Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 04 February 2021
Bulls n Bears
bulls at bullszimbabwe.com
Thu Feb 4 08:52:44 CAT 2021
<https://bullszimbabwe.com/>
<http://www.bullszimbabwe.com> Bullszimbabwe.com <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=View%20and%20Comments> Views & Comments <https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/> Bullish Thoughts <http://www.twitter.com/BullsBears2010> Twitter <https://www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe> Facebook <http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bulls-n-bears-zimbabwe/57/577/72> LinkedIn <https://chat.whatsapp.com/CF6wllAfScU9Wr6dXxoQnO> WhatsApp <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe
Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 04 February 2021
<https://www.nedbank.co.zw/>
ü Brits snap up Australian wine that didn't go to China
ü Capitol riots: Parler boss says he has been fired by the board
ü eBay boosted by Christmas surge in online orders
ü Beckham-backed cannabis skincare firm to sell shares on London Stock Exchange
ü Chip shortage hits General Motors production
ü Asian stocks ease on China liquidity worries, stimulus hopes lift U.S. bond yields
ü 'Reddit rally' stocks bounce on day after selloff, then dip after hours
ü Qualcomm shares drop as chip supply constraints hold back sales
ü Two Google engineers resign over firing of AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru
ü McKinsey to pay $573 million to settle claims over opioid crisis role: source
ü Ebay earnings beat on pandemic-driven surge in online shopping; shares soar
ü Alibaba sets initial price guidance on $5 billion bond offering: term sheet
ü Rio Tinto board could face pressure on Indigenous broken promise claim
ü Gambia: The Gambia Now Has Its First Woman-Owned Organic Cotton Farm
ü Namibia: Covid-19 Accelerates Commercial Farming Dreams
ü Sudan: Cooking Gas Protestors Block Khartoum Street
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw>
Brits snap up Australian wine that didn't go to China
Sales of Australian wine to the UK have surged almost 30% in the last year as producers try to overcome crippling taxes on exports to China.
Wine producers have ramped up exports to Europe to a 10-year high, with the UK now the number one destination.
China increased taxes by a massive 212% in November following a trade spat with Australia which has also affected goods including lobsters and coal.
Wine Australia said the UK sales surge was helped by lockdowns and Brexit.
The value of wine exports to Europe climbed 22% last year, while "standout performer" the UK saw shipments jump 29% according to government figures.
Wine Australia, a government organisation set up to promote and regulate the wine industry, said demand increased at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and was boosted in the months leading up to Brexit.
The sharp rise in sales to Europe helped offset a big slump in exports to China in the last two months of 2020.
Wine exports to China fell just 1% in value last year, given that the high tariffs imposed by Beijing were only imposed in November.
For the first nine months of last year, China was the biggest destination for Australia's wine exports, accounting for 39%.
The UK is now the biggest destination for Australian wine exports by volume, with Brits buying up 266 million litres (29.6 million cases) in 2020.
The most popular varieties were shiraz/syrah which accounted for 29% of UK sales last year, followed by chardonnay (25%) and cabernet sauvignon (10%).
"Due to the Covid lockdown they are not drinking wines in restaurants and cafes… but instead buying retail. Australian wines have sold extremely well in UK retail for decades," a Wine Australia spokesman told the BBC.
Anti-dumping
China's tensions with Australia started out as a political spat that spilled over into trade.
Officials in China have argued that some Australian wine is being sold cheaper there (dumped) than in its home market through the use of subsidies. Australia has rejected this claim.
China's commerce ministry said the tariffs, ranging from 107% to 212%, were temporary anti-dumping measures while it carried out a year-long investigation.
"The Australian government categorically rejects any allegation that our wine producers are dumping product into China," Australia's agriculture minister David Littleproud said in November.
"Australian wine is hugely popular both in China and across the globe due to its high quality and we are confident that a full and thorough investigation will confirm this."
Exports to mainland China immediately fell following the tariffs in November. Overall value for 2020 declined 14% to A$1bn (£560m).—BBC
Capitol riots: Parler boss says he has been fired by the board
The board of self-styled "free speech-driven" social media platform Parler has fired its chief executive John Matze, he said on Wednesday.
Parler was favoured by many US conservatives who objected to content rules on Facebook and Twitter.
It has far fewer users than either of its rivals, but grew rapidly the wake of the US presidential election.
The platform has been largely offline since the 6 January riot in Washington DC.
"On January 29, 2021, the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO of Parler. I did not participate in this decision," Mr Matze said in a memo sent to Parler staff, originally reported by Fox News.
Mr Matze didn't give a reason for his termination.
