Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 31 August 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 31 August 2021

 


 

 


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ü  Tokyo 2020: Toyota restarts driverless vehicles after accident

ü  Theranos scandal: Who is Elizabeth Holmes and why is she on trial?

ü  Nike is giving its head office staff a week's break

ü  Covid threatens Singapore's business hub crown

ü  UK business confidence jumps to more than four-year high, survey finds

ü  Taste for takeaways outlasts Covid lockdowns

ü  China cuts children's online gaming to one hour

ü  Robinhood shares tumble after PayPal news, SEC scrutiny of key revenue
stream

ü  McDonald's, others consider closing indoor seating amid Delta surge in
U.S.

ü  Recovery for Bernard Madoff customers bolstered by Citigroup ruling,
trustee's lawyer says

ü  Asia shares ease as weak China data weighs

ü  Young Chinese gamers vent at Beijing's new rules as shares in gaming
companies slide

ü  China's economy under pressure as factory activity slows in Aug, services
contract

ü  Nigeria's GDP Growth Stunted By Insecurity - Minister

ü  Africa: Era of Leaded Petrol Over, Eliminating a Major Threat to Human
and Planetary Health

ü  Africa: AfCFTA - FG Targets to Control 10 Percent of Africa's Imports

ü  South Africa: UIF Promises Relief for Workers Affected By July Riots

ü  Uganda Airlines Negotiates Interline Deal

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Tokyo 2020: Toyota restarts driverless vehicles after accident

Toyota is resuming operations of its autonomous vehicles at the Paralympic
Games village in Tokyo following an accident.

 

Services of the e-Palette pods were halted after a vehicle hit a visually
impaired athlete last week.

 

The athlete was not seriously injured, but he had to pull out of an event
due to cuts and bruises.

 

The vehicles will now have more operator control and extra staff to ensure
they do not hit any more people.

 

Aramitsu Kitazono, a member of Japan's judo team, was hit as he was walking
across a pedestrian crossing on Thursday.

 

Mr Kitazono was unable to compete in his 81kg category because of the
accident.

 

In a statement late on Monday Toyota said: "The vehicle's sensor detected
the pedestrian crossing and activated the automatic brake, and the operator
also activated the emergency brake. The vehicle and pedestrians, however,
came into contact before it came to a complete halt."

 

The company said that operators will now be given control over how fast the
vehicles travel with two members of safety staff on board, rather than one,
to help look out for pedestrians.

 

New safety features will also include louder warning sounds, while
pedestrian guides at busy crossings in the Paralympic village will be
increased to 20 from six.

 

Toyota also said that it will continue to make safety improvements "on a
daily basis" until the village closes.

 

On Friday, Toyota's Chief Executive Akio Toyoda made a public apology after
the incident.

 

"A vehicle is stronger than a person, so I was obviously worried about how
they were," he said in a YouTube video.

 

"It shows that autonomous vehicles are not yet realistic for normal roads,"
Mr Toyoda added.

 

The company's e-Palette pod, a fully autonomous electric vehicle, was
adapted specifically for use during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games,
with large doors and electric ramps to allow groups of athletes to board
quickly.

 

The world's biggest car maker, like many of its motor industry rivals, is
trying to develop autonomous vehicles to operate safely on public
roads.--BBC

 

 

Theranos scandal: Who is Elizabeth Holmes and why is she on trial?

She was "the world's youngest self-made female billionaire" trumpeted Forbes
magazine. The "next Steve Jobs", said Inc., another business magazine that
put her on the cover.

 

In 2014, Elizabeth Holmes, then 30 years old, was on top of the world. A
Stanford University drop-out, she had founded a company valued at $9bn
(£6.5bn) for supposedly bringing about a revolution in diagnosing disease.

 

With a few drops of blood, Theranos promised that its Edison test could
detect conditions such as cancer and diabetes quickly without the hassle of
needles. Bigwigs from Henry Kissinger to Rupert Murdoch invested.

 

But by 2015, the seams were coming apart, and within a year, Ms Holmes was
exposed as a fake. The technology she touted didn't work at all, and by 2018
the company she founded had collapsed.

 

Ms Holmes, now 37, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of the 12
charges of fraud against her. She has never previously told her side of the
story.

 

Her trial which begins next month, US v Elizabeth Holmes, et al, will be
closely watched and she is expected to plead not guilty.

 

And in a twist, it emerged this weekend that her lawyers will argue that her
ex-boyfriend and business partner, Manesh "Sunny" Balwani, sexually abused
and emotionally controlled her at the time of the alleged crimes, impairing
her mental state.

 

Mr Balwani, 56, who faces the same fraud charges, called the claims
"outrageous". It will be up to a jury to decide with what sympathy or
harshness to judge the woman who fooled everyone from statesmen to
secretaries.

 

High pressure beginnings

Despite being the subject of a book, HBO documentary and an upcoming TV
series and film, it is still unclear why Ms Holmes took such a gamble on
technology she knew didn't work.

 

She was raised in a comfortably well-off family in Washington DC, and was a
polite but withdrawn child, according to people who knew her.

 

Inventor and businessman Richard Fuisz, 81, speculates there must have been
immense pressure on Ms Holmes to succeed. His family lived next door to the
Holmes for years but they fell out when Theranos sued him over a patent
dispute in 2011 (it was later settled).

 

Theranos founder hit with criminal charges

When to fire the boss: A tale of three sackings

Ms Holmes' parents spent much of their careers as bureaucrats on Capitol
Hill but "they were very interested in status" and "lived for connections",
he told the BBC. Her father's great great grandfather founded Fleischmann's
Yeast, which changed America's bread industry, and the family was very
conscious about its lineage, he said.

 

At age nine, the young Elizabeth wrote a letter to her father declaring that
what she "really want[ed] out of life is to discover something new,
something that mankind didn't know was possible to do".

 

When she got to Stanford University in 2002 to study chemical engineering,
she came up with an idea for a patch that could scan the wearer for
infections and release antibiotics as needed.

 

At 18, she already displayed an intransigence that would apparently continue
and drive the company she would found the following year.

 

Phyllis Gardner, an expert in clinical pharmacology at Stanford, recalled
discussing Ms Holmes's skin patch idea and telling her it "wouldn't work".

 

"She just stared through me," Dr Gardner tells the BBC.

 

"And she just seemed absolutely confident of her own brilliance. She wasn't
interested in my expertise and it was upsetting."

 

Meteoric rise

Months later Ms Holmes dropped out of Stanford aged 19 and launched
Theranos, this time coming up with an apparently revolutionary way of
testing blood from a simple finger prick.

 

Powerful people were enthralled and invested without seeing audited
financial accounts.

