Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 11 December 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 11 December 2021 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  US inflation hits highest level for nearly 40 years

ü  How the West invited China to eat its lunch

ü  Businesses call on the government for more help

ü  LV= members reject sale to private equity firm Bain Capital

ü  Heathrow boss urges travel rules rethink ahead of Christmas

ü  Wind-powered net zero McDonald's opens in Market Drayton

ü  Covid-19: Stoke-on-Trent ceramic firm gets £400k loan for recovery

ü  Economic growth stutters before impact of Omicron

ü  Tesco names wrong town on Kesgrave store poster

ü  Amazon fined $1.2bn by Italian regulators

ü  Chinese developer Fantasia denies creditor claim on unit's shares

ü  Analysis: Fed's "hot" economy experiment offers historic bet on a soft
landing from high prices

ü  3M hit with $22.5 million verdict in latest U.S. military earplug trial

ü  Tesla's Elon Musk says he is 'thinking of quitting' his jobs

ü  Drugmakers aim big price hikes at U.S. patients, congressional report
finds

ü  Ford expects to triple electric Mustang output by 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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US inflation hits highest level for nearly 40 years

American shoppers, especially those on low incomes have felt the pinch of
higher prices, with annual inflation at rates not seen for 40 years.

 

The latest figures show prices rose 6.8% in the year to November.

 

Bibi who works as a cleaner in Harlem, New York, said she has had to cut
back as a result, sometimes buying just one meal to share with her
27-year-old son.

 

"We don't have any choice," she said, "I can't afford to cook."

 

"I take a little bit then I give him more because a mother is always going
to do that for her child."

 

Price rises have pushed up food shopping bills, and petrol prices jumped
6.1%, while the cost of second-hand cars and rent also rose.

 

 

While the monthly pace of price rises at 0.8% eased a little compared to
October's 0.9%, people like Bibi have felt the cumulative effects on their
budgets.

 

Patricia, who has just shopped in the local supermarket, said her bill is
about $30 a week more than it used to be, so she's replaced chicken and pork
chops with more vegetables, although prices for fresh produce are also
higher she said.

 

"It affects me a lot right now, I'm not working," she said.

 

Maria has just retired and said she's noticed that what she buys is not only
pricier but often smaller too, especially the bagels.

 

"I'm not going to buy them again for a long time. They used to be big
bagels, now they're smaller and more money," she said.

 

Prices for American consumers are rising at their fastest annual rate since
June 1982. But the impact is felt more amongst those on the lowest incomes,
with the least room to manage.

 

Rising inflation is also putting pressure on President Biden as he tries to
pass his $1.9tn (£1.4tn) social spending bill.

 

Some economists blame the president's previous spending programmes, designed
to offer support amid the Covid pandemic, for exacerbating price increases.

 

Giving it gas

"One of the major reasons we have inflation is because the government spent
so much money," said Christopher Campbell, chief strategist at Kroll a risk
consultancy, and a former Treasury official under President Trump.

 

He argued that further spending could make inflation worse.

 

"At the end of the day we hopefully are on the tail end of the pandemic, and
the government is still putting its foot on the gas, on the levels of
spending."

 

However Claudia Sahm, senior fellow at the Jain Family Institute and former
Federal Reserve economist said government spending is not the cause. She
said the reason inflation has persisted is because the pandemic has not been
brought under control, affecting the supply of things like cars, fuel and
food.

 

"The longer the Covid-related disruptions last, the more that starts to
spread into the prices of goods," she said.

 

She said with energy prices falling recently, inflation should start to
ease.

 

"There are signs that we may be turning the corner soon, but Omicron is a
new wild card."

 

Supply squeeze

In the meantime the poorest are facing both the end of pandemic-era extra
support and rising prices.

 

"Food is a much larger proportion of lower income families' budgets," points
out Christopher Wimer of Columbia's Centre on Poverty and Social Policy.

 

"Lots of people use gas [fuel] but in terms of heating and utilities as well
as transportation, those costs eat up a larger share of low income folks'
budget, than higher income folks' budgets, which might be driven more
towards leisure, commodities and things like that."

 

Price rises are affecting some parts of the country more than others too,
with the south and mid-west impacted more.

 

Dare to Care, a food bank in Louisville, Kentucky, said it has felt the
effect of both inflation and supply chain problems.

 

"Overall we're spending a substantial amount more," said Annette Ball, Dare
to Care's chief programmes officer.

 

 

Usually a lot of Dare to Care's food comes from producers and retailers
passing on any surplus they have.

 

"Right now that's just not happening - people want that overrun. There's
demand in the market for that, so it's going out into the retail avenues."

 

Dare to Care has had to buy food at retail prices instead, and the cost of
transport has risen too.

 

"Freight has doubled, even tripled [in price], in some instances," she
added.

 

As a result, Dare to Care has made compromises, like not including
wholegrain bread or pure fruit juice as often.

 

Rate expectations

President Biden has pledged to make tackling inflation a priority and has
made moves to ease supply chain problems, including changing rules for
transport operators. But expectations are now focused squarely on the
Federal Reserve too.

 

Speculation is mounting that the Fed will reduce the bond-buying support it
provides every month more quickly than planned, paving the way for a
possible rise in interest rates next year.

 

"The Fed is going to have to move," said Beth Ann Bovino US Chief Economist,
S&P Global ratings

 

"We expect them to now to speed up tapering and reach zero [monthly support]
by March with at least one [interest] rate hike in 2022."-BBC

 

 

 

How the West invited China to eat its lunch

There were two events in late 2001 that shook the axis of the world.

 

The world was preoccupied with the immediate aftermath of 9/11. But exactly
three months later, on 11 December, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was
at the centre of an event that was to cast as strong a shadow over the 21st
century, changing more people's lives and livelihoods around the world than
the attacks on America.

 

Yet few know it even happened, let alone its date. China's admission to the
World Trade Organization changed the game for America, Europe and most of
Asia, and indeed for any country in possession of industrially valuable
resources, such as oil and metals.

