Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 23 March 2021

Tue Mar 23 10:35:40 CAT 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 23 March 2021

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ü  UK launching four regional trade hubs to boost exports

ü  Jack Dorsey's first ever tweet sells for $2.9m

ü  Warner Music teams up with Tencent to crack China

ü  Leon Black quits citing 'relentless' impact of Epstein probe

ü  Baidu shares flat on its Hong Kong 'homecoming'

ü  Waitrose ditches magazines with disposable plastic toys

ü  Deliveroo targets valuation of up to £8.8bn in share listing

ü  Turkish lira falls 15% after bank governor sacked

ü  Ikea France on trial for snooping on staff and customers

ü  UK 'heading towards digital skills shortage disaster'

ü  China worries weigh on Asian stocks

ü  Microsoft in talks to acquire Discord for more than $10 bln - Bloomberg News

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UK launching four regional trade hubs to boost exports

The government is creating four regional trade and investment hubs to boost economic growth across the UK.

Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss said on Tuesday that the hubs would be located in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Darlington.

The aim is to boost exports by providing localised advice from export and investment specialists to firms.

But an expert says the proposed economic recovery plan is "the wrong way round".

The government says the new hubs will provide support and advice to help regional businesses to access major trade markets and boost exports, as part its efforts to boost pandemic recovery.

"I'm determined to use UK trade policy to benefit every part of the UK. These trade and investment hubs will help this country to an export and jobs-led recovery," said Ms Truss.

"They will mean we can channel investment into all corners of the country, and that exporters - whether they're selling Scotch beef, Welsh Lamb or cars made in the North of England - have access to the expertise they need to sell into the fastest growing markets."

UK exports to European Union drop 40% in January

How many trade deals has the UK done?

According to recent government-led research, exports support 6.5m jobs across the UK, 74% of which are outside London.

The report also found that jobs directly and indirectly supported by exports pay around 7% higher than the national median.

But new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows UK goods exports to the European Union fell 40.7% in January.

The economy is 9% smaller than it was before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Right concept, wrong execution

Justin Urquhart-Stewart, co-founder of Seven Investment Management and the Regionally investment platform, thinks the government has muddled up the order of its plans.

"The trick they're missing is the concept is right, but actually what you need is to create the businesses, encourage exports and then provide the export advice," Mr Urquhart-Stewart told the BBC.

"The capitals of the three nations and Darlington are not necessarily where the industries are."

He highlights major areas for manufacturing and export in the North West and the West Midlands, in areas like Preston, Manchester, Leicester and Sunderland.

"You should have investment hubs in those areas," he said. "Darlington is a lovely place, but it doesn't necessarily make the key export places they'd be requiring.

"You're not exporting anything from there, so why are you giving the export advice?"

The good news, says Mr Urquhart-Stewart, is that the government is now focusing on businesses outside London.

But he wants to see far more direct investment outside London, like the 45 local stock exchanges of old, which provided local investment into local firms.

"There's no shortage of money, the problem is we've taken away the mechanism for local businesses to get funding from local investors," he said.

"We're really good at setting up businesses in this country, better than France and Germany put together - however, where we fall down is to provide the investment to go from seedling businesses to growth businesses."--BBC

Jack Dorsey's first ever tweet sells for $2.9m

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's first ever tweet has been sold for the equivalent of $2.9m (£2.1m) to a Malaysia-based businessman.

The tweet, which said "just setting up my twttr," was first published on March 21, 2006 and was auctioned off by Mr Dorsey for charity.

The Malaysia-based buyer Sina Estavi compared the purchase to buying a Mona Lisa painting.

The tweet was bought using the ether cryptocurrency, a rival to bitcoin.

It was sold as a nonfungible token (NFT) on Monday to Mr Estavi, the chief executive of technology firm Bridge Oracle.

An NFT is a unique digital certificate that states who owns a photo, video or other form of online media. Each NFT is unique and acts as a collector's item that can't be duplicated, making them rare by design.

NFTs have become hugely popular this year, with expensive digital artwork also being sold this way.

Mr Dorsey said he would convert the proceeds to bitcoin and then donate them to the Give Directly's Africa Response fund.

"This is not just a tweet!" Mr Estavi posted on Twitter. "I think years later people will realize the true value of this tweet, like the Mona Lisa painting."