 

US Treasury Secretary George Schultz, decorated Marine Corps general James
Mattis (who later served in the Trump administration) and America's richest
family, the Waltons, were among her backers.

 

The support lent her credibility, as did her demeanour.

 

"I knew she'd had this brilliant idea and that she had managed to convince
all these investors and scientists," says Dr Jeffrey Flier, the former dean
of Harvard Medical School, who met her for lunch in 2015.

 

"She was self-assured, but when I asked her several questions about her
technology she didn't look like she understood," adds Dr Flier, who never
formally assessed her technology. "It seemed a bit odd but I didn't come
away thinking it was a fraud."

 

Dr Flier ended up inviting her to join the medical school's Board of
Fellows, which he regrets, although she was removed when the scandal broke.

 

It began to unravel in 2015 when a whistleblower raised concerns about
Theranos's flagship testing device, the Edison. The Wall Street Journal
wrote a series of damning exposes claiming the results were unreliable and
that the firm had been using commercially available machines made by other
manufacturers for most of its testing.

 

Lawsuits piled up, partners cut ties and in 2016 US regulators banned Ms
Holmes from operating a blood-testing service for two years.

 

In 2018 Theranos was dissolved.

 

Abuser or abused?

In March that year, Ms Holmes settled civil charges from financial
regulators that she fraudulently raised $700m from investors.

 

But three months later she was arrested, along with Mr Balwani, on criminal
charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

 

Prosecutors claim she knowingly misled patients about the tests and vastly
exaggerated the firm's performance to financial backers.

 

Ms Holmes was released on bail and in 2019 got married to William "Billy"
Evans, 27, an heir to the Evans Hotel Group chain of hotels. They had a son
in July this year.

 

"I don't think her being a new mother will influence the trial but the judge
is likely to take it into account if she is found guilty," says Emily D
Baker, a former deputy district attorney for Los Angeles and legal
commentator who is not connected to the case.

 

As the Theranos scandal reaches trial, commentators say it is remarkable how
tightly she has clung to her original story and people who knew her say they
doubt she has changed.

 

According to court papers, Ms Holmes' lawyers are set to argue that "she
believed any alleged misrepresentations" about Theranos were true and that
it was a "legitimate business generating value for investors".

 

They are also likely to claim that Mr Balwani's alleged controlling
behaviour "erased her capacity to make decisions", including her ability to
"deceive her victims".

 

They say Theranos's former chief operating officer - who will be tried
separately next year - controlled how she dressed, what she ate and with
whom she spoke for over a decade. They will also call a psychologist
specialising in sexual abuse as a witness.

 

Whether Ms Holmes will take the stand herself is unclear.

 

"The toughest thing with any case involving fraud is proving that the person
intended to defraud," says Ms Baker.

 

"So prosecutors will have to use her texts and emails, and argue that she
knew the technology didn't work but said it did anyway."-BBC

 

 

 

Nike is giving its head office staff a week's break

Staff at Nike's corporate headquarters in Oregon have been given a week off
to support their mental health, ahead of the return to the office in
September.

 

>From today until Friday, the US firm will "power down" to give employees a
rest after a tough year.

 

"Take the time to unwind, destress and spend time with your loved ones," the
firm's head of insights Matt Marrazzo said in a message to staff.

 

It follows similar moves from dating app Bumble and Linkedin.

 

A growing number of employees have reported feeling burnt out as the
pandemic drags on and many continue to work from home.

 

Big US firms such as Apple, Uber and bank Wells Fargo have also delayed
plans for staff to return to the office as infections surge across the US.

 

Making the announcement on Linkedin last week, Mr Marrazzo told Nike staff:
"Do not work" - adding that the past year had been "rough" and they were
"living through a traumatic event".

 

"In a year (or two) unlike any other, taking time for rest and recovery is
key to performing well and staying sane.

 

"It's not just a 'week off' for the team... it's an acknowledgment that we
can prioritize mental health and still get work done."

 

According to reports, it also reflects the fact Nike has had a successful
year, with sales up and its stock gaining 20%.

 

Bumble, the dating app where women are in charge of making the first move,
told its 700 staff worldwide to switch off and focus on themselves back in
June.

 

One senior executive revealed on Twitter that founder Whitney Wolfe Herd had
made the move "having correctly intuited our collective burnout".

 

LinkedIn also gave its workers a week off in April while Citi Group said in
March it would have "Zoom-free Fridays" to combat pandemic fatigue.-BBC

 

 

 

Covid threatens Singapore's business hub crown

Pavla and Alain Schneuwly called Singapore home for more than a decade,
raising their two sons in the South East Asian business hub.

 

"Everything was perfect, life was beautiful. We could travel around and
enjoy the best of Singapore," says Pavla.

 

But, she says, things changed when Covid-19 hit, prompting them to leave for
a new life in Dubai.

 

"It became increasingly obvious that there was a bit of divide in the
treatment of the local residents and the expat community. We felt
increasingly that the restrictions that were imposed on us were unfair," she
says.

 

The Schneuwly's predicament shines a light on the difficult position
Singapore's government finds itself in.

 

Its economy has traditionally relied on the many foreigners who live and
work in the country - the high-earning professionals at global firms that
set up their regional headquarters in the city state and the manual and
domestic workers who take up many low-paid roles.

 

Now, with economic pressures increased by the pandemic, and a rising -
albeit low - unemployment rate, there is growing anger amongst some
Singaporeans towards the high number of workers from overseas.

 

Some say they have been deprived of better job prospects by foreign
professionals, while others have been irked by cultural differences and a
few high-profile incidents where foreigners have "misbehaved". For instance,
a group of foreigners had their work passes revoked for breaking lockdown
rules last year, while a British man who refused to wear a mask on a train
was recently deported.

 

On Sunday evening, the country's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted
these issues in his National Day speech.

 

"We must not turn our backs on them, and give the impression that Singapore
is becoming xenophobic and hostile to foreigners," he said.

 

"It would gravely damage our reputation as an international hub. It would
cost us investments, jobs and opportunities."

 

Despite these promises of inclusivity however, some foreigners have felt the
impact of the country's shifting policies.

 

Like other governments in the region, Singapore has at times during the
pandemic had different border rules for its citizens and foreign residents.

 

There have also been differences in vaccine eligibility, while companies
have come under pressure to hire more locals, with foreign-worker quotas for
certain industries changed in recent years.

 

This will continue, according to Prime Minister Lee, who said Singapore will
tighten the criteria for foreign working visas "gradually and progressively"
to tackle companies overseas that sometimes hire based on "familiar links
and old boys' networks, rather than on merit".

 

There is already some evidence to suggest that these policies are having an
impact on the number of foreign workers in Singapore.

 

Annual figures from the country's Ministry of Manpower shows the total
number of workers from overseas declined by almost 14% in the year to
December 2020.

