Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 14 May 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 14 May 2021

 


 

 


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ü  Airbnb bookings jump as holiday demand soars

ü  Ignore hype over hydrogen heating, government told

ü  Portugal: No decision yet on UK holiday travel

ü  Amazon set to hire 75,000 workers in US and Canada

ü  IBM says chip shortage could last two years

ü  Gupta-owned bank faces possible liquidation

ü  Stocks rebound as Fed officials calm inflation fears, for now

ü  Analysis: U.S. investors looking for protection as inflation pressures
bubble, stocks volatile

ü  Musk tweets, doge leaps and bitcoin retreats

ü  EXCLUSIVE Tesla in talks with China's EVE for low-cost battery supply
deal -sources

ü  Toshiba to undergo strategic review, unit hit by cyberattack in Europe

ü  Foxconn profit leaps as COVID-19 drives demand for work-from-home devices

ü  Gas faces existential crisis in climate wary Europe

ü  U.S. judge dismisses advertisers' antitrust claims against Google

ü  Disney's streaming growth slows as pandemic lift fades, shares fall

ü  Nigeria: Inside First Bank Board Shake-Up - How Vested Interests Divide
Nigeria's Oldest Lender

ü  Africa: Solar Minibuses for Africa? Data Seen As Key to Green Transport
Switch

ü  Nigeria: TCN Restores 'Bulk Power' to Grid - Official

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Airbnb bookings jump as holiday demand soars

Online booking platform Airbnb has said that holiday bookings have soared as
some countries emerge from lockdowns.

 

In the first quarter US bookings beat pre-pandemic levels, while there was a
"steady improvement" in business in the UK and France.

 

The overall value of bookings shot up by 52% to $10.3bn (£7.3bn) as
customers snapped up long-term stays and rural properties.

 

But the company marked a loss overall as it paid back Covid-related loans.

 

Although Airbnb's revenue rose to $886.9m year-on-year, its net loss before
tax stood at $59m.

 

The San Francisco-based firm has fared well in comparison with other
hospitality businesses, with consumers showing a preference for more space
and properties away from city centres during the pandemic.

 

In the three months to 31 March, holidays bookings for families has also
outpaced those for smaller groups or solo travellers, it said on Thursday.

 

"While conditions aren't yet normal, they are improving, and we expect a
travel rebound unlike anything we have seen before," it said in an update to
investors.

 

It also said that holidaymakers were searching and booking further in
advance.

 

Bookings in the UK and France also shot up following announcements by Prime
Minister Boris Johnson and President Emmanuel Macron on easing lockdown
restrictions.

 

The company said, however, it was still to early to give financial
projections for the rest of the year.

 

It warned that business would depend on the "severity and duration" of
ongoing travel restrictions, particularly outside of the US.

 

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves
Lansdown, said that the results showed the Airbnb brand was also attracting
the older generation with significant disposable income.

 

"It's now a now a household name globally and its model can pivot quickly to
satisfy the change in booking behaviour brought about by the pandemic," she
said.

 

She added that demand for longer-term bookings in more rural locations could
help the firm's reputation.

 

"That trend could also help reduce the number of complaints from neighbours
about rowdy weekend revellers which has plagued the company in recent years,
along with accusations that the platform limits the amount of housing
available for locals. Those concerns have led to restrictions on how the
company operates in some big cities around the world."

 

While the online booking platform might have been gaining momentum, others
in the leisure industry have been struggling amid the pandemic.

 

The Walt Disney company, for example, reported on Thursday that its theme
parks and attractions were still in "recovery" with caps on visitor numbers,
while many of its cruise lines were suspended.

 

Overall revenue fell 13% to $15.6bn in the three months to 3 April compared
with the same period last year.

 

But analysts expect revenues will nearly have returned to pre-pandemic
levels by the end of the current financial year, boosted by its services
like the Disney Plus streaming platform.--BBC

 

 

 

Ignore hype over hydrogen heating, government told

Environmentalists are warning the government to ignore what they call “hype”
over the use of hydrogen to provide heat.

