Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 07 June 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 07 June 2021

 


 

 


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ü  G7: Biden calls for nations to boost their economies

ü  Stay-at-home holidaymakers warned of summer essentials shortage

ü  UK's lowest-paid workers face highest jobless risk: research

ü  Australian financial crime watchdog widens casino probe, pressures Crown
Resorts buyout

ü  Oil eases as investors await Iran nuclear talks this week

ü  Air Canada executives to return bonuses after government aid outcry

ü  Musk says Tesla cancels the longest-range Model S Plaid+

ü  S&P upgrades outlook on Australia's AAA rating to stable from negative

ü  Asia breathes sigh of relief as U.S. jobs fail to shock

ü  U.S. officials up pressure on firms, foreign adversaries over
cyberattacks

ü  Gold will surge to fresh highs but bitcoin better for $7.5 bn hedge fund

ü  Indian tech leader urges embrace of cryptocurrency as an asset class

ü  Australians spent AU$26.5m in cryptocurrency to pay scammers in 2020

ü  Elon Musk’s reputation hits a low on Twitter after attacking bitcoin 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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G7: Biden calls for nations to boost their economies

The deal struck on tax understandably grabbed most of the attention at the
G7 Finance Ministers' meeting, ahead of this week's Leaders' Summit in
Cornwall.

 

This should transform the international tax treatment of multinationals, tax
havens and low tax jurisdictions.

 

But perhaps the most important decision right now, across the world, is how
to manage the withdrawal of the massive pandemic economic support packages.

 

And that is why the economic intervention of the US at this meeting and at
the upcoming Cornwall summit is of considerable importance.

 

The message from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen here in London - which will
be echoed by US President Joe Biden in Cornwall - is that all G7 nations,
including the UK, should not even be talking about withdrawal of support.

 

"G7 economies have the fiscal space to speed up their recoveries to not only
reach pre-Covid levels of GDP, but also to support a return to pre-pandemic
growth paths," said Secretary Yellen in a speech on Saturday.

 

"This is why we continue to urge a to shift in our thinking from 'let's not
withdraw support too early', to 'what more can we do now' - not just to end
the pandemic, but to use fiscal policy to invest in addressing generational
issues like climate change and inequality."

 

Pointedly, she said all G7 economies had the "fiscal space" to speed up
their recoveries, not only to make back up the size of the economy before
the pandemic, but also to catch up with what would have been a growth path,
in the absence of Covid-19.

 

Ms Yellen pointed to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections showing
that the US would be the first G7 economy to return to its pre-pandemic
size, thanks to the vaccine rollout and President Biden's giant stimulus
plans.

 

Despite record peacetime borrowing, and rising inflation, the US message to
the world is to carry on stimulating your economies, because merely
regaining the growth lost in the pandemic, will not create enough momentum
in the recovery.

 

And more than that, to morph that massive pandemic support into structural
funds, to help net-zero climate change transition and the alleviation of
poverty and inequality.

 

I had the chance to ask the US Treasury Secretary the same question pondered
in the financial markets - does the US really think, in this time of
historic borrowing and rising inflation, that it should continue with its
foot on the gas? Her answer, basically, was yes.

 

'A return to normal'

Higher inflation reflected "transitory factors", and policy should "look
through" that, she said. Much of the high inflation numbers reflected "a
return to normal".

 

"You will see some high inflation rates but remember, we saw some very low
inflation rates," said Ms Yellen.

 

She told me that the US still has more than seven million fewer jobs than it
did prior to the pandemic.

 

"A lot of people have permanently lost jobs, and those individuals may want
to move to different sectors of the economy," she said.

 

"It may take a while to get the economy back completely on track and most
individuals absorbed into long-term jobs, so we shouldn't expect this
process to be complete in a month or two."

 

However she added that if the US continued at the same pace it is on now,
she believed that the US could be back to full employment by "sometime next
year".

 

The Biden administration approach is defined, I understand, by the
President's concern that after the 2008 financial crisis, President Obama
compromised too much on the size of the economic rescue package.

 

Others point to the possibility that Mr Biden is acting like he may only do
the job for one term, so is choosing to go very big indeed, very quickly.

 

This sets a very interesting tone for the rest of the world, including the
UK.

 

And while the pandemic rescue is the immediate priority, and climate change
the long-term strategic aim, the timing and pace of the withdrawal of crisis
financial support is right now the most important judgement call, with
significant implications for millions of livelihoods.-BBC

 

 

 

Stay-at-home holidaymakers warned of summer essentials shortage

Firms are struggling to secure summer essentials like garden furniture,
picnic baskets and outdoor toys, as consumers prepare to holiday in the UK.