Mr Dorsey's brief tweet was sold via an auction on an online platform called Valuables, which is owned by the US-based company Cent.

Under the platform's rules, Mr Dorsey receives 95% of the proceeds of the primary sale, while Cent receives 5%.

But the post will remain publicly available on Twitter even after it has been auctioned off. Within minutes of the auction bids reached more than $88,000.

As the buyer, Mr Estavi will receive a certificate, digitally signed and verified by Mr Dorsey, as well as the metadata of the original tweet. The data will include information such as the time the tweet was posted and its text contents.

Social media experts predict the sale of tweets and other online posts will become more popular.

"We live in an age where celebrities, musicians and influencers have more than fans, they have stans, and they will want to own a piece of their favourite stars," said Cathy Hackl, founder of technology consultancy Futures Intelligence Group.

"Just like people buy physical memorabilia, they will buy their tweets, posts, and snaps because they want to feel close to that star".

Earlier this month, the first digital-only art auction was held by Christie's auction house and netted $69m for the artist Beeple.

Beeple - real name Mike Winkelmann - creates a new piece of digital art every day, and was selling the first 5,000 days (13 years) of his work.

"This is a watershed moment and proof of concept for digital art, which has been dogged by questions of commercial value, authenticity, ownership and scarcity," said Rob Anders, boss of Israel-based digital art platform Niio.

Mr Estavi and Bridge Oracle didn't immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by the BBC.

Warner Music teams up with Tencent to crack China

Warner Music has signed a deal with China's Tencent to help it break into the fast-growing Asian market.

The US record label said the venture with the Chinese tech giant will help make its artists like Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran "impossible to ignore".

The companies have also launched a record label to develop artists together. 

Rivals Universal Music and Sony Music have also struck similar deals with Tencent as they look to crack China.

While China boasts nearly a fifth of the world's population, it accounted for less than 3% of the $20bn (£14.4bn) in global revenues made last year by record companies.

However, it is a fast-growing market thanks to the rise of streaming services such as those owned by Tencent and fellow tech giant Alibaba.

Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) is the largest music company in China and owns the country's top-three streaming platforms QQ Music, KuGou and Kuwo.

Through the agreement, Tencent will secure the rights to recordings from thousands of Warner Music artists, ensuring their songs remain on its dominant online music platforms.

Cracking Asia

US music groups have been ramping up investments in Asia as they look to capture new streaming customers with smartphones. 

Universal Music signed a deal last month with major K-pop record labels to help it break into South Korea.

It also joined forces with Big Hit Entertainment, South Korean super group BTS's label, to create a new record label to scout and launch a new k-pop boy band together.

While major US record labels are trying to break into China and the Asian region, Tencent has been investing billions of dollars in the US music market.

It has acquired a 20% stake in Universal Music, a 9% stake in Spotify and a 2% stake in Warner Music. --BBC

Leon Black quits citing 'relentless' impact of Epstein probe

Billionaire Leon Black is quitting his investment firm saying "relentless public attention and media scrutiny" of his ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein took "a toll" on his health.

The prominent financier had earlier announced plans to depart in July.

The moves follow an inquiry by Mr Black's firm, Apollo Global Management, into his relationship with Mr Epstein.

It found financial ties but no evidence of involvement with any criminal activity.

Mr Epstein was arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking underage girls and later killed himself in prison.

He was known for cultivating ties to the rich and powerful, including Prince Andrew, that persisted even after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting underage girls.

Mr Black, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $8.4bn (£6bn), paid him more than $150m for financial advice from 2012 through 2017, according to the investigation by law firm Dechert, which was made public in January.

'Deeply trying'

Apollo, at Mr Black's request, commissioned the probe last autumn after a New York Times report into his links.

"The last weeks and months have been deeply trying for me and my family," 69-year-old Mr Black wrote in a letter to the Apollo board explaining his plans to speed up his departure.

"The relentless public attention and media scrutiny concerning my relationship with Jeffrey Epstein - even though the exhaustive Dechert Report concluded there was no evidence of wrongdoing on my part - have taken a toll on my health and have caused me to wish to take some time away from the public spotlight that comes with my daily involvement with this great public company."

Apollo co-founder Marc Rowan, who the firm said in January would take over from Mr Black in July, will assume his new role immediately.

Mr Black said he also no longer planned to remain as executive chairman of the company's board. He will be replaced by former SEC Commissioner Jay Clayton.