"Over the past few months, I've met constant resistance to my product vision, my strong belief in free speech and my view of how the Parler site should be managed," the memo said.
Mr Matze appeared to confirm the story, posting it to his LinkedIn account, saying "this is not a goodbye. Just a so long for now".
Still offline
Parler first launched in 2018, but its user base surged after the 2020 US election, when it was the most downloaded app in the US.
But Parler's user base of 12 million is just a fraction of its rival Twitter, which has more than 300 million.
The tech companies that provided the infrastructure it needed to operate dropped Parler after supporters of the former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in Washington.
Amazon's cloud-hosting division as well as Google and Apple's app stores said they removed Parler because it was unable or unwilling to police content that encouraged or incited violence against others.
Parler is suing Amazon Web Services (AWS), accusing it of breaking anti-trust laws by removing it.
The platform said AWS's decision to terminate Parler's account was motivated by "political animus" and was deigned to reduce competition among microblogging services, thereby helping its competitor Twitter.
Although Parler hasn't released a full list of its financial supporters, heiress and Republican Party donor Rebekah Mercer and conservative commentator Dan Bongino are among the companies known backers.--BBC
eBay boosted by Christmas surge in online orders
eBay has reported a jump in sales over the festive season, as coronavirus lockdowns spurred more shoppers to buy presents online.
The online marketplace saw revenues rise to $2.9bn (£2.1bn) for the three months ending 31 December 2020, beating analysts' expectations.
The number of annual active buyers grew by 7% to 185 million.
eBay's chief executive Jamie Iannone said the firm "will be stronger coming out of the pandemic than going in".
The firm saw its gross merchandise volume - a measure of the total value of goods and services transacted on the platform - jump 21% to $26.6bn, compared to the same period in 2019.
Shares jumped 9% to $63.46 in late trading on the news.
The online marketplace said that a top trend for holiday shoppers in 2020 was purchasing refurbished gifts on the platform, while sales of luxury watches and trainers climbed after eBay launched an authenticity guarantee for these two product categories.
Mr Iannone told shareholders that "what inspires me most is the support we've been able to extend to small businesses - providing them with tools, resources and access to millions of buyers globally".--BBC
Beckham-backed cannabis skincare firm to sell shares on London Stock Exchange
A company backed by David Beckham, which uses compounds found in cannabis to make skincare and athletic products, plans to sell shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Cellular Goods has sold a stake to DB Ventures, the former footballer's investment firm, Sky News reported.
The company makes its products in labs, rather than from plants.
It is part of a growing market for products which use chemicals found in cannabis for skin regimes.
The BBC has approached Mr Beckham and DB Ventures for comment.
Two of the main active chemicals found in cannabis plans are cannabidiol (CBD) - often used in skincare products - and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
While THC is a controlled substance, cannabidiol is not.
Cellular Goods aims to sell products from September 2021, according to its website, which will make it the first firm of its kind to debut on the LSE.
Cannabis companies can list on the LSE so long as they are medicinal, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) watchdog decided last year.
While many recreational drug companies have sprung up in the US, where states in including California have legalised it, those companies can't raise money in London, as it is illegal in the UK.
"The last few years have seen massive growth and awareness of the importance of wellness and self-care and we believe cannabinoids will prove to be the king of wellness ingredients," said Cellular Goods chief executive Alexis Abraham.
"The appetite for cannabinoid products is huge and the biosynthetic cannabinoids we will be exclusively using are cleaner, greener, purer, and frankly the future."
Some tests show that stronger forms of CBD can help reduce the number of epileptic seizures in some patients, by more than 40%.
But the CBD products you will find on sale right now in the UK all contain CBD at much lower doses.
UK companies must be careful about what they say about the ability of CBD oils. Not much is known for sure about how effective they are.--BBC
Chip shortage hits General Motors production
General Motors (GM) is the latest automaker to feel the effects of a global semiconductor chip shortage.
The automotive giant said it would cut production entirely at three of its factories in North America next week.
In addition, a factory in South Korea would run at half capacity, the carmaker said on Wednesday.
The production cut comes as US chipmaker Qualcomm's quarterly results missed expectations.
Although Qualcomm doesn't make the chips that are affecting the automotive plants, the company works with some of the same chip manufacturers that currently facing backlogs.
GM did not disclose how much volume it would lose or which supplier was affected by the chip shortage.
"Despite our mitigation efforts, the semiconductor shortage will impact GM production in 2021. We are currently assessing the overall impact, but our focus is to keep producing our most in-demand products," GM said in a statement.
The company suggested that solving the problem could be tricky.
"Semiconductor supply for the global auto industry remains very fluid," the statement said.
