Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 07 December 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 07 December 2021 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Covid testing: New PCR rules throw plans into disarray

ü  Wall Street watchdogs probe Trump media firm deal

ü  Rohingya sue Facebook for $150bn over Myanmar hate speech

ü  Hong Kong Covid: The Cathay pilots stuck in 'perpetual quarantine'

ü  US boss fires 900 employees over Zoom

ü  Byju's and the other side of an edtech giant's dizzying rise

ü  Uber prices could rise 20% after UK ruling

ü  New York's workers must all have vaccine by 27 December

ü  Evergrande shares slump on renewed default fears

ü  Bitcoin back over $50,000, as market calms after weekend turmoil

ü  Toyota embracing small flaws as supply chain pressures bite

ü  Some Evergrande bondholders not received overdue coupon payments -sources

ü  Samsung Elec to merge mobile and consumer electronics divisions

ü  Tesla's Musk says Biden's EV bill shouldn't pass

ü  Asia stocks bounce from one-year low, China gains on monetary easing

ü  Intel plans to take self-driving car unit Mobileye public

ü  U.S. financial regulators investigate Trump social media deal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Covid testing: New PCR rules throw plans into disarray

On Tuesday all international arrivals to the UK will need to take a pre-departure Covid-19 test to tackle the new Omicron variant.

 

The change comes into force from 04:00 GMT, with travellers over the age of 12 having to submit evidence of a negative lateral flow or PCR test that has been taken a maximum of 48 hours before the departure to the UK.

 

The news dismayed the travel industry, but for travellers about to leave the UK the extra cost, confusion and inconvenience about getting tested before returning now overshadows their trips.

 

Some are even considering cancelling because there is no guarantee the rules won't change yet again.

 

Matthew O'Toole has no intention of cancelling his one-day visit to Portugal - but he's still not entirely sure of the rules, nor the likely disruption and extra costs.

 

He's collecting his young daughters to spend Christmas in the UK, with the plan being that the girls travel from Spain with their mother across the border to Faro airport.

 

He told the BBC: "The girls live near Portuguese border, so it's easier for me to go from Gatwick and fly to Faro. I go to the airport, hang about, the girls get dropped off with me, we go back with them same day.

 

"I haven't had them here since Christmas 2019. I saw them one week in August this year," he said.

 

This time he's planning to collect them on 21 December and return them on 2 January. Mr O'Toole said that while a review of the rules is possible in the next couple of weeks, that is no help for his planning.

 

"We're up in the air on the tests. I have to test to go to Portugal and then we all have to test to get back into the UK. I have to do tests that I am fit to fly even though [I return] on the same day.

 

"There's also talk of a test to cross the border from Portugal to Spain. It's going to cost a fortune, I just wish there was more guidance," Mr O'Toole said.

 

Another family facing a possible big increase in costs - which could scupper their holiday plans - is Annette Mitchell and her children.

 

Annette Mitchell says the extra cost for Covid testing could add £453 to their US holiday.

She's booked a holiday to New York with her teenagers, departing on 6 January.

 

Annette has already book pre-Covid tests ahead of departure at a cost of £105, she told the BBC. Then there was the introduction of tests in arrival in the UK, which are booked and paid for at Heathrow Airport - another £205.

 

"Already the trip is expensive without added costs," she said. "Now we are being told to test before we return to the UK. The only tests in the US are a cost of $200 each - that's what it says on the Virgin Atlantic website.

 

"So a total of $600 (£453). That's another holiday," Annette said.

 

She's wondering if they can now afford to go, something that's not only upsetting her, but also the children. "It's so stressful because we can't afford paying another $200 per person."

 

Duncan Binnie is another person who's festive plans have been thrown into disarray. A Briton, he now lives just outside Paris and plans to return to the UK to see his children over Christmas.

 

He told the BBC: "They're being very careful in France - I would almost call it panicking. We've done the vaccinations, we're home working, isolating, done the lockdowns.

 

"I was due to come home later in the month but I'm moving all my travel forward." He fears France could impose tougher restrictions along with the UK.

 

"I haven't seen my two children in two-and-a-half years. The last time I saw my daughter was for her 18th birthday and now she's 20 years old," Mr Binnie said.

 

To protect himself ahead of his trip he's particularly careful. "I've not been to office in over a week and stayed off transport.

 

"I've had to pay for testing, as in France if you're symptom-free you must pay. Whereas, if you have symptoms, it's free."

 

He's worried about being stuck in the UK if tougher rules are introduced in France. "But I need to see my children, and I don't mind having to pay extra to do that."

 

He added: "I feel like we're getting penalised when we shouldn't be. I've made a lot of sacrifices over the past two years; I just want some normality."-BBC

 

 

 

Wall Street watchdogs probe Trump media firm deal

Donald Trump's deal to float his social media firm on the stock market is being investigated by Wall Street watchdogs.

 

Regulators are probing Digital World Acquisition Corp, the firm set to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG).

 

According to a filing on Monday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested documents about its investors and trading.

 

TMTG plans to launch a social media app called Truth Social early next year.

 

The filing states that the SEC also asked to see information detailing the relationship between Digital World and TMTG.

 

It also said that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is probing the deal as well.

 

The SEC told the BBC it does not comment on the "existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation".

 

The SEC was requested by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren last month, to investigate the proposed merger of the two firms for potential violations of securities laws.

 

Digital World is a so-called special purpose acquisition company (Spac) or "blank cheque company".

 

Spacs, which became a major story in the US stock market at the start of this year, are shell companies that are set up with the sole purpose of merging with a private firm to take it public. However, they have lost much of their lustre after some of the companies that merged with them failed to deliver on their ambitious financial projections.

 

On Saturday, Mr Trump's firm said it had secured $1bn from "a diverse group of institutional investors" without revealing who they were. According to reports, the social media venture is now valued at almost $4bn.

 

The former US president is still banned from Twitter and Facebook following the 6 January attack on the US Capitol.