Founded by Mr Black in 1990, Apollo manages more than $450bn and has offices around the world. It is known for its private equity investments in companies, which range from casinos and for-profit colleges to offshore wind.

In January, it announced plans to merge with life insurer Athene in a deal valued at roughly $11bn.

Mr Black said he planned to spend more time with his family and would pursue his other interests, including the arts.

He is board chairman of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, a role he has also faced pressure to relinquish.--BBC

Baidu shares flat on its Hong Kong 'homecoming'

Shares of Chinese internet search giant Baidu saw modest gains following the company’s secondary listing in Hong Kong.

Baidu shares edged up just 0.8% above their list price of HK$252 ($32, £23).

Its secondary listing is one of 15 so-called “homecomings” by Chinese firms who are also listed on US stock markets.

Chinese firms have come under increased scrutiny from US regulators' after Donald Trump escalated tensions.

Baidu, which is already valued at more than $90bn, raised $3.1bn through the listing. It is already included on New York's Nasdaq stock exchange.

The launch is disappointing compared to some other recent "homecomings" from Chinese tech debuting on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Last month, shares of the Chinese short-form video app Kuaishou surged more than 190% at its launch before paring back some of those gains.

But secondary listings have not always generated the same excitement from investors.

Shares in e-commerce giant JD.com rose about 5% when it made its homecoming listing last June.

"This is a secondary IPO so we can't expect the same pop as a first listing like Kuaishou," said Rui Ma, host of podcast Techbuzz.

Catherine Yeung, investment director at Fidelity International, said shares in biotech and big technology firms have been under pressure with investors souring on their strong valuations.

“The corrections we have seen in Chinese equities over the year-to-date period is a little bit healthy given some of that frothiness we have been seeing in certain names,” she told the BBC's Asia Business Report.

State spotlight

China's tech giants have also come under increasing pressure from Chinese regulators worried about their growing influence.

Earlier this month, China's State Administration for Market Regulation said it had fined Baidu and 11 other companies over 10 deals that violated anti-monopoly rules.

Baidu is best known in China for its search engine, however, the company has also invested heavily in artificial intelligence.

The company also established an autonomous driving unit in 2017, which supplies technology to international and Chinese carmakers.

"It's announced a slew of initiatives and has been positioning itself as an AI company for a while. On the whole I think this is a pretty expected outcome for the secondary listing," Ms Ma added.--BBC

Waitrose ditches magazines with disposable plastic toys

Waitrose has said it will no longer sell children's magazines with plastic disposable toys to help tackle pollution.

The retailer said the free plastic toys have a short lifespan and cannot easily be recycled.

This comes amid calls from some of the children they are aimed at to stop giving away free plastic toys.

Over the next eight weeks, it will be removing magazines containing the free toys from its shelves.

Waitrose is urging publishers to replace "pointless plastic" with sustainable alternatives.

It said the move was inspired by Skye, a 10-year-old from Gwynedd, who launched a campaign to persuade publishers to stop giving away the disposable toys in magazines.

"I'm really pleased so many people have agreed with me and supported my petition - I want to thank everyone who has signed and shared my campaign to ban plastics from comics and magazines," Skye told the BBC.

"Thank you to Waitrose for agreeing with us and no longer selling the unwanted plastic tat.

"I hope all retailers can do the same and then the publishers will realise this is not acceptable anymore. We really like the magazines - we just don't want or need the plastic packaging or the cheap plastic toys."

The ban will not include educational or reusable craft items which are designed to be used multiple times, such as colouring pens and pencils, and collectable models.

'Unnecessary plastic'

Marija Rompani, partner and director of sustainability and ethics at Waitrose, said: "While we know these magazines are popular with children, some of the unnecessary plastic attached to them has become really excessive.

"Many in the younger generation really care about the planet and are the ones inheriting the problem of plastic pollution.

"We urge publishers to find alternatives, and other retailers to follow our lead in ending the pointless plastic that comes with children's magazines."

The retailer has written to magazine distributors giving them eight weeks' notice of the policy, asking for alternatives to plastic toys and warning that they will not sell copies which contain the disposable items.

It is the latest move by the supermarket to cut down on single-use plastic, which has also seen it end the sale of Christmas crackers with plastic toys or glitter, and has a push to make all its own-label packaging recycled, reusable or home compostable.