 

It was a largely unnoticed event of epic geopolitical and economic
importance. It was the root imbalance behind the global financial crisis.
The domestic political backlash against the outsourcing of manufacturing
jobs to China has reverberated around the western G7 nations.

 

The promise, suggested by the likes of former US President Bill Clinton, was
that "importing one of democracy's most cherished values, economic freedom",
would enable the world's most populous nation to follow the path of
political freedom too.

 

"When individuals have the power not just to dream, but to realise their
dreams, they will demand a greater say," he said.

 

Chart showing China's economic growth since 2000

But that strategy failed. China began its ascent to its current status as
the world's second biggest economy - and is on a seemingly inevitable path
to becoming the world's biggest.

 

Indeed the US trade representative responsible for negotiating China's WTO
deal, Charlene Barshefsky, told a Washington International Trade Association
panel this week that China's economic model "somewhat disproved" the Western
view that "you can't have an innovative society, and political control"

 

"It's not to say that China's innovative capacity is enhanced by its
economic model," she added. "But it is to say that what the West thought
were incompatible systems may not be necessarily incompatible systems."

 

Former US Trade Representative, Charlene Barshefsky (l) gives her speech
watched closely by Boao Secretary General Long Yongtu (R) during a luncheon
at the Boao Forum for Asian in Hainan Province, China.

 

 

Up until 2000 China's global economic role had been principally as one of
the world's biggest manufacturers of plastic gubbins and cheap tat.
Important, yes, but neither world-beating nor world-changing.

 

China's accession to the top table of world trade heralded a massive global
transformation. A powerful combination of China's willing workforce, its
super-high-tech factories, and the special relationship between the Chinese
government and Western multinational corporations changed the face of the
planet.

 

An army of cheap Chinese labour began to produce the goods that underpin
Western living standards, as China seamlessly inserted itself into the
supply chains of the world's biggest companies. Economists call it a "supply
shock", and its impact certainly was shocking. Its effects are still
reverberating around the world.

 

China's integration into the world economy has seen significant economic
achievements, including the eradication of extreme poverty, which stood at
500 million before WTO membership and is now basically zero as the value of
the economy, in dollar terms, increased 12-fold. Foreign exchange reserves
increased 16-fold to $2.3 trillion, as the world's purchases from China's
workshops were banked by the Chinese state.

 

In 2000, China was the seventh-largest goods exporter in the world, but it
quickly reached the number one spot. China's annual growth rate, already at
8%, went stratospheric at the height of the world boom, peaking at 14%, and
stabilised at 15% last year.

 

Chart showing people living on $5,50 a day

Container ships are the juggernauts of global trade. In the five years after
China joined the WTO, the number of containers on ships coming in and out of
China doubled from 40 million to more than 80 million. By 2011, a decade
after the country became a WTO member, the number of containers going in and
out of China had more than trebled to 129 million.

 

Last year it was 245 million, and while about half of the containers going
into China were empty, nearly all those leaving China were full of exports.

 

There has also been a massive expansion in China's highway network, which
increased from 4,700km in 1997 to 161,000km by 2020, making it the largest
network in the world, connecting 99% of cities with populations of over
200,000.

 

In addition to its state-of-the-art freight infrastructure, China also needs
materials such as metals, minerals and fossil fuels to support its
manufacturing boom. One material essential to China's burgeoning automotive
and electrical appliance industries is steel. In 2005 China became, for the
first time, a net exporter of steel, and has since become the world's
largest exporter.

 

Through the 1990s, China's production of steel hovered at around 100 million
tonnes per year. After WTO membership, it exploded to around 700 million
tonnes by 2012 and exceeded one billion tonnes in 2020.

 

China now accounts for 57% of world production and produces significantly
more steel on its own than the rest of the globe managed together back in
2001. The same goes for ceramic tiles, and plenty of other ingredients of
industry.

 

In electronics, clothing, toys and furniture, China became the dominant
source of supply, forcing down export prices all around the world.
Economists noticed a "once-for-all" shock in global prices following China's
WTO entry. China's clothing exports doubled between 2000 and 2005, and its
share of the value of global trade went from one fifth to one third.

 

After 2005, production quotas in the textile industry were also lifted,
leading to an even bigger production shift to China. However, as production
in China became more expensive and production has shifted to developing
countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, this has fallen back to 32% of
clothes last year.

 

The Chinese minister responsible for WTO accession, Long Yongtu, made an
admission reflecting on the past two decades. "I don't believe China's WTO
accession was a historic job-killing mistake [for the US and the West]," he
said. "However I recognise the allocation or the benefit is uneven. The
complete picture is that when China got his own development, it also
provided the rest of the world with a huge export market."

 

But there was a sting in the tail - that it was US politics that failed to
account for the inevitable impact of Chinese competition on some sectors.
"When the uneven distribution of wealth happens, a government should take
measures to adjust that distribution through domestic policies, but it's not
easy to do that," said Long Yongtu.

 

"Maybe blaming others much easier, but I don't think blaming others can help
to solve the problem. In China's absence, the US manufacturing industry
would move to Mexico."

 

He then relayed an anecdote of a Chinese glass manufacturer who struggled
with opening a factory in the USA: "It's very difficult for him to find
competitive workers there. He told me American workers' bellies are bigger
than his," said the minister.

 

So right now we have come full circle. China has had significant economic
success within the WTO. Right now the Biden administration seems in no hurry
to change the obstructive policies of his predecessor there. The trade
scepticism is very real. China has used WTO membership to go well beyond its
earmarked role as workshop to the West.

 

It has, for example, strategically planned alliances to get access to
significant amounts of the rare earth materials that should power the net
zero climate change economic revolution. It has deployed the state behind
industrial expansion around the world. The US is looking to contain China
diplomatically and economically, and seeking allies in this endeavour in
Europe and Asia.

