good stead - others are not that fortunate. Be it health or wealth, it's
access to vaccinations that may increasingly make the difference between the
haves and have-nots as we try to escape the grip of this pandemic.

 

At the end of the quarter in June, the monthly growth is estimated at 1%,
slightly more than most economists expected.

 

Pantheon Macroeconomics said that nearly half of the economic expansion in
June came from activity in the health sector, "reportedly due primarily to a
surge in people visiting their GP".

 

Hargreaves Lansdowne said: "Fears that the arrival of the Delta variant and
the 'pingdemic' that followed might impact growth have so far not really
materialised."

 

However, the ONS revised down its figure for May from 0.8% to 0.6% during a
month of heavy rainfall.

 

The UK economy has been supported by the government's wage support scheme.
But from July, employers have had to make contributions to staff wages and
the scheme is set to close by the end of September.

 

'It's been very tough'

The economy is rebounding, but the pandemic is still having an impact on the
restaurant trade, according to Asma Khan, founder and owner of Darjeeling
Express, a family-owned Indian restaurant in London's Covent Garden.

 

"It's been very tough," she told the BBC. "The insecurity has been very hard
to deal with, the way the lockdown happened in March of last year."

 

Mrs Khan said that she was "grateful" for the furlough scheme which allowed
her to keep her entire staff on.

 

Even so, "I was still liable for all the rents and all the financial costs
mounted up," she added.

 

There is, however, "a lot of optimism", Mrs Khan said. People are booking
months in advance to dine at her restaurant, which recently welcomed US
comic actors Paul Rudd and Dan Levy.

 

"We had, I think, 1,300 bookings in five hours when we started opening all
up all the other dates," she said.

 

Mrs Khan said the changing nature of the UK's travel restrictions remained a
concern. She said businesses like hers in central London were "completely
dependent on tourists".

 

"People are worried because this whole insecurity of the red list, the amber
list. This fluctuation is basically deterring a lot of people, except the
very brave, to want to come in because they don't know whether the status of
their country is going to change by the time they're ready to go back."

 

Following the release of second-quarter GDP figures, Mr Sunak said the UK
had "the fastest quarterly growth rate among the G7 economies".

 

But Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "The UK economy almost certainly was the
hardest hit by Covid-19 in the G7."

 

While UK GDP is still 4.4% smaller than its pre-pandemic level, the US has
seen its economy recover, making it 0.8% larger than before Covid.

 

Pantheon also said France's economy was 3.3% below pre-pandemic levels,
Germany was 3.6% below and Italy's GDP was 3.8% lower.

 

Japan and Canada have yet to report up-to-date figures, but Pantheon said:
"Both economies had fared much better than the UK in previous
quarters."--BBC

 

 

 

Four beats five as pandemic prompts shorter working week trials

(Reuters) - From travel to technology, employers across the globe are
offering four day weeks as incentives to woo workers after the coronavirus
pandemic upended their working patterns.

 

Debate over the so-called 'Scandinavian model', which holds that
productivity will rise if working hours are dropped, is not new but it has
gained traction during the COVID crisis not only among companies but also
the public sector and politicians.

 

In Europe, Spain's left wing government is considering its own version to
help its economy, while public administrations in Denmark and Iceland have
already adopted 4-day weeks.

 

With retail and hospitality now among the sectors struggling to attract and
retain staff as economies recover from the crisis, many companies are
introducing shorter weeks, the president of global staffing group Adecco
(ADEN.S) said.

 

"After the (coronavirus) crisis, people became more aware their working
conditions weren't always the best ... Now they're thinking, we don't want
to sacrifice our personal life," Adecco's Christophe Catoir told Reuters.

 

While there is widespread scepticism over whether the coronavirus-driven
change is here to stay, Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) is among those companies
trialling a four-day week among up to 10% of its domestic workforce.

 

This may be extended beyond its initial 15,000 participants if uptake is
strong and productivity remains steady, a source aware of the plan told
Reuters, with high uptake meaning workers will trade pay for free time.

 

Although participants in the Telefonica trial will take a 15% pay cut,
businesses in other countries are opting to remunerate staff in full despite
working fewer hours.