 

At the time he was banned Mr Trump had 89 million followers on Twitter, 33 million on Facebook and 24.5 million on Instagram, according to a presentation on his company's website.-BBC

 

 

 

Rohingya sue Facebook for $150bn over Myanmar hate speech

Dozens of Rohingya refugees in the UK and US have sued Facebook, accusing the social media giant of allowing hate speech against them to spread.

 

They are demanding more than $150bn (£113bn) in compensation, claiming Facebook's platforms promoted violence against the persecuted minority.

 

An estimated 10,000 Rohingya Muslims were killed during a military crackdown in Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2017.

 

Facebook, now called Meta, did not immediately respond to the allegations.

 

The company is accused of allowing "the dissemination of hateful and dangerous misinformation to continue for years".

 

In the UK, a British law firm representing some of the refugees has written a letter to Facebook, seen by the BBC, alleging:

 

Facebook's algorithms "amplified hate speech against the Rohingya people"

The firm "failed to invest" in moderators and fact checkers who knew about the political situation in Myanmar

The company failed to take down posts or delete accounts that incited violence against Rohingya

It failed to "take appropriate and timely action", despite warnings from charities and the media

In the US, lawyers filed a legal complaint against Facebook in San Francisco, accusing it of being "willing to trade the lives of the Rohingya people for better market penetration in a small country in Southeast Asia."

 

They cite Facebook posts that appeared in an investigation by the Reuters news agency, including one in 2013 stating: "We must fight them the way Hitler did the Jews."

 

Another post said: "Pour fuel and set fire so that they can meet Allah faster."

 

Facebook has more than 20 million users in Myanmar. For many, the social media site is their main or only way of getting and sharing news.

 

Facebook admitted in 2018 that it had not done enough to prevent the incitement of violence and hate speech against the Rohingya.

 

This followed an independent report, commissioned by Facebook, that said the platform had created an "enabling environment" for the proliferation of human rights abuse.

 

The Rohingya are seen as illegal migrants in Myanmar and have been discriminated against by the government and public for decades.

 

In 2017, the Myanmar military launched a violent crackdown in Rakhine state after Rohingya militants carried out deadly attacks on police posts.

 

Thousands of people died and more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. There are also widespread allegations of human rights abuses, including arbitrary killing, rape and burning of land.

 

In 2018, the UN accused Facebook of being "slow and ineffective" in its response to the spread of hatred online.

 

Under US law, Facebook is largely protected from liability over content posted by its users. But the new lawsuit argues the law of Myanmar - which has no such protections - should prevail in the case.

 

The BBC has asked Meta for comment.-BBC

 

 

 

Hong Kong Covid: The Cathay pilots stuck in 'perpetual quarantine'

Hong Kong is one of the world's biggest aviation hubs but also has some of the strictest coronavirus regulations in the world. Two pilots tell the BBC how these rules are affecting their mental health and putting a strain on their personal lives.

 

"You're just in a perpetual state of quarantine."

 

Pierre*, a pilot with the city's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific, has spent almost 150 days in isolation in this year alone, he says.

 

Though Hong Kong has recorded barely any local coronavirus cases in recent months, the city has imposed an extensive testing and quarantine regime, in line with mainland China's zero Covid policy.

 

Pilots are not exempted from these rules - which means they spend an exceptionally large portion of their time either working or in quarantine.

 

These tough measures start at the airport.

 

All international inbound travellers have to take Covid-19 tests on arrival at Hong Kong airport and quarantine even if they test negative. They need to wait for their test results - which are made available on the same day - before they can proceed with immigration procedures.

 

"[Aircrew] have been on an aeroplane for upwards of 25 hours, sometimes closer to 30 hours if there are any delays," says Clark*, another Cathay Pacific pilot.

 

"They have to sit on a plastic chair and can't sleep, waiting for the tests. The whole process takes about four hours from the time you've landed to the time you get home."

 

If they test negative, they get to go home - but they're still not free.

 

In the first three days after arriving in Hong Kong, aircrew must remain at home. They can only leave for a maximum of two hours a day, and only to get tested for Covid or for essential activities.

 

Crew members then have to "avoid unnecessary social contact" for a further 18 days and continue daily testing.

 

"I don't think this is in any way fair or justified," said Clark. "Totally unacceptable."

 

When the pilots test positive, or in Pierre's case, are marked as a close contact of a positive case, they will be sent to hospital or a quarantine facility - like the controversial Penny's Bay centre that has been criticised for its living conditions.

 

Pierre said being in Penny's Bay was like being in "solitary confinement" in a cramped room that "got zero sun".

 

"I couldn't even see any plants, not a single blade of grass," he said.

 

The families of positive cases and close contacts have also been forced to stay at the facility, and they have included children and pregnant women.

 

Foreign aircrew flying into Hong Kong are also subject to these rules. Following reports that more British Airways crew were being quarantined at Penny's Bay, the airline recently suspended flights to Hong Kong saying they were "reviewing operational requirements for this route".

 

But the restrictions don't end even when the Cathay pilots are overseas. Aircrew have to stick to the airline's strict isolation rules while on layovers in other countries.

 

"You go directly from your room to the aeroplane. Fly, and then go directly back to your room and you're locked up in your room until you leave again," said Pierre.

 

Once at the hotel they must stay in their room for the duration of the layover, including meal times.

 

"Food gets delivered to your room, you open your door, get the food, eat it in the room by yourself," he said.

 

"There's a security guard outside your door. So you, literally, can't step into the hallway. We are in quarantine from when we show up at work until we get back to Hong Kong."

 

In response to a request for comment on the pilots' grievances, Cathay Pacific reiterated its support for the Hong Kong government's quarantine measures, saying: "The safety and wellbeing of our customers, employees and the community remain our absolute priority.

 

"We regularly remind our aircrew of the critical importance of complying with anti-pandemic measures both in Hong Kong and overseas."