 

As former US trade representative Barshefsky puts it, China has been "on
this very divergent course for some time. What does that mean? A
strengthening of a state-centric economic model fuelled by massive
subsidisation to designated industries
 the re-emergence of China as a great
power, and the leader of what it calls the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
This is a this is a lot to handle. The WTO can't handle it."

 

So, 20 years on - the world transformed by a little-noticed decision. It's
been a huge success for China. The intended geopolitical strategy of the
West failed. Indeed, rather than China becoming more like the West
politically, as a result of this decision, the West economically speaking is
becoming a bit more like China.-BBC

 

 

 

Businesses call on the government for more help

Business is falling apart right now and no-one should pretend otherwise,
said Vicki Wilkes, owner of live entertainment venue Red by Night in
Brierley Hill, in the west Midlands.

 

"It's soul-destroying," she told the BBC.

 

New restrictions are coming into force to tackle the Omicron variant,
including increased use of Covid passes and a return to more working from
home.

 

That has prompted businesses to call for more government support.

 

Covid passes, proving vaccination status, will also be required to get into
nightclubs and large venues like Ms Wilkes' from next week, as part of the
'Plan B' rules to limit the spread of the virus.

 

The change will be "devastating" for her business she said, and there had
not been sufficient economic support or guidance from the government.

 

 

"No-one wants Omicron to spread but Plan B feels knee-jerk and reactionary,"
she said.

 

"We were relying on December to see us through, and this loss could be the
straw that break the camels back."

 

She is on the verge of cancelling a family Christmas show at the under-500
capacity venue because of the new restrictions. That equated to several
thousand pounds of lost revenue, she said.

 

Tax cut calls

Her call for help has been echoed by the British Chambers of Commerce
director, Shevaun Haviland, who warned that retail and hospitality
businesses are the most exposed to the new measures, but are not being
sufficiently supported by the government.

 

Ms Haviland has written to the chancellor to request a return to charging a
reduced 5% rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism businesses, 100% business
rates relief for the retail sector, and grant funding to help the hardest
hit firms.

 

"It is simply not good enough for the government to say at this juncture
that 'enough support has been provided' and leave it at that," she added.

 

Retail, events and hospitality firms had "strained every sinew" to get to
this point, but now "face being hamstrung during this crucial festive period
through no fault of their own," she said.

 

The BBC has contacted the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy for a response.

 

'Terrible situation'

Dave Critchley, executive head chef of Lu Ban restaurant in Liverpool, has
suffered from a wave of cancellations since the government's announcement.

 

"We're back to those uncertain times, and we feel we are once again back in
this terrible situation," he said.

 

The restrictions have made the public worried, which will have a "massive"
impact on the hospitality industry, Mr Critchley added.

 

"It's not just about the restaurants and bars, but all the staff, their
mental health, their stress levels. Will there be enough hours to pay them
so they can enjoy Christmas?"

 

'Unnerving'

Alice Cassinelli, the 25-year-old owner of Dysh café in Sheffield, has also
already seen cancellations and a fall in walk-in customers.

 

"The drop in trade is definitely unnerving," she told the BBC.

 

She opened her first cafe, Cassinellis's in Sheffield's city centre two
years ago, but had to close when lockdown hit because the business lost
trade as office workers left the centre of town.

 

"We just started to recover and that was working, but now we're in the
in-between stage, which is hard as there's no support for us to keep going,"
she said.

 

She has put social distancing measures in place to make people feel as safe
as possible, but she fears the restrictions will discourage customers.

 

Wholesale waste

The restrictions could also lead to food and drink being wasted, the
Federations of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) warned.

 

FWD Chief Executive James Bielby said: "All across the country, warehouses
are full of Christmas stock bound for the hospitality sector".

 

"At such short notice, and because fresh food is time and temperature
sensitive, it's just not possible for it all to be re-purposed."

 

Wholesalers, he said, would be left to foot the bill for wastage costs,
pointing out they had previously been excluded from both the business rates
relief offered to supermarkets and the grants given to the retail,
hospitality and leisure firms, which are their customers.

 

Sir John Timpson, chairman of the shoe repair and key-cutting chain, also
warned the survival of city centre businesses was being threatened by the
government's work from home guidance.

 

Sir John told the BBC that the arrival of Omicron had already led to a 5%
drop in business over the last couple of weeks, and said that could easily
turn into a 10% fall by the new year, when people would normally return to
work after a Christmas break, but may now stay at home.

 

"Once we get beyond Christmas, you're going to find that city centre
businesses go back to where they were at the beginning of the Covid problem
in March 2020," he said.

 

"And this is going to keep happening again and again. There will be more
variants," he said.

 

The upshot could be that some businesses disappear for good, he added.

 

"The infrastructure that supports office life in central London, but also
Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and lots of other places, will not be there to
support people when they eventually go back to work."-BBC

 

 

 

LV= members reject sale to private equity firm Bain Capital

Members of LV= have rejected selling the insurance mutual to US private
equity firm Bain Capital for £530m.

 

The sale of LV= to Bain Capital had been controversial, drawing criticism
from politicians from several parties.

 

LV= chief executive Mark Hartigan had said that for the business to survive
it needed to demutualise.

 

But some LV= members had been unhappy over demutualisation and the size of
payouts on offer from the deal.

 

The Bain Capital takeover would have meant that LV= would lose its mutual
status, with members given £100 each as part of the deal.

 

But the sale did not get enough support from members. Although 69% of a
possible 1.1 million voting members were in favour of the transaction with
Bain Capital, 75% approval was needed for the sale to pass.

 

The result followed a meeting in which members discussed whether the company
should remain a mutual. Some LV= staff were unable to watch the general
meeting on Friday, according to reports.

 

LV= chairman Alan Cook said: "We want to reassure policyholders that this
outcome will mean no changes to their policies or our ongoing commitment to
the highest standards of service from LV=."

 

"I will continue to lead the process to find a way forward that will enable
us to provide the right financial outcome for all our members whilst
respecting their different wishes," Mr Cook continued, and added that once a
way forward had been determined, he would step down as chairman.