The shortage has led several other automakers to cut production, including Volkswagen, Ford, Subaru, Toyota and Nissan
IHS Markit has predicted that production in the global car sector will be 672,000 vehicles lower than anticipated in the first quarter.
The forecasting firm expects the shortage to last into the third quarter.
Taiwan, which has one of the world's largest chipmaking industries, is at the centre of efforts to resolve the shortage.
Taiwanese chipmakers have promised to increase production while the government has urged them to address the problem.
Hampering growth
GM's factory shutdowns come as US chipmaker Qualcomm reports it results.
Qualcomm shares fell 7.6% in after-hours trading on Wednesday as the company said that semiconductor supply constraints were hampering its sales growth.
The company said sales and adjusted profit were $8.2bn (£6bn).
Although the number is only slightly short of analysts expectations, Wall Street had expected healthy gains after the US government blacklisted Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
Analysts had expected much of Huawei's market share in the premium smartphone market would flow to Android-based rivals who use Qualcomm's chips.--BBC
Asian stocks ease on China liquidity worries, stimulus hopes lift U.S. bond yields
TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares dipped on Thursday as tight liquidity conditions in China curbed buying for now, though improving corporate earnings, expectations of large U.S. stimulus and subsiding retail frenzy all supported risk sentiment.
U.S. bond prices extended their decline, with the 30-year yield hitting its highest level since March, following stronger economic data and a push in Washington to pass a massive relief plan.
MSCI’s ex-Japan Asian-Pacific index fell 0.2% while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.4%, both snapping a three-day winning streak.
Asian shares were hampered by tight liquidity in China after the country’s short-term interest rates rose again, reversing falls in the previous two days.
“In Asia, risk assets have been sensitive to liquidity conditions in China as authorities have been tightening their stance in recent weeks,” said Masahiko Loo, portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.
Higher interest rates raised worries Chinese policymakers may be starting to shift to a tighter stance to rein in share prices and property markets.
The lackluster start to Asian trade followed a tepid Wall Street session.
The S&P 500 gained 0.10% while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.02%. NYSE Fang+ index of leading tech giants hit an intraday record high, thanks to 7.4% gain in Google parent Alphabet following its strong earnings.
Markets on the whole have calmed significantly in the past few days with measure of investors’ expectations on market volatilities such as the Cboe Volatility index slipping back to the lowest levels in over a week.
As retail trading frenzy faded, stock prices of GameStop and other social media favorites subsided, while silver also steadied, having already wiped out gains made on Monday.
Expectations of a large U.S. stimulus package underpin risk assets as the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress pushed ahead with a maneuver to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package without Republican support.
While it is unclear how much compromise the Democrats are willing to make with Republicans who are calling for a smaller package, many investors expect an additional spending of at least $1 trillion.
“Either way, U.S. stimulus will push economic growth even higher after the first quarter and buoy risk market sentiment globally,” said John Vail, chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management.
U.S. bonds reacted strongly to the possibility of bigger borrowing, with the 30-year bond last up 2.2 basis points at 1.934%, a level last seen in late March.
The benchmark 10-year yield rose 1.8 basis points to 1.149%, edging near 10-month high of 1.187% marked in January.
In the currency market, rising U.S. yields helped the dollar against its peers, with its index staying near its highest levels in about two months.
In addition, some market players say the U.S. lead in vaccinations over other nations is starting to boost the prospects of an earlier economic recovery in the United States, helping the dollar.
Against the yen, the dollar changed hands at 105.04, near Tuesday’s high of 105.17, its highest level since mid-November.
The euro stood at $1.20365, having hit a two-month low of $1.2004 overnight.
The common currency failed to capitalise on improved sentiment in Italy, where government bond yields tumbled after former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi accepted the task of trying to form a new government.
Gold also fell 0.6% to $1,821.90 per ounce.
Oil markets continued to advance as U.S. inventories hit their lowest level in almost a year.
U.S. crude rose 0.75% to $56.11 per barrel and Brent gained 0.67% to $58.85. Both stood near their highest levels in about 11 months.
'Reddit rally' stocks bounce on day after selloff, then dip after hours
(Reuters) - GameStop and other social media darlings rebounded in calmer trading on Wednesday from their sharp sell-off in the prior session as investors turned their focus to the possibility of tighter U.S. trading regulations.
However, the so-called “Reddit rally” cooled again in after hours trade, as GameStop and AMC Entertainment, the main targets hyped on investment forums, fell.
Mass buying over the past two weeks by amateur traders following posts on social media fueled a fierce rally in companies that big hedge funds had bet against, including videogame retailer GameStop and cinema operator AMC.