 

On the conditions at Penny's Bay quarantine centre, Cathay Pacific said it was doing its best to "help everyone affected", reiterating that Penny's Bay is a "designated government facility".

 

"We have scaled up our support, drawing on resources from across the group to get everything from electrical appliances, amenities and additional food supplies to those in the facility to help make their stay as comfortable as possible."

 

Cathay Pacific said that it acknowledges the "burden" that had been placed on their aircrew.

 

"A pilot who feels unfit to fly in any way can express that to the management team without jeopardy and is legally protected in their right to declare themselves unfit for duty," the company said.

 

The airline also said that in recent weeks it had seen an impact on "current sentiment" in how aircrew felt about their jobs.

 

But this is cold comfort for some employees. The Cathay pilots told the BBC that they have applied or plan to apply for stress leave due to the impact their jobs have have had on them psychologically and the strain put on their personal lives.

 

"It's almost a certainty that I'll be resigning in the spring... I'm leaving without an actual job and just resigning," said Clark.

 

"I would say, probably, 80% of those that I fly with are actively looking for work elsewhere... It's all we talk about."

 

*The names of the pilots have been changed to protect their identities.-BBC

 

 

 

US boss fires 900 employees over Zoom

The boss of a US firm has been criticised after he fired around 900 of his staff on a single Zoom call.

 

"If you're on this call you're part of the unlucky group being laid off," said Vishal Garg, chief executive of mortgage firm Better.com, on the call, later uploaded to social media.

 

Comments on social media said it was "cold", "harsh" and "a horrible move", especially in the run up to Christmas.

 

"Last time I did [this] I cried," Mr Garg told the staff on the call.

 

"I wish the news were different. I wish we were thriving," he said. This time his tone was measured and he referred to notes on the desk in front of him.

 

Mr Garg said staff performance and productivity, and market changes lay behind the mass-firing of what he said was 15% of Better.com's workforce.

 

 

He didn't mention the $750m (£565m) cash infusion Better.com received from investors last week.

 

Better.com's chief finance officer, Kevin Ryan, told the BBC: "Having to conduct layoffs is gut-wrenching, especially this time of year."

 

He added, however, that having "a fortress balance sheet and a reduced and focused workforce" was necessary to take on the "radically evolving homeownership market".

 

After the firing Fortune magazine confirmed that Mr Garg was the author of a previously written anonymous blog post in which he accused sacked staff at his firm of "stealing" from their colleagues and customers by being unproductive and only working two hours a day, while claiming for eight or more.

 

The company, which aims to use technology to make the housebuying process "faster and more efficient", is backed by Japanese conglomerate Softbank and is worth around $6bn (£4.53bn).

 

Mr Garg's management style has been criticised before, after an email that he sent to staff that was obtained by Forbes last year.

 

In the email, Mr Garb wrote: "You are TOO DAMN SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS... SO STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME."

 

Not empathetic

Gemma Dale, lecturer in employment law and business studies at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK said this was "no way to lead an organisation".

 

A mass-firing like this would not be legal in the UK, she said.

 

"Just because you can do this in America, doesn't mean you should," she added.

 

"There are ways to do these things which, even in difficult conditions, are empathetic and decent."

 

It could harm the firm as well as its staff she said as "existing employees will look to how the company treats people as a signal to how it will treat them in the future".

 

"There are proper channels through which to deal with staff who aren't meeting the required standards or amounts of work and while employers are within their right to take the appropriate action, there is a right way to do these things both morally and legally".-BBC

 

 

 

Byju's and the other side of an edtech giant's dizzying rise

Digambar Singh says he has been chasing Byju's, an online tutoring firm and the world's highest-valued edtech start-up, for a refund for months now.

 

Mr Singh, an accountant, says he paid 5,000 rupees (£48; $66) up front and borrowed an additional 35,000 rupees - a loan he claims was facilitated by Byju's - to buy a two-year math and science programme for his son.

 

"A sales representative came to my home and asked my son all kinds of difficult questions which he couldn't answer," Mr Singh said. "We were completely demotivated after their visit."

 

He told the BBC he felt shamed into buying the course. But he claims he didn't get the services he was promised - including face-to-face coaching, and a counsellor who would call and update him on his son's progress - and that after the initial months Byju's stopped answering his calls.

 

Byju's called his allegations "baseless and motivated" and told the BBC Mr Singh "was spoken to several times in the follow-up period". They said they had a "no questions asked" 15-day refund policy for their product, if a student opts for learning material with an accompanying tablet, and an "anytime" refund policy for their services.

 

The company said Mr Singh asked for a refund two months after the product was shipped. But after the BBC brought Mr Singh's case to their attention they gave him the refund he was after.

 

The BBC spoke to many parents who said the services they were promised - one-on-one tutoring and an assigned mentor to assess the child's progress - never materialised. In at least three different cases, India's consumer courts have ordered Byju's to pay damages to customers in disputes related to refunds and deficiency of services.

 

Byju's told the BBC that they had reached a settlement in these legal cases, and their grievance redressal rate was 98%.

 

But a BBC investigation based on interviews with former Byju employees and customers has revealed several allegations.

 

Disgruntled parents allege they were misled by sales agents. They said they were lured into contracts by agents who convinced them of an urgent need only to go incommunicado a few months after the sale, making it difficult to get a refund. Once a sale is done, agents would be "least bothered" to follow up, a former Byju's employee said.

 

Former employees complained of "pushy managers", claiming there was a high-pressure sales culture that emphasised aggressive targets. There are also hundreds of complaints in online consumer and employee forums against the company.

 

Byju's denied using aggressive sales tactics and said "only if the student and parent sees value in our product and develop trust do they purchase it". They added that their "employee culture does not permit any misbehaviour or bad behaviour towards parents" and that "all rigorous checks and balances are in place to prevent misuse and abuse".

 

Founded by Byju Raveendran in 2011, Byju's is funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and major private equity firms such as Tiger Global and General Atlantic.