 

Chief executive Mark Hartigan will continue in his role, the firm said.

 

The firm said it would "swiftly reassess its strategic options and explore
alternative ways to provide the best long-term outcome for members, the
business, employees and its wider communities".

 

The LV= board said it had "listened to member concerns about the loss of
mutuality and so will in particular explore whether mutuality can be
retained either on a standalone basis without undue risk to members, or
through a merger with a larger mutual organisation".

 

Bain Capital said it "remains crucial" that members are "looked after and
protected".

 

"We have always wanted LV= to flourish and become a leading company in the
sector, that offers more consumer choice and creates more jobs," a
spokesperson added.

 

Did this vote stir emotions? Most certainly, yes.

 

It is, after all, about the future of a 178-year-old insurer owned by its
members and founded to cover the funeral costs of Liverpool's poor.

 

Did it raise some fundamental questions? Again, yes.

 

They ranged from whether members should fund a long-term future they might
not profit from, to the appropriateness of a private equity takeover.

 

Was it a vote on the future of the mutual movement as a whole? No.

 

LV= has specific problems, some of its own making. Experts say other mutuals
have already navigated similar issues successfully.

 

Meanwhile, mutual building societies still account for 23% of the UK
residential mortgage market, hold 18% of people's cash savings, and have 40%
of cash ISA balances.

 

There are challenges, but as this vote shows - and the LV= board now
acknowledges - there is plenty of life in the old mutual dog yet.

 

 

LV= attracted a number of bids when it first proposed a sale of the
business, including from rival mutual Royal London.

 

LV=, which was founded in 1843 and formerly known as Liverpool Victoria, had
pushed back against approaches from Royal London.

 

It said that so-called "with-profits" members, who legally own LV=, should
not have to "finance a future that requires significant investment, which
many would not benefit from".

 

Royal London said on Friday it had "offered to enter into immediate and
exclusive discussions with LV= to agree a mutual merger that will offer LV=
customers the opportunity to have their life savings protected and invested
by a mutual".

 

LV= said it had received an "unsolicited preliminary merger proposal from
Royal London" on 8 December.

 

"The outline proposal from Royal London is at an early stage and is subject
to discussion, due diligence and detailed negotiation of financial and other
terms. There can be no certainty that a transaction will be agreed," LV=
said.

 

The LV= group had a "challenged" capital structure and operated in an
increasingly competitive market dominated by well-capitalised, global
insurers, it said when trying to convince members to vote for the sale.

 

The heart of the problem, Mr Hartigan said earlier, was that because it was
a mutual it was unable to raise funds due to a cap on its debts.-BBC

 

 

 

Heathrow boss urges travel rules rethink ahead of Christmas

Heathrow airport's boss has added his voice to those in the travel industry
calling for UK nationals returning from red list countries to be able to
isolate at home.

 

John Holland-Kaye said families should be able to reunite for Christmas.

 

The government has hinted over the past few days that a rule change is
coming.

 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said he doesn't want the red list and
hotel quarantine in place "for a moment longer than necessary".

 

He said a time would come, "probably no more than days or a short number of
weeks away", where the government would want to review and potentially
remove countries from the red list.

 

Heathrow said that travel restrictions, which have been re-imposed in
response to the spread of the Omicron variant, had "further dampen[ed]
passenger confidence".

 

Mr Holland-Kaye said: "By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can
make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas.

 

"It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed
as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for
2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow."

 

'Less need'

Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday Health Secretary Sajid Javid
said that "very soon", if Omicron became the dominant variant, there would
be "less need to have any kind of travel restrictions at all".

 

On Thursday Mr Shapps said red-listing was initially meant to slow things
down, but that as the variant spread, the government accepted "the
inevitability that in the end it gets everywhere, exactly as Delta did".

 

The Transport Secretary said the UK's Health Security Agency had been asked
to produce recommendations.

 

He said it did not stand to reason that the red list helped once the Omicron
variant was already established in this country.

 

The Prime Minister, the Health Secretary and the Transport Secretary have
all made clear hints this week that the further spread of Omicron -
including within the UK - could prompt changes around the Red List.

 

A decision has not been taken yet. Current measures are expected to be
examined again next week.

 

Ministers have said the temporary measure was designed to help reduce
Omicron being brought into the country. Unlike the broader-brush testing
rules introduced since, businesses supported it because it was targeted.
However many would now like to see home isolation replace hotels, especially
as Christmas approaches.

 

The hotel quarantine system was mostly wound down when the Red list was
empty. Capacity has been a challenge since it was re-activated at short
notice.

 

Brits trying to get home have told us about the stress and additional cost
they've endured because the rooms weren't available on the date of their
flight.

 

At present 11 African countries are on the red list, and the Covid testing
rules for entering the UK have been changed.

 

All travellers age 12 and over must take a Covid test in the two days before
setting off for the UK from any destination. People are also required to
take a PCR test within two days of arrival.

 

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of industry body Airlines UK, said: "Omicron
will soon be the dominant variant in the UK and we know there are many cases
now independent of international travel.

 

"The Health Secretary understands well that travel restrictions are utterly
futile when we have community transmission and that's why we're pushing hard
for these latest, emergency restrictions to be rolled back at the 20
December review."-BBC

 

 

 

Wind-powered net zero McDonald's opens in Market Drayton

A net zero carbon McDonald's has opened in what the company believes is a UK
first.

 

The wind turbine and solar panel-powered restaurant is in Market Drayton,
Shropshire.

 

Recycled IT equipment and household goods make up the building's cladding,
signs are from used coffee beans and insulation is provided by sheep wool.

 

The fast-food company said it would be used as a "blueprint" for other sites
and work has started to roll it out.

 

Net zero means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere.

 

It is the first restaurant in the UK due to be verified as net zero
emissions for construction using the UK Green Building Council's (UKGBC's)
net zero carbon buildings framework.