 

FREE DAY

 

While many reduced-hour schemes which came into effect this year proved
cost-free, Iceland's state media RUV reported that the government saw budget
increases of some $33.6 million a year to increase staffing, particularly in
the health sector.

 

"In some sectors, it'll be easier to reorganise processes and reduce hours -
but for others, reducing time will entail reducing what's produced, too,"
Carlos Victoria, research economist at Spanish business school ESADE, said,
citing music or physical therapy as examples.

 

"Thinking of (four-day weeks) as the future of our working habits is
premature, in the short term at least," he said.

 

The Danish municipality of Odsherred, however, has experimented with some
success, with 300 employees working four-day weeks on full pay as part of a
three-year trial.

 

"People were fantastically excited about that Friday off," Odsherred
municipal director Claus Steen Madsen told Reuters.

 

"Three days where you don't have to work does something psychologically ...
giving a surplus of energy for the four (working) days," Madsen said, adding
that there were no plans to alter this flexible approach and return to
"normal".

 

'STELLAR' START

 

In Spain, meanwhile, the Industry Ministry is considering a 50 million euro
($59 million) pilot scheme to help companies reduce working hours without
denting salaries.

 

Progressive party Mas Pais, which garnered 17% of the vote in recent Madrid
regional elections, is pushing Spain's leftwing coalition government to
adopt the project.

 

"We're planning more open-ended aid - a certain amount of money allocated
per worker, and in exchange for reducing the working day, the company spends
the money as it wishes," Hector Tejero, political coordinator at Mas Pais,
said, adding that the worker "keeps 100% of their salary".

 

The party sees the programme as a controlled experiment to study the impact
on productivity and profitability of reduced working hours across sectors.

 

Andalusia-based Software El Sol has already switched to a four-day week
without pay reduction and has increased its workforce by 15% since beginning
its trial.

 

"Sales went up 20% and absenteeism dropped enormously; clients and worker
satisfaction has gone up too, alongside productivity," marketing director
Pedro Cortes told Reuters.

 

Travel company Nordic Visitor, with offices in Iceland, Scotland and Sweden,
reduced working weeks to 35 hours from 40, which it said led to a rise in
employee satisfaction, fewer sick days and bigger profits.

 

For Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand estate planning company, productivity
surged and absenteeism fell after it made its four-day week - first trialled
in 2018 - permanent.

 

"The company doesn't suffer, (it) thrives... you have more family time, more
care time, better health outcomes, more time to cook proper food, for
volunteering," Perpetual Guardian founder Andrew Barnes told Reuters.

 

Germany's largest trade union agreed a pay deal in a key industrial region
in March, allowing some workers to move to a four-day week without
significant earnings loss.

 

And in New Zealand, consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR.L) launched a
four-day week trial for all local staff.

 

Japan's third-largest lender Mizuho offered some 45,000 staff three or
four-day options, while last year Microsoft (MSFT.O) saw productivity rise
40% after giving its 2,300 Japan-based employees Fridays off.

 

"There are of course challenges ... to organising the work, but we had those
before," Odsherred's Madsen said, adding that a Friday off is "just stellar"
and something staff want to keep.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Wall Street set for muted open after jobs, inflation data

(Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to open flat on Thursday as
investors weighed data showing a steady jobs market recovery against a rise
in producer prices, ahead of earnings reports from major companies including
Walt Disney.

 

The Labor Department's report showed the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, as expected, while a
separate reading showed U.S. producer prices rose more than expected through
July. read more

 

The inflation reading came on the heels of data that showed growth in
consumer prices appeared to be slowing. The consumer price index and
personal consumption data are usually the preferred inflation gauges of the
Federal Reserve when altering monetary policy.

 

"The inflationary transitory camp is winning the debate and as the fear of
inflation somewhat ebbs ... equities have a certain tendency to outperform,"
said Sebastien Galy, senior macro strategist at Nordea Asset Management.

 

The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average
(.DJI) logged record closing highs on Wednesday, as investors moved into
economy-linked value stocks from technology-heavy shares following the
passage of a large infrastructure bill.

 

The S&P 500 value index (.IVX) has gained 2% so far this month and is on
track to outperform its growth counterpart (.IGX) for the first time since
June.