Children's plastics campaign's have been successful in the past. In 2019, Burger King stopped including plastic toys in their children's meals and McDonald's gave children options of books with Happy Meals, after a campaign by two sisters.--BBC

Deliveroo targets valuation of up to £8.8bn in share listing

Deliveroo is seeking a valuation of between £7.6bn and £8.8bn when it lists its shares on the London stock market.

The takeaway food delivery platform has said it plans to sell its shares at a price of between 390p and 460p, in what is set to be the biggest UK share listing in more than seven years.

It also said on Monday the total value of orders in January and February had more than doubled from last year.

Founder Will Shu said there were "huge" opportunities ahead.

Demand for takeaway meals has soared during the coronavirus pandemic, after lockdown measures were first implemented a year ago and restaurants have been forced to close.

Restrictions on hospitality businesses in England are currently set to start to ease on 12 April at the earliest.

'Enormous opportunities'

Deliveroo - which has yet to announce a profit - said it would use the money raised to invest in the business.

The company was founded in London in 2013, and is active in more than 200 towns and cities across the UK.

It operates internationally in 12 countries, in mainland Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

Deliveroo said there were "enormous" market opportunities for expansion. "The way we think about it is simple: there are 21 meal occasions in a week - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - seven days a week. Right now, less than one of those 21 transactions takes place online. We are working to change that."

Deliveroo will sell around £1bn of new shares, and current shareholders will use the opportunity to sell some of their stake.

On Sunday, Mr Shu told Sky News he would cash-in part of his 6.2% stake in the business, which could be worth £550m.

Customers who have placed at least one order with Deliveroo will have a chance to buy shares in the business, with what the company calls "loyal" customers being given priority.

Deliveroo is also planning to reward its busiest riders with bonuses of up to £10,000.

Riders who have delivered the most orders will share in a £16m fund, the company has said.

Workers' rights and competition

Deliveroo drivers in the UK have been at the forefront of the debate about new ways of working in the "gig" economy. Some drivers have taken industrial and legal action to improve their pay and conditions.

A recent court decision confirming worker status in the UK for gig economy giant Uber put down a new marker for workers' rights in this evolving sector. The Court of Appeal ruled that Uber's drivers should receive holiday pay, pension contributions and the minimum wage.

Uber last week said it would introduce these payments.

Susannah Streeter, from stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown, said the employment status of its drivers along with fierce competition among meal delivery firms were two potential drags on the company's prospects.

"Deliveroo competes with Uber Eats, Just Eat and a host of others. Just Eat has already announced its intention to ramp up operations in the UK. Until now it's been focused on just offering the delivery platform but now it will be scaling up its delivery fleet of riders over the coming year.

"Just Eat takeaway has also pledged to stop using the gig economy model and offer UK workers hourly wages, sick pay and pension contributions. This is in stark contrast to Deliveroo which has so far seen off challenges in the courts to its self-employment model... it's clear the challenge to Deliveroo's contractor model is likely to continue."--BBC

Turkish lira falls 15% after bank governor sacked

Turkey's currency tumbled as much as 15% after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sacked the country's central bank governor over the weekend.

Naci Agbal had been credited as a key force in pulling the lira back from historic lows.

Mr Erdogan replaced him in a surprise move on Saturday, the third central bank governor exit in under two years.

Mr Agbal, appointed in November, had been raising interest rates to fight an inflation rate running above 15%.

The removal has shocked both local and foreign investors who had praised Turkey's central bank's recent monetary policy.

The appointment of Sahap Kavcioglu, a former banker and ruling party lawmaker, sparked concerns of a reversal of recent rate hikes.

The fallout from the sacking hit shares on the Istanbul stock exchange, and raised concerns about the impact Turkey's borrowing costs.

Trading on the exchange was suspended for a period after a sharp fall in share prices triggered automatic circuit breakers.

After dropping sharply, the lira then recovered some ground to stand about 8% lower against the US dollar after Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan said Turkey would stick to free market rules.

"The authorities will be left with two choices, either it pledges to use interest rates to stabilise markets, or it imposes capital controls," said Per Hammarlund, senior strategist at SEB Research.

"Given the increasingly authoritarian approach that President Erdogan has taken, capital controls are looking like the most likely choice."