 

The problems of decarbonising the construction industry were "complex", but
the move by McDonald's was a "critical first step", UKGBC spokesman Simon
McWhirter said.

 

McDonald's spokeswoman Beth Hart said: "We've already started to roll out
some of these innovations to other restaurants, but what is exciting about
Market Drayton is the fact it will act as a blueprint for our future new
builds.

 

"We believe that our food needs to be served in restaurants that are
sustainable for the future. Market Drayton is a big step towards making that
a reality."

 

Senior lecturer in the environment and sustainability at Keele University,
Dr Sharon George, said the move was a "positive step" and a sign that the
company was recognising that "society's view of sustainability" was
changing.

 

McDonald's and other fast food suppliers have previously come under fire
from investors who signed a letter asking the firms to reduce the carbon
footprint of their meat and dairy supply chains.-BBC

 

 

 

Covid-19: Stoke-on-Trent ceramic firm gets £400k loan for recovery

A pottery firm has secured a £400,000 government bank loan to safeguard jobs
and recover from the Covid pandemic.

 

Wade Ceramics, based in Stoke-on-Trent, said 2020 had been mixed with some
markets struggling.

 

The British Business Bank's Covid loan will be used to rebuild and take on
more staff to produce the company's Gluggle Jugs.

 

Demand is expected to rebound in the next few months, according to managing
director Paul Farmer.

 

"The Gluggle Jugs we both manufacture and sell are growing exponentially and
we need to increase production and staff.," he said.

 

"This loan will help in this area as well as helping to rebuild our other
markets as we move forward into pre-pandemic levels of demand."

 

-BBC

 

 

Economic growth stutters before impact of Omicron

The UK economy grew by just 0.1% in October, official figures show, despite
a strong performance by the health sector and second-hand car sales.

 

A fall in people dining out in restaurants and reductions in oil extraction
and gas use meant growth came in lower than expected.

 

Growth was stalling even before the emergence of the Omicron variant.

 

One economist said the figures showed the "steam has well and truly been
taken out of the UK economic recovery".

 

Maike Currie, investment director at Fidelity International, warned October
might be the "closest the economy gets to reaching 'normal levels' until
deep into 2022".

 

"Supply chain issues, worker shortages and surging inflation put the
dampeners on growth in October," she said.

 

Ms Currie added there was a "creeping sense of déjà vu" over the impact
Covid was having on the economy, with the government reintroducing some
coronavirus restrictions in a bid to limit the spread of the new variant.

 

"Workers are heading back to their kitchen tables and the big festive season
that retailers and the hospitality sector had their hopes pinned on - while
starting on a high during Black Friday - might not have as much sparkle as
hoped," she said.

 

GDP chart

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy was still 0.5%
below pre-pandemic levels, but added the services sector had returned to
pre-pandemic levels.

 

That has been driven a growth in GP face-to-face appointments, and an
increase in staff employed in cleaning, building and security jobs. Art and
entertainment services also increased as theatres full reopened.

 

The slower overall economic growth has led to predictions the Bank of
England will not put up interest rates next week.

 

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves
Lansdown, said although a rate rise couldn't be completely ruled out, "most
bets are off that the Bank will push them up so soon", given the latest
economic figures and uncertainty surrounding the Omicron coronavirus
variant.

 

She said a rate rise in February was "more likely to be on the table, as the
inflation kettle is set to be whistling loudly by then", unless further
Covid restrictions were put in place.

 

Liz Martins, UK economist at HSBC said the latest figures on the economy
were "a little bit weaker than expected", with economists expecting a 0.4%
rise in October.

 

In September, economic growth was 0.6%.

 

Ms Martins told the Today programme the "economy was stuttering a little
bit", despite the emergence of Omicron, which was largely due to supply
chain issues and material and product shortages.

 

"It's public sector services, like those GP appointments, that's driving
growth," she added. "So, a little bit of private sector weakness here, no
growth in manufacturing, and a fall in construction.

 

"The recovery is on pause in December at least, and hopefully we'll be able
to restart in the New Year."

 

The ONS said the strong services output was due to the "continued rise" of
face-to-face appointments at GP surgeries in England.

 

GDP or Gross Domestic Product is one of the most important ways of showing
how well, or badly, an economy is doing.

 

It's a measure - or an attempt to measure - all the activity of companies,
governments and individuals in an economy.

 

In the UK, new GDP figures are produced every month, but the quarterly
figures - covering three months at a time - are the most widely watched.

 

In a growing economy, quarterly GDP will be slightly bigger than the quarter
before, a sign that people are doing more work and getting (on average) a
little bit richer.

 

Read more about GDP here.

 

Grant Fitzner, ONS chief economist, said the "UK health sector again grew
strongly while second-hand car sales and employment agencies also boosted
the economy".

 

However, Mr Fitzner said the construction industry saw its biggest drop
since April 2020, with "notable falls in house building and infrastructure
work, "partly driven by shortages in raw materials".

 

Though the health sector was the main driver behind October's growth in
services, other industries such as travel and entertainment also increased.

 

Responding to the figures, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said the
government had "always acknowledged there could be bumps on our road to
recovery".

 

"We have still been recovering quicker than expected, with more employees on
payrolls than ever before and redundancies remaining low," he added.

 

While you always have to be cautious not to over-interpret the official ONS
estimates for economic growth over just one month, if the figures are borne
out they show the economy slowing almost to a stop in October.

 

This was the month that began with petrol stations that couldn't get enough
petrol and energy prices jumping. It had previously been expected that the
economy might be back to its pre-pandemic level by then.

 

And remember - this is before the economy was hit by the Omicron variant and
new restrictions.

 

The chances that growth in 2021 will hit the level predicted in the Autumn
Budget and Spending Review of 6.5% now look vanishingly small.

 

And some economists are now saying it's touch-and-go whether we continue to
grow in December - or head back into an economic contraction.

 

The chances of a rise in interest rates to tame inflation in December,
already low before this morning's news, are now even lower.