 

"They're mostly cyclical, are cheap, and therefore people feel more
comfortable about holding value, particularly if they think that the
business cycle is going to improve going forward, as evidenced by lower
inflation and a better labor market," Galy said.

 

At 8:55 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 27 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500 e-minis
were down 1.75 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 27.75
points, or 0.18%.

 

In earnings-related moves, Baidu Inc's U.S. shares fell 2.2% even after the
company posted upbeat quarterly revenue, buoyed by a rebound in advertising
sales and higher demand for its artificial intelligence and cloud products.

 

EBay Inc (EBAY.O) slipped 1.2% after forecasting third-quarter revenue below
analysts' estimates, signaling that reopening economies and vaccine rollouts
could be putting an end to the pandemic-led shopping boom. read more

 

Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N) gained 9.5% after the U.S. data analytics
firm beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue and forecast
current-quarter sales above expectations. read more

 

Earnings report from Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), home rental firm Airbnb Inc
(ABNB.O) and food-delivery firm DoorDash Inc (DASH.N) are due later in the
day.

 

DoorDash was up 1.0% on a report that the company held talks to buy grocery
delivery firm Instacart for a likely price of between $40 billion and $50
billion. read more

 

Rate-sensitive lenders JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Wells Fargo & Co
(WFC.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N)
edged higher before the opening bell.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Baidu quarterly results top estimates on ad sales, AI demand

(Reuters) - Baidu Inc's quarterly results topped Wall Street estimates on
Thursday, as the Chinese search giant benefited from a rebound in
advertising sales and higher demand for its artificial intelligence and
cloud products.

 

The company also said Chief Financial Officer Herman Yu has been appointed
chief strategy officer, but will continue to serve as CFO until a successor
is found.

 

Demand for the company's rapidly growing autonomous driving service and
artificial intelligence-powered cloud products, in which it has been
investing heavily, has helped diversify revenue sources and offset
competition from giants such as Alibaba and ByteDance in its core
advertising business.

 

Baidu spent about 15.9 billion yuan ($2.45 billion) in the quarter to ramp
up its products, a 21% increase compared with a year earlier.

 

Baidu's video streaming affiliate, iQIYI, posted a 15% increase in
advertising revenue and subscribers grew to 106.2 million by June, on the
back of more original content.

 

Total revenue rose to 31.35 billion yuan from 26.03 billion yuan in the
second quarter ended June 30, topping analysts' average estimate of 30.96
billion yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

 

Baidu is facing heightened scrutiny from Beijing's regulators who have
raised concerns over data security and user privacy, targeting the country's
tech giants.

 

The tightened scrutiny hasn't exerted a negative impact to its operations
yet, Baidu Chairman and Chief Executive Robin Li said on a conference call.

 

Earlier this year, Baidu's autonomous driving unit Apollo launched paid
robotaxi services, that operate without a driver behind the steering wheel,
in Beijing and Guangzhou.

 

Its robotaxi services will be cheaper than human drivers in 2025, Li said.
Baidu aimed to offer robotaxi services to 3 million users in 2023.

 

($1 = 6.4770 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Banks take steps to reduce potential cloud computing risks, Google survey

(Reuters) - Banks are taking steps to mitigate risks from their increasing
use of external cloud computing services, a survey by Harris Poll and Google
Cloud (GOOGL.O) said on Thursday.

 

The Bank of England and the Bank of France have expressed concerns about a
lack of transparency in how banks rely on a "concentrated" number of outside
cloud computing providers like Google, Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Amazon
(AMZN.O) which are beyond the arm of the regulators.

 

Regulators are worried that reliance by many banks on the same providers
could create systemic risk if one of the cloud companies were to go down.
read more

 

The survey of 1,300 leaders in financial services from the United States,
Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Australia
showed that 83% were using the cloud as part of their primary computing
infrastructure.

 

The bulk of the companies are also considering adopting a multicloud
strategy, the survey said, which would allow a bank to switch to an
alternative provider if there is an outage to avoid an interruption of
services for customers.