GameStop had soared as high as $483 last week, fueled by posts on the Reddit forum WallStreetBets, then dived and on Tuesday fell briefly below $90.
On Wednesday GameStop shares closed up 2.68% at around $92.41. They seesawed all day but within a range, while shares of AMC rose 14.71% a day after dropping 41%.
After the closing bell, GameStop was off 2.61% while AMC dipped 2.23%.
Some professional investors bemoaned the volatility and warned that retail investors who piled in could ultimately face big losses.
“The fundamentals are well known and obviously the stock prices have detached from the fundamentals,” said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities. “I have told people just stay away, it is dynamite and who knows when, how or where it blows up.”
Many Reddit users on WallStreetBets exhorted one another to stay in the stocks despite the big swings.
“Hold and buy more” AMC shares, wrote Reddit user Avocadochicken93, “TO THE MOON AND BEYOND!”
Silver prices advanced modestly after surging on Monday to eight-year highs, and analysts expected more volatility, even after Reddit posts urged traders to avoid silver.
The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will meet with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and heads of the Federal Reserve and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as soon as Thursday, a Treasury official told Reuters. The SEC is reviewing social media posts for signs of potential fraud, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed sources. [L4N2K94J4]
Yellen has asked to discuss volatility and promoting fair and efficient markets.
Her meeting will probably include “some disguised reference to GameStop somewhere on the fringes, but it probably won’t be called out specifically,” said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
Experts expect focus to fall on the ever-larger role played by hedge funds and other non-bank firms in financial markets.
Online brokerage app Robinhood will allow investors to buy parts of shares in GameStop and AMC.
St. Louis Fed president James Bullard said frenzied trading is not the result of the Fed’s loose monetary policy.
Regulators have not yet signaled what form any official actions could take. Potential targets range from retail brokers’ capital requirements to questioning the fee-free brokerage model.
This issue is global. European regulators are monitoring the risk that a surge in retail investors and online brokers could create bubbles inflated by social media, France’s AMF markets watchdog said.
The benchmark S&P 500 closed slightly higher and the CBOE volatility index eased for the third straight session. [.N]
“There isn’t much of a worry that this is a signal that could destabilize the whole system,” said Simona Gambarini, markets economist at Capital Economics.
Other so-called “meme stocks” caught up in the Reddit rally rose on Wednesday, with headphone maker Koss Corp and home furnishing retailer Bed Bath & Beyond rising 27.95% and 10.40%, respectively. BlackBerry Ltd’s U.S.-listed shares were up 3.9%, following a 21% slide a day earlier.
All of those shares also fell after hours.
GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry and Koss did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Bed Bath & Beyond declined to comment.
GameStop named three new executives Wednesday to further a push into e-commerce that began moving the stock in January.
The number of shorted GameStop shares edged higher, according to the latest data from analytics firm S3 Partners.
The retail trading boom drove volumes in U.S. equity options to a record monthly high in January. Some investors may now be turning to “put options,” often used to protect against losses or position for declines in a stock’s price, as an alternative to shorting, analysts say.
Qualcomm shares drop as chip supply constraints hold back sales
(Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc shares fell 7.6% in after-hours trading on Wednesday as the company said that semiconductor supply constraints that have roiled the industry were hampering its sales growth.
The results come as chip shortages force automakers such as General Motors Co on Wednesday to cut production at multiple plants. While Qualcomm does not make the chips that are holding up automotive plants, the company works with some of the same chip contract manufacturers that are backed up. Qualcomm executives told Reuters that supplies will remain tight through the first half of 2021 without detailing the supply issue.
“If we could make more, we could sell it,” Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf told Reuters in an interview.
The share price declines for the San Diego, California-based chip designer came even as it forecast fiscal second-quarter sales and profits above Wall Street expectations, driven by a wave of phone buyers around the world upgrading their devices for 5G network connectivity.
Wall Street had expected healthy gains for the company after the U.S. government blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a move that made it difficult for the Chinese brand to build handsets. Analysts had expected much of its market share in the premium smartphone market to flow to Android-based rival makers who use Qualcomm’s chips, but the gains disappointed investors.
“Now with the change in the market, we have kind of 16% of the market that was not available to us before being available. So as we kind of look further out, we see this as a pretty material expansion of (addressable market) for us,” Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala said on a call.
Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Bernstein, called Qualcomm’s results “respectable” but said expectations had been high. “It’s not a blowout,” he said.
Qualcomm’s strategy is changing as its chips become more profitable and a bigger part of its business, but a concurrent decline in its lucrative license revenues held its gross margins flat.
