Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 10 December 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 10 December 2021 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  UK warns US of retaliation over steel tariffs

ü  Starbucks to get its first unionised US store since 1980s

ü  Spam sales hit record high for seventh year in a row

ü  Football fans spending millions on club crypto-tokens

ü  HS2 agrees £2bn deal to build UK's fastest trains

ü  Global supply chain: Lego to build $1bn factory in Vietnam

ü  Stagflation at hand? Inflation, check. Stagnant growth not so much

ü  Daimler Truck shares climb on Frankfurt market debut

ü  Microsoft set to win EU antitrust nod for $16 bln Nuance deal, sources
say

ü  Royal Dutch Shell shareholders back plan to shift to London

ü  Asian shares slip ahead of key U.S. inflation data

ü  Japan hammers out tax reform to boost wages under "new capitalism" plan

ü  Toyota halts more production in Japan as parts run out

ü  China Evergrande chairman's stake drops to 59.8% on forced selling
-filing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

UK warns US of retaliation over steel tariffs

The International Trade Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, has warned the US
the UK could step up retaliatory measures if punitive tariffs on UK steel
exports are not lifted soon.

 

She has been in the US for talks with the Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

 

On her return, Ms Trevelyan said "we had a very frank conversation".

 

"I was very clear that the pressures we are under to use countervailing
measures if we can't solve the problem are becoming more acute," she said.

 

Ms Trevelyan said she had invited Ms Raimondo to London for further talks on
the issue in January. But by then, UK companies will be at a competitive
disadvantage compared to companies based in the EU.

 

"I am very keen that we solve this with what is our closest ally in the US
through a positive removal" of the tariffs, Ms Trevelyan said.

 

She said that resolving the dispute would benefit workers and businesses on
both sides of the Atlantic.

 

The Trump-era tariffs of 25% on steel exports (and 10% on aluminium exports)
were imposed when the UK was part of the European Union.

 

The EU and the US have now concluded an agreement that will see them lifted
from 1 January. But the tariffs on UK producers remain.

 

When asked why further talks with the US weren't happening before 1 January,
Ms Trevelyan said the US chose to have a discussion with the EU first
because it was a larger trading partner.

 

If the issue isn't resolved quickly, the UK could increase existing
retaliatory tariffs on products such as US whisky and cosmetics.

 

It could also broaden the scope of the retaliatory measures to include other
items, including lobsters, electric motors and orange juice.

 

US President Joe Biden has so far refused to cancel the measures put in
place by his predecessor.

 

Hopes of a post-Brexit US free trade deal have waned after Mr Biden said
such agreements were not a priority while he focuses on his domestic agenda.

 

There have been breakthroughs, however. In June the UK and EU reached deals
with the US to suspend tariffs for five years over subsidies given to
aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing.-BBC

 

 

Starbucks to get its first unionised US store since 1980s

Staff at one Starbucks coffee shop in New York state have voted to establish
the first labour union at one of the chain's own stores since the 1980s.

 

Out of a staff of 27, 19 voted in favour at Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo.

 

Despite the small numbers involved, the vote is likely to rattle the giant
coffee chain brand.

 

Starbucks had pulled out all the stops to persuade staff to vote against
unionising, including flying in top executives.

 

Campaigners for the union gathered in Buffalo to watch the vote be counted
via Zoom and cheered as the result was announced.

 

However staff at a second Buffalo store voted against establishing a union.
The vote at a third is not yet resolved as some of the ballots are under
review. In all, about 100 baristas and supervisors took part.

 

Starbucks workers in Buffalo began the campaign to unionise in August,
saying they were overworked, but not listened to by the company.

 

The mobile app in particular has added to their workload, they said, by
enabling multiple complicated orders to arrive in quick succession, which
they are then under time pressure to fulfil.

 

The vote could set a precedent at the coffee chain, which has more than
8,000 company-owned stores across the US, none of which have been unionised
since the 1980s.

 

Staff at three further locations in Buffalo and one store in Arizona have
already applied to unionise.

 

'Bullying and intimidation'

The vote was held in the face of an all-out campaign by the company over the
last four months to persuade staff to vote no.

 

Executives, and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, were flown into Buffalo to
lobby employees. They held meetings, sometimes individually with staff, and
sent texts asking them to vote "no".

 

According to Workers United, the union to which the new Starbucks branch
will be affiliated, the Buffalo stores were flooded with out-of-town
Starbucks managers to try to discourage discussion of the issue among staff.

 

This amounted, the union said, to a campaign of "bullying and intimidation".