 

"Based on the Harris survey, it is clear that financial institutions are
taking actions to solve concentration or vendor lock-in concerns with 88% of
respondents not currently using a multicloud strategy considering doing so
in the next 12 months," Adrian Poole, director for financial services in
Britain and Ireland for Google Cloud, said.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Fund managers position for transitory U.S. inflation

(Reuters) - Based on expectations that U.S. inflation will be transitory and
that the Federal Reserve will clearly communicate its plans to taper asset
purchases, major global fund managers say they remain invested in risky
assets.

 

Fund managers interviewed on the Reuters Global Markets Forum since last
week appeared to concur that the Fed may give more weight to employment data
than inflation but held divergent views on when and how the Fed would
announce a taper.

 

UBS Global Wealth Management was positioning for some inflation, chief
investment officer (CIO) Mark Haefele said.

 

"It's a little bit of a barbell in the sense that we don't think inflation
is going to get out of hand," he added.

 

Haefele is betting on the reflation trade - trades that outperform during
periods of quick economic growth - as the world works through the Delta
variant of the coronavirus. His investment picks include energy and
financial stocks and Japanese equities.

 

Rahul Chaddha, global CIO at Mirae Asset Global Investments, reckoned
deflation would likely be a bigger concern for the Fed in the medium-term.

 

Data on Wednesday hinted that U.S. inflation may have peaked, which could
support the Fed's contention that the surge in prices will be temporary.
read more

 

The Fed will be "happy to live with periods of high inflation" to kickstart
the investment cycle, Chaddha said.

 

Chaddha believes there could be some sell-off in cyclically geared stocks as
bond yields rise in the near term, but reflation trades would regain their
appeal in the medium-term as the Fed caps yields and stays behind the curve.

 

TAPER TIMING

 

The biggest concerns for fund managers were around the Delta variant and the
effect of a slowing China.

 

"We saw in 2016 what the impact of the slowdown in Chinese growth can have
on the rest of the world," said Justin Onuekwusi, head of retail multi-asset
funds at Legal & General Investment Management. "Taper is going to be
delayed."

 

Haefele did not expect "tremendous clarity" from the Fed anytime soon, and
said average inflation targeting gave the U.S. central bank "more room" to
be lenient.

 

AIA group CIO Mark Konyn, however, expects the Fed to announce tapering by
November or December this year, based on Chair Jerome Powell's remarks about
the underlying strength of the labour market.

 

"The Fed is facing a sort of 'hard deadline' to announce tapering in 2021,"
Konyn said.

 

A sharp decline in the U.S. fiscal deficit will reduce the volume of
Treasury securities' issuance, which could lead to market volatility if the
Fed continues bond-buying at its current levels, Konyn added.

 

Jim Leaviss, CIO of public fixed income at M&G Investments, expects the Fed
to announce its taper plan sooner, during its "live" September meeting, and
start cutting asset purchases by November this year. He has reduced the
average maturity, or duration, of his holdings of U.S. bonds.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Tesla's Musk says must keep to schedule on European gigafactory - minister

(Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk has made clear how important it is
for the company to keep to its schedule for the construction of its European
gigafactory in the German state of Brandenburg, its Economy Minister Joerg
Steinbach said.

 

Tesla also said it was willing to intensify communication in the site near
the town of Gruenheide and involve local citizens more, Steinbach told
Reuters after a meeting with Musk in Germany on Wednesday.

 

Tesla has pushed back the expected opening of its 5.8 billion euros ($6.8
billion) gigafactory near Berlin to late 2021, blaming German bureaucratic
hurdles. read more

 

The plant, which will manufacture batteries as well as electric cars, has
also faced local public resistance due to environmental concerns.

 

The environmental agency in Brandenburg has yet to give final approval -
meaning a further delay cannot be ruled out, even until 2022.

 

($1 = 0.8516 euros)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Crypto fashion: why people pay real money for virtual clothes

(Reuters) - People care what their avatars are wearing.

 

When the virtual world Decentraland said in June users could make and sell
their own clothing for avatars to wear on the site, Hiroto Kai stayed up all
night designing Japanese-inspired garments.

 

Selling kimonos for around $140 each, he said he made $15,000-$20,000 in
just three weeks.