 

New natural gas boilers will be phased out next decade because their
emissions add to climate change.

 

Oil and gas firms are pushing for so-called “blue” hydrogen to be used to
provide heat instead.

 

But environmentalists say electric heat pumps are a much better option for
most homes.

 

In a letter to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday, groups including
climate think tank E3G, WWF, and Greenpeace urged the government to drop
funding for “blue” hydrogen.

 

They said that it appears to be environmentally-benign, but really it’s not.

 

What is blue hydrogen and why is it being promoted?

 

Most homes are heated by gas, and the domestic gas market is worth £28bn a
year.

 

The push to use hydrogen as a substitute comes from the oil and gas giants
who supply the fuel; the firms that make the boilers; and gas network
operator Cadent.

 

Most investment so far is going into “blue” hydrogen, produced by splitting
natural gas at high temperatures.

 

This process does produce carbon emissions, but these can be captured by a
chemical solvent and forced into underground rocks using carbon capture and
storage (CCS).

 

The Hydrogen Taskforce, an industry body, wants hydrogen blended into the
existing gas network to reduce emissions overall. And it wants all boilers
to be made to be “hydrogen-ready”.

 

If blue hydrogen involves capturing CO2, what’s the problem?

 

“Blue” hydrogen is much better for the climate than natural gas – but green
groups writing to the government say it’s incompatible with a zero-carbon
Britain.

 

That’s because fracking for the natural gas to produce hydrogen creates
leaks of methane – a potent planet-heating gas.

 

Emissions are also created in the exploration for gas and its transport.

 

What’s more, many environmentalists don’t trust the carbon capture
technology essential for blue hydrogen because it’s been touted for decades
as a planetary saviour, but is still not locking up carbon dioxide at scale.

 

They ask why consumers should face the extra cost of hydrogen-ready boilers
when the advisory Climate Change Committee projects that only 11% of homes
will eventually run on hydrogen.

 

This minority of hydrogen-heated homes is expected to be in the north east
of the UK, to capitalise on the local wind energy industry producing “green”
hydrogen.

 

So, what’s the future role for “green” hydrogen?

 

“Green” hydrogen is an environmentalist’s dream – using surplus electricity
produced on stormy nights by wind farms to liberate hydrogen from water
using electrolysis.

 

It’s a way of storing energy.

 

This “green” hydrogen is expensive and the process is inefficient – but it
does produce genuinely clean hydrogen, and industry experts agree that
there’s huge scope for cost reductions from innovation.

 

Today’s letter argues that any precious “green” hydrogen should be used to
fuel industrial processes needing huge amounts of heat, not to heat homes.

 

What’s driving the blue vs green debate?

 

Until a few years ago hydrogen was not seen as a significant technology for
combating climate change.

 

But a realisation of the need for energy storage and industrial-grade heat
driven by business enthusiasm has pushed it up the political agenda around
the world.

 

Mr Kwarteng, whose portfolio also includes energy, will shortly publish a
hydrogen strategy.

 

But there are questions about the influence of major firms on the
government.

 

An executive from Shell, for instance, co-chairs the Hydrogen Taskforce,
which advises the government. The group is funded by Shell, BP and Cadent,
among others.

 

And a recent parliamentary question showed that around 75% of public
hydrogen investment in the industrial decarbonisation strategy has gone to
the “blue” type.

 

What does the government say?

 

The government says it want to support both blue and green hydrogen, and is
working on a standard to define “low-carbon hydrogen”.

 

A government spokeswoman told BBC News: “Scaling up the production of
low-carbon hydrogen is a key part of our plan to end the UK’s contribution
to climate change by 2050.

 

“The government has already supported a range of green hydrogen projects,
including Project Dolphyn, where floating offshore wind is combined with an
electrolyser, and ITM Power’s Gigastack project – the world’s largest
electrolyser manufacturing facility.”

 

The spokeswoman added: “The Hydrogen Advisory Council includes
representatives from industry, academia and the public sector, with
expertise in both blue and green hydrogen.”

 

What does the blue team say?

 

“Blue” hydrogen campaigners back the government’s plan to continue
supporting both technologies.