 

The coffee chain, which recently announced that it would be lifting its
minimum wage to $15 an hour by next summer, has stressed that it is not
anti-union, but argued that the issues raised by workers did not justify
establishing a union.

 

Starbucks had said having to deal with a union would complicate the
company's ability to respond quickly to its workers' needs.

 

"We want every partner to love working at Starbucks. We will keep finding
new and better ways to continue leading on wages and benefits, improve our
listening and active partnership, and keep building a company that matters,"
Rossann Williams, president of Starbucks North America, said in a letter to
Starbucks employees after the vote.

 

'Rose-tinted'

Starbucks, which describes its staff as "partners", offers better pay and
conditions than many service sector outlets, including healthcare benefits,
equity in the form of stock, paid parental leave and free online college
tuition.

 

It also reflects the progressive values of many of its staff with Fairtrade
initiatives and anti-racism training.

 

"I think that a lot of us have a rose-tinted view coming into Starbucks
because of those things," said Casey Moore, 25, who works at one of the
Buffalo stores that has not yet voted. "The reality when you're in the
stores is quite different.

 

"I've left crying because of the way customers treat us. They treat us like
coffee robots."

 

She said Starbucks' focus on productivity had led to compromises on staff
safety in relation to Covid.

 

"The pandemic was a catalyst, for certain," said Michelle Eisen, who has
worked at Starbucks for more than a decade.

 

"But working conditions began to decline before that," Ms Eisen said, adding
that she is paid only $1.20 more per hour than new hires.

 

In August, staff at several Buffalo stores said their workload had become
untenable because of absences and high customer demand.

 

"We acknowledge there are some great benefits [at Starbucks]. The main issue
is we don't have a voice. There's no accountability when we do have a
problem," said Will Westlake, a 24-year-old barista who has worked at the
Camp Road Starbucks in Buffalo since May this year.

 

Taking action

The vote comes against a backdrop of growing influence from the US labour
movement.

 

With many firms struggling to recruit enough staff, workers are in an
unusually strong position when asking for enhanced rights or higher pay.

 

Support for unions has risen to a 50-year high, according to a poll
conducted by Gallup in August. It showed 68% of Americans now approve of
labour unions.

 

Industrial action has interrupted work at a range of firms in the last few
months, including cereal maker Kellogg's, tractor manufacturing firm John
Deere, snacks makers Mondelez and Frito-Lay and the McDonald's burger chain.

 

Buffalo, New York state's second largest city, has a history of strong
support for the labour movement, with a higher proportion of workers
unionised than in most parts of the US.-BBC

 

 

 

Spam sales hit record high for seventh year in a row

Sales of the canned cooked meat Spam have hit a record high for the seventh
year in a row, despite pandemic-related challenges.

 

That helped Hormel, the company that makes the iconic brand, deliver record
sales of $3.5bn (£2.65bn) in the three months to the end of October.

 

The firm's boss said it will start work on expanding its range of Spam
products next year.

 

Hormel's shares rose by almost 6% in New York on Thursday.

 

"The Spam brand delivered its seventh consecutive year of record growth,"
Hormel's chief executive Jim Snee said on a conference call with investors.

 

"We are also beginning work on another expansion for the Spam family of
products scheduled to be operational in 2023," he added.

 

Hormel, which completed its takeover of the Planters peanut brand in June,
saw sales rise by 19% to $11.4bn for the year as a whole.

 

That came even as the company was faced with supply chain issues during the
coronavirus pandemic.

 

To help limit the impact of supply issues in the future Hormel said it has
signed a new five-year contract for supplies of pork, the main ingredient in
Spam.

 

Asia popularity

Outside the US, Spam has a large international market, especially in the
Asia-Pacific region.

 

It has been a household name in Hawaii since it was introduced in 1937.

 

It can be found on menus across the islands, as Spam musubi - a sushi-like
dish - Spam fried rice, and the popular breakfast - Spam, eggs, and rice.

 

In South Korea, it was introduced by the US army during the Korean War, when
food was scarce.

 

Today, Spam is so much a part of South Korean culture, that it is the staple
ingredient in one of the country's favourite dishes: budae jjigae, or army
stew.

 

Tins of Spam are even given as presents for the Lunar New Year, sometimes
presented in gift-boxes as part of special promotion for the holiday.

 

Hormel is based in the US state of Minnesota and operates in more than 80
countries worldwide.

 

As well as Spam and Planters, its brands include Natural Choice and
Applegate meat products and Skippy peanut butter.-BBC

 

 

 

Football fans spending millions on club crypto-tokens

Football clubs have potentially made hundreds of millions of pounds selling
controversial crypto "fan tokens".