 

With schools being closed for more than a year-and-half, the pandemic forced millions of Indian students to turn to online classes. And the sudden switch made anxious parents like Mr Singh - who traditionally see education as an essential ticket to upward mobility - a crucial market for Byju's.

 

So the firm's ascent since the pandemic began has been nothing short of meteoric. It claims it added more than six million paying users, with a 85% renewal rate.

 

The BBC spoke to several students and parents who vouched for the quality of Byju's learning content - in a country where rote learning is often the norm, Byju's has been credited for deftly using technology to create immersive, engaging lessons. It also claims to have the industry's highest net promoter score (NPS), which measures customer experience and predicts business growth.

 

Byju's has raised more than $1bn since March 2020 and gone on an acquisition binge, mopping up a dozen competitors to become an umbrella holding company for firms offering everything from coding classes to coaching for competitive exams. It's possibly the most visible brand on Indian TV, with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan driving its flashy ad campaign as brand ambassador.

 

Students attend a session in classroom after schools reopen with all Covid-19 protocols in place as per the directions of the State government, on October 4, 2021 in Mumbai, India.

 

 

But some education experts have questioned whether the company's rapid growth is a result of hard sales tactics that have fed into parents' insecurities, and added to their debt burden. Parents claim the tactics included incessant cold calls and sales pitches whose effect was to convince them that their child will be left behind if they don't by a Byju's product.

 

Given that even Byju's basic courses start at around $50 - unaffordable to most Indians - the company often pushed its product irrespective of whether the child needed it or the family could afford it, a former employee said.

 

"It does not matter if he is a farmer, a rickshaw puller. The same product is sold for a range [of prices]. If we see that a parent cannot afford it, we charge them the lowest price in that range," Nitish Roy, a former business development associate at Byju's, told the BBC.

 

Byju's said they have "different products at different price points based on customers' needs and affordability" and do not change prices in "the manner suggested". It also said sales executives have no control over pricing.

 

Several current and former employees also told the BBC they were often pushed to meet unrealistic targets. Two recorded telephone conversations which appear to show furious managers humiliating sales people for not meeting their targets surfaced online late last year and in January this year,

 

Byju's told the BBC the conversations took place 18 months ago and it took necessary steps to rectify the situation, including terminating the contract of those managers.

 

In a statement to the BBC, Byju's said "there is no room for abusive, offensive behaviour in our organisation. The affected employee in the case referred by you continues to remain with us and enjoys management's confidence".

 

But more than one employee told the BBC that the pressure to make a sale was so high that it took a toll on their mental health. One sales executive said he developed anxiety, and his blood pressure and sugar shot up during the year he worked at Byju's.

 

Several employees said 12-15 hour work days were a regular feature of their job, and staff who couldn't clock 120 minutes of "talk-time" with potential customers were marked absent, resulting in loss of pay for that day.

 

"That would happen to me at least twice a week. I'd have to make at least 200 calls a day to be able to hit the target," a former employee said.

 

He added that the target was incredibly difficult to meet because he would be given few leads to chase and an average call would often last less than two minutes.

 

But Byju's said it was incorrect to suggest that it "either docks salaries or marks people absent if they fail to hit the target in the first instance".

 

"All organisations have rigorous but fair sales targets and Byju's is no exception," the firm said. They added that mindful of employees' health and comfort, they offered a robust training programme.

 

"We have thousands of employees across our group companies and even in the case of a one-off incident, we immediately evaluate and take strict actions against mistreatment."

 

But Mr Roy, who now teaches orphans in a school in Mumbai city, says he left Byju's earlier this year after a two-month stint because he was deeply uncomfortable with how the company operated.

 

"It started as a noble concept, but has now become a revenue-generating machine," he added.

 

A teacher takes a class of the students as schools in Maharashtra reopen after being shut for over a year-and-a-half in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, on October 4, 2021 in Mumbai, India.

 

 

Pradip Saha, co-founder of Morning Context, a media and research company that reports extensively on India's start-ups says much of this "boils down to the pursuit of growth at a rapid pace". He said this was not a problem peculiar to Byju's, but the edtech sector as a whole.

 

Despite mounting criticism, he said, he doesn't see drastic change around the corner.

 

"Most of these complaints are anecdotal. And only a handful of them find a platform, if at all. When you put these complaints against the revenue that these start-ups are generating, it becomes a no-brainer."

 

But the clamour for regulation is growing.

 

Dr Aniruddha Malpani, a doctor, angel investor and vocal critic of Byju's business model, told the BBC the time is rife for a Beijing-style crackdown on edtech start-ups in India. China recently mandated that online tutoring firms must turn not-for-profit.  

 

The solution already exists, Dr Malpani believes. He says the Indian government should replicate the "Netflix model" to regulate the sector, referring to a monthly subscription model that has no minimum lock-in period.

 

"This would align interests immediately, because then, you make money by delighting your students on an ongoing basis."

 

The Indian government is yet to step in - but it may soon need to as parental grievances rise. Dr. Malpani says he is preparing to petition the courts asking the government regulate the sector.

 

"You see all these headline numbers, with so many millions raised and the world's most valuable ed-tech start up… All these are pointless vanity metrics," Dr Malpani said.  

 

"I think at some point we can't afford to forget that education like health care is a public good."-BBC

 

 

 

 

Uber prices could rise 20% after UK ruling

Uber has said it may soon have to start charging its UK customers VAT at 20%, after a High Court judgement, pushing up the cost of rides.

 

It comes after a judge ruled that UK private hire taxi operators must make contracts with their customers.

 

It could have far-reaching consequences for the industry and other private hire firms may also have to add VAT.

 

It follows a separate judgement this year which found Uber drivers should be treated as workers not contractors.

 

At the time, Lord Justice Leggatt suggested this ruling meant that a private hire operator such as Uber had to enter into a contract with its customers when it accepted a booking, rather than the passenger only having a contract with the driver of the vehicle.

 

Unlike most private drivers, Uber is a VAT-registered business, so this would oblige the ride-hailing firm to start charging the tax.