 

They agree the costs of “green” hydrogen will fall, but say there’s a key
role for blue hydrogen to provide hydrogen at relatively low cost in the
short to medium term.

 

The Hydrogen Taskforce wants rules changed to "enable hydrogen blending into
the gas grid and take the next steps towards 100% hydrogen heating through
supporting public trials and mandating hydrogen-ready boilers by 2025."

 

What does the green team say?

 

The organisations behind the letter to government include the climate think
tank E3G and the green groups WWF and Greenpeace.

 

They say if the government embraces “blue” hydrogen, it would lock fossil
fuels into the UK energy mix and ultimately cost customers more.

 

They want governments worldwide to focus on energy efficiency and heat pumps
for homes rather than promoting the blending of hydrogen into the gas grid
or mandating of hydrogen- ready boilers.

 

Juliet Phillips from E3G said: "Hope in hydrogen must not be clouded by
hype, particularly when it comes to heating our homes.

 

"The government mustn’t block near-term progress on cheaper, more effective
and readily available solutions of energy efficiency, heat pumps and
renewable heat networks.”-BBC

 

 

 

Portugal: No decision yet on UK holiday travel

Portugal has yet to decide whether it will allow visits from UK
holidaymakers as it extends its "state of calamity" until 30 May.

 

>From 17 May, travellers from England and Scotland won't have to quarantine
upon their return from Portugal and other "green list" countries.

 

But those countries have their own restrictions on who can visit.

 

However, some football fans may be able to go to the planned UEFA Champions
League final in Porto on 29 May.

 

Portugal's government has announced that it is extending its "state of
public calamity" on the mainland - the second highest level of alert - for a
further 15 days from Monday, until 30 May.

 

Under current plans, people from England and Scotland will be allowed to
travel to Portugal for non-essential reasons from Monday.

 

But whether they will be allowed in by Portugal has not been decided yet by
the Portuguese government, said cabinet office minister Mariana Vieira da
Silva.

 

"I have no information to give yet," she said at a briefing when asked
whether the UK restrictions would soon be lifted.

 

"Work is going on and as soon as there is a decision it will be announced,
but no decision was taken in this cabinet meeting," she said.

 

Travellers from the UK are one of the biggest markets for Portugal's tourism
sector, along with those from Spain and France.

 

Ms Vieira da Silva did not say when a decision on the matter might be taken.

 

Covid restrictions

At present, Portugal allows flights to and from the UK, but only for
essential travel, such as for business, study, family reasons, health or
humanitarian reasons.

 

Firms including Tui and Easyjet have been offering holidays and flights to
green list countries, but online travel firm On The Beach has stopped
selling all holidays for this summer due to Covid uncertainty.

 

Tui has 44 flights due to depart for Portugal between 17 and 30 May. These
include 28 to the Algarve, a popular destination for UK summer holidays.

 

The UEFA Champions League final in Porto has not yet been officially
announced, but is widely expected after Portugal's government agreed to
allow a limited number of fans to attend, despite this not yet being the
case at domestic games.

 

Ms Vieira da Silva said that a series of restrictions would apply.

 

There will be a 12,000 limit on numbers and tickets will be for named people
in designated seats, which will spaced in line with health guidelines.

 

Fans will have to fly in on charters, arriving and leaving "on the same day"
in what Ms Vieira da Silva described as "a bubble situation" - passing
through a separate zone at the airport, as well as having to take a
coronavirus test before travelling.-BBC

 

 

 

Amazon set to hire 75,000 workers in US and Canada

Online retail giant Amazon has said it is hiring 75,000 workers across the
US and Canada to meet growing demand as the pandemic continues.

 

The new jobs offered across transport and its warehouses will be permanent
roles.

 

It will also offer new staff who have already been vaccinated against
Covid-19 a $100 (£71.19) bonus, it said in a statement.

 

A spokesperson said the firm had an "unwavering commitment to safety".

 

The retailer said that the jobs, which are already being advertised, will
offer average starting pay of $17 per hour - following recent wage increases
it introduced.