 

Analysis commissioned by BBC News estimates more than £262m ($350m) has been
spent on the virtual currencies.

 

Some of the tokens are marketed as offering real-world perks to the buyer.

 

But critics say these perks are insignificant - one offered the chance to
vote for songs to be played in stadiums - and clubs have insufficient
protection for supporters.

 

Club-specific crypto-currency

So far, across the five major European leagues 24 different clubs have
launched or are considering fan tokens, including eight Premier League
sides.

 

Most offer tokens akin to a club-specific crypto-currency - virtual coins
can be bought and sold and their value rise and fall depending on supply and
demand.

 

Some clubs, such as Manchester City, also sell digital collectibles known as
NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

 

Most of the clubs offering fan tokens have signed up to a company called
Socios that organises the initial sale and subsequent trading of the virtual
coins - but other platforms, including Binance and Bitci, are growing too.

 

Socios told BBC News it had sold $270m-300m worth of coins through its app.
It would not say how much money goes directly to clubs.

 

Buyers must first convert their money into the company's own
crypto-currency, Chiliz.

 

The research, by crypto-analysts Protos, suggests many buyers are
speculatively trading their tokens like other crypto-currencies in an
attempt to make money.

 

But the value of many fan tokens had decreased since they were initially
sold by the clubs.

 

BBC News asked every Premier League team and some major European sides about
their plans for, and views on, the new trend.

 

Only one was happy to comment.

 

A Brighton and Hove Albion spokesman said: "We have not sold these products
and have no plans to enter these markets."

 

Since crypto-currency products are based on a public ledger, known as the
blockchain, Protos was able to determine:

 

the tokens of two clubs, Inter Milan and Turkish side Trabzonspor, had
increased in value more than Bitcoin over the past year

"Fan tokens are being traded more actively than you'd expect for this type
of fan-engagement product," Protos director of news David Canellis said.

 

"Generally, small crypto-currencies like these fan tokens can be incredibly
volatile due to the small amount of people who want to trade them.

 

"Speculators know this, so I would consider much of the trade in fan-token
markets to be powered purely by speculators seeking short-term profits."

 

Individual buyers

Another criticism of the current system is clubs hold on to the vast
majority of tokens, rather than selling them to fans, which distorts the
market.

 

The value of tokens held by the top 13 clubs together exceeds $1.9bn - but
individual buyers currently hold only $376m worth.

 

On average, clubs control 80% of their fan tokens' supply.

 

"Clubs themselves must balance not selling too much at once" Mr Canellis
said.

 

"If they sell too much at once, they run the risk of crashing the price.

 

"We can clearly see this happening with the Lazio, FC Porto, Santos FC, and
Manchester City sales."

 

Football supporters

Some fan groups are also worried about exploitation.

 

"My knowledge of the crypto market is sketchy to say the least - and I'm
probably representative of a large number of run-of-the-mill football
supporters who are not traders on the crypto market," Sue Watson, who chairs
the West Ham United Supporters Trust, told the BBC News's Tech Tent podcast.

 

"It's not regulated, it's not secure and I question what protection clubs
have in place for their supporters."

 

The Socios app has club-token information organised like other crypto
marketplaces, with price fluctuations displayed and prominent buy and sell
buttons.

 

But Max Rabinovitch, from Socios, said the system was designed to reward
fans who held on to tokens rather than trading them.

 

Meaningful perks

Offers such as "permanent 5% discounts in the digital shop, possibilities to
win tickets" were more important to fans than making "five or ten bucks"
selling their tokens, he said.

 

"There's no value to be had from trading," Mr Rabinovitch said.

 

"If you want to gather up loyalty points for a team, if you want to vote for
the team, you always have that token to use.

 

"The entire point is buy it and hold it."

 

But he wants clubs to offer more meaningful perks than votes on minor issues
such as "what song should we play in the stadium as the players walk out".

 

Digital animations

Another way clubs are getting into crypto products is through NFTs or
Non-fungible Tokens.

 

Manchester City, Rangers and Juventus have all issued official NFTs, with
some spending tens of thousands on these unique digital images and videos
with built in code representing owenrship.

 

One, millionaire NFT collector Mike Bousis, said he had spent about $40,000
on five of these.

 

"When I saw the release of Manchester City NFTs, I had to have it," Mr
Bousis said.

 

"I always liked Man City - I like the team, their flash and pizzazz - and I
thought it was a cool thing to buy and to have.