 

And it's not an insignificant number. Even after that decline, there are
still more than 1.2m overseas workers, or about a third of Singapore's total
workforce.

 

Federico Donato, President of the European Chamber of Commerce, said parts
of this workforce are vital for Singapore's development:

 

"Allow me to borrow an example from soccer. If you play in the Champions
League, you need to have the best talent, you want to have Ronaldo, Bonucci
and Messi to compete at the top level.

 

"If you want to be a top banking centre, you want to be a global tech hub,
you cannot do it without an influx of people - especially if you are a
country with just five million people."

 

"Countries everywhere face the same concerns about whether foreigners are
taking over jobs and opportunities for locals, whether you might result in
higher income and wealth inequalities, whether there will be unfair hiring
practices, these are not unique to Singapore," the country's Finance
Minister Lawrence Wong told the BBC just days before the Prime Minister's
speech.

 

"But these concerns have always been there, accelerated, amplified by the
pandemic," he added.

 

Simon Hayes is an executive recruiter at Andrews Partnership in Singapore.
He says the new policy is working and demand for local talent has increased:

 

"Policy is obviously a factor, it is harder to get an employment pass than
it would have been five years ago. But there's also a recognition of the
strong talent you can get in Singapore."

 

Mr Hayes has recruited a number of Singaporeans to Asia-Pacific regional
leadership roles, and also enticed a number of Singaporeans to return home.

 

"Companies need to be bolder in exploring the talent here," he says,
highlighting that Singaporeans have specialised understanding of the region
and its politics as well as how to do business with China.

 

While Singapore is keen to make assurances that it is still open to workers
from overseas, it is inevitable that some of them, like Pavla Schneuwly and
her family, will no longer feel welcome.-BBC

 

 

 

UK business confidence jumps to more than four-year high, survey finds

British business confidence hit highs not seen since April 2017 on hopes the
economy is recovering strongly to pre-pandemic levels, according to a
survey.

 

Employers in England's North West and East registered the biggest jump in
confidence, the latest Lloyds Bank Business Barometer found.

 

There was caution among companies about inflation and staff shortages.

 

But firms in manufacturing, services and construction all posted greater
optimism that recovery would continue.

 

The monthly survey of 1,200 firms, conducted between 2 and 16 August, also
saw business confidence in Northern Ireland turn positive after a negative
response in July's poll.

 

The barometer found that overall business confidence among UK firms rose by
six points to +36% in August, driven by improvements in companies' trading
prospects and expectations of stronger growth in the year ahead.

 

 

Said Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said:
"Business confidence reaching its highest level in over four years tells a
positive story about the country's economic recovery.

 

"This confidence is driven by the continued success of the vaccine rollout,
the removal of lockdown restrictions and adjustments to self-isolation
rules.

 

"Staff shortages remain a challenge, but as the economy moves back towards
pre-pandemic levels we can be optimistic that the momentum for business
confidence and economic optimism can be sustained in the months ahead."

 

Regional breakdown

Confidence increased in nine out of the 12 UK regions and nations in August
with particularly strong rises in the North West, up 26 points to 64% and
the East of England, showing a rise of 14 points to 39%.

 

Smaller rises were seen in the North East, up 6 points to 46% and London, up
4 points to 41%. For the North West, East of England and North East,
confidence was at its highest since the survey sample was expanded in 2018.

 

Increases in confidence were also recorded for Scotland (34%), the South
East (32%), the South West (37%) and Wales (19%). In Northern Ireland,
confidence rose significantly to 18% (from 6% in July), but it remains the
region of the UK with the lowest level of confidence.

 

The remaining three regions saw slight confidence declines, with the West
Midlands at 27%, Yorkshire & the Humber at 26%, while there was a larger
10-point fall in the East Midlands to 28%.

 

The improved mood echoes recent official statistics. Earlier this month,
jobs data from the Office for National Statistics suggested that the labour
market continues to "rebound robustly".

 

Government borrowing has also fallen as furlough support ends and tax
receipts rise.

 

But like other survey data, the Lloyds barometer suggested that inflation -
which saw a surprise slowdown in the year to July, down to 2% from 2.5% in
June - remains a worry.

 

"It is clear there is still some level of uncertainty on inflation and the
impact of price pressures," said Gareth Oakley, managing director for
business banking at Lloyds. "The last few months of the year will be pivotal
to the future of UK economic growth."-BBC

 

 

 

Taste for takeaways outlasts Covid lockdowns

If any of Carol Deeney's customers fancy a bacon roll or a haggis toastie,
they can pop down to her Scottish Street Food café in east London.

 

But she says half of them, these days, turn to delivery apps instead.

 

"We have loyal customers now that haven't even graced our doors," she says.

 

During lockdown there was surge in demand for takeaways and home deliveries
as people discovered that, as well as the traditional pizza or curry, it was
easy to have other favourite dishes delivered, from brunches to late night
snacks.

 

Food outlets pivoted on the spot to keep up with these sudden new demands.

 

But perhaps more surprisingly, even as the chance to dine out has returned,
demand for home deliveries and takeaways has continued to grow.

 

Nearly a quarter of people are spending more on takeaways and food
deliveries now than before the pandemic, according to market research group
Mintel.

 

Prior to Covid, Britons were spending around £38 per month each on
takeaways, home deliveries and meal kits, according to accountancy firm
KPMG, a trend that was already growing. But between spring 2020 and spring
2021 average monthly spend per person reached £53.

 

"The change that would have happened in three to five years in the sector
has happened in months when businesses reacted as the pandemic started,"
Will Hawkley, KPMG's global head of leisure and hospitality.

 

It doesn't matter to Carol Deeney if some days her waiting staff are seeing
more delivery riders than customers. She's accepted that consumer habits
have changed, and she's planning to put more resources into the delivery
part of the business.

 

Big fast food chains, including Burger King and McDonalds, also say they are
expecting home delivery to expand.

 

"We believe the increased demand for delivery is a trend that is here to
stay," Neil Manhas, general manager of Pizza Hut UK, said.

 

"Sales have been consistently higher than pre-lockdown and we're actively
recruiting for delivery drivers and managers."

 

Pizza Hut is launching 125 new locations over the next three years to serve
home delivery.

 

A spokesperson for Burger King said: "Increasing consumer demand towards
digital services is showing no sign of slowing and therefore is an area we
will continue to focus on."

 

But while the growth in home deliveries is an opportunity, restaurants are
also wary of it.

 

Tension

For pan-Asian restaurant chain Tampopo, a third of its business is now
takeaway or ordered via online platforms, according to the company's
co-founder David Fox.

 

And while he's keen for that part of the business to keep growing, he says
there can be a "tension" between providing for customers on-site and for
those ordering online.