 

A stagnating economy, combined with rapidly rising inflation and
restrictions discouraging travel, is an unpleasant prospect over Christmas
both for businesses and households.

 

Especially without any new emergency support. -BBC

 

 

 

Tesco names wrong town on Kesgrave store poster

Tesco has been criticised on social media for a store poster that welcomes
shoppers from a different town.

 

People in Kesgrave, Suffolk, questioned why their local store said it was
serving "Ipswich's shoppers" when, although it is just east of Ipswich, it
is a town in its own right.

 

"It's in Kesgrave, not within the Ipswich boundary, not in the Ipswich
Borough Council area," posted Carol Marsh on a local Facebook group.

 

Tesco said it would change the poster.

 

The area was recorded as Gressgrava in the 11th Century Domesday Book, and
by the late 15th Century its name had become Kesgrave.

 

According to the Kesgrave Community Website, the parish council officially
adopted the title of town in January 2000.

 

"Why does the new fascia at Kesgrave Tesco say serving Ipswich shoppers?"
posted Ms Marsh on the Kesgrave Community Facebook group.

 

"I don't expect many people travel from Ipswich to do their weekly shop
there."

 

Some responded in support of her post, saying: "We are not part of Ipswich."

 

Another said: "Big companies where the 'head office' staff have no local
knowledge make mistakes like this often."

 

While others posted: "Because Kesgrave is the outa part of Ipswich??"

 

Tesco said: "We're really proud to serve the Kesgrave community and we're
sorry that we've got the name wrong on our poster.

 

"We're in the process of getting this changed and the new version will be in
place soon."-BBC

 

 

 

Amazon fined $1.2bn by Italian regulators

Amazon has been fined $1.2bn (£910m) by Italy's anti-trust regulator.

 

It said the tech giant had abused its market dominance by promoting its own
logistics service, Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA).

 

It claimed companies had to use the FBA service to access key benefits such
as selling products with Prime delivery with no extra cost to customers, and
participation in Black Friday sales.

 

Amazon said it "strongly disagreed" with the decision, and would appeal.

 

Amazon to pay $500,000 for not sharing Covid data

The regulator ruled that Amazon put third-party sellers at a disadvantage by
requiring use of its own service to access key benefits and events.

 

"Amazon has thus prevented third-party sellers from associating the Prime
label with offers not managed with FBA," it said.

 

The regulator insisted that access to such functions is "crucial" for
sellers to achieve success on Amazon's Marketplace.

 

It also said it would impose corrective steps which will be subject to
review by a monitoring trustee.

 

Amazon said in a statement that the fine was "unjustified and
disproportionate".

 

"We strongly disagree with the decision of the Italian Competition Authority
and we will appeal," said the company.

 

"Small and medium-sized businesses have multiple channels to sell their
products both online and offline: Amazon is just one of those options.

 

"We constantly invest to support the growth of the 18,000 Italian SMBs
[small and medium-sized businesses] that sell on Amazon, and we provide
multiple tools to our sellers, including those who manage shipments
themselves."

 

The company added that third-party sellers can use its Seller Fulfilled
Prime (SFP) service, which gives them access to Prime benefits without
having to use its own logistics services.

 

It marks the second fine against Amazon by Italian regulators in a matter of
weeks after both it and Apple were fined $228m (£173m) for restricting Beats
headphone sales, by limiting them to select retailers.

 

Both Apple and Amazon said they plan to appeal against the fines.-BBC

 

 

 

Chinese developer Fantasia denies creditor claim on unit's shares

(Reuters) - Chinese developer Fantasia Holdings (1777.HK) denied a claim by
a creditor that a $96.98 million loan on which it missed a payment was
secured by shares in its property management unit.

 

TFI Securities and Futures Ltd told Fantasia it was entitled to enforce the
charge of 780 million shares in the unit, Colour Life Services Group
(1778.HK), Fantasia said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on
Friday.

 

 

Fantasia shares, suspended since Nov. 29 pending inside information, will
resume trading on Monday, it said.

 

The developer, which missed payment on $205.7 million in offshore notes that
were due on Oct. 4, is one of number of indebted Chinese developers that
have failed to make debt payments, sending shudders through global financial
markets in recent months with fears of knock-on effects around the world.

 

 

Larger peers China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) and Kaisa Group (1638.HK),
with the two largest piles of offshore debt in the country, missed offshore
bond payment deadlines this week, prompting rating agency Fitch to downgrade
them to "restricted default". read more

 

In the Friday filing, Fantasia said it has sold its interests in a Ninbgo
development in eastern China for 200 million yuan ($31 million) in an effort
to ease liquidity strains.

 

The developer said its major onshore unit reached agreement last month with
holders of a 7.8% yuan bond due next year to extend the maturity to 2024,
and pay the interest that had become due on Nov. 29 in stages.

 

Moody's withdrew its Fantasia ratings on Friday, citing insufficient
information.

 

Late last month, Fantasia said a winding-up petition was filed against a
unit related to a $149 million outstanding loan.

 

Chairman Pan Jun said in the company's WeChat account on Monday the firm had
discussed an initial proposal on its overseas debt restructuring with its
financial and legal adviser, and it was actively talking to 95% of the
holders of its total $4 billion offshore bonds that it has identified.

 

Fantasia hired Houlihan Lokey as financial adviser and Sidley Austin as
legal adviser in October.

 

($1 = 6.3685 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Analysis: Fed's "hot" economy experiment offers historic bet on a soft
landing from high prices

(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve's experiment with running a "hot"
economy has edged into historically uncharted territory, with an
unemployment rate never reached without associated central bank rate
increases and now levels of inflation that in the past also prompted a
policy response.

 

The Consumer Price Index for November posted the biggest annual increase in
39 years, data on Friday showed, amid signs that price pressures are
broadening and likely leading policymakers at their meeting next week to
significantly raise inflation projections that have been running behind
actual outcomes. read more

 

 

That may prompt a policy shift, with officials accelerating plans to end
their bondbuying and, many analysts expect, signaling that rate increases
may begin sooner than anticipated.