 

About 60% of British suppliers have experienced import delays in the past
month, according to customs clearance platform KlearNow.

 

The six-day-long Suez Canal blockage in March is partly to blame, as goods
meant to arrive weeks ago are still stuck on container ships elsewhere.

 

But there are other factors at play.

 

"A combination of Covid-19 restrictions, the backlog from the Suez Canal
blockage, increasing global demand for shipping containers, disruption to
shipping caused by India's public health crisis and a shortage of packaging
materials means UK businesses are already struggling to meet summer demand,"
said KlearNow's founder and chief executive Sam Tyagi.

 

"With competition for container space so high, some smaller businesses are
simply being priced out of landing the goods and materials that they need."

 

Items like camping equipment have seen a spike in demand as more British
families look to domestic holidays, with the government tightening rules on
international travel rules and moving Portugal to the amber list.

 

Since many popular products are manufactured in China, retailers are being
impacted by shortages in their supply chains and US retailers have
experienced similar problems procuring summer essential items.

 

However, shipping delays are only one part of the problem - according to
retail expert Kate Hardcastle, there has been an explosion of demand coming
from the hospitality industry, as it gets back onto its feet following the
third coronavirus lockdown.

 

"Campers and caravaners have got competition from restaurants and hotels for
outdoor equipment," she said.

 

"The demand is so high, not just because of a shortage in supply, but also
because things are being repurposed in very different ways."

 

One example is a small independent hotel in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire,
which has brought its entire spa operation outdoors.

 

The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa on the Bolton Abbey estate is offering a
"secret spa" experience, using eight bell tents on its lawn that customers
can rent out for the day.

 

The experience includes areas for patrons to relax and experience
hospitality around their spa treatments.

 

"We had the demand for treatment but we didn't have the space for people to
relax pre or post-treatment," the Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa's managing
director Richard Palmer told the BBC.

 

"Without the space outside, the spa business wasn't viable, so we needed to
create additional relaxation space."

 

Mr Palmer said the idea was "dreamed up" during lockdown, and the hotel set
about ordering garden furniture, bell tents and other equipment in March, as
it feared supply chain problems amid the easing of coronavirus restrictions.

 

Even so, the firm still found it a challenge to procure the items it needed
from the suppliers it was used to dealing with.

 

Marble-topped tables sourced from closed Carluccio's branches served as a
solution when the hotel was unable to procure the lawn furniture it needed.



"What we found is that your first choice is not always available and you
need to think out of the box," said Mr Palmer.

 

"Our general hospitality supply chains are not always ready - it's domestic
supply chains that have come to the rescue and even Amazon."

 

The hotel even ended up sourcing some of the lawn furniture it needed
second-hand from Carluccio's, after the troubled Italian restaurant chain
shut 40 restaurants.

 

Many other hospitality businesses are looking at similar services, because
British consumers are still concerned about their safety and more inclined
to do activities outside in the fresh air, according to Ms Hardcastle.

 

"All parties are now outside, so kids need camping gear, plastic tables and
toys," she said.

 

"Everyone's trying to compete by trying to create the theatre and ambience
and space - it's been a horrendous time for retail and this is just another
incredible challenge for retailers to deal with."--BBC

 

 

 

UK's lowest-paid workers face highest jobless risk: research

Britain's lowest-paid workers, already hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,
will be most at risk from expected rises in unemployment and job insecurity
later this year, researchers said on Monday.

 

The Resolution Foundation, a think tank that studies living standards, said
low-paid workers were returning to their jobs from furlough leave in large
numbers.

 

But the furlough scheme, which has a high concentration of low-paid workers
in sectors like hospitality, is due to close in September - raising the risk
that many of these workers will be left unemployed, the Resolution
Foundation said.

 

Its research showed workers ranked in the bottom fifth for pay were three
times more likely to have lost jobs, hours or have been furloughed than the
top-paid fifth.

 

"Big risks still lie ahead. Low-paid workers are most at risk from the
expected rise in unemployment later this year, which also risks causing
greater job insecurity," said Nye Cominetti, senior economist at the
Resolution Foundation.

 

"The government can salute the vital contribution of Britain's low-paid
workers by offering them a new post-pandemic settlement – from better pay
via a higher National Living Wage to greater security of working hours, and
proper enforcement to tackle labour market abuses."