 

"We are, at our heart, a dine-in restaurant not a delivery restaurant," says
Mr Fox.

 

"We'll always prioritise dine-in customers. In extreme circumstances, say
we're two chefs down, we drop off the [online] platform."

 

He says delivery riders and dine-in customers will often find themselves
sharing the same entrance or staircase in a restaurant, and that businesses
now need to think about delivery and take-out when fitting new restaurants.

 

"Five years ago, you wouldn't really think about delivery," says Mr Fox.
"Now, you'd be thinking: on a Saturday night, how many delivery orders would
you be having, and where are you going to put them, and how can it be done
in a way that it doesn't interfere with the customer flow and customer
experience."-BBC

 

 

 

China cuts children's online gaming to one hour

Online gamers under the age of 18 will only be allowed to play for an hour
on Fridays, weekends and holidays, China's video game regulator has said.

 

The National Press and Publication Administration told state-run news agency
Xinhua that game-playing would be only allowed between 8pm to 9pm.

 

It also instructed gaming companies to prevent children playing outside
these times.

 

Earlier this month a state media outlet branded online games "spiritual
opium".

 

Inspections of online gaming companies will also increase, to check that the
time limits are being enforced the regulator said.

 

Earlier rules had limited children's online game-playing to 90 minutes per
day, rising to three hours on holidays.

 

 

The move reflects a long running concern about the impact of excessive
gaming on the young.

 

A month prior to the latest restrictions, an article published by the
state-run Economic Information Daily claimed many teenagers had become
addicted to online gaming and it was having a negative impact on them.

 

The article prompted significant falls in the value of shares in some of
China's biggest online gaming firms.

 

In July, Chinese gaming giant Tencent announced it was rolling out facial
recognition to stop children playing between 22:00 and 08:00.

 

The move followed fears that children were using adult ID's to circumvent
rules.

 

It's probably a disappointing end of summer for China's tens of millions of
young gamers.

 

The Chinese authorities have long been concerned about gaming addiction and
other harmful online activities among youth.

 

Beijing appears to show a growing scepticism over the expansion of capital
and technology, as well as its potentially adverse impact on the well-being
of the country's young generation.

 

The new rule came amid a sweeping crackdown on China's tech giants, such as
Alibaba, Didi and Tencent, as well as a series of reforms over activities
considered by Beijing as harmful to the young generation, including
celebrity fan culture and private tutoring.

 

By imposing these new rules, the Chinese government is hoping to create
"positive energy" among young people and to educate them with what Beijing
considers "correct values".

 

While many Chinese parents may applaud the gaming restriction, some on
China's social media Weibo criticise the government interference as being
"unreasonable" and "arbitrary".

 

"Why don't you plan when I go to the toilet, eat meals and go to bed," one
sarcastic comment read.-BBC

 

 

 

Robinhood shares tumble after PayPal news, SEC scrutiny of key revenue
stream

(Reuters) - Shares of Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O), a popular gateway for
trading meme stocks, tumbled nearly 7% on Monday on news that PayPal
Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) may start an online brokerage and a report saying
regulators were looking at a possible ban on a practice that accounts for
the bulk of the company's revenue.

 

Shares of Robinhood extended an early decline after CNBC reported that
PayPal was exploring ways to let U.S. customers trade individual stocks on
its platform.

 

Robinhood shares fell further after Gary Gensler, chair of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, told Barron's in an interview published
on Monday that payment for order flow has "an inherent conflict of
interest."

 

Retail brokers such as Robinhood send their customers' orders to wholesale
brokers rather than exchanges in the controversial practice known by the
acronym PFOF.

 

Gensler said that in addition to making a small spread on each trade,
wholesalers or market makers also get data, the first look at a trade and
the ability to match buyers and sellers from the order flow they pay retail
brokers.

 

"That may not be the most efficient markets for the 2020s," Gensler told
Barron's in the interview.

 

Gensler did not say whether the SEC had found instances where conflicts of
interest had harmed investors.

 

The SEC is scrutinizing PFOF over concerns it may incentivize brokers to
send customer orders to trading platforms that maximize their own profit
instead of providing customers the best execution for their trades.

 

Shares of Robinhood closed down 6.9% at $43.64. The stock went public in
late July and has gained about 25% since, according to Refinitiv data.

 

Robinhood's simple interface has made it popular with investors trading from
home during the COVID-19 pandemic and contributed to wild rides in shares of
companies like GameStop Corp (GME.N), among other meme stocks.

 

In an emailed response to Reuters, a Robinhood spokesperson pointed to its
chief financial officer's earlier remarks that the company would defend its
customers and ensure it does not put up barriers that keep people out.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

McDonald's, others consider closing indoor seating amid Delta surge in U.S.

(Reuters) - Some U.S. fast-food restaurants are closing indoor seating areas
or limiting hours of operation because of the spread of the Delta variant of
COVID-19, according to franchisees.

 

McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) had temporarily closed indoor dining at nearly all
U.S. locations in early 2020, but it reopened 70% by last month. The global
burger chain said on July 28 that it was on track to open nearly 100% by
Labor Day - barring any COVID-19 resurgence.

 

But last week, McDonald's instructed its franchisees on steps they should
take to re-close their dining rooms in areas where the Delta variant is
rapidly spreading, according to internal company materials seen by Reuters.

 

"We have a much deeper sense of what actions make a difference for the
safety of our restaurant teams and crew," McDonald's USA President Joe
Erlinger said during a Wednesday meeting, according to the materials.

 

In Wednesday's conference call, McDonald's executives recommended
franchisees consider closing indoor seating in counties where COVID cases
exceed 250 per 100,000 people on a rolling three-week average.

 

The materials did not specify how many locations have shut indoor seating or
could soon do so.

 

One McDonald's franchisee who operates multiple locations told Reuters it
had to bar indoor seating at several restaurants.

 

A sign is seen at a McDonald's restaurant in Queens, New York, U.S., March
17, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

But expected closures are fewer than the number that shuttered in spring of
2020, when the pandemic first hit the United States.

 

"We’re monitoring the impact of the Delta variant closely and recently
convened together with our franchisees to underscore existing safety
protocols, reinforce our people first approach and provide updates on the
rise in cases in the country," McDonald's Corp said in a statement on
Friday.

 

Top U.S. health officials said on Friday that U.S. cases of the coronavirus
continue to rise amid the fast-spreading Delta variant. Vaccination rates
were also higher, they said.

 

Deaths and cases were up 11% and 3% respectively over the past seven days
nationwide, with hospitalizations up 6% over the past week to an eight-month
high, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

 

Drive-thru, carry-out and delivery helped fast-food sales rise this year
despite shuttered dining rooms. But franchisees told Reuters that sales went
up further when indoor seating reopened.