 

"I own it - it's mine, I can display it anywhere I like - and it's a piece
of art."

 

The National Basketball Association (NBA), in the US, was one of the first
sports organisations to sell NFTs, offering video clips of basketball games.

 

But Protos research shows the value of these TopShot NFTs has dropped by 90%
since early 2021.

 

Companies such as Sorare are also offering collectable and playable
football-player cards as NFTs

 

These are increasing in popularity, with $142m spent by fans since their
launch, in April 2019, Protos data shows.

 

And sale prices have stayed steady all year.

 

But football writer Martin Calladine said supporters should be cautious
about investing in NFTs - and fan tokens.

 

'Making money'

"The thing about crypto-currency is it's unregulated," he said.

 

"It's the only product being endorsed in football which has no legal
oversight.

 

"Don't buy into it because you sense that it could be a way of making money.

 

"Some people are going to be making a lot of money out of it - but it almost
certainly isn't going to be the average football fan on the street."-BBC

 

 

 

HS2 agrees £2bn deal to build UK's fastest trains

HS2 has signed a £2bn contract with Hitachi and Alstom to build the fastest
trains manufactured in the UK.

 

The deal to make 54 trains for the controversial high-speed network will
support or create 2,500 jobs in the UK, a statement said.

 

The 225mph trains will start production at Hitachi's plant at Newton
Aycliffe, County Durham, and be finished at Alstom's Derby and Crewe sites.

 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it marked Britain's rail revolution

 

The project will build on Japanese bullet train technology, as well as
European high-speed network expertise, to create some of the fastest,
quietest and most energy-efficient trains in the world, the HS2 statement
said.

 

The first stages, including vehicle body assembly and initial fit-out, will
be done at Hitachi's UK rail factory. The second stage of fit-out and
testing will be done by Alstom.

 

The first train is expected to roll off the production line around 2027, and
after testing the first passengers could be carried between two and six
years later.

 

Mr Shapps said: "Today's announcement places Britain firmly at the forefront
of the high-speed rail revolution with a billion pound investment in
state-of-the-art trains serving communities right across the country from
London to Glasgow.

 

"Not only does this show we are getting on with delivering better and faster
journeys through our plans to upgrade the rail network, this is another
landmark step in the delivery of HS2, sustaining 2,500 jobs and levelling up
employment and leisure opportunities for generations to come."

 

Each train will be around 200m (656ft) long, with the option to couple two
units together to create a 400m (1,312ft) long train with up to 1,100 seats.

 

The trains will be able to run on the new HS2 network as well as existing
lines, and will halve many journey times between major cities.

 

HS2's deal with Hitachi and Alstom had been subject to a legal challenge by
rival manufacturer Siemens. It has been reported that Siemens will now seek
damages over the procurement process, and HS2 will "robustly" defend itself.

 

HS2 is a massive project intended to create high-speed rail links between
London and major cities in the Midlands and North of England.

 

Last month the government scrapped the Leeds leg as part of a package that
ministers insisted would will transform services.

 

The Integrated Rail Plan won support from some business leaders, and
anti-HS2 groups. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced criticism that he
had reneged on investment promises to the Midlands and north of England.-BBC

 

 

 

Global supply chain: Lego to build $1bn factory in Vietnam

Lego has announced plans to build a new manufacturing operation in Vietnam
to keep up with growing demand for its products in Asia.

 

The toymaking giant said it will invest more than $1bn (£760m) in the
project, which will be near the country's main business hub of Ho Chi Minh
City.

 

It will be the Danish company's second factory in Asia after it opened a
plant in China five years ago.

 

The firm has seen double-digit growth in the region since 2019.

 

"We are very grateful for the support of the Vietnamese government in
helping us achieve our ambition to build our first carbon neutral factory,"
Lego's chief operations officer Carsten Rasmussen said in a statement.

 

Construction on the site is due to start next year, with plans to match its
energy consumption with solar panels on its roof and on a nearby farm.

 

 

Production at the plant is set to begin in 2024 and is expected to create up
to 4,000 jobs over the next 15 years.

 

It is the latest development in Lego's decade-long strategy of building
production plants close to key markets, and comes after companies around the
world have faced global supply chain issues during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

"This provides the flexibility to respond quickly to shifts in local
consumer demand, shortens the supply chain, and reduces the environmental
impact of shipping long distances," the company said.

 

Although the company also said that its decision to build the plant in
Vietnam had not been accelerated by recent supply chain disruptions, some
experts have said it can be a lesson to other companies struggling to get
their products to customers.