The lira was at one point the best performing emerging-market currency of 2021, having recovered almost a fifth from a low against the US dollar.

Last week, the Turkish currency rose strongly after Mr Agbal increased interest rates by 2 percentage points, double what economists expected.

Investors have been calling for tighter monetary policy in Turkey to tame its high inflation rate, as prices rise rapidly in the country.

There are now concerns that Mr Erdogan's decision to install Mr Kavcioglu in the role could erode the gains made during Mr Agbal's short tenure.

Mr Kavcioglu is a little-known professor of banking and a former lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development party. He shares Mr Erdogan's unorthodox view that high interest rates can fuel inflation.

Turkey's interest rate stands at 19% which has attracted foreign investors to park their cash in the currency.

In a statement on Sunday, the central bank said it "will continue to use the monetary policy tools effectively in line with its main objective of achieving a permanent fall in inflation".

Erdonomics

Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at currency exchange firm Oanda said that President Erdogan has his own brand of economics - Erdonomics.

"The base premise of Erdonomics is that higher interest rates cause higher inflation, a theory that flies in the face of conventional economic theory everywhere," Mr Halley told the BBC.

Higher interest rates lead to higher costs of borrowing which deters consumers from over-spending, while encouraging people to save. However, the downside is often slower economic growth.

"Mr Agbal was widely respected for his attempts to stabilise inflation."

Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of foreign exchange at Commerzbank, said: "It may well be that interest rate hikes are once again permitted by Mr Erdogan in a phase of crisis-like lira depreciation but the recent developments should have shown currency traders that even then a sustainable monetary policy regime change is not to be expected," said

"The calming effect of interest rate hikes has probably been largely destroyed."--BBC

Ikea France on trial for snooping on staff and customers

The French subsidiary of Ikea will go on trial on Monday over allegations that it snooped on employees and customers by using private detectives and police officers.

Ikea France will be tried as a corporate entity alongside several of its former executives.

Prosecutors say Ikea France set up a "spying system" across its operations.

The 15 people in the dock include top executives such as former CEO Stefan Vanoverbeke, and former store managers.

Four police officers are also on trial for handing over confidential information.

Ikea has already fired four executives over the scandal and put in place a new code of conduct. However, the company still faces a fine of up to €3.75 million ($4.5 million).

The allegations first came to light in 2012 after an Ikea insider leaked emails between the company and a security company to the satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné.

The emails suggested that the firm was seeking access to records about its staff and customers from a police database holding millions of names and the personal information of criminals, victims and even witnesses.

Two unions filed complaints against Ikea, accusing the company of spying on hundreds of employees and customers.

Ikea scraps 'beloved catalogue' after 70 years

German Ikea donates car park for mass Eid prayer

The court is investigating the period between 2009 and 2012, but prosecutors say practices in France started nearly a decade earlier.

Jean-Francois Paris, Ikea France's former director of risk management, is accused of sending lists of names to be investigated to private investigators. The bill for these investigations could have been up to €600,000, according to court documents seen by the AFP news agency.

Mr Paris has said his department was responsible for handling the payments for investigations.

One staff member "who used to be a model employee, but has suddenly become a protester" was investigated over concerns they could become "a risk of eco-terrorism", according to emails sent by Mr Paris.

The charges against the defendants include illegal gathering of personal information, receiving illegally gathered personal information, and violating professional confidentiality. The charges carry prison terms of up to 10 years.-BBC

UK 'heading towards digital skills shortage disaster'

The UK is heading towards a "catastrophic" digital skills shortage "disaster", a think tank has warned.

The Learning & Work Institute says the number of young people taking IT subjects at GCSE has dropped 40% since 2015.

Meanwhile, consulting giant Accenture says demand for AI, cloud and robotics skills is soaring.

Experts say digital skills are vital to economic recovery following the pandemic.

The Learning & Work Institute's research reveals that 70% of young people expect employers to invest in teaching them digital skills on the job, but only half of the employers surveyed in the study are able to provide that training.

Fewer than half of British employers believe young people are leaving full-time education with sufficient advanced digital skills, while 76% of firms think a lack of digital skills would hit their profitability.

Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann is the chief executive of WorldSkills UK, which commissioned the report. The charity is focused on training young people in digital skills to help them enter the workforce and also advises college teachers on international industry best practice.