 

The unemployment rate is also flashing red, at least by past Fed standards.
The 4.2% rate reached in November has only been hit or exceeded about 20% of
the time since the late 1940s, covering four periods of low joblessness,
including the late 2010s, with the Fed raising rates during each.

 

The central bank in 2020 concluded that inflation was now less of a risk and
pledged to try to milk more jobs and a lower unemployment rate out of an
economy it felt had changed in fundamental ways since the high inflation
scares of the 1980s - a conclusion that's now being tested in real time.

 

"They are behind the curve and I have thought so for some time," said Glenn
Hubbard, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President
George Bush and now a Columbia University economics professor.

 

The Fed's new approach hoped to drive an array of labor market indicators
like the participation rate back to pre-pandemic levels, but Hubbard said
"running the economy hot...is a risky bet" if it aims to offset structural
economic forces like demographics that aren't responsive, at least not
quickly, to central bank policy.

 

Fed officials still hope inflation will ease largely on its own, even as
they prepare to shift policy in ways that would allow sooner and faster
interest rate increases next year than had been anticipated.

 

In the meantime, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers rebut
comparisons between this era and the years in the 1980s when high inflation
cut into living standards, recent price increases have posed a similar sort
of political dilemma.

 

On the surface wages are rising as employers struggle to fill open jobs in a
pandemic era where the unemployed are reluctant to rejoin jobs for health or
other reasons, and those who are in jobs have gained leverage to job-hop for
higher pay.

 

Yet once adjusted for inflation wages have fallen for nine of the past 11
months, with growth in "real" wages moving little beyond the pre-pandemic
trend.

 

That fact has hit home in the Oval Office, with President Joe Biden's
Democratic Party facing a potentially difficult mid-term election map next
year and his approval ratings taking a hit in part because of rising prices.

 

Biden in a statement Friday pitched the issue forward, arguing that key
prices for gas and autos were already drifting lower, and said steps taken
or proposed by his administration would help ease inflation's pace.

 

"Price increases continue to squeeze family budgets," Biden said. "We are
making progress on pandemic-related challenges to our supply chain which
make it more expensive to get goods on shelves, and I expect more progress
on that in the weeks ahead."

 

NEXT UP: THE FED

 

The strong CPI data for November were expected, but still "only solidify the
case for a faster tapering of asset purchases" when the Fed meets next week,
said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics.
"More important will be Chair Powell's message on tightening of policy going
forward."

 

Central to Powell's messaging will be a defense of why this time it's
different.

 

The pandemic offers one rationale. The shock dealt to the American economy
in 2020 was unrivaled in its speed and scope, and the reopening - far from
the turgid recovery from the 2007 to 2009 recession - has been so fast it
has caused problems of its own.

 

Inflation is one aspect of that, with global supply chains trying to catch
up with unprecedented consumer demand in the United States that was driven
by another historic anomaly - personal incomes that rose, due to large
government support programs, despite massive unemployment.

 

But the Fed's response is similarly unprecedented. The November unemployment
rate is now close to the 4% level that policymakers consider sustainable
over the long run.

 

It is also edging towards what Fed officials have effectively penciled in as
the lower limit on the unemployment rate of about 3.5%.

 

Since policymakers began publishing quarterly economic projections in 2012
the median unemployment rate for any given year-end has slipped below 3.5%
only once, and that just barely, at 3.45%. In data since January 1948, the
unemployment rate has only fallen below 3.5% in 41 of 887 months - during a
jobs boom of the early 1950s, again in the late 1960s, and never since.

 

The central bank is counting on finding a sweet spot this time that has been
elusive, a "soft landing" that brings inflation down from
higher-than-desired levels while allowing the labor market to continue to
heal.

 

Spells of unemployment this low have not, so far, tended to end so well.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

3M hit with $22.5 million verdict in latest U.S. military earplug trial

(Reuters) - A federal jury on Friday awarded $22.5 million to a U.S. Army
veteran who alleged that combat earplugs sold by 3M Co (MMM.N) caused him to
suffer hearing loss and tinnitus, the biggest verdict yet in massive
litigation over the product.

 

Jurors in Pensacola, Florida, sided with former U.S. Army soldier Theodore
Finley in the latest trial to result from more than 272,000 lawsuits by
servicemembers and veterans who say defective earplugs made by 3M caused
their hearing damage.

 

 

Finley, who used the earplugs while serving in the Army from 2006 to 2014,
was awarded $7.5 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive
damages. The verdict surpassed the $13 million jurors awarded a U.S. Army
sergeant last month.

 

The trial was the eighth so far to reach a verdict, with plaintiffs in four
other cases winning more than $29 million combined. Juries sided with 3M in
three others, and two more trials are underway, with more to come.

 

 

"We will ensure that 3M is held fully accountable for putting profits over
the safety of those who served our nation," the lead lawyers for the
plaintiffs - Bryan Aylstock, Shelley Hutson and Christopher Seeger - said in
a joint statement.

 

3M called the verdict disappointing. It said it will continue defending
itself and that 3M remained confident the Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2 was
safe and effective.

 

Aearo Technologies LLC, which 3M bought in 2008, developed the product.
Plaintiffs allege the company hid design flaws, fudged test results and
failed to provide instruction in the proper use of the earplugs. read more

 

For the earplugs to work properly, the flexible cups on the side protruding
from the ear sometimes had to be folded back. If not, the plugs would slowly
loosen and noise would seep in. Veterans contend 3M failed to convey the
need to fold the plugs.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Tesla's Elon Musk says he is 'thinking of quitting' his jobs

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is
"thinking of" leaving his jobs and becoming an influencer, the world's
richest man tweeted on Thursday.

 

"Thinking of quitting my jobs & becoming an influencer full-time wdyt," Musk
said in the tweet, without elaborating.