 

Uber went to the High Court seeking to challenge this, but the High Court has now upheld it.

 

A spokesperson for Uber said: "Every private hire operator in London will be impacted by this decision, and should comply with the Supreme Court verdict in full."

 

A spokesperson for Transport for London which regulates private hire operators in London said it "notes" the judgement.

 

"All operators will need to carefully consider the court's judgment and take steps to ensure that they comply with it, including considering whether any changes to their way of working are required," he added.

 

'Transform the minicab industry'

The case referred to the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 which only applies in the capital, but Uber and the App Drivers and Couriers Union, which was a defendant in the case, both expect the ruling to be followed by licencing authorities across the UK.

 

James Farrar, general secretary of the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU), said: "Rather than fix its broken business model, Uber was determined to double down on misclassification at the cost of worker rights, passenger safety and the avoidance of VAT.

 

"Our victory will now make misclassification unlawful, transform the London minicab industry for the better and finally eradicate sector wide worker rights abuses."-BBC

 

 

 

New York's workers must all have vaccine by 27 December

All New Yorkers will need to be vaccinated if they want to go to work, the city's mayor has announced.

 

Public sector employers already have to be inoculated, but the mandate will now be extended to all private sector employees, Bill de Blasio told MSNBC.

 

The policy will take effect on 27 December, he said.

 

"We in New York City have decided to use a pre-emptive strike," said Mr de Blasio, who leaves office at the end of December.

 

"We've got Omicron as a new factor, we've got the colder weather which is going to really create new challenges with the Delta variant, we've got holiday gatherings," he said.

 

"Vaccine mandates are the one thing that breaks through."

 

He said New York would be the first US city to mandate vaccines for private sector workers, affecting around 184,000 businesses.

 

A mandate for public sector workers which came into force earlier this autumn met vocal resistance, and led some employees to leave their jobs. However, rates of vaccination rose in response to the policy.

 

Ten cases of the new Omicron variant, which is thought to be more transmissable than previous strains of Covid, have been identified in New York City and the immediate surrounding region.

 

One person who tested positive for Omicron attended an anime convention in Manhattan on 23 November, mixing indoors with hundreds of other people.

 

Mr de Blasio said it should be assumed that there was already community spread of the variant in New York.

 

Rates of the virus in the city, at around 20 per 100,000, according to the New York Times' Covid data, is lower than the overall US average of 33 per 100,000, but has been rising over the past month,

 

Overall rates of vaccination across the US stand at 60% of the population. Around 69% of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated, although the rate varies widely between communities.

 

Mr de Blasio urged other US cities to follow his example.

 

"This would be my advice to mayors, governors, CEOs all over the country - use these vaccine mandates. The more universal they are, the more likely employees will say, OK it's time I'm going to do this, because you can't jump from one industry to another or one company to another. It's something that needs to be universal to protect all of us."

 

Mr de Blasio said he expected to receive cooperation from New York's business community, in the same way they had adopted and enforced vaccination requirements for eating indoors at restaurants, events and gyms. Further guidance on the new policy will be issued on 15 December.

 

President Biden's nationwide policy to mandate vaccines for the private sector has been stalled by opposition in Congress and the courts.

 

But dozens of private sector employers have already said staff must be vaccinated to return to office-based roles, from investment giants such as Morgan Stanley, Blackrock and Goldman Sachs, to the likes of McDonald's, Walgreens and Walmart.

 

Kathryn Wylde, president of the business organisation Partnership for New York City said the business community had been "blindsided" by the announcement.

 

"Inconsistent policies at the federal, state and city levels are not helpful and it is unclear who will enforce a mayoral mandate, and whether it is even legal," she said.

 

Joe Borelli, minority leader on New York City Council tweeted that he planned to mount a legal challenge to the plan.

 

We will have a lawsuit through our attorney partners ready to go as soon as the mandate is implemented, if not sooner. Just an fyi.

 

He said implementation of the policy would depend on the in-coming mayor Eric Adams.

 

In addition to the sweeping new mandate covering private employers, Mr de Blasio announced a toughening of the rules regulating entry to restaurants, bars and gyms.

 

Currently customers must prove they have received at least one dose of the vaccine. That will be changed to two, except for recipients of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Children under the age of 12 were previously exempt, but from 14 Dec will also be required to show proof of vaccination, now that the programme has been rolled out to include them.-BBC

 

 

 

Evergrande shares slump on renewed default fears

Fears about the future of Chinese property giant Evergrande Group have returned amid news it could default on its latest debt repayment.

 

Shares in the company, whose crisis has rippled through the wider property and banking sectors, plunged up to 20% on Monday to a record low.

 

In a statement over the weekend, Evergrande said it could not guarantee "to perform its financial obligations".

 

It has liabilities of £300bn (£226bn), including to firms outside China.

 

There were reports the property developer's billionaire founder Hui Ka Yan was summoned by Chinese officials to explain the latest situation.

 

Evergrande's statement said: "In light of the current liquidity status of the group, there is no guarantee that the group will have sufficient funds to continue to perform its financial obligations.

 

 

"The company received a demand to perform its obligations under a guarantee in the amount of approximately $260m.

 

"In the event that the group is unable to meet its guarantee obligations or certain other financial obligations, it may lead to creditors demanding acceleration of repayment."

 

Conita Hung, investment director at Tiger Faith Asset Management, said that despite Evergrande trying to sell assets for months in an attempt to repay debts, the latest statement suggested the company was going to "surrender and need help".

 

"This sends a very bad signal," she said, adding that Evergrande's problems will take years to resolve even with help from the Chinese government.

 

Over the weekend, the central bank, banking and insurance regulator and securities regulator also released statements, saying risk to the property sector could be contained.

 

China's booming housing and commercial property market prompted Xi Jinping's government in Beijing to restrict reckless lending to a sector that some experts feared faced collapse.