 

Last month, the Bank of England slashed its forecasts for unemployment to
show a peak of 5.4% in the third quarter after finance minister Rishi Sunak
extended his jobs protection programme - which has cost more than 60 billion
pounds ($85 billion) so far - until the end of September.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Australian financial crime watchdog widens casino probe, pressures Crown
Resorts buyout

Australia's anti-money-laundering agency said it was investigating casino
operator Star Entertainment Group (SGR.AX) over suspected breaches of
customer due diligence laws, jeopardising a A$9 billion ($7 billion)
proposal to buy rival Crown Resorts (CWN.AX).

 

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) disclosed
the Star probe on Monday among a flurry of new investigations, including a
widening of an existing inquiry into Crown, which has been fielding takeover
approaches as a way to resolve allegations of systemic governance failings.

 

An investigation into Star, owner of Sydney's only casino, over similar
issues would most likely heighten the challenge of getting regulatory
clearance for the company's audacious buyout approach for Crown last month.
read more

 

With AUSTRAC widening its Crown probe to include its Perth resort and a
separate investigation into an Adelaide casino owned by New Zealand's Sky
Entertainment Group Ltd (SKC.NZ), owners of the main casinos in Australia's
five biggest cities are under formal investigation.

 

AUSTRAC found potential compliance breaches at Star's Sydney casino during
an assessment of its handling of "high risk and politically exposed"
customers from 2015 to 2019, triggering an "enforcement investigation", Star
said in a market filing.

 

The agency had not decided what action to take but had "indicated that it
will request information and documents from The Star as part of its
investigation", Star added, noting that it would fully cooperate.

 

AUSTRAC confirmed the investigations, which it said were the result of
"proactive regulatory work in the casino sector", but declined to comment
further.

 

Shares of Star were down 2% and of Crown were down 1% in morning trading,
against a flat overall market (.AXJO). SkyCity's New Zealand-listed shares
did not trade because of a public holiday.

 

For Crown, the investigations into its Perth complex and Star build on an
already sizeable headache: its Sydney gambling licence was suspended just
before the company planned to open a A$2.2 billion ($1.7 billion) resort
there in December over claims at a separate regulatory inquiry about company
dealings with organised crime.

 

In addition to the AUSTRAC scrutiny, Crown is navigating two subsequent
regulator inquiries into its operations in Melbourne and Perth, two
class-action lawsuits, several takeover proposals, and rolling restrictions
on trading related to COVID-19 lockdowns.

 

In a separate development on Monday, Crown said it had received legal advice
that it had contravened casino laws by selling over A$160 million of
gambling chips to people paying with credit or debit cards from 2012 to 2016
- potentially sparking yet another investigation.

 

($1 = 1.2915 Australian dollars)

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Oil eases as investors await Iran nuclear talks this week

Oil pulled back after hitting fresh multi-year highs on Monday, as investors
awaited the outcome of this week's talks between Iran and world powers over
a nuclear deal that is expected to boost crude supplies.

 

Brent crude futures for August fell 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $71.63 a barrel by
0218 GMT, after earlier hitting $72.27, their highest since May 2019. U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude for July touched $70 for the first time since
October 2018 but retreated to $69.43 a barrel, down 19 cents, or 0.3%.

 

Investors may have sold off some contracts to take profit when WTI hit $70,
said Avtar Sandu, a senior commodities manager at Phillips Futures in
Singapore.

 

"The primary concern is about Iranian barrels coming back into the market
but I don't think there will be a deal before the Iranian presidential
election," he added.

 

Both contracts have risen for the past two weeks as fuel demand is
rebounding in the United States and Europe after governments loosened
COVID-19 restrictions ahead of summer travel.

 

Global oil demand is expected to exceed supplies in the second half despite
a gradual easing of supply cuts by OPEC+ producers, analysts say.

 

A slowdown in talks between Iran and global powers in reviving a 2015
nuclear deal and a drop in U.S. rig count also supported oil prices.

 

Iran and global powers will enter a fifth round of talks on June 10 in
Vienna that could include Washington lifting economic sanctions on Iranian
oil exports. read more

 

While the European Union envoy coordinating the negotiations had said he
believed a deal would be struck at this week's talks, other senior diplomats
have said the most difficult decisions still lie ahead. read more

 

Analysts expect Iran, which is having its presidential election on June 18,
to increase its production by 500,000 to 1 million barrels per day once
sanctions are lifted.