 

"What they're doing is what we should have done a long, long time ago, which
is hedge our bets. If you see demand coming from a certain direction, you've
got to have alternatives," according to Paula Rosenblum, managing partner of
RSR Research.

 

However, the past two years have been challenging for some multinational
companies with manufacturing facilities Vietnam.

 

Production at some of Nike's largest plants in the country was disrupted as
Covid-19 spread through factories.

 

Some logistics experts think the difficulties faced by Vietnam in recent
months could help it deal with similar challenges in the future.

 

"Vietnam has learnt a lot in terms of balancing the risk of Covid outbreaks
and maintaining production capacity during the last wave," Megan Benger at
consultancy TMX said.

 

"We believe that these learnings will likely hold the country in good stead
in the event of future outbreaks," she added.-BBC

 

 

 

Stagflation at hand? Inflation, check. Stagnant growth not so much

(Reuters) - The rise of a new coronavirus variant has raised fears of a
double-barreled hit to the U.S. economy of slowing growth and still-high
inflation as supply chains stutter, local governments consider new
restrictions and consumers assess the health risks of everything from dining
out and traveling to returning to work.

 

But economists so far see the risk of "stagflation" - that toxic blend of
weak growth and strong inflation so feared by policymakers - as only
half-baked.

 

 

Prices are rising, in the United States more notably than elsewhere, and the
pace has proved more persistent than policymakers anticipated. Growth,
though, is far from stagnating, and seems on track to continue next year at
an above-average pace that could push the United States to full employment
in a matter of months.

 

Some forecasters have tempered their predictions for growth in U.S. gross
domestic product because of the new variant. But those revisions have been
modest, and high-frequency data on U.S. airline travel and metrics like
restaurant visits and credit card spending so far show no obvious change in
recent weeks as case counts rose and, more recently, the Omicron variant was
identified.

 

"We are not going to see stagflation. We are going to see an inflationary
boom," with strong growth continuing and the pace of price increases already
prompting the Fed to reorient policy towards containing inflation, said
Glenn Hubbard, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under former
President George Bush and now a Columbia University economics professor.

 

A Reuters poll of economists showed a median forecast of 3.9% growth for the
United States in 2022, unchanged from November and about double the rate of
underlying trend growth estimated by the Federal Reserve and many private
forecasters. read more

 

Federal Reserve policymakers will issue their own new forecasts next week in
a meeting expected to begin more urgent preparation to assure inflation
remains under control. Those forecasts will likely describe an economy
nearing full employment next year and continuing to grow faster than was the
norm before the pandemic.

 

The November unemployment rate of 4.2% is already well below the 4.8% level
projected by Fed officials in September, and near the 4% rate considered
sustainable over the long run.

 

'BOOMING' ECONOMY

 

Policymakers will also account for stronger-than-expected inflation by
likely flagging faster rate increases and approving plans to end their
ongoing bond purchases in March instead of June. read more

 

It is still early in the effort to understand how the Omicron variant will
behave, and how people will behave as they interact with it.

 

If it proves faster spreading, more evasive of vaccines, and as deadly as
Delta, it could trigger another wave of restrictions in some countries, and
factory or travel shutdowns in others - with potentially detrimental results
for global growth and jobs.

 

"It's just not possible for countries to redo the kind of big monetary
policy push, big fiscal policy push, that they were able to do these past
two years. It cannot be repeated again," International Monetary Fund Chief
Economist Gita Gopinath said Thursday at an event in Geneva.

 

If the Omicron variant causes a new and serious economic shock, "we have the
real risk of something we have avoided so far, which is stagflationary
concerns."

 

But so far markets, analysts and economic data are not reflecting that sort
of worst-case outcome.

 

The latest variant was first identified in early November. Since then the
weekly numbers of travelers cleared onto U.S. flights by the Transportation
Security Administration has remained about the same or slightly higher in
comparison with 2019, as it was earlier in the fall. In-person bookings at
restaurants have also held steady, according to data from reservation site
OpenTable.

 

A recent study by San Francisco Fed researchers noted what has become a
staple hope among policymakers: that U.S. businesses and consumers will,
between the protection offered by vaccines and changes in behavior, continue
to work around the virus.

 

"Local economic activity...was closely related to local COVID-19 conditions
last year but gradually became decoupled as the pandemic wore on," the
researchers wrote, with the recent Delta wave causing only a modest dip in
economic activity compared to the first months of the health crisis.