 

Evergrande was one of a number of developers starved of cash due to the regulatory curbs on borrowing, but this led to offshore debt defaults, credit-rating downgrades and sell-offs in developers' shares and bonds.

 

To stem the turmoil, in October regulators urged banks to relax lending for developers and allow property firms to raise more money from investors.

 

On Monday, smaller property developer Sunshine 100 China Holdings said it had defaulted on a $170m debt payment "owing to liquidity issues arising from the adverse impact of a number of factors including the macroeconomic environment and the real estate industry".-BBC

 

 

 

Bitcoin back over $50,000, as market calms after weekend turmoil

Bitcoin rose 1.5% in early Asia on Tuesday, after firming overnight in line with equity markets and other risk assets, but many crypto traders remained on edge after Saturday's sharp and sudden plunge.

 

The world's largest cryptocurrency was last around $50,800, having closed a choppy day on Monday 2.2% higher.

 

 

"The general confidence in crypto is still high and market sentiment is coming back as we saw a general risk-on mood on Monday. Omicron’s effect looks a lot milder than the market has digested," said Edison Pun, senior market analyst at Saxo Markets in Hong Kong.

 

Tuesday's calm followed quite a storm.

 

 

Bitcoin fell as much as 22% to just under $42,000 on Saturday on a combination of profit-taking and macro-economic concerns, but rebounded somewhat later in the session, with thin weekend liquidity exacerbating price moves. read more

 

Cryptocurrency analysts were not quite sure what triggered the heavy selling. But they pointed to a plunge in margin borrowing and in fresh futures positions, as well as to activity by large holders of bitcoin as evidence of mass liquidation.

 

That crash was the biggest since a 31% collapse in bitcoin's price on May 19. According to cryptocurrency analytics platform Coinglass, bitcoin's market capitalisation has fallen to about $932 billion from $1.25 trillion on Oct. 21.

 

Bitcoin set a new record high of $69,000 on Nov. 10.

 

Ether , the world's second largest cryptocurrency, was last down 0.3% to $4,340.

 

Against its larger peer, ether sat at 0.085 bitcoin, just off Monday's near four year top.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Toyota embracing small flaws as supply chain pressures bite

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) on Tuesday said it is happy to use scratched or blemished parts from suppliers as the world's biggest car producer tries to trim costs amid a production-curbing global chip shortage and rising material costs.

 

Toyota's acceptance of good enough by using parts it would have thrown away in the past marks a significant change both for a company renowned for stringent quality control and for Japanese manufacturing practices that often prioritised perfection over speed to market.

 

"We are careful about the outside of our vehicles, the parts you can easily see. But there are plenty of places that people don't notice unless they really take a good look," Takefumi Shiga, Toyota's chief project leader for vehicle development said during a press briefing.

 

Toyota last month raised its operating profit outlook 12% for the year ending March 31, helped by favourable currency rates. It warned, however, that a shortage of semiconductors which was curbing production and increasing material costs were hurting its underlying profitability.

 

Shiga and other Toyota engineers are expanding a programme begun in 2019 to meet component suppliers, even third tier ones, to assure them that scratches or blemishes are acceptable as long as they do not affect vehicles safety and performance, and are unlikely to be noticed by car buyers.

 

"It requires some courage on their part," Shiga said.

 

A visit to a company making plastic seat belt parts reduced the number of those component being rejected by three-quarters, he added.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Some Evergrande bondholders not received overdue coupon payments -sources

(Reuters) - Some offshore bondholders of China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) did not receive coupon payments by the end of a 30-day grace period on Monday New York time, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

 

A failure to make $82.5 million in interest payments that had been due last month could represent the developer's first offshore default on a public bond.

 

Such a default would trigger cross-defaults on all the company's about $19 billion of bonds in international capital markets and put Evergrande at risk of becoming China's biggest-ever defaulter, which would ripple through the property sector and beyond, further rattling global investor confidence.

 

Earlier on Tuesday morning, Evergrande saw its stock claw back as much as 8.3%, after losing 20% a day before.

 

On Monday, the developer said it had established a risk-management committee that included officials from state entities to assist in "mitigating and eliminating the future risks". read more

 

That came after it earlier said creditors had demanded $260 million and that it could not guarantee funds to repay debt. That prompted authorities to summon its chairman and reassure markets that broader risk could be contained. read more

 

Unlike a couple of months ago, the Evergrande fallout had been broadly contained inside China and with policymakers in Beijing becoming more vocal and markets more familiar, the consequences of its troubles will be less widely felt, investors have said. read more

 

By midday Tuesday, Evergrande stock - which hit a record low on Monday - had trimmed gains to 0.6%, leaving it at HK$1.82.

 

Notes due Nov. 6, 2022, - one of two tranches nearing payment deadline - traded at 18.282 cents on the dollar, Duration Finance data showed, little changed from Monday.

 

Other issuance including a 2024 bond were trading at record lows.

 

SELL OFF

 

The firm is just one of a number of developers starved of liquidity due to regulatory curbs on borrowing, prompting offshore debt default and credit-rating downgrades, while investors have sold off developers' shares and bonds.

 

Smaller peer Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd (1638.HK) - China's largest offshore debtor among developers after Evergrande - also risks defaulting on a $400 million bond maturing on Tuesday having failed to make a deal with bondholders.

 

To avoid an overall default, bondholders owning over 50% of 6.5% notes due Dec. 7 sent Kaisa draft terms of forbearance late on Monday to work toward a solution, a person with direct knowledge of the matter old Reuters. Kaisa started discussing forbearance with bondholders last week, the person said.

 

Another person with direct knowledge said discussions are at preliminary stages and that it will take time to finalise terms.

 

The people declined to be identified as the information was confidential.

 

Responding to Reuters' request for comment, Kaisa said it is open to discussion on forbearance, without elaborating.