 

In the United States, the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating fell
for the first time in six weeks as growth in drilling slowed. read more

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Air Canada executives to return bonuses after government aid outcry

Top executives at Air Canada (AC.TO) will return their bonuses and share
awards, the carrier said on Sunday, in response to "public disappointment"
over executive compensation at the airline, which received government aid in
April.

 

Air Canada said chief executive, executive vice presidents and its former
chief executive, who retired in February, would return the bonuses and share
appreciation units "in order to help address this unintended consequence."

 

The carrier said it gave out C$10 million in bonuses, adding that much of it
went to middle managers.

 

In April, Air Canada, struggling with a collapse in traffic because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, reached a deal on a long-awaited aid package with the
federal government that would allow it to access up to C$5.9 billion ($4.69
billion) in funds. About the same time, the airline made the bonus awards to
top staff.

 

Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland called the bonuses
"inappropriate" last week.

 

"While this situation could have been entirely avoided by Air Canada, we
acknowledge this step in the right direction," Freeland and Transport
Minister Omar Alhgabra said in a joint statement on Sunday. "Canadians are
right to expect responsible corporate behaviour — particularly with respect
to executive compensation — from companies receiving government financial
support during the pandemic."

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Musk says Tesla cancels the longest-range Model S Plaid+

Production for Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) longest-range Model S Plaid+ is
canceled, CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet on Sunday.

 

"Plaid+ is canceled. No need, as Plaid is just so good." Musk tweeted.

 

Model S Plaid+, which would have been Tesla's highest-end model with a
driving range of 520 miles, was unveiled at a battery event last year and
Musk said it would adopt its next generation 4680 battery cells. But
production was pushed back to 2022 from the end of 2021.

 

Musk on Sunday called the Model S Plaid the "quickest production car ever
made of any kind."

 

According to the company's website the Model S Plaid can go from zero to 60
miles per hour in 1.99 seconds and has a top speed of 200 miles per hour and
an estimated range of 390 miles.

 

"Model S goes to Plaid speed this week," he said in another tweet, without
elaborating.

 

The Model S Plaid was scheduled to be unveiled at an event on June 3, which
has been pushed to June 10.

 

The Model S Plaid costs $112,990, according to the company’s website.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

S&P upgrades outlook on Australia's AAA rating to stable from negative

S&P Global Ratings upgraded its outlook on Australia's coveted "AAA"
sovereign rating to 'stable' from 'negative' on Monday citing the country's
"swift economic recovery" from the COVID-19 pandemic driven recession.

 

Australia's A$2 trillion ($1.55 trillion) economy has rebounded sharply to
above pre-pandemic levels thanks to the country's successful handling of the
coronavirus pandemic together with massive fiscal and monetary stimulus.
read more

 

S&P said it was more confident now that the government's fiscal deficit will
narrow toward 3% of gross domestic product during the next 2-3 years after
reaching a 10% deficit in the year-ending June 2021.

 

"The government's policy response and strong economic rebound have reduced
downside risks to our economic and fiscal outlook for Australia," S&P said
in a statement.

 

S&P added its concern over Australia's high level of external and household
debt has been moderated by the country's strong track record of managing
major economic shocks.

 

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg welcomed the revised outlook,
describing it as a "resounding expression of confidence" in the government's
economic management.

 

Australia is one of just nine countries in the world to boast a 'AAA' credit
rating from all three major ratings agencies.

 

Australia is among a handful of countries globally that can boast an economy
that's larger now than before the pandemic.

 

On average, Australia's rich world peers are 2.7% smaller than they were
before the pandemic, according to research by Deloitte Access Economics,
with the United Kingdom shrinking almost 9%, the European Union contracting
by 5% and the United States 1% smaller.

 

Data out earlier showed Australia's job advertisements climbed for a 12th
straight month in May to reach their highest since 2008, prompting
economists to predict the country's unemployment rate would fall to 4.4% by
end-2022, from 5.5% now. read more

 

($1 = 1.2932 Australian dollars)

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Asia breathes sigh of relief as U.S. jobs fail to shock

Asian shares firmed on Monday while the dollar wavered after the anxiously
awaited May U.S. payrolls report showed the recovery on track but not so hot
that it might bring forward a policy tapering from the Federal Reserve.

 

Investors were curious to see how shares of major tech firms would react to
the G7's agreement on a minimum global corporate tax rate of at least 15%,
though getting the approval of the whole G20 could be a tall order. read
more

 

So far, the reaction was muted with both Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures little
changed.