For the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 27, Qualcomm said sales and adjusted profit were $8.24 billion and $2.17 per share, compared with analyst estimates of $8.27 billion and $2.10 per share, according to Refinitiv data. Chip and licensing revenue were $6.53 billion and $1.66 billion, respectively, beating estimates, according to FactSet data.
Qualcomm forecast sales with a midpoint of $7.6 billion and adjusted profit at a midpoint of $1.65 per share, slightly above expectations, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Qualcomm is the world’s biggest supplier of chips that help mobile phones connect to cellular data networks, providing chips to Apple Inc and other handset makers. Qualcomm disclosed Wednesday that chip sales to Apple are slightly less profitable than chip sales to other phone makers because Apple does not also buy additional software from Qualcomm in the way that Android device makers do.
But the company is also building out businesses supplying chips to automakers such as General Motors, which last week disclosed a deal to source chips from Qualcomm, and challenging Intel Corp with new processors for laptop and desktop computers.
Two of the company’s newer business lines - radio frequency chips to help devices handle newer 5G signals and internet-of-things chips for devices such as wireless headphones - have now become billion-dollar-per-quarter businesses.
Cristiano Amon, the company’s president who will take over as chief executive in June, said the company was “well hedged” among chip suppliers because it sources parts from multiple contract manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. But he added that demand was outstripping supply as rivals of Huawei, which largely did not use Qualcomm’s chips, moved in to take the Chinese brand’s market share.
“We’re seeing growth of share in a preeminent high tier,” Amon said.
Qualcomm forecast a midpoint of $6.25 billion in revenue for its chip business in the fiscal second quarter, beating estimates of $5.62 billion, according to data from FactSet. Qualcomm forecast a midpoint of sales for its licensing business, which has higher margins than its chip business and generates much of its profit, of $1.35 billion, lower than estimates of $1.43 billion, according to FactSet.
The higher sales of chips - and chips with better margins - accounted for the company’s above-expectations profit forecast despite falling short of estimates for its licensing business, Palkhiwala told Reuters.
Qualcomm said first-quarter sales for handset chips were $4.22 billion, jumping 79% from a year before on the strength of 5G phone upgrades. Sales of radio frequency chips, a growth area for Qualcomm, increased 157% to $1.06 billion. Automotive chips sales were $212 million, up 44% from the previous year.
Two Google engineers resign over firing of AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An engineering director and a software developer have quit Alphabet Inc’s Google over the dismissal of AI researcher Timnit Gebru, a sign of the ongoing conflicts at the search giant over diversity and ethics.
David Baker, a director focused on user safety, left Google last month after 16 years because Gebru’s exit “extinguished my desire to continue as a Googler,” he said in a letter seen by Reuters. Baker added, “We cannot say we believe in diversity, and then ignore the conspicuous absence of many voices from within our walls.”
Software engineer Vinesh Kannan said Wednesday on Twitter that he had left the company on Tuesday because Google mistreated Gebru and April Christina Curley, a recruiter who has said she was wrongly fired last year. Both Gebru and Curley identify as Black.
“They were wronged,” Kannan said.
Google declined to comment, but pointed to previous statements that it is looking to restore employees’ trust after Gebru’s departure and that it disputes Curley’s accusation.
The resignations come as workers have demanded commitments to academic freedom and management change in Google’s research organization. More than 800 people joined a union announced last month to advance workplace protections, and more than 2,600 of its 135,000 employees signed a December letter supporting Gebru.
Baker, whose resignation letter was shared with an internal affinity group for Black employees, told Reuters he stood by his remarks.
Kannan did not have an immediate comment.
Gebru, who co-led a team on AI ethics, says she pushed back on orders to pull research that speech technology like Google’s could disadvantage marginalized groups. Reuters reported in December that Google had told some staff not to cast its technology in a negative light.
McKinsey to pay $573 million to settle claims over opioid crisis role: source
(Reuters) - Consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to pay at least $573 million to resolve claims by 40-plus U.S. states related to its role in the opioid epidemic and advice it gave to OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The settlement is with 43 states, the District of Columbia and three territories, the person said on Wednesday. Several attorneys general said they planned announcements on the opioid epidemic on Thursday.
They included Vermont’s attorney general, T.J. Donovan, whose office said it would announce its participation in the first multi-state opioid settlement “to result in substantial payment to the states to address the epidemic.”
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he had reached a separate, $13 million settlement with McKinsey that was on top of the reported multi-state agreement.
McKinsey did not respond to requests for comment.
McKinsey previously came under scrutiny for its role advising Purdue Pharma and the wealth Sackler family that owns the drugmaker.