 

"It may not feel like it given the elevated inflation environment, renewed
COVID concerns and heightened market volatility, but the economy is
booming," Oxford Economics Chief U.S. Economist Gregory Daco wrote this
week.

 

Oxford's recovery tracker, an index of combined health, economic and
financial data, tumbled at the end of November, but the fall was most
pronounced among financial indicators after markets took a brief hit after
Thanksgiving on news of the Omicron strain. Indicators of demand and
employment remained strong, and Daco has so far responded to the Omicron
news with a minimal downgrade to his GDP growth outlook for 2022 - to 4.4%
from 4.5%.

 

Goldman Sachs economists, laying out Omicron scenarios that ranged from a
worst-case revival of the pandemic to a more benign outcome where the
variant causes less serious illness, said they expected the ultimate hit to
GDP to be modest, and lowered their 2022 forecast to 3.8% from 4.2%.

 

"Government policy in the U.S. has become much less sensitive to virus
spread since vaccination rates increased this spring," Goldman economists
wrote, noting that their in-house index of government coronavirus
restrictions barely budged during the Delta wave of infections over the
summer. In addition, "consumer spending and job growth have become much less
sensitive to local virus spread...likely due to lower COVID risk aversion in
the U.S."

 

That will leave the Fed focused on inflation even as it watches the course
of the virus, and on that front the new variant may if anything firm up the
central bank's plans, Goldman's team wrote.

 

"We see medium and longer-term risks as mostly inflationary due to potential
delays in supply chain normalization and easing of worker shortages,"
Goldman wrote, with a rate increase likely by mid year.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Daimler Truck shares climb on Frankfurt market debut

(Reuters) - Shares in Daimler Truck (DTGGe.DE) climbed on their Frankfurt
market debut on Friday following the commercial vehicle maker's long-awaited
spin-off from Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE).

 

The split was announced in February and pitched by the two companies as an
opportunity to unlock value in both Daimler Truck and the owner of
Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and vans.

 

At 1023 GMT, Daimler Truck shares were trading at 29.88 euros, above their
debut price of 28 euros. Daimler shares were up 3.7% at 74.83 euros.

 

"We are certain we will create value," Daimler CEO Ola Kaellenius said,
speaking to an emptier-than-usual hall in Frankfurt as pandemic restrictions
limited the number of attendees.

 

"Trucks and cars have different requirements. We are thus unleashing the
full potential of both companies," he said.

 

Daimler Truck is targeting double-digit profit margins across the business
in 2025, up from an expected 6-8% in 2021, with a particular focus on
boosting its lagging European sales.

 

If it hits the double-digit target, it will prioritise investment in future
technologies over boosting profits further, Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum
said in a roundtable with journalists after the listing.

 

"The fact that we still exist is due to two things: because the company has
always made money, and there were hard times in between, and secondly,
because we always invested in the future," Daum said.

 

Daimler AG, soon to be renamed Mercedes-Benz AG, has kept 35% of Daimler
Truck shares, while 65% were spun off on Friday. Shareholders in Daimler
received one share in Daimler Truck for every two Daimler shares they owned.

 

Daimler Truck is now the world's largest commercial vehicle maker by
revenue, but its profit margins lag competitors like Traton's (8TRA.DE)
Scania and Volvo Group's (VOLVb.ST) Volvo Trucks.

 

Its performance is strongest in North America, where it reported an adjusted
return on sales so far this year of 10.8%, compared to 7.2% in Asia and just
4.5% in Europe.

 

Its focus in coming years will be on boosting sales of electric trucks to
60% of all sales by 2030, including hydrogen and battery-electric models.

 

Meanwhile, Daimler said in a statement last week it had earmarked 60 billion
euros in spending for Mercedes-Benz between 2022 and 2026, focused on
electrification, digitalisation and autonomous driving.

 

($1 = 0.8854 euros)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Microsoft set to win EU antitrust nod for $16 bln Nuance deal, sources say

(Reuters) - U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O)is set to secure
unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $16 billion bid for artificial
intelligence and speech technology firm Nuance Communications Inc (NUAN.O),
people familiar with the matter said.

 

The deal, the latest in the tech industry, comes amid heightened regulatory
scrutiny of takeovers by tech giants and acquisitions where nascent
start-ups and potential rivals are shut down.

 

Microsoft announced the deal in April which will boost its presence in cloud
solutions for healthcare customers. read more

 

The U.S. software giant is currently in talks with the British antitrust
agency ahead of filing a request for approval of the deal, the sources said.

 

The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by Dec.
21, declined to comment. Microsoft also declined to comment.