 

Amazon also said it would offer sign-on bonuses of up to $1,000 in some
locations to attract new staff.

 

Figures released last week showed that the US economy added far fewer jobs
than expected in April, with some analysts saying that firms were finding it
harder to recruit people.

 

Amazon now employs more than one million workers worldwide, having gone on a
huge hiring spree during the pandemic. In the UK, for example, it added
10,000 jobs last year.

 

As consumers stayed at home during lockdown, the retailer had its most
lucrative year to date in 2020. But it also faced allegations over poor
working conditions, as well strikes at warehouses in the US, Italy and
Germany.

 

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which organised an
effort in Alabama to form the first unionised Amazon warehouse in the US,
hit out after the latest hiring announcement.

 

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said: "Amazon has to keep hiring
because of the extraordinary turnover at all of its warehouses.

 

"No matter what they pay people, it doesn't compensate for the way they
treat people and the unsatisfactory working conditions at Amazon facilities
- and people keep leaving these jobs."

 

Amazon has insisted that it ensures workers' health and safety.

 

In many of its US warehouses across Missouri, Nevada and Kansas, it has
organised on-site vaccination events as the rate of jabs being delivered has
slowed in recent weeks.

 

Other companies have also sought to promote Covid vaccinations.

 

McDonald's announced on Tuesday that in the US it would start printing "We
can do this" slogans, alongside links to websites with further information
about vaccines, on its coffee cups.

 

Consumer giant Unilever will also be giving away milkshakes and ice creams
to healthcare workers and those getting vaccinated across several US sites
on 14 May.-BBC

 

 

 

 

IBM says chip shortage could last two years

The boss of the US tech giant IBM has said a computer chip shortage could
last another two years.

 

Its President Jim Whitehurst told the BBC it could be "a few years" before
the situation improves.

 

Many firms have seen production delayed because of a lack of semiconductors,
triggered by the pandemic.

 

The shortage has been exacerbated by surging demand for TVs, phones and
gaming consoles while consumers are stuck at home.

 

Mr Whitehurst said on BBC World Business News: "There's just a big lag
between from when a technology is developed and when [a fabrication plant]
goes into construction and when chips come out".

 

"So frankly, we are looking at couple of years
 before we get enough
incremental capacity online to alleviate all aspects of the chip shortage."

 

IBM licenses its microprocessor technology to the world's biggest chip
makers such as Intel, TSMC and Samsung.

 

How will 'chipageddon' affect you?

Mr Whitehurst added that the firm would have to look at alternative ways to
meet consumer demand.

 

"We're going to have to look at reusing, extending the life of certain types
of computing technologies, as well as accelerating investment in these
[fabricating plants], to be able to as quickly as possible get more capacity
online," he said.

 

The shortage, which was heightened after many factories shut down at the
height of the pandemic, has been exacerbated by surging demand for home
computers, gaming consoles and smartphones.

 

Apple, the world's biggest buyer of semiconductors, was forced to delay the
launch of its latest iPhone due to the shortage,.

 

Mr Whitehurst is the latest tech boss to weigh in on the issue.

 

The boss of networking giant Cisco, Chuck Robbins, told the BBC in April
that he believed the shortage would last at least another six months.

 

US President Joe Biden also sees the shortage as a long-term issue and used
a White House summit with business leaders last month to urge them to make
the country a world leader in computer chips.

 

Amid the trade and technology war with China, the White House has said it is
"a top and immediate priority".

 

According to the US-based Semiconductor Industry Association, about 75% of
global manufacturing capacity is in East Asia.

 

Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung are the dominant players.

 

European politicians also want more chips made locally.

 

Meanwhile, China has seen a huge growth in domestic demand for chips to
power new technology, but has only a small share of global manufacturing
capacity.--BBC

 

 

 

Gupta-owned bank faces possible liquidation

Wyelands Bank, part of the empire of beleaguered businessman Sanjeev Gupta,
is facing possible liquidation.

 

The development comes after Mr Gupta decided not to inject further funds
into it.

 

Wyelands belongs to Mr Gupta's GFG Alliance group, the largest client of
Greensill Capital, which collapsed in March.