 

 

PMTD Restaurants had to cut hours in a few of its nearly 40 KFC and Taco
Bell (YUM.N) restaurants in Alabama and Georgia because they were
short-staffed when several employees became infected with COVID-19,
according to Bill Byrd, president of PMTD Restaurants.

 

That impacts Taco Bell locations in particular, because closing at 8 p.m.
instead of midnight or later means the restaurants lose late-night
customers, who can make up 20% of business, Byrd said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Recovery for Bernard Madoff customers bolstered by Citigroup ruling,
trustee's lawyer says

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court said the trustee liquidating Bernard
Madoff's firm can pursue a $343.1 million clawback lawsuit against Citigroup
Inc (C.N), a decision that could help the late swindler's customers recover
close to the estimated $17.5 billion they lost in his Ponzi scheme.

 

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled on Monday that
lower court judges incorrectly required the trustee Irving Picard to prove
Citigroup lacked good faith by being "willfully blind" to "red flags"
suggesting a high probability of fraud.

 

It said the correct standard was whether the New York-based bank knew
"suspicious facts" about Madoff that would have caused a reasonable person
to follow up.

 

Seanna Brown, a lawyer representing Picard, in a statement called the
decision an "important victory" for Madoff victims that could help the
trustee recover $3.75 billion, on top of nearly $14.5 billion he has already
recovered.

 

Brown said the decision affected about 90 lawsuits, and should help bring
victims "as close as possible to recovering 100% of their losses."

 

Citigroup declined to comment. Brown and Picard are partners at the law firm
Baker & Hostetler.

 

The $343.1 million represented money that Citigroup received between 2005
and 2008 from a Madoff "feeder fund," Rye Select Broad Market Prime Fund LP,
that had borrowed from the bank to invest with Bernard L. Madoff Investment
Securities LLC.

 

Picard said Citigroup accepted that money despite internal suspicions that
Madoff's trading activity and investment returns were a sham.

 

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein in Manhattan dismissed Picard's case
after another judge, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, imposed the willful
blindness standard.

 

But in Monday's 3-0 decision, Circuit Judge Richard Wesley said the plain
meaning of good faith in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code required that Citigroup be
only on "inquiry notice" of Madoff's fraud.

 

The appeals court also revived similar clawback lawsuits against two other
firms.

 

Madoff died on April 14 at age 82 in prison, where he was serving a 150-year
sentence. read more

 

The cases are Picard v. Citibank NA et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, No. 20-1333; and Picard v. Legacy Capital Ltd et al in the same
court, No. 20-1334.

 

 

 

U.S. Treasury says China private equity's Magnachip purchase poses security
risks

(Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said the acquisition of Magnachip
Semiconductor Corp (MX.N) by a Chinese private equity firm posed "risks to
national security", in another hurdle for Chinese companies trying to invest
abroad in critical tech industries.

 

In March, Chinese private equity firm Wise Road Capital agreed to acquire
system chip manufacturer Magnachip in a deal valued at $1.4 billion.

 

Since then, regulatory authorities in countries including the United States
and South Korea have been reviewing the deal. Magnachip, which produces
display and power chips, has production and R&D facilities based in South
Korea.

 

Magnachip said in a SEC filing on Monday the U.S. Department of Treasury, in
a letter to the company's legal counsel last Friday, said the acquisition
posed "risks to the national security of the United States," and expects to
seek President Joe Biden's decision on the matter.

 

 

CFIUS, a committee under the U.S. Department of Treasury, had ordered the
deal to be put on hold in June.

 

The filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not specify
the nature of the risks.

 

Magnachip was assessing its next steps, but cannot give assurance that it
would agree to proposals that would facilitate clearance by CFIUS, the
filing said. A spokesperson for Magnachip declined further comment.

 

A global shortage of chips has slowed production in the automobile and tech
industries, fuelling calls for the United States to rely less on China and
leading to efforts such as the U.S. Senate passing the "U.S. Innovation and
Competition Act" which authorised about $190 billion for provisions to
strengthen U.S. technology and research. 

 

 

Asia shares ease as weak China data weighs

(Reuters) - Asia stock markets opened lower on Tuesday despite fresh
all-time highs on Wall Street, as worries about China's slowing economic
growth and regulatory changes weighed on investor sentiment.

 

MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slipped
0.25%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 (.N225) fell more than 0.3% in the morning
session.

 

Japan's industrial output shrank in July as car production took a hit from a
resurgence of the coronavirus in Asia that has cast doubt over recovery in
the world's third-largest economy. read more

 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) and China's benchmark CSI300 Index
(.CSI300) opened down 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.

 

China's factory activity expanded at a slower pace in August as
coronavirus-related restrictions and high raw material prices pressure
manufacturers in the world's second largest economy, while services activity
contracted sharply, national data showed Tuesday. read more

 

Beijing on Monday cut the amount of time players under the age of 18 can
spend on online games to an hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays, which
analysts expect to continue to weigh in on tech stocks.

 

"Chinese tech sector is under pressure. Divergence should continue when
market faces a lot of uncertainties over Chinese policies," said Edison Pun,
senior market analyst at Saxo Markets.

 

Australian shares, however, rose slightly for a second straight session, led
by mining and technology stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 (.AXJO) was up 0.2% by
0130GMT.

 

 

Asia's cooler sentiment followed all-time highs set by U.S. and global
equity benchmarks in the previous session, as the Federal Reserve appeared
in no rush to step away from its massive stimulus. read more

 

U.S. crude fell 0.51% to $68.86 a barrel and Brent was down 0.56% at $73 a
barrel in Asian trade as Hurricane Ida weakened into a Category 1 hurricane
within 12 hours of coming ashore as a Category 4.

 

"Eyes on OPEC+ meeting after hurricane Ida's hit, short-term supply shock is
relieved and OPEC+ meeting could mean more future supply. Crude oil may
return to weakness after strong rebound for about 10% last week," Sun said.

 

Spot gold gained 0.18% to $1813.54 per ounce.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Young Chinese gamers vent at Beijing's new rules as shares in gaming
companies slide

(Reuters) - China's new rules forbidding under-18s from playing video games
for more than three hours a week knocked shares in Tencent Holdings Ltd
(0700.HK) and other gaming companies, while young players took to social
media to express their outrage.

 

Beijing said the new rules were necessary to stop growing addiction to what
it once described as "spiritual opium". The People's Daily, the official
newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, said in an article on Monday after
the rules were announced that the government had to be "ruthless".

 

It's "indisputable" that indulging in online games affects normal study life
and the physical and mental health of teens, the article said. "Destroying a
teenager will destroy a family."

 

Young Chinese gamers were, however, angry.