He says there are four main reasons why the digital skills shortage is steadily climbing across the country:

"I think there's a challenge with the teachers themselves not understanding the possible careers - there's a big opportunity for employers to go into schools to explain the range of job opportunities and help join the dots between what young people study in school and what that could lead to as a career," Dr Bentley-Gockmann told the BBC.

"It's important for employers to do this to ensure the future talent pipeline."

WorldSkills UK runs numerous digital skill competitions in a wide range of fields that are open to young people at college age and up. About 15,000 young people enter these competitions annually, which come with complimentary training to help them to improve their skills further.

Dr Bentley-Gockmann says he meets many young people who have no idea that their hobbies can be turned into "high-rewarding job opportunities".

For instance, coding might sound boring or daunting, but it could lead to a career in 3D video game design. And playing with robots in school could lead to a career in building robots to solve problems for large manufacturing firms.

Although tech job ad listings dropped 57% in 2020, Accenture reports that demand for robotics skills has jumped "dramatically" in several northern English cities since July - robotics jobs are up 115% in Liverpool, 253% in Leeds and an epic 450% in Newcastle.

"I'm not surprised, particularly, as in the West Midlands and the North, traditional manufacturers are now implementing more technology into their manufacturing processes to become more automated," said Dr Bentley-Gockmann.

"There's been a digital acceleration in all sectors, creating new skills needs, so that could explain the jump."

Dan McCabe, 22, is a video game designer in Manchester. He did not attend university, studying computing and graphics at college, and a lot of his skills are self-taught.

He has found that some of his friends who went to university haven't picked up any digital skills. They frequently message him asking for his help to set up businesses and brands.

"[Either school or university] should have introduced them at least to what it takes to learn digital skills," he said.

He thinks that the syllabus in school and at college is a bit dated and inflexible, and the best teachers have been those who have experience rooted in the industry.

In particular, Mr McCabe thinks universities should be offering students a kind of "bridge" to the workforce, such as a basic grounding in how to use excel, set up a database, or some basic graphic design.

Kevin Howell, founder and chief technology officer at Howell Technology Group (HTG), an IT firm based in South Tyneside that helps firms securely work remotely, agrees.

He says educators need to collaborate with the tech industry on school, college and university curriculums, as they currently leave much to be desired.

"We need digital literacy and common sense, not someone who can program a Raspberry Pi to control a robot," Mr Howell told the BBC.

"I have worked with the brightest from Cambridge and Oxford who are very intelligent and innovative people, however lots don't have a clue about how technology is applied to real world business."

HTG, together with large tech firm partners like Microsoft, VMware and Citrix, is trying to fix this problem.

The firm is currently running a digital academy with weekly workshops for teachers and students at Mortimer Community College in South Shields on how to use cloud software like Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and Windows Virtual Desktops.

Mr Howell, who joined an IT company at 17 and attended university part-time while working, says he feels hands-on experience is more important than a degree, as a lot of the skills being taught are "outdated" or not specific to business needs.

More diverse recruitment needed

Dr Leila Powell is a lead security data scientist at London-based cyber-security firm Panaseer. She is a former astrophysicist who switched careers to join the tech industry.

In her spare time, she helps teach workshops introducing girls and young women to cyber-security principles for social enterprise Stemettes.

"When I changed careers out of academia, I had no idea that a career in tech like cyber-security would be an option for me," she said.

Like Dr Bentley-Gockmann, she doesn't think young people have a clear picture about what the day-to-day realities of careers in technology actually entail.

"Even if young people start to look into it and look up some companies or programmes, what do the programmes and the mentors look like? Do they look like them?," she asked.

"Are they women, are they all white? Having better representation in technology as a sector would help. Even working in tech, it's not necessarily that diverse. "

Dr Powell says that as a teenager she wasn't really interested in physics - it was only when she started her undergraduate degree and read Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time that she became interested in the subject and started to enjoy it.

Several studies have shown in recent years that listing many different skill requirements on job ads can put off some people from applying, particularly women.

"Employers should try to look beyond people who already have experience in a skill - just because you haven't covered a subject previously, if you are smart and have a desire to learn, they can still be an excellent candidate for the role."--BBC

China worries weigh on Asian stocks

Asian stocks reversed earlier gains on Tuesday, dragged down by declines in Chinese markets, which were jolted by a new round of sanctions, after ebbing inflation fears had helped shore up broader sentiment in the region.