 

Also of interest will be the tussle over U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed
$1.7 trillion infrastructure plan with the White House rejecting the latest
Republican offer. read more

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS)
added 0.3% and looked to break three sessions of losses. Japan's Nikkei
(.N225) rose 1.0% to touch its highest in almost a month, and South Korea
(.KS11) gained 0.7%.

 

While the 559,000 rise in U.S. payrolls missed forecasts it was still a
major relief after April's shockingly weak report, while the jobless rate at
5.8% showed there was still a long way to go to reach the Fed's goal of full
employment. read more

 

"The data was perfect for a goldilocks type outlook for risk: not too hot to
bring in fears of a faster Fed taper, and not too cold to worry about the
outlook for the recovery," said NatWest Markets strategist John Briggs.

 

"This caused a weaker USD, better stocks, reinforced the earlier bid in
commodities, and boosted emerging markets."

 

Attention will now turn to the U.S. consumer price report on Thursday where
the risk is of another high number, though the Fed still argues the spike is
transitory.

 

Briggs suspected Fed officials might open the door to talking about tapering
at the June policy meeting, with the start coming in early 2022 and a rate
hike not until 2024.

 

The European Central Bank holds its policy meeting on Thursday and is widely
expected to maintain its stimulus measures with tapering a distant prospect.

 

Yields on U.S. 10-year notes were a fraction higher at 1.567%, after diving
7 basis points on Friday and back to the bottom of the trading range of the
last three months.

 

That drop, combined with an improvement in risk appetite, put the dollar on
the defensive. It was last at 90.100 against a basket of currencies, having
slipped from a top of 90.629 on Friday.

 

The euro was holding at $1.2170 , after bouncing from a three-week trough of
$1.2102 on Friday, while the dollar was back at 109.52 yen from a peak of
110.33.

 

The pullback in the dollar helped gold steady at $1,890 an ounce , up form a
low of $1,855 on Friday.

 

Oil prices steadied after Brent topped $72 a barrel for the first time since
2019 last week as OPEC+ supply discipline and recovering demand countered
concerns about a patchy global COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

 

Brent was up 6 cents at $71.92 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 9 cents to
$69.71 per barrel.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

U.S. officials up pressure on firms, foreign adversaries over cyberattacks

U.S. officials on Sunday ratcheted up pressure on companies and foreign
adversaries to fight cybercriminals, and said President Joe Biden is
considering all options, including a military response, to counter the
growing threat.

 

The Biden administration is looking at "all of the options," to defend the
country against ransomware criminals, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
said in an interview on Sunday, when asked if military action was being
considered.

 

Raimondo did not detail what those options could look like, but said the
topic will be on the agenda when the president meets with Russian President
Vladimir Putin this month. The rising threat of cyberattacks has pushed the
Biden administration into a more aggressive stance against Russia, which is
thought to be harboring some of the perpetrators.

 

"We're not taking anything off the table as we think about possible
repercussions, consequences or retaliation," Raimondo said.

 

Last weekend, the world’s largest meatpacker was targeted by cybercriminals
and in May, the largest fuel pipeline in the United States was attacked,
stoking fears over supply disruptions of food and fuel.

 

U.S. adversaries have the ability to shut down the country's entire power
grid, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said separately in an interview
with CNN, noting "thousands of attacks on all aspects of the energy sector".

 

The recent high-profile attacks have prompted Biden to put the issue of
Russia harboring hackers on the agenda for his meeting with Putin.

 

The White House plans to use the June 16 summit to deliver a clear message
to the Russian leader, officials say. A next step could be destabilization
of the computer servers used to carry out such hacks, some cyber experts
say.

 

U.S. officials are asking private companies to be more vigilant and
transparent about attacks. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday
said the May attack on Colonial Pipeline, which created temporary gasoline
shortages, showed the national implications of a hack on a private company.

 

"Part of our vulnerability on cybersecurity is you're only as strong as your
weakest link," he said in an interview with CBS.

 

Companies need to alert the federal government when they are targeted,
Granholm said, and stop paying attackers. "You shouldn't be paying
ransomware attacks, because it only encourages the bad guys," she said.

 

While she opposes ransomware payments, she said she is uncertain whether
Biden or Congress is prepared to outlaw them.

 

Companies should be required to report ransomware attacks, Democratic
Senator Mark Warner from Virginia said on Sunday, though he stopped short of
saying he supported making such payments illegal.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Gold will surge to fresh highs but bitcoin better for $7.5 bn hedge fund

Wall Street banks divided on the relative merits of the pair: Citigroup sees
gold 'losing luster' to cryptocurrencies, while Goldman Sachs believes the
two assets can coexist.