 

Sources previously told Reuters that the bondholders, had offered Kaisa $2 billion in funding last month but that no major progress on the offer was made. read more

 

Shares of Kaisa - the first Chinese developer to default on an offshore bond in 2015 - rose 3.3% on Tuesday.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Samsung Elec to merge mobile and consumer electronics divisions

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) said on Tuesday it will merge its mobile and consumer electronics divisions and named new co-CEOs in its biggest reshuffle since 2017, to simplify its structure and focus on growing its logic chip business.

 

The sweeping move is the latest sign of centralised change at the world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker, after Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee was paroled in August from a bribery conviction.

 

The head of visual display business, Han Jong-hee, was promoted to vice chairman and co-CEO, and will lead the newly merged division spanning mobile and consumer electronics as well as continuing to lead the TV business.

 

Han has risen through the ranks in Samsung's visual display business, without experience in mobile. Analysts said it was unclear what kind of changes or divisions of labour are expected under Han.

 

Kyung Kye-hyun, CEO of Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS), was named co-CEO of Samsung Electronics and will lead the chip and components division.

 

The newly merged businesses differ in size. The mobile business reported 3.36 trillion won ($2.84 billion) in operating profit in the July-September quarter, compared to consumer electronics' 760 billion won.

 

The reshuffle could help Samsung deal with challenges facing in its mobile and consumer electronics businesses, including better connecting devices to appliances on a platform which captures and keeps customers, Yuanta Securities Korea analyst Lee Jae-yun said.

 

But more immediate problems are the shortage of chip supplies, rising raw material prices, logistics difficulties, and competition from Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Chinese rivals.

 

Other high-profile promotions included naming as vice chairman Chung Hyun-ho, the head of a "task force" which analysts said is a central coordination unit for decision-making in Samsung Electronics and affiliate companies.

 

"There may be more prompt execution of funds or decision-making," said Kim Sun-woo, an analyst at Meritz Securities.

 

The last time Samsung Electronics named new division heads was in late 2017.

 

Samsung Group is focusing on areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics and biopharmaceuticals, and plans to invest 240 trillion won ($206 billion) in these fields in the next three years. read more

 

Group flagship Samsung Electronics is aiming to overtake TSMC (2330.TW) to become No. 1 in chip contract manufacturing by 2030 by investing about $150 billion into logic chip businesses including foundries.

 

Late last month, Samsung chose Taylor, Texas as the site of a planned $17 billion U.S. chip plant after months of deliberation, coinciding with Lee's first business trip to the United States in five years. read more

 

Shares in Samsung Electronics rose 1.6% compared to a 0.4% rise in the wider market (.KS11).

 

($1 = 1,183.1500 won)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Tesla's Musk says Biden's EV bill shouldn't pass

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the U.S. Congress should not approve the Biden administration's bill to boost subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs), saying the proposal would worsen the country's budget deficit.

 

The billionaire entrepreneur is escalating criticism about the administration and Democrats for a proposal to give union-made, U.S.-built electric vehicles an additional $4,500 tax incentive. Tesla and foreign automakers do not have unions at their U.S. factories.

 

 

"Honestly, it might be better if the bill doesn't pass," Musk said at the WSJ CEO Council Summit.

 

"I'm literally saying get rid of all subsidies," he said, adding that the government should I think just try to get out of the way and not impede progress."

 

He also reiterated opposition to a proposal by Democrats to tax billionaires. "It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill ... and give it to, you know, an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government."

 

Musk also said his brain-chip startup, Neuralink hopes to begin human trials next year pending approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "I think we have a chance with Neuralink of being able to restore full body functionality to someone who has a spinal cord injury."

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Asia stocks bounce from one-year low, China gains on monetary easing

(Reuters) - Asian shares staged a recovery on Tuesday on receding worries about the impact of the Omicron variant while Chinese markets were supported by the central bank easing monetary policy.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) advanced 1.3% and was on course for its biggest jump in two months, after declining on Monday to the lowest level in one year.

 

Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.5% and FTSE futures put on 0.08% in early trade, indicating a firm market open after European stocks ended higher on Monday.

 

China's CSI300 index (.CSI300) gained 0.6% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) advanced 1.7% as the central bank freed up $188 billion in liquidity through a policy easing. read more

 

"With this cut, policymakers are demonstrating a more forceful approach to prevent an all-out property market rout," David Chao, global market strategist, Asia Pacific, ex-Japan, at Invesco said in a note.

 

The People's Bank of China said on Monday it would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold in reserve, its second such move this year, releasing the funds in long-term liquidity to bolster slowing economic growth.

 

China is in a mid-cycle slowdown and the RRR cut is exactly what the economy needs to get back on track, said Chao. "It's feasible that more RRR cuts are in store over the next year in order to stabilize growth," he added.

 

Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX200 (.AXJO) rose 0.95%, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) advanced 2.1% as risk-on sentiment pushed markets higher.

 

MSCI's main Asia ex-Japan benchmark has lost about 5% so far this year, with Hong Kong markets figuring among the big losers, while Indian (.BSESN) and Taiwanese stocks (.TWII) outperformed.

 

Shares in embattled developer Evergrande (3333.HK) edged up 1.7% after hitting a record low on Monday as markets awaited to see if the real estate giant has paid $82.5 million with a 30-day grace period coming to an end.

 

Elsewhere, markets were supported by gains on Wall Street, where economically sensitive stocks outperformed.

 

"While epidemiologists have rightly warned against premature conclusions on Omicron, markets arguably surmised that last week's brutal sell-off ought to have been milder," Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, said in a note.

 

"After all, early assessments of Omicron cases have been declared mild, spurring half-full relief."

 

Omicron has spread to about a third of U.S. states, but the Delta version accounts for the majority of COVID-19 infections in the United States, health officials said on Sunday. read more

 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, told CNN it does not look like Omicron has a "great degree of severity."

 

Stocks on Wall Street closed higher on Monday.

 

The risk-on mood also helped the dollar climb against safe haven currencies such as the Japanese yen, , which lost 0.6% overnight, while the risk-friendly Australian dollar also found buyers.