Investors now await a closely watched congressional appearance by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

The negative sentiment appears set to weigh on European stocks with as EUROSTOXX 50 futures easing 0.42% and FTSE futures 0.61%.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.28%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) dropped 0.76%, hurt by a 1.42% fall in Chinese blue chips (.CSI300).

The United States and others, including the European Union, sanctioned Chinese officials on Monday over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and Beijing hit back with punitive measures against European lawmakers, diplomats, institutes and families. read more

"The fall could be due to the sanctions," said Iris Pang, chief economist for greater China at ING Wholesale Banking. "More pressure from international politics is going to affect asset markets."

Jin Jing, an analyst with China Fortune Securities, said sanctions hurt risk appetite, in particular for foreign investors, who sold shares via the Stock Connect.

Persistent worries of policy tightening at home also continued to weigh on high-flying sectors and stocks with lofty valuations as investors turned cautious.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) also fell 1.62%, with traders' attention drawn by a tepid market debut for Baidu in which the Chinese tech giant's shares barely traded above their secondary listing price. read more

Beyond China, Asian shares were mixed. Japan (.N225) fell 0.61% and Australia (.AXJO) fell 0.11%, both having earlier tracked overnight gains on Wall Street, but emerging markets in the region performed better.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 0.32%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 0.70% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 1.23%, helped by a drop in Treasury yields.

Benchmark 10-year notes last yielded 1.6717%, down from 1.732% late on Friday.

Powell said in remarks prepared for a congressional hearing that the U.S. recovery had progressed "more quickly than generally expected and looks to be strengthening". read more

"The FOMC last week laid out pretty clearly what the Fed's view is with regard to rates... the next thing that markets will focus on is maybe getting some details from Yellen with regard to further infrastructure investment," said Alex Wolf head of investment strategy for Asia at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, referring to a statement from the Federal Open Market Committee. read more

The dollar gained slightly against a basket of six major currencies last trading at 91.887, having slipped 0.32% on Monday, while making advances against the kiwi, Aussie and sterling.

The New Zealand dollar hit a three-month low after the government introduced taxes to curb housing speculation, a move investors reckoned could allow the central bank to hold interest rates lower for longer with less risk of a property bubble.

Oil also dropped amid ample supply and concerns that new pandemic curbs and slow vaccine rollouts in Europe will slow a recovery in fuel demand.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures dropped 1.22% and Brent crude futures dropped by 1.24%.

Microsoft in talks to acquire Discord for more than $10 bln - Bloomberg News

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is in talks to buy messaging platform Discord Inc for more than $10 billion, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Discord has reached out to potential buyers and Microsoft is one of them, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. One person said it was more likely to go public than sell itself.

Earlier in the day, VentureBeat reported that Discord was exploring a sale and it was in final talks with a party. (https://bit.ly/3lEHa0I)

Microsoft declined to comment, while Discord did not immediately respond to Reuters request.

Discord, which is valued at around $7 billion as of last December, is a platform on which users coordinate group activities such as games, discussions and even virtual parties.

The Xbox maker has been seeking to strengthen its video game offerings with $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media last year, its biggest gaming acquisition ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the prospects of gaming companies as people stayed at home and turned to video games for entertainment during lockdowns.

With its strong gaming business, Microsoft has also been looking to own mass social media platforms. Its last big social media deal was the $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016, while it failed in its bid for short video app TikTok's U.S. assets in September last year.

Recently, the Financial Times reported about Microsoft's interest in buying social media platform Pinterest Inc (PINS.N). 

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Old Mutual

analysts briefing

24/03/21 | 2:30pm

Willdale

AGM

Boardroom, Willdale Administration Block, Teneriffe, 19.5km peg Lomagundi Road, Mt Hampden

25/03/21 | 11am

TSL

AGM

Virtual | https://eagm.creg.co.zw/eagmzim/ Login.aspx | in the Auditorium, Ground Floor, 28 Simon Mazorodze Road, Southerton

25/03/21 | 12pm

CFI

AGM

Farm & City Boardroom, 1st Floor Farm & City Complex, 1 Wynne Street

31/03/21 | 11am

Good Friday

02/04/21

Easter Sunday

04/04/21

Easter Monday

05/04/21

Independence Day

18/04/21

Public Holiday in lieu of Independence Day falling on a Sunday

19/04/21

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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