Gold will surge to fresh highs in the next year, but investors seeking
currency alternatives as global debt balloons should look to Bitcoin,
according to a $7.5 billion hedge fund.



Both are likely to rally even as the Federal Reserve moves to taper asset
purchases, said Troy Gayeski, co-chief investment officer and senior
portfolio manager at SkyBridge Capital. The two are frequently compared by
investors, with former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers saying
cryptocurrencies could stay a feature of global markets as something akin to
digital gold.

 

“We’re going to stick to Bitcoin and crypto because we just think there’s
more upside,” Gayeski said in a telephone interview last week. While there’s
more volatility, “you’re going to capture a little bit more juice than you
will in gold from that same phenomenon,” he added.

 

Investors are tracking commentary by the U.S. central bank as inflation
ticks higher and policy makers move closer to paring the huge asset
purchases that rescued the economy from the turmoil caused by the pandemic.
The monetary support has driven the Fed’s balance sheet to a record, while
muscular fiscal spending has boosted government debt. Both may pose an
eventual risk to the dollar’s value, potentially burnishing the appeal of
alternatives.

 

“All fiat-currency alternatives -- which have all gone through fairly recent
substantial corrections -- are in a much better place now to handle that
eventual taper and gradual slowing of money-supply growth, than they were as
they were making higher-highs after higher-highs,” Gayeski said.

 

chartBoth Bitcoin and gold have seen substantial swings this year, which
unfolded amid a debate about whether the cryptocurrency was drawing demand
away from bullion. The digital token soared to a record near $65,000 in
April, before plunging. It was last around $36,600. Gold, meanwhile, came
close to sinking into a bear market in March, but reversed course to erase
year-to-date losses.

Leading Wall Street banks are divided on the relative merits of the pair --
Citigroup Inc. has said gold is “losing luster” to cryptocurrencies, while
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. made the case that the two assets can coexist.
Tesla Inc. boss Elon Musk, whose tweets have roiled Bitcoin prices this
year, said in May he supports cryptocurrencies over fiat, or paper,
currencies.

 

Bullion, which hit a record above $2,075 an ounce last year, has now
established a floor, according to Gayeski. A lot of the taper talk concerns
have been pulled out of the market, and even when it’s announced, the Fed is
not going to start reducing the pace of its purchases until 2022, he said.

 

Read More: Cryptocurrency crash will support rally in gold: Bhavik Patel of
Tradebulls

 

“Going forward, the probability of gold continuing an uptrend is fairly
high, making new highs over the next year,” he said.

 

Even as signs of recovery accumulate, the Fed is still buying $120 billion
of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities a month, and its balance sheet
has surged toward $8 trillion, about a third of gross domestic product. Talk
on tapering that support -- which carries the potential to boost Treasury
yields and the dollar, tarnishing gold’s appeal -- is moving closer.

 

SkyBridge, a fund-of-funds manager, has a small exposure to a gold miner
that’s leveraged to a continued gold price rally. Its primary exposures are
to U.S. cash-flow-generative strategies, backed by tangible assets,
distressed corporate credit and convertible-bond arbitrage among others. The
company’s Bitcoin fund is up 51.2% since its inception last December through
to June 1.

 

SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci has teamed up with First Trust Advisors
on an exchange-traded fund that plans to buy and sell Bitcoin, and Gayeski
expects the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the product by the
fourth quarter of 2021 or the first quarter of next year.

 

“The only reason we exist professionally is to find interesting ways to
generate attractive non-correlated returns that also have an attractive
risk-reward profile,” said Gayeski. “The mix of strategies in our broader
portfolio is amplified by having a small-but-meaningful position in
alternatives to fiat currencies like Bitcoin.”

 

 

Indian tech leader urges embrace of cryptocurrency as an asset class

Nandan Nilekani has called on India to embrace cryptocurrencies as an asset
class as authorities round the world grapple with how to accommodate the
technology.

 

The chair of Infosys, the information technology and consulting company,
believes cryptocurrencies are too volatile and energy intensive to use as a
means of payment and views India’s homegrown Unified Payments Interface
digital payments infrastructure as more effective. But he said crypto should
be encouraged as an asset to be bought and sold, like a commodity.