A lawsuit by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey alleged McKinsey advised the Sacklers on how to “turbocharge” opioid sales.
Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 as part of a proposed settlement it valued at $10 billion to resolve lawsuits alleging its painkiller marketing helped fuel the epidemic.
More than 3,200 lawsuits are pending, seeking to hold drug makers, distributors and pharmacies responsible for an opioid addiction epidemic that according to U.S. government data resulted in 450,000 overdose deaths from 1999 to 2018.
The lawsuits accuse drugmakers of deceptively marketing opioids and distributors of ignoring red flags indicating the prescription painkillers were being diverted for improper uses. They deny wrongdoing.
The states and local governments have been also in negotiations for settlements with drug distributors Cardinal Health Inc, McKesson Corp and Amerisourcebergen Corp and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson.
Ebay earnings beat on pandemic-driven surge in online shopping; shares soar
(Reuters) - E-commerce firm eBay Inc said on Wednesday it would emerge “stronger” from the COVID-19 crisis after a pandemic-driven surge in online shopping helped the company beat estimates for sales and profit in the holiday quarter.
Shares of the company were up nearly 10% in extended trade.
The global health crisis has forced millions of Americans to stay indoors, leading to a jump in online orders for e-commerce companies including eBay, Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc’s online business.
“We’ll be stronger coming out of the pandemic than we were going in,” eBay Chief Executive Officer Jamie Iannone said in an interview with Reuters.
The company was benefiting from its updated strategy, Iannone said, which includes drawing shoppers through fashion offerings including sneakers and watches, enabling easier payments and improving its mobile app.
EBay, a marketplace known for unique or hard-to-find inventory, is not focused on copying larger e-commerce rivals, he added.
“Our buyers were very active during the holiday season. In the United States, one in 10 online shoppers bought something on eBay. In Germany, that number was one in seven and in the UK, it was one in four,” Iannone said on a conference call with analysts.
EBay also projected first-quarter revenue in the range of $2.94 billion to $2.99 billion, above estimates of $2.53 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
“EBay is increasingly proving that it has the ability to sustain the gains it is seeing from Covid. We expect these trends to increasingly become ingrained in consumer behavior, providing support in 2021,” Wedbush analyst Ygal Arounian said.
The company also expanded share repurchase authorization by an additional $4 billion.
Annual active buyers grew by 7%, to a total of 185 million global active buyers, while refurbished gifts emerged as a top trend for the holiday shoppers, the company said.
Revenue in the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, rose to $2.87 billion from $2.24 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.70 billion.
Excluding items, eBay earned 86 cents per share, above estimates of 83 cents per share.
Alibaba sets initial price guidance on $5 billion bond offering: term sheet
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Thursday set in motion its $5 billion U.S. dollar bond deal by announcing the initial price guidance in a marketing term sheet reviewed by Reuters.
Alibaba flagged a price range of 130 basis points over U.S. 10-year Treasuries for the 10-year tranche and 140 basis points over U.S. 20-year Treasuries for the 20-year tranche.
It is selling the debt in four tranches which also includes 30 and 40-year bonds, the term sheet showed.
Investor response to the deal will test sentiment towards Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s business empire amid regulatory scrutiny triggered by a speech in late October that publicly criticised the country’s regulatory system.
That set off a chain of events that resulted in the halting of affiliate Ant Group’s $37 billion stock market listing.
A final price for the bonds is expected to be set later on Thursday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter who is not authorised to speak to the media.
Rio Tinto board could face pressure on Indigenous broken promise claim
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Rio Tinto chairman Simon Thompson is set to face further pressure over the board’s handling of the destruction of sacred rock shelters in Australia after an Indigenous group accused him of breaking a personal promise, analysts said.
The traditional owners of the rock shelters said Thompson had told them Rio’s acting head of iron ore, Ivan Vella, who had led reconciliation efforts, would see the process through to its end, The Australian newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a letter to Rio from the traditional owners.
Rio announced last week that Vella would move to Canada to head up its aluminium business, while Chief Commercial Officer Simon Trott would take charge of iron ore.
The PKKP had told Rio of their concerns that frequent leadership turnover prevented the groups building longstanding relationships of trust, the newspaper said.
The destruction last year of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters, while legal, sparked a public and investor uproar that led to the resignation of then CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two deputies, and a promise by Rio Tinto to repair ties.
Thompson is likely to face increasing pressure to step down, given the recent spotlight on social issues that is worrying investors, even with solid financial results, said David Lennox of Fat Prophets in Sydney which holds Rio shares.
“The institutional shareholders are starting to get a greater whiff of the responsibilities of being a shareholder. In the past, they didn’t care. Those days are long gone,” he said.