 

 

"This group of grandfathers and uncles who make these rules and regulations,
have you ever played games? Do you understand that the best age for e-sports
players is in their teens?" said one comment on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

 

"Sexual consent at 14, at 16 you can go out to work but you have to be 18 to
play games. This is really a joke."

 

The hit to gaming stocks was relatively measured with analysts saying
children in general did not provide much revenue for gaming companies,
although they noted that the implications for the long-term growth of the
industry were much more severe.

 

"The root of the problem here is not the immediate revenue impact," said Mio
Kato, an analyst who publishes on SmartKarma. "The problem is that this move
destroys the entire habit-forming nature of playing games at an early age."

 

Shares in Tencent, the world's largest gaming firm by revenue, slid 3.6% in
Tuesday trade. The stock has lost almost 5% since the state media article
that described gaming as spiritual opium was published on Aug 3.

 

Jefferies analysts said on Monday they expect to see about a 3% impact to
Tencent's earnings from the new rules, assuming gaming contributes about 60%
of its total revenue.

 

U.S.-listed NetEase (9999.HK) fell 3.4% in overnight trade with its Hong
Kong shares down by a similar amount on Tuesday.

 

Krafton Inc (259960.KS), the South Korean company which earns fees by
providing services for a similar game to its blockbuster "PlayerUnknown's
Battlegrounds"(PUBG) to Tencent in China, fell 3.4%.

 

 

Tokyo-listed Nexon (3659.T) and Koei Tecmo (3635.T), which both have
exposure to the Chinese market, were down 4.8% and 3.7% respectively.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China's economy under pressure as factory activity slows in Aug, services
contract

(Reuters) - China's businesses and the broader economy came under increasing
pressure in August as factory activity expanded at a slower pace while the
services sector slumped into contraction, raising the likelihood of more
near-term policy support to boost growth.

 

The world's second-biggest economy staged an impressive recovery from a
coronavirus-battered slump, but momentum has weakened recently due to
domestic COVID-19 outbreaks, high raw material prices, slowing exports,
tighter measures to tame hot property prices and a campaign to reduce carbon
emissions.

 

The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) fell to 50.1 in
August from 50.4 in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
showed on Tuesday, holding just above the 50-point mark that separates
growth from contraction.

 

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected it to slip to 50.2.

 

"The worse-than-expected August PMIs add conviction to our view that the
growth slowdown in H2 could be quite notable," Nomura economists wrote in a
note.

 

"We expect Beijing to maintain its policy combination of 'targeted
tightening' for a few sectors, especially the property sector and
high-polluting industries, complemented by 'universal easing' for the rest
of the economy."

 

Nomura is not alone in its views as many other analysts also expect the
central bank to deliver a further cut to the amount of cash banks must hold
as reserves later this year to lift growth, on top of last month's cut which
released around 1 trillion yuan ($6.47 trillion) in long-term liquidity into
the economy.

 

The manufacturing PMI showed demand slipped sharply, with new orders
contracting and a gauge for new export orders falling to 46.7, the lowest in
over a year. Factories also laid off workers, at the same pace as July.

 

SERVICES SECTOR DOWNTURN

 

Adding to signs of a broadening economic slowdown, COVID-19-related
restrictions drove services sector activity into sharp contraction for the
first time since the height of the pandemic in February last year.

 

The official non-manufacturing PMI in August was 47.5, well down from July's
53.3, data from the NBS showed.

 

"The latest surveys suggest that China's economy contracted (in August) as
virus disruptions weighed heavily on services activity. Industry also
continued to come off the boil as supply chain bottlenecks worsened and
demand softened," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at
Capital Economics, in a note.

 

While most of the weakness should reverse with relaxing COVID-19
restrictions, tight credit conditions and weakening foreign demand will
continue to weigh on China's economy, he said.

 

"This epidemic in multiple provinces and locations was a fairly big shock to
the services industry, which is still in recovery," said Zhao Qinghe, of the
NBS.

 

Catering, transportation, accommodation and entertainment industries were
most affected, said Zhao. Construction activity accelerated to the fastest
pace since March.

 

There are signs China may have largely contained the latest coronavirus
outbreaks, with zero locally transmitted cases reported on Aug 30., for the
third day in a row.

 

But it spurred authorities across the country to impose measures including
mass testing for millions of people as well as travel restrictions of
varying degrees and port shutdowns.

 

Meishan terminal at China's Ningbo port resumed operations in late August
after shutting down for two weeks due to a COVID-19 case. The closure caused
logjams at ports across the country's coastal regions and further strained
global supply chains amid a resurgence of consumer spending and a shortage
of container vessels.

 

Higher raw material prices, especially of metals and semiconductors, have
also pressured profits. Earnings at China's industrial firms in July slowed
for the fifth straight month.

 

The official August composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and
services activity, fell to 48.9 from July's 52.4.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Nigeria's GDP Growth Stunted By Insecurity - Minister

The finance minister says insecurity and other factors slowed growth in the
agriculture sector, thereby denying the economy a stronger growth rate.

 

Nigeria's latest impressive economic growth would have been better if the
country had been more secure, the finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, has said.

 

Mrs Ahmed said save for the country's spate of insecurity that has affected
growth in agriculture, the gross domestic product was bound to grow higher
than 5.01 per cent recorded in the second quarter, as announced last week by
the National Bureau of Statistics. The quarterly economic growth was the
strongest in years.

 

"The 2021 second-quarter growth reflects better economic performance
compared to the same quarter last year. The same quarter last year we had
negative growth of -6.10 per cent. It is also better than the first quarter
of 2021," Mrs Ahmed told journalists at a press briefing where she reviewed
the latest results from the NBS.

"The service sector recorded a strong performance, growing by 9.27 per cent
this reporting quarter - representing the fastest growth in this sector
since 2010.

 

"The second-quarter growth of 2021 would have been much stronger than the
5.01 percent, but for agriculture, that recorded a slightly lower growth. A
number of bottlenecks within the system, including insecurity, negatively
affected the sector. Also, the industrial sector slowed down to -1.3
percent."

 

The Nigerian economy went into recession in 2020, the second in four years
as it suffered the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Attacks by the Boko
Haram jihadists and the so-called bandits have driven farmers from their
fields, pushing food prices and headline inflation to the highest levels in
decades.

 

Mrs Ahmed said borrowings by the government to finance critical projects
amid dwindling revenue have so far been done "sensibly."

 

According to data from the nation's Debt Management Office, Nigeria's public
debt stock stood at N33.107 trillion by March 2021, a reason many analysts
have expressed concerns about debt accumulation.

 

Last week, the House of Representatives criticised the government's decision
to borrow N5.62 trillion to finance the deficit in the 2022 budget.

 

Mrs Ahmed however, said the borrowings are needed to tackle the problems of
the revenue shortfall.