 

“Just like you have some of your assets in gold or real estate, you can have
some of your assets in crypto,” he told the Financial Times in an interview.
“I think there’s a role for crypto as a stored value but certainly not in a
transactional sense.”

 

Nilekani said permitting individuals and businesses to tap the $1.5tn market
would allow “the crypto guys to put their wealth into India’s economy”.

 

The tech executive has long worked with Indian authorities to help craft
digital policies, including the Aadhaar biometric identity programme. He
also chaired a central bank committee on digital payments in 2019.

 

India is a potentially big market for crypto but the country’s official
stance is unclear, with the spectre of an outright ban looming despite
surging volumes among local traders.

 

A ban would make India one of the world’s most draconian jurisdictions when
it comes to digital currencies, as authorities round the world consider how
to regulate crypto. 

 

India’s Supreme Court last year overturned a 2018 central bank directive
clamping down on crypto. But the market continues to operate in a grey area,
with some banks recently threatening to take action against crypto traders.

 

The government said this year it would introduce legislation that was widely
expected to ban private digital currencies in favour of an official,
central-bank run coin. Officials have since made more conciliatory-sounding
statements.

 

Infosys has enthusiastically adopted the blockchain technology underpinning
cryptocurrencies as it looks to offer a growing range of digital tools to
its multinational clients.

 

But India’s IT industry was hit hard by the country’s ferocious second wave
of coronavirus, with companies facing widespread infection among employees
and regulators fretting about possible disruption to back-office operations.
Nilekani argued the business impact was limited and cases were now falling.

 

Nilekani argued that Infosys’s experience and scale — the company has about
250,000 employees — meant it was well placed to thrive as companies revamp
their internal systems to adjust to a post-pandemic routine of remote or
flexible working.

 

This includes demand for shifting on to the cloud. Although Infosys does not
usually reveal the identity of its clients, it has secured deals with
companies including Daimler, the German carmaker, and US investment group
Vanguard in the past year.

 

“I think, frankly, the opportunities today are better than ever before,”
Nilekani said. “In the 40 years I’ve been in this industry, I’ve never seen
so much change and acceleration happening.”

 

 

Australians spent AU$26.5m in cryptocurrency to pay scammers in 2020

Australians in 2020 reported losses to scams totalled AU$851 million, with
AU$128 million lost to business email compromise (BEC), AU$8.4 million
classed as remote access scams, and AU$3.1 million a result of identity
theft.

 

Topping the list of scams was investment scams, ripping people off to the
tune of AU$328 million. The total number of scam incidents was 444,164.

 

The information was revealed in a report [PDF] from the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Scamwatch. The AU$851 million
loss figure is reduced to AU$156 million, however, when information from
Australia's top financial institutions is removed. This is still an increase
of around 23% compared to the AU$143 million in losses reported in 2019.

 

The total number of scams received by Scamwatch during the 2020 calendar
year was 216,087.

 

Bank transfer remained the most common payment method used in scams, with
just over AU$97 million lost, but bitcoin and other cryptocurrency was the
second highest payment method, with AU$26.5 million lost.

 

Those aged over 65 were the ones reporting the most loss, comprising AU$37.7
million of the total, but those in the 25 to 34-year old bracket made the
most reports to Scamwatch, with 33,000 reports. The scam victims were almost
split exactly 50-50 among those that identified as men and those that
identified as women.

 

It was shown phone calls were still the number one method for scammers to
use, at 47.7%, or 103,153 scams, with email accounting for 22%, text message
for 15%, "internet" for 6.3%, and 4.5% of victims were spoofed via social
media.

 

Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 led to an increase in losses and reports for
several categories. Victoria, which was the hardest hit with lockdowns, was
the origin of AU$49 million of the total losses for 2020.


Compared with 2019, remote access scam reported losses increased more than
74% to AU$8.4 million and threat-based scam reported losses increased more
than 178% to AU$11.8 million. 8,691 scams were attributed to "hacking",
3,885 to ransomware and malware, and phishing accounted for 44,079 reports.

 

The most commonly impersonated entities for phishing scams in 2020 were the
same as those in 2019: Telstra, NBN Co, government organisations, the big
four banks, and package delivery companies, with a large increase in the
number of phishing scams involving impersonations of Amazon.

 

Email phishing in 2020 most commonly impersonated PayPal, followed by
Netflix.

 

Health and medical scam reported losses increased more than 2,000% compared
with 2019 as a result of the pandemic, reaching over AU$3.9 million.

 

In 2020, there were over 24,000 reports about government impersonation scams
made to the ACCC, with losses of AU$1.9 million.