 

While the idea of spending real money on clothing that does not physically
exist is baffling to many, virtual possessions generate real sales in the
"metaverse" - online environments where people can congregate, walk around,
meet friends and play games.

 

Digital artist and Japan-enthusiast Kai's real name is Noah. He's a
23-year-old living in New Hampshire.

 

After making as much in those three weeks as he'd earn in a year at his
music store job, he quit to become a full-time designer.

 

"It just took off," Kai said.

 

"It was a new way to express yourself and it's walking art, that's what's so
cool about it... When you have a piece of clothing, you can go to a party in
it, you can dance in it, you can show off and it's a status symbol."

 

In Decentraland, clothing for avatars – known as "wearables" – can be bought
and sold on the blockchain in the form of a crypto asset called a
non-fungible token (NFT).

 

Kai's kimonos include exquisite crushed blue velvet pieces with golden
dragon trim.

 

NFTs exploded in popularity earlier this year, as speculators and crypto
enthusiasts flocked to buy the new type of asset, which represents ownership
of online-only items such as digital art, trading cards and land in online
worlds.

 

The niche crypto assets are also capturing the attention of some of the
world's biggest fashion companies, keen to associate themselves with a new
generation of gamers - although most of their forays so far are for
marketing.

 

LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton (LVMH.PA) launched a metaverse game where players
can collect NFTs, and Burberry (BRBY.L) has created branded NFT accessories
for Blankos Block Party, a game owned by Mythical Games. Gucci (PRTP.PA) has
sold non-NFT clothing for avatars within the game Roblox .

 

"Your avatar represents you," said Imani McEwan, a Miami-based fashion model
and NFT enthusiast. "Basically what you're wearing is what makes you who you
are."

 

McEwan reckons he has spent $15,000 to $16,000 on 70 NFT wearable items
since January, using profit from cryptocurrency investments. His first
purchase was a bitcoin-themed sweater and he recently bought a black beret
designed by his friend.

 

SELFIE SHOPPING

 

The overall size of the NFT wearables market is difficult to establish. In
Decentraland alone wearable sales volume totalled $750,000 in the first half
of 2021, up from $267,000 in the same period last year, according to
NonFungible.com, a website which tracks the NFT market.

 

Some proponents say wearables and shopping in virtual shops could be the
future of retail.

 

"Instead of scrolling through a feed and shopping online, you can have a
more immersive brand experience by exploring a virtual space - whether you
are shopping for your online avatar or buying physical products that can be
shipped to your door," said Julia Schwartz, director of Republic Realm, a
$10 million virtual real estate investment vehicle which has built a
shopping mall in Decentraland.

 

For NFT enthusiasts, online fashion does not replace physical purchases.

 

But Paula Sello and Alissa Aulbekova, co-founders of the digital fashion
start-up Auroboros, say it could be an environmentally-friendly alternative
to fast fashion.

 

Customers can send Auroboros an image of themselves and have clothing
digitally added for 60 pounds ($83) to 1,000 pounds.

 

Sello argued that the virtual garment concept could limit the waste of
consumers buying clothes to wear on social media, citing a 2018 Barclaycard
study which found 9% of British shoppers have bought clothes for social
media photos, then returned them.

 

"We need to have the shift now in fashion. The industry simply cannot
continue," said Sello.

 

Virtual sneaker company RTFKT sells limited edition NFTs representing
sneakers which can be "worn" in some virtual worlds or on social media via a
Snapchat filter.

 

"It really took off when COVID started and loads of people went more
online," said Steven Vasilev, RTFKT’s co-founder and CEO.

 

The company has posted $7 million of sales, with limited edition sneakers
selling in auctions for $10,000-$60,000, he said. While the majority of
customers are in their 20s and 30s, some are as young as 15.

 

RTFKT's NFTs can also be used as a token to get a free physical version of
the shoe, but one in 20 customers do not redeem that token.

 

"I didn't do the redemption stuff because I couldn’t be bothered," said Jim
McNelis, a Dallas-based NFT buyer who founded NFT company, nft42.

 

"I try to avoid the physical stuff as much as possible."

 

($1 = 0.7241 pounds)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


 

 

 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


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
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