In the letter to Rio, Wilson said the group had explicitly asked Thompson to clarify who would be responsible for mending the relationship, following the destruction of the shelters to extend iron ore mining, The Australian said.
“Mr Thompson was unequivocal in his response; Ivan Vella was nominated as having full board imprimatur for repairing the relationship from a Rio Tinto perspective. This responsibility was to have lasted from that meeting through to the conclusion of the repair,” the letter said.
Shareholder advocacy group the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility said the latest move by the global miner suggested “that Rio still views its relationship with traditional owners as ‘an afterthought’.”
“ACCR believes that investors should hold Thompson and other board members accountable, and insist on necessary, constructive change to the company’s board composition,” it said in a statement.
Rio is due to hold its London annual general meeting in April and its Australian AGM in May.
“The empty ‘trust’ bucket just got knocked over by the chairman ... it is becoming increasingly clear that changes need to be made at the board level,” said analyst Peter O’Connor at broker Shaw and Partners in Sydney.
The PKKP said it only found out about the recent leadership changes through the media, and that Thompson had not made any formal contact to explain the changes and their impact on the reconciliation process, the paper said.
The PKKP told Reuters through a spokesman it had been in contact with Rio Tinto recently but declined to comment on the specific nature of any correspondence or discussions.
Asked for comment on the report, Rio Tinto said rebuilding trust with the PKKP remained a “priority”, and that it was appropriate the relationship be led by the head of iron ore.
“We are encouraged by the progress on the planning for the remediation of the Juukan Gorge area but readily acknowledge we have a lot more work ahead of us,” it said in a statement.
Gambia: The Gambia Now Has Its First Woman-Owned Organic Cotton Farm
Elsie's Women Empowerment Farm is the first women-owned farm producing organic cotton in the Gambia, and as the name might suggest, women's economic empowerment is at the heart of this enterprise. Moreover, as a member of the Young Female Farmers Association, Elsie A. Williams works together with the association to boost women's role in agriculture.
'My vision was to revitalize cotton production in The Gambia,' says the farm owner. 'When we are successful with this, much more people will have jobs. I told myself to take the responsibility and mobilise other women, as I cannot do this alone.'
The Gambia has a rich history in cotton production - a major cash crop in the 1970s and 1980s. However, as a result of political changes, cotton production and export decreased significantly at the end of the century.
Observing the shifting market, Elsie identified a growing demand for organic cotton in recent years. This trend motivated her to start the Elsie Women Empowerment Farm in 2019.
'We do not use harmful chemicals and at the same time get good prices in export. The world needs more organic,' Elsie proudly proclaims.
Having received a grant from the International Trade Centre's SheTrades Gambia project, financed by the OPEC Fund for International Development and the Enhanced Integrated Framework, Elsie was able to buy land, seeds and equipment to launch her business. She also enhanced her skills through training, from courses on record keeping to packaging and product photography.
'The support from SheTrades was a very important factor for my farm to evolve,' explains the founder of Elsie Women Empowerment Farm. 'We were able to buy a weeding and seeding machine to increase the efficiency of our production. Before the training in record keeping, I had no overview of my expenses. Now, I know on what I spent my money.'
On her 5-hectare farm, Elsie employs 30 people, mostly women. While many businesses in the Gambia were heavily affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the organic farm stayed resilient, operating as usual. In the next season, Elsie expects to export over a ton of cotton while continuing to work on obtaining her organic certification.
Over the next few years, the manager intends to revitalize the cotton sector by exporting raw cotton, while establishing a value chain in the region.
While her long-term vision is the local production of woven fabric and clothes, she is now focusing on the production of cotton oil - an achievable target and one that still promises substantial value-addition.
'Many don't know that cotton oil is an effective remedy for nausea, fever, headache, diarrhoea, dysentery, nerve pain, and bleeding,' says Elsie.
The Gambian plans to sell the oil with its beneficial properties directly to local customers as well as exporting it internationally. The packaging and photography training she received from SheTrades gave her many ideas on how to proceed with this, she explains excitedly.-ITC.
Namibia: Covid-19 Accelerates Commercial Farming Dreams
Weekend farming is not a new concept in Namibia as many people regularly supplement their monthly income with some kind of part-time agricultural activity. However, a financial planner at a local bank, Aubrey Hardine, has a new inspiration, partly brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, to evolve his small-scale farm into a full-fledged commercial operation.
The financial planner, who is gradually swapping the boardroom for the tractor, currently has some 0.3 hectares of land under pumpkin cultivation, which he intends to expand to one hectare by August this year. This, he said, is his bid to contribute in the reduction of the country's over reliance on fruit and vegetable imports. These imports, mostly from South Africa, in 2019 totalled an astronomical US$59.56 million or over N$897 million at today's exchange rates.