 

There was also a 220% increase in reports and a 322% increase in reported
losses to scams related to buying vehicles including cars, caravans, and
campervans, with reported losses of just over AU$1 million. The ACCC said
scammers targeted both people buying and selling vehicles and used Facebook
Marketplace, Gumtree, Car Sales, and Autotrader, mostly, to make contact
with potential victims.

 

Scamwatch also received over 330 bushfire-related Scamwatch reports through
its website.

 

Celebrity endorsement scams caused reported losses of over AU$1.8 million in
2020. Some of these, the ACCC said, included encouraging people to invest in
cryptocurrencies.

 

Scamwatch received 2,082 reports with reported losses of over AU$7 million
to Chinese authority scams in 2020. This was a 77% increase in the number of
reports and a 250% increase in the amount reported lost compared with 2019.

 

Scam losses reported by businesses increased by 260% in 2020, to AU$18
million. Businesses made the most reports about false billing and phishing
scams, with the scams typically involving a request for payment for a
service or item that wasn't ordered or a scammer diverting money by
impersonating the intended recipient of a payment.

 

In 2020, WhatsApp was added as an option in the reporting form. The ACCC
received 347 reports selecting WhatsApp from the drop down menu. Scam
reports listing the contact mode as social networking/online forum and
identifying the platform as dating app Tinder increased from 73 in 2019 to
174 in 2020.

 

"This 138% increase in reporting was primarily in relation to romance scams,
but also included investment scams where scammers encouraged victims to
invest in cryptocurrencies," the reported added.zdnet

 

 

Elon Musk’s reputation hits a low on Twitter after attacking bitcoin   

According to data from sentiment tracking company Awario shared exclusively
with Yahoo Finance, the positive-to-negative sentiment of tweets about Musk
reached a new low in May, falling significantly around the same time
cryptocurrency prices plunged after Musk started criticizing bitcoin and
announced Tesla would no longer accept it as a form of payment.

 

Back in January, tweets in favor and against Musk were about equal in
number, but by May, the ratio of positive-to-negative sentiment had fallen
by about 25 percent to hit the lowest ratio since Awario began tracking
Musk’s sentiment in October 2020.

 

Tweets about Musk that were neutral in sentiment remained the largest by
percentage at about 66 percent, followed by negative tweets at 19.2 percent
and positive tweets at just 14.9 percent, respectively.

 

Sentiment in various tweets about Musk were algorithmically tracked by
Awario by measuring certain keywords. As one example from influencer and
crypto enthusiast Fabri Lemus highlights, many negative tweets followed
Musk’s May 12 announcement that Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin for
purchases.

 

Bitcoin’s price fell 12 percent after that announcement and has lost about
35 percent of its value in the weeks since.

 

Interestingly, positive tweets defending Musk also followed that
announcement, albeit to a smaller degree. As one example from crypto
investor David Gokhshtein showed, some people bought into Musk’s defense
that the fact Tesla still held bitcoin on its balance sheet was a major
example to other corporations looking to possibly do the same. “Elon Musk is
helping our entire #crypto industry grow and gain adoption,” Gokhshtein
tweeted. “It’s not just a DOGE thing.”

 

Of course, Dogecoin has been the main focus of Musk’s compliments on
Twitter, calling it the “people’s crypto” and repeatedly hyping it into
hitting an all-time high in May before jokingly calling it “a hustle” on
Saturday Night Live. Even some negative sentiment from Dogecoin fans
followed the 25 percent retreat in Doge’s price after his SNL appearance.

 

To be fair, sentiment on Twitter likely matters little to Musk. Despite a
rise in negative sentiment, he still saw his follower count rise by more
than 3 million in May to top 56 million total followers and now boasts the
most followed account among business executives. What might matter more is
if it begins to have an impact on Tesla as a company — something longtime
Tesla investor and Gerber Kawasaki CEO, Ross Gerber, also worried about in a
recent Yahoo Finance interview.

 

“Elon is wading into an area that’s maybe not the best of statements to make
because the fact of the matter is bitcoin is the future of digital
currencies, it’s the root of it,” he said, noting that it made logical sense
that Musk might attack bitcoin’s carbon footprint and advocate for miners to
shift to more sustainable energy sources. “But I think it’s a very dangerous
area for Elon to get in when he’s causing people losses like he did the
other day and it turns people against him and ultimately Tesla.” – Yahoo
Finance

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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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

 


 

 

 

 

 

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