 

"I want to assure you that we are borrowing with very close consideration to
the sustainability of the borrowing; the borrowing levels for Nigeria today
is still 23 per cent of the GDP," she said.

 

"The problem we have in Nigeria is actually that of revenue; when you look
at countries that are with the peer group of Nigeria, there are some that
had 50percent growth and now they are at about 70 per cent.

 

"We are at 23 per cent despite the escalated borrowing we have had to do in
2020 and also in 2021 to get a good grip on the economic situation that was
occasioned by the covid 19 pandemic and in our case also the crash in crude
oil price.

 

"So we are borrowing sensibly, we are also borrowing to invest in critical
infrastructure like power, water, roads and rail which are investment that
are required to enhance business productivity in the country today.

 

"We have an approval in the 2021 budget to fund the budget deficit 50 per
cent locally and 50 per cent externally. The 50 per cent external borrowing
is 6.1 billion Euros; we are planning to use about half of that from
Eurobonds and the other half using other windows such as multilateral and
bilateral sources."-Premium Times.

 

 

 

Africa: Era of Leaded Petrol Over, Eliminating a Major Threat to Human and
Planetary Health

Official end of use of leaded petrol will prevent more than 1.2 million
premature deaths and save USD 2.45 trillion a year

 

The end of leaded petrol follows a 19-year campaign led by the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners

 

UNEP urges countries to work towards zero emissions vehicles to further
address air pollution and climate change

 

Nairobi, 30 August 2021 - When service stations in Algeria stopped providing
leaded petrol in July, the use of leaded petrol ended globally. This
development follows an almost two decades long campaign by the UNEP-led
global Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV).

 

Since 1922, the use of tetraethyllead as a petrol additive to improve engine
performance has been a catastrophe for the environment and public health. By
the 1970s, almost all petrol produced around the world contained lead. When
the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) began its campaign to eliminate lead in
petrol in 2002, it was one of the most serious environmental threats to
human health.

2021 has marked the end of leaded petrol worldwide, after it has
contaminated air, dust, soil, drinking water and food crops for the better
part of a century. Leaded petrol causes heart disease, stroke and cancer. It
also affects the development of the human brain, especially harming
children, with studies suggesting it reduced 5-10 IQ points. Banning the use
of leaded petrol has been estimated to prevent more than 1.2 million
premature deaths per year, increase IQ points among children, save USD 2.45
trillion for the global economy, and decrease crime rates.

 

"The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol is a huge milestone
for global health and our environment," said Inger Andersen, Executive
Director of UNEP. "Overcoming a century of deaths and illnesses that
affected hundreds of millions and degraded the environment worldwide, we are
invigorated to change humanity's trajectory for the better through an
accelerated transition to clean vehicles and electric mobility."

By the 1980s, most high-income countries had prohibited the use of leaded
petrol, yet as late as 2002, almost all low- and middle-income countries,
including some Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
members, were still using leaded petrol. The PCFV is a public-private
partnership that brought all stakeholders to the table, providing technical
assistance, raising awareness, overcoming local challenges and resistance
from local oil dealers and producers of lead, as well as investing in
refinery upgrades.

 

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Environment Science, Technology and
Innovation in Ghana, said "When the UN began working with governments and
businesses to phase out lead from petrol, sub-Saharan African nations
enthusiastically embraced this opportunity. Ghana was one of five West
African countries to join early sub-regional workshops and declarations.
Following PCFV's media campaigns, reports, studies, exposing illegalities,
and public testing done to expose high levels of lead in the population's
blood, Ghana became ever more determined to free its fuel from lead."

Despite this progress, the fast-growing global vehicle fleet continues to
contribute to the threat of local air, water and soil pollution, as well as
to the global climate crisis: the transport sector is responsible for nearly
a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions and is set to
grow to one third by 2050.

 

While many countries have already begun transitioning to electric cars, 1.2
billion new vehicles will hit the road in the coming decades, and many of
these will use fossil fuels, especially in developing countries. This
includes millions of poor-quality used vehicles exported from Europe, the
United States and Japan, to mid- and low-income countries. This contributes
to planet warming and air polluting traffic and bound to cause accidents.

 

"That a UN-backed alliance of governments, businesses and civil society was
able to successfully rid the world of this toxic fuel is testament to the
power of multilateralism to move the world towards sustainability and a
cleaner, greener future," Ms. Andersen said. "We urge these same
stakeholders to take inspiration from this enormous achievement to ensure
that now that we have cleaner fuels, we also adopt cleaner vehicles
standards globally - the combination of cleaner fuels and vehicles can
reduce emissions by more than 80%."

 

In addition, while we have now eliminated the largest source of lead
pollution, urgent action is still needed to stop lead pollution from other
sources - such as lead in paints, leaded batteries, and lead in household
items.

 

The end of leaded petrol is expected to support the realization of multiple
Sustainable Development Goals, including good health and well-being (SDG3),
clean water (SDG6), clean energy (SDG7), sustainable cities (SDG11), climate
action (SDG13) and life on land (SDG15). It also offers an opportunity for
restoring ecosystems, especially in urban environments, which have been
particularly degraded by this toxic pollutant. Finally, it marks major
progress ahead of this year's International Day of Clean Air for blue skies
on the 7th of September.

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

About the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV):

 

In 2002, the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) was set up at
the World Summit on Sustainable Development. UNEP hosted the Secretariat
with the aim of eliminating leaded petrol globally and provided support to
many countries and regional initiatives. At the time, 117 countries
world-wide were still using leaded petrol with 86 countries supported to
phase out leaded petrol. In 2006, the first major success was achieved -
Sub-Saharan Africa went unleaded. The last country to switch was Algeria in
July 2021.

 

About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

 

UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership
and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring,
informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life
without compromising that of future generations.-UNEP.

 

 

Africa: AfCFTA - FG Targets to Control 10 Percent of Africa's Imports

The federal government has stated that the strategic objectives of Nigeria's
participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to
capture 10 per cent of Africa's imports as well as to double the country's
export revenue by 2035.

 

In addition, the government said it aims to become "the preferred supplier
of value-added products and services to Africa."

 

These were disclosed by the Secretary of the National Action Committee on
AfCFTA, Mr. Francis Anatogu, during a seminar organised by the Lagos Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) with the theme: "AfCFTA: The Roadmap for
Exporters Successful Participation."

 

He said the strategic objective would be achieved by growing export capacity
of every state in the country to $1.2 billion as well as by focusing on
specific product/service chains.

 

Nigeria would also, "grow local demand for new Made-in Nigeria automobiles
to 200,000 units and local content to 40 per cent over five years," he said.

Anatogu, who is also the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public
Sector Matters, clarified the questions being asked by Nigerian businesses
on when and how to participate in the AfCFTA. He stated that first and
foremost trading was yet to commence under the free trade area agreement.