 

Also supporting the dollar was the expectation the Federal Reserve will accelerate the tapering of its bond-buying program when it meets next week in response to a tightening labour market.

 

Oil prices ticked higher, consolidating a nearly 5% rebound the day before as concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant on global fuel demand eased.

 

Brent crude futures strengthened 0.9% to $73.7 a barrel, after settling 4.6% higher on Monday.

 

Gold prices were steady at $1,778.5 per ounce on expectations U.S. consumer price data due later this week will show inflation quickening.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Intel plans to take self-driving car unit Mobileye public

(Reuters) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) said on Monday it plans to take self-driving-car unit Mobileye public in the United States in mid-2022, a deal which could value the Israeli unit at more than $50 billion, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

 

Chip giant Intel, the largest employer of Israel's high-tech industry with nearly 14,000 workers, expects to retain Mobileye's executive team and hold on to a majority ownership in the unit after the initial public offering (IPO) of newly issued Mobileye stock.

 

Intel has no intention to divest or spin off its majority ownership in Mobileye, the company said in a statement, adding that it will continue to provide technical resources to the automaker.

 

The partnership continues to yield strong revenue along with free cash flow to Mobileye that allows funding of the autonomous vehicle development, Mobileye Chief Executive Officer Amnon Shashua said in a release.

 

"Amnon and I determined that an IPO provides the best opportunity to build on Mobileye's track record for innovation and unlock value for shareholders," Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in the statement.

 

Gelsinger has been under pressure from activist investors such as Third Point LLC to consider spinning off its costly chip manufacturing operations, even as the company has looked to expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity in the United States and Europe amid a global semiconductor shortage. read more

 

Intel bought Mobileye for $15.3 billion in 2017, putting it into direct competition with rivals Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) and Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) to develop driverless systems for global automakers.

 

Carmakers, including General Motors (GM.N), Ford (F.N) and Toyota (7203.T), are racing to shift from gasoline-powered lineups to all electric power and have invested significantly on models with features such as driver-assist technology and self-driving system.

 

Mobileye, founded in 1999, has taken a different strategy from many of its self-driving car competitors, with a current camera-based system that helps cars with adaptive cruise control and lane change assistance. read more

 

The company plans to eventually build its own "lidar" sensor to help its cars map out a three-dimensional view of the road and is using lidar units from Luminar Technologies (LAZR.O) on its initial robotaxis in the meantime.

 

Despite being owned by Intel, Mobileye has never used Intel's factories to make its chips, instead relying on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) for all of its "EyeQ" chips to date.

 

The Wall Street Journal first reported Intel's intent to list the shares.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

U.S. financial regulators investigate Trump social media deal

(Reuters) - Wall Street's top financial regulators are investigating former U.S. President Donald Trump's $1.25 billion deal to float his new social media venture on the stock market, a filing showed.

 

Digital World Acquisition Corp, the blank-check acquisition firm that agreed to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (TMTG), disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) were probing the deal.

 

TMTG did not respond to requests for comment.

 

Digital World said the SEC asked for documents in early November relating to communications between Digital World and TMTG, meetings of Digital World's board, policies and procedures relating to trading, the identification of banking, telephone, and email addresses and the identities of certain investors.

 

The SEC stated in its request that its investigation does not mean the regulator has concluded that anyone violated the law, Digital World added.

 

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren had asked the SEC to investigate TMTG's proposed merger with Digital World (DWAC.O) over potential violations of securities laws, including whether they had sufficiently disclosed when deal talks began. read more

 

The SEC declined to comment on Monday.

 

The investigations come amid excitement among Trump supporters and retail investors over the planned deal. Frantic trading of Digital World's shares has driven TMTG's valuation from $875 million in October to close to $4 billion.

 

Digital World, whose shares ended trading on Wednesday down 2.6% at $43.81, said FINRA had asked for details in late October and early November about "surrounding events," including a review of trading, that preceded the announcement of the merger.

 

A Reuters review of trading data showed unusual activity on Oct. 20 ahead of the merger's announcement later that day. Over 1 million warrants, worth a total of around $500,000, were traded, compared with only 119,000 warrants on Oct. 19, according to Refinitiv data.

 

FINRA said in its request that its inquiry should not be construed as an indication that any violations of Nasdaq rules or federal securities laws have occurred, Digital World added.

 

FINRA declined to comment.

 

TOTAL PROCEEDS

 

TMTG said on Saturday it had entered into agreements to raise about $1 billion from a group of unidentified investors, bringing the deal's total proceeds to $1.25 billion.

 

But TMTG will receive this money only if the deal is completed. A vote required for Digital World shareholders to approve the transaction has yet to be scheduled.

 

Some on Wall Street have been reluctant to associate with Trump, and the Digital World filings did not disclose which investors backed the $1 billion fundraising.

 

Trump was banned from top social media platforms after the Jan. 6 attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol amid concerns he would inspire further violence.

 

The Capitol attack was based on unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in last year's presidential election.

 

With the exception of Trump being named TMTG chairman, the company had not identified any of its top executives until Monday, when it announced that Devin Nunes would step down as a U.S. representative to join as its CEO in January. read more

 

Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, has been one of Trump's staunchest allies in Congress.

 

In its first financial projections since the announcement of the merger, Digital World said it expected the average revenue per user of Trump's social media app, TRUTH Social, to grow to $13.50 in 2026, with 81 million total users.

 

That is despite the app not having reached even trial mode. TMTG plans to launch the beta version of Truth Social in the first quarter of 2022.

 

Digital World also said it expected TMTG to reach 40 million total subscribers by 2026. By comparison, social media platform Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) has over 200 million daily active users.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

National Unity Day

 

December 22

 


 

Christmas Day

 

December 25

 


 

Boxing Day

 

December 26

 


 

Public Holiday in lieu of Boxing Day falling on a Sunday

 

December 27

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


ART

PPC

 

 


Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

 


Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


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

 


 

 

 

 

 

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