 

 

It was not immediately clear if Musk, a prolific user of the social media
platform, was being serious about quitting his roles.

 

Musk, who is also the founder and CEO of rocket company SpaceX, and leads
brain-chip startup Neuralink and infrastructure firm The Boring Company,
said during a conference call in January that he expects to be the CEO of
Tesla for "several years." read more

 

 

"It would be nice to have a bit more free time on my hands as opposed to
just working day and night, from when I wake up to when I go to sleep 7 days
a week. Pretty intense."

 

Last month, he asked his followers on Twitter whether he should sell 10% of
his stake in the electric-car maker, to which the majority agreed. He has
sold shares worth nearly $12 billion since. read more

 

The billionaire is known for his Twitter banter and lively interactions with
followers which have in the past raised regulatory and corporate governance
questions, lawyers have said.

 

Musk was fined $20 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
for tweets in 2018 and was required to step down as chairman.

 

Howard Fischer, a partner at law firm Moses & Singer, said he doubted Musk's
latest tweets violated any rules because they were too vague.

 

He added: "I think that Musk’s social media comments are subject to a
substantial discount, as it were, by the market, as compared to other
executives."

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Drugmakers aim big price hikes at U.S. patients, congressional report finds

(Reuters) - Drugmakers have targeted the U.S. market to earn outsized
profits from old medicines, according to a report released on Friday by the
House Oversight Committee that highlighted Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N), Novo
Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) and Sanofi (SASY.PA), which dominate the market for
insulin.

 

The staff report also noted pricing and marketing tactics by Pfizer Inc
(PFE.N) that helped it earn billions of dollars from its now off-patent pain
drug Lyrica.

 

 

The report, put out following a nearly three-year probe, took issue with
assertions by the pharmaceutical industry that high drug prices were needed
to fund innovation and research and development programs.

 

"The Committee's investigation also found that companies dedicated a
significant portion of their R&D expenditures to research that was intended
to extend market monopolies, support the companies' marketing strategies,
and suppress competition," the report said.

 

 

The report, which focused on 12 drugs made by 10 companies, said that Lilly,
Novo Nordisk and Sanofi own some 90% of the market for life-sustaining
insulin, which was invented in the 1920s.

 

A Lilly spokesperson said the company offers discounts to make its insulin
affordable. A Sanofi spokesperson said the price of its insulin product
Lantus had declined almost 45% since 2012. A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said
the report reflected a limited picture of the company's efforts to make
drugs accessible.

 

Medicare, the U.S. government health insurance program for those age 65 and
older and the disabled, could have saved more than $16.7 billion from 2011
to 2017 on insulin purchases had it been allowed to negotiate discounts with
drug companies, the report found.

 

"We found that drug companies target American patients for price increases,
in large part because Medicare is prohibited from negotiating for lower
prices. At the same time, the drug companies maintained or cut prices for
the rest of the world," Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney said at a news
conference on Friday.

 

The high prices have had human costs. More than 40% of insulin-dependent
patients surveyed said they rationed their medicine in the previous year,
the Colorado attorney general's office found in a 2020 report.

 

PRODUCT HOPPING

 

President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan, which passed the House and
should come before the Senate this year, includes a provision allowing
Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers, although only for a small number of
medicines. read more

 

The report also found that some pharmaceutical companies engage in what it
called "product hopping," a practice of making small tweaks to formulations
to get a new patent and then switching patients to the newer, more expensive
version. There are bills before Congress to ban product hopping. read more

 

Among big-selling insulin products, Eli Lilly raised the price of its
Humalog 1,219% per vial since it launched, Novo Nordisk raised the price of
NovoLog 627% since launch and Sanofi has raised the price of Lantus 715%,
the report found.

 

The report also found that Pfizer targeted the U.S. market for higher prices
for its blockbuster Lyrica, as well as using product hopping to prevent
patients from shifting to cheaper, generic versions of the medicine.

 

Lyrica's price had gone up 420% since it was approved in 2004, the report
said. It had sales of about $2 billion in 2019.

 

Pfizer did not have an immediate comment.

 

The report also listed price hikes of 825% for Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries' (TEVA.TA) Copaxone, 486% for Amgen's (AMGN.O) Enbrel, 395% for
Novartis' (NOVN.S) decades-old Gleevec, more than 100,000% for
Mallinckrodt's Acthar, 471% for AbbVie's (ABBV.N) Humira and 82% for its
Imbruvica, and 255% for Celgene's Revlimid, now owned by Bristol Myers
Squibb (BMY.N).

 

Most of the drugs mentioned in the report are over a decade old.

 

Novartis said it invested over 18% of its global revenue into R&D.
Mallinckrodt and Bristol Myers did not have an immediate comment. Amgen,
AbbVie, and Teva did not respond to requests for comment.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Ford expects to triple electric Mustang output by 2023

(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) expects to triple the output of its
all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV to over 200,000 units per year by 2023 for
North America and Europe, its Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said in a
tweet on Friday.

 

"It's hard to produce Mustang Mach-Es fast enough to meet the incredible
demand, but we are sure going to try." Farley added.

 

 

In a hot electrical vehicle market, Ford is pitting itself against the likes
of century-old rival General Motors Co (GM.N) and European carmaker
Stellantis (STLA.MI), while chasing Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and global EV
leader Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).

 

Last week, a top Ford executive said that the company was aiming for annual
EV production capacity of nearly 600,000 within the next two years, which
would also include its Lightning pickup and E-Transit van.

 

Lisa Drake, the chief operating officer of Ford North America, said that the
company's optimism stemmed from increasing demand for its F-150 Lightning
pickup, with retail reservations approaching 200,000. read more

 

Automotive News reported earlier on Friday that Ford was postponing the
production of electric versions of the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator
crossovers by about one and a half years to increase manufacturing of its
Mustang Mach-E SUVs.

 

Ford told its suppliers that production of these new EVs is now scheduled to
start in December 2024, according to the report.

 

Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Automotive
News report.

 

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
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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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