 

Other key goals of the strategic objective, according to him, also include
growing, "highly productivity workforce to earn premium wages in Nigeria and
Africa" as well as engendering "friendly business environment to attract
investments and boost competitiveness."

 

The objectives also include, to "grow local demand to boost local content,
capacity and utilisation, preserve local market share and lay foundation for
exports; develop critical trade infrastructure such as power, logistics,
transportation, shared facilities; and secure access to African markets
through partnerships, security of supply, national brand, process
compliance," he added.

 

According to him, the federal government also intends to establish an
efficient AfCFTA trade arrangement with necessary safeguards and
coordination framework.

 

Anatogu stated that some of the actions needed to actualise these objectives
include, "investment in API production to catalyse the local pharmaceutical
value chain; commercialisation of research findings to improve yield and
promote innovation and leveraging technology and cluster development
strategy to grow capacity of MSME, reduce informal trade and aggregate them
for export."

 

He explained that businesses would export by following the existing normal
export process, but would back it up with AfCFTA's certificate of origin,
adding that exporters, "will also meet all the export requirement of the
destination country."

 

Anatogu stated that Nigeria, "has also identified 25 Nigerian companies from
different stakeholder organisations to do the trial run of going through the
processes of ascertaining the compliance of their products to the AfCFTA's
Rule of Origin (RoO). This is what we are doing at the national action
committee to make sure that this starts at a very robust level.

 

"As part of this process, companies will have AfCFTA number, which will
identify them in any African country. They will also have product approval
of registration, "he said.-This Day.

 

 

 

South Africa: UIF Promises Relief for Workers Affected By July Riots

Until 15 December, employees at businesses that have not reopened can
receive R3,500 per month

 

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has opened applications for temporary
relief funds made available to all Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal workers
affected by the July unrest. Applications for the relief fund - Workers
Affected By Unrest (WABU) - opened last week.

 

According to Makhosonke Buthelezi, UIF communication and marketing director,
the funds are part of the R5.3 billion Temporary Employer/Employee Relief
Scheme (TERS).

 

Until 15 December 2021, the relief will be paid at a flat rate of R3,500 per
month to workers while their places of work are unable to open due to
damages sustained in the riots. (Download the WABU presentation.)

However, WABU funds are limited to employees registered for UIF, but who are
not already receiving unemployment claims from the UIF.

 

Also, the employer must provide details of the destruction and submit
documentary proof of a report made to the police, a case number, and if
insured, proof of insurance claim.

 

Employers are being urged to apply on behalf of their employees through the
TERS online portal. Money will be paid directly into the employee's bank
account.

 

Akesh Mahabir, owner of Pedros Chicken at the looted Pan Africa Shopping
Centre in Alexandra, said he employed 13 people. He opened in November 2020.
He has not been able to pay his employees since the riots shut his shop in
July.

 

One of the employees, Promise Nyandeni, said she has been struggling. Her
rent is in arrears and she has accumulated debt. "Life has been hard. My two
children, mom and sister depend on me as I am the only one who had a job,"
said Nyandeni.

 

Owner of a Build It franchise at Tsakane Square in Brakpan, John Vantonder,
said he managed to pay his ten employees full salaries in July, but could
not meet their August salaries. He welcomed the relief fund. However, his
full-time employees are registered with UIF, but his temporary employees are
not.

 

"My temporary employees are my main worry," he said. He intends to register
them for UIF and hopes they can still qualify for the relief funds.

 

Shepherd Chikane, a Build It employee, said, "We have been worried about
what we were going to do come month-end. It's difficult to buy food let
alone meet other expenses. The looting really affected us."

 

But for some employees it may be too late. Mushtaq Zeeshan has sold
electronic equipment, appliances and furniture in Tsakane Square for five
years. He said he lost over R800,000 worth of stock in the looting. He is
slowly rebuilding the shop on his own.

 

He was unable to pay his two employees and they have now gone back to homes
in the rural Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. He has no way of contacting
them.-GroundUp.

 

 

 

Uganda Airlines Negotiates Interline Deal

Dar es Salaam — Uganda Airlines (UA) is finalizing interlining negotiations
with two of Tanzania's airlines in an effort to streamline travelling across
the region.

 

Speaking at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam
yesterday, UA's country manager, Ms Lucy Ismail, said negations with Air
Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) and Precision Air (PW) are in the final
stages.

 

An interline agreement allows airlines to handle the check-in and baggage
for each other's passengers.

 

This means travellers only have to check in once for all the flights on
their itinerary - and that their baggage will be transferred by the first
airline to the second without them having to manually collect it and re-book
it.

 

UA has already inked an interlining pact with Qatar Airways, Emirates, Hahn
Air and French's APG Airlines - and they are now at the systems testing
stage.

Ms Ismail was speaking during an event where Uganda Airlines exposed its
travellers between Dar es Salaam and Entebbe to the new experience of
travelling in the comfort of its newly-acquired A330-800Neo as part of
celebrations to mark its second year of commercial operations.

 

The firm recently acquired two new A330-800Neo aeroplanes for long-haul
routes.

 

The two aircraft have just been purchased to enable UA to launch its
long-range operations with non-stop intercontinental flights to the Middle
East, Europe and Asia.

 

According to Ms Ismail, long-haul routes in the firm's pipeline include
Dubai, London, Guangzhou (China) and Mumbai (India).

 

The Uganda Airlines, she explained, plans to start flying to Dubai and
London before the end of this year.

 

Further, she added, they also plan to start flying to Guangzhou and Mumbai
early next year. In Africa, she said, they are going to start flying to Goma
and Lubumbashi before the end of this calendar year.

 

Currently, the Crane is flying to Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar,
Entebbe, Nairobi, Mombasa, Mogadishu, Juba, Bujumbura, Kinshasa and
Johannesburg.

 

"With the addition of the A330-800Neo in our fleet, we will expand our
footprint in the growing African markets and beyond," Ms Ismail exuded her
optimism.

 

Uganda Airlines is currently running a four-craft fleet of bombardier
CRJ-900 aircraft and two new Airbus A330-800.

 

The airline is also now ready for cargo business after it secured the Air
Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority a
fortnight ago.

 

"The Airbus A330-800 neo has been added to our AOC and soon we will be
flying long haul and carry cargo as well," she told reporters yesterday.

 

The new Airbus 330-800 Neo has seating capacity of 258 of which 20 seats are
business class, 28 pre-economy and 210 the economy class.

 

The new airbus will facilitate quality long-haul flights, giving passengers
improved inflight-services with relaxed sound-free travel to their
destinations.-Citizen.

 

 


 


 


 

 

 

 


 

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

 


 

 


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