 

The company is also in preliminary discussions with the UK antitrust agency
CMA ahead of a formal request for approval of the deal, the sources said.

 

The deal has already received the regulatory green light in the United
States and Australia, without remedies given.

 

Nuance, known for pioneering speech technology and helping launch Apple
Inc's (AAPL.O) virtual assistant, Siri, serves 77% of U.S. hospitals.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Royal Dutch Shell shareholders back plan to shift to London

(Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSa.L) shareholders voted overwhelmingly
on Friday in favour of a plan to end the company's dual share structure and
move its headquarters to London from The Hague.

 

With roughly 58% of outstanding shares cast, a preliminary tally showed 99%
of shareholders supported a special resolution enabling the corporate
structure change.

 

 

Official results were expected later in the day, but no significant change
was expected as the vast majority of institutional shareholders had voted
early.

 

The proposal, which would see the company renamed Shell PLC, losing the
"Royal Dutch" title it has had for more than a century, requires approval by
75% of shareholder votes cast.

 

 

Shell board members were to meet later to make a final decision, with the
move planned sometime in early 2022.

 

The company's boards presented the plan in November, saying the
simplification would strengthen Shell's competitiveness and make paying
dividends and share buybacks easier.

 

Critics say Shell's decision was motivated in part by a Dutch court ruling
in May that ordered it to cut carbon emissions by 45% by 2030. Shell, which
is appealing the ruling, says its environmental policy will not be affected
by the move.

 

"We have considerable operations here in the Netherlands ... and that will
not be changed one bit by the possible change in location," Chairman Andrew
Mackenzie said ahead of the vote.

 

A group of protesters outside Friday's meeting in the Dutch port city of
Rotterdam chanted "Shell must fall!". One banner read: "You can't run and
you can't hide from Climate Justice."

 

Taxation was a factor in the move. Because the company's headquarters and
tax home are now in the Netherlands, dividends it pays on its "A" shares are
subject to a 15% Dutch withholding tax.

 

Equal payments for "B" shares are distributed through a Dividend Access
Mechanism that sees them streamed via a trust registered on the Channel
Island Jersey to avoid the Dutch tax.

 

The new single-share structure and British tax home will resolve those
issues, as Britain does not levy a dividend withholding tax.

 

The company plans to return $7 billion in proceeds to shareholders from the
sale of gas assets in the U.S. to ConocoPhillips.

 

The Dutch government said it was "disappointed" by Shell's decision to
leave. A member of the Green party in the Dutch parliament raised the idea
of levying an "exit tax" on the company, but failed to gain support.

 

After the vote, Mackenzie said the company would "continue to be very proud
that the Netherlands is part of our heritage" and said the firm would retain
a major presence in the country.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Asian shares slip ahead of key U.S. inflation data

(Reuters) - Asian shares slipped and the dollar held firm on Friday as
traders edged away from riskier assets amid renewed concerns about COVID-19
and ahead of key U.S. inflation data that could set direction on Federal
Reserve rates.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS)
lost 0.4% and Japan's Nikkei (.N225) shed 0.5%.

 

Overnight the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.72% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC)
dropped 1.71%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.14% in Asian hours.

 

Shares and risk-friendly currencies had performed well earlier in the week,
with MSCI's regional benchmark posting its best day in two months on
Tuesday, helped by indications the Omicron strain of the new coronavirus
might not be as economically disruptive as first feared.

 

"Then, as we got towards the end of the week the fact that Europe was much
more clearly moving into a sort of lockdown light and cases are going up,
and COVID-19 case numbers in the U.S. are starting to ratchet up flipped
things a little bit," said Rob Carnell, head of research Asia Pacific at
ING.

 

"Also there is a slight sense of 'let's not have too much risk on the table
for the weekend'. Of course, there is CPI out in the U.S. - but I think
we've all woken up to the fact that there is inflation in the U.S. now," he
added.

 

U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for November is due later Friday and a
Reuters poll of economists expect it to have risen 6.8% year-on-year,
overtaking a 6.2% increase in October, which was the fastest gain in 31
years. read more

 

Any upside surprise will likely be interpreted as a case for a faster Fed
taper and sooner interest rate rises.

 

Shares in China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) lost 1.5% after Fitch downgraded
it to restricted default status. read more

 

The Hong Kong benchmark (.HSI) lost 0.24% but global markets have been much
less concerned by the latest development in the long running Evergrande saga
than they were a few months ago.

 

"This issue has been going on for two and a half months now, and markets
don't seem to be as fussed because a default on Evergrande's offshore debt
has seemed highly likely," said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at
AMP Capital.