"Covid-19 showed us the fragility of our food security but I see the pandemic as an opportunity for Namibia to utilise farmland productively to increase our food security. If we as Namibians support our local farmers, then that is how we can grow the agricultural industry to become food secure. If we all buy local fresh produce, imagine what that will do to our GDP," Hardine stated.
The pandemic's impact on job security and food import uncertainty ignited Hardine's dream to go full steam into a commercial farming operation. "I want to make farming a profitable venture. This means going commercial and that entails going far beyond just planting seeds and adding water," said Hardine.
As a full-time financial planner, Hardine had to rope in expert farming advice, which he admits was not an easy feat. After searching high and low, he eventually secured valuable mentorship and recently harvested and marketed five tons of pumpkins, for which he secured supply to local retailers towards the end of last year.
"My wife, Chantelle, and I managed to secure some land in February 2020 just before the start of the pandemic in the Rietoog area. She has really been the backbone of the operation and an excellent business partner. We both realised that this pandemic is not going away and all farmers should really find a way to meet the demand in Namibia. Once we do that then we can start looking at exporting our locally grown products to the region and beyond," Hardine added.
To be fair, Hardine already had deep roots in farming that stemmed from early exposure to crop cultivation in the Rietoog area of southern Namibia by his grandfather, Frans Willem McNab. Hardine recalls tagging along with his grandfather to market crops at a nearby town called Nabaseb.
Now, in his own pursuit of farming as a full-time activity but with his full-time corporate gig in Windhoek, he needed help on the farm. For this he asked his Windhoek-based domestic worker, Oscar Naunyango, to take up the challenge. Naunyango accepted and is now the farm manager.
Said Hardine: "Oscar really blossomed on the farm and came out of his shell. He has great ideas and we have been learning together on how to maximise our yields. One of the great aspects of farming is its scope for empowerment and creating jobs."
Meanwhile, to support local farmers, the Namibia Agronomic Board (NAB) has imposed strict regulations, effective since 1 August 2020, to curb the importation of fresh fruits and vegetables. The new measures, meant to encourage local production, involve import levies, trade levies and subjecting all aspiring and existing importers to register with the board and acquire import permits.
The new regulations are aimed at protecting local producers from excessive foreign competition and to encourage local production, said NAB.
According to the NAB's Horticulture Market Development Manager, Emilie Abraham, the regulations are in line with the Market Share Promotion (MSP) scheme to stimulate local production and the trade of horticultural products in Namibia. She noted the decision to control the imports of fruits and vegetables was taken following an increase in the importation of primary processed fruit and vegetable products that can be easily produced in Namibia using local raw materials.-New Era.
Sudan: Cooking Gas Protestors Block Khartoum Street
Khartoum — Demonstrators closed off 60 Street in Khartoum yesterday using cooking gas cylinders in protest against the rising cost of gas.
The Ministry of Energy and Mining is expecting Khartoum Gily Refinery to recommence operations, which have stalled since late December. The prices of basic commodities are rising daily.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mining Hamid Suleiman said in a press release yesterday that maintenance work at the Khartoum Gily Refinery has been accelarated.
Radio Dabanga's editorial independence means that we can continue to provide factual updates about political developments to Sudanese and international actors, educate people about how to avoid outbreaks of infectious diseases, and provide a window to the world for those in all corners of Sudan. Support Radio Dabanga for as little as €2.50, the equivalent of a cup of coffee.-Radio Dabanga.
Invest Wisely!
Bulls n Bears
Cellphone: <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674
Alt. Email: <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw
Website: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com> www.bullszimbabwe.com
Blog: <https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/> www.bullszimbabwe.com/blog
Twitter: @bullsbears2010
LinkedIn: Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe
Facebook: <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimbabwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA> www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe
Skype: Bulls.Bears
INVESTORS DIARY 2021
Company
Event
Venue
Date & Time
Companies under Cautionary
ART
PPC
Dairibord
Starafrica
Fidelity
Turnall
Medtech
Zimre
Nampak Zimbabwe
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw>
DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.
(c) 2021 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com> www.bullszimbabwe.com Email: <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77 344 1674
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210204/ed612c89/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 9458 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210204/ed612c89/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 31039 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210204/ed612c89/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 22328 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210204/ed612c89/attachment-0003.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.png
Type: image/png
Size: 34378 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210204/ed612c89/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: oledata.mso
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 65580 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20210204/ed612c89/attachment-0001.obj>
More information about the Bulls
mailing list