 

Also in China, the central bank on Thursday directed financial institutions
to hold more foreign exchange in reserve for a second time this year, which
markets interpreted as an attempt to slow down a recent rapid appreciation
of the yuan. read more

 

The yuan lost about half a percent in offshore trade on Thursday, and
weakened further Friday to 6.385.

 

Other currency moves were in line with the broad risk off mood. The dollar
held firm, the euro , which dropped 0.4% overnight stayed under pressure,
while the Aussie dollar wobbled lower.

 

U.S. Treasury yields slipped a little overnight with benchmark 10-year
Treasury notes last at 1.4888%.

 

Oil also skidded. U.S. crude dipped 0.5% to $70.56 a barrel. Brent crude
fell 0.47% to $74.08, while gold, however, edged higher on the worries. The
spot price rose 0.2% to $1777.8 an ounce.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Japan hammers out tax reform to boost wages under "new capitalism" plan

(Reuters) - Japan's ruling party will review taxes on investments next year,
a top party official said on Friday, as it and its coalition partner
approved an annual reform plan aimed at encouraging pay increases to boost
and distribute wealth.

 

The first annual tax reform plan under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who
took office in October, focused on his policy objective of a "new
capitalism" stoking a virtuous cycle of growth and wealth distribution to
defeat deflation.

 

"We must consider how to respond to the financial income tax from next
year," said Yoichi Miyazawa, a veteran member of the upper house of
parliament who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel,
referring to tax on investments.

 

He told reporters there was a lot of work yet to be done on tax reform.

 

Since taking office, Kishida has been piling pressure on Japanese firms to
raise wages, urging companies whose profits have returned to pre-pandemic
levels to increase pay by 3% or more.

 

Under the reform plan approved on Friday, firms that raise wages by 4% from
the previous year and boost the training of workers can get deductions of up
to 30% on their taxable income.

 

On taxation of investment income - imposed on capital gains on stocks and
property, dividends and interest payment on savings and Japanese government
bonds - the plan called for "comprehensive consideration", without giving
specifics.

 

Japan's income on investments is low among OECD and G7 advanced nations, at
20%, well below income tax of up to 45%.

 

The low rate helps keep tax burdens low for high-income earners, who tend to
earn more through investments.

 

Kishida, who has made wealth distribution a main agenda, had previously
flagged the possibility of raising the tax on investments.

 

But he quickly walked back on the pledge in October after coming under
criticism for risking undermining the stock market.

 

Friday's plan steered clear of a "carbon tax", reflecting opposition from
industry even as Japan aims to slash carbon emissions to zero on a net basis
by 2050 to fight global warming.

 

($1 = 113.6000 yen)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Toyota halts more production in Japan as parts run out

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Co (7203.T) on Friday expanded production stoppages
at some factoriesin Japan because of a shortage of components shipped from
parts plants in Southeast Asia.

 

The latest halts will cut car output by 9,000 vehicles when added to curbs
announced on Thursday, affecting production of Lexus models and its
four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser, Toyota said in a press release.

 

Although limited, the cuts come as Toyota tries to make up for production
lost to earlier supply-chain disruptions in Malaysia and Vietnam that forced
it to trim vehicle output even as demand for cars in markets such as China
rebounded as coronavirus lockdowns ended.

 

The world's biggest car producer by volume said it is sticking to an annual
production target set in September to build 9 million vehicles by the end of
March.

 

"We would like to maintain 9 million units, but we will keep a close eye on
the situation," a Toyota spokesperson said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

China Evergrande chairman's stake drops to 59.8% on forced selling -filing

(Reuters) - Chairman Hui Ka Yan's shareholding in embattled China Evergrande
Group (3333.HK) has dropped to 59.78% from 61.88%, Hong Kong stock exchange
filings showed, in a forced selling by a third party with whom the shares
were pledged.

 

The number of shares involved was 277.8 million, worth roughly HK$492
million ($63.08 million) based on the stock's Friday closing price of
HK$1.77.

 

The drop was the result of steps taken Dec. 6-9 to enforce a "security
interest" in the shares, the filing said.

 

Reuters could not immediately determine the identity of the entity which
sold the pledged shares.

 

Ratings agency Fitch downgraded Evergrande, which has more than $300 billion
in liabilities, to "restricted default" on Thursday, after the developer
missed a deadline this week to pay coupon payments totalling $82.5 million.
read more

 

($1 = 7.8001 Hong Kong dollars)

 

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.

 


 

 


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