 

The move adds to the uncertainty surrounding GFG, which also owns the UK's
Liberty Steel.

 

The government has turned down a request to provide £170m in financial
support for the steel firm, which employs 5,000 people.

 

However, it emerged last week that GFG was in talks about a £200m loan
facility from California-based investment firm White Oak Global Advisors.

 

Clock ticking on Gupta's fight to save his empire

The bank said it had repaid almost all its depositors and had advised its
remaining lending customers to seek financing elsewhere.

 

It said it was seeking new investors, but if none could be found, it would
be wound up on a solvent basis.

 

Mr Gupta bought the bank, formerly known as Tungsten Bank, in 2016 for £30m,
in order to "provide financial solutions to the commodities, steel and
engineering industries".

 

However, adverse market conditions led to a deterioration in the bank's
lending book, it said.

 

Wyelands said its accounts for the year to 30 April 2020 showed a group loss
before tax on ordinary operations of £63m, after the bank booked £61.3m of
loan impairments.-BBC

 

 

 

Stocks rebound as Fed officials calm inflation fears, for now

Japanese shares led a rebound in Asian markets on Friday, building on the
lead from investors on Wall Street snapping up stocks that would benefit
most from an economic revival.

 

The rally interrupted a three-day rout for stocks globally, as market
jitters over accelerating U.S. inflation were calmed by Federal Reserve
officials reiterating that price pressures from the reopening of the economy
would prove transitory.

 

Tokyo's Nikkei (.N225) jumped 2.2%, while MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) gained 0.8%,

 

Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) rose 1.7%, while Australia's benchmark rallied
0.8%.

 

"U.S. equities were up, so there is a bit of relief in Asia," said Frank
Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

 

However, "we certainly are going to have some volatility near-term," as
markets react to CPI and other economic indicators for clues on the path for
U.S. monetary policy.

 

The Fed may open the discussion on tapering its asset purchases as soon as
the policy meeting next month, he said.

 

Data on Wednesday showed annual U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly rose the
most in over a decade, prompting markets to wager on earlier policy
tightening and sending stock markets tumbling. read more

 

However, the reassurance from Fed officials about the transitory nature of
inflation has for now stemmed the equities sell-off.

 

Among Fed speakers overnight, Governor Christopher Waller signalled that
rates won't rise until policymakers either see inflation above target for a
long time or excessively high inflation.

 

"Inflation, it seems, matters less today than yesterday," Chris Weston, head
of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a note to clients.

 

"The buy-the-dip crowd were out in force," suggesting that recent selling
was "a pullback within a bull market," he said.

 

S&P 500 futures pointed to further gains of 0.4% when the market reopens,
following a 1.2% rally in the index (.SPX) on Thursday. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average (.DJI) ended the day up 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite
(.IXIC) advanced 0.7%.

 

The rally was led by shares in small-cap companies (.RUT), chip makers
(.SOX) and transportation providers (.DJT) - businesses that stand to gain
as the United States emerges from the pandemic-induced recession.

 

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields , which had spiked 7 basis points
following Wednesday's CPI print in the biggest daily rise in two months,
fell by nearly 4 basis points overnight and eased further in Asian trading
to 1.6539%.

 

The U.S. currency was steady against a basket of its major peers, with the
dollar index consolidating around the 90.70 level for a second day on
Friday, following Wednesday's 0.6% jump.

 

Gold traded at around $1,822 an ounce at the end of the week, largely
unchanged from the previous day, when it recovered some of Wednesday's
losses.

 

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin recovered to just below $50,000 on Friday,
after plunging to a 2-1/2-month low of $45,700 in the previous session when
a media report of a regulatory probe into crypto exchange Binance added to
pressure from Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) chief Elon Musk's reversing his stance on
accepting the digital currency. read more

 

Much smaller rival dogecoin jumped as much as 20% to $0.52 after Musk said
on Twitter that he was involved in work to improve the token's transaction
efficiency. read more

 

Oil prices remained subdued following a drop on Thursday, pausing a recent
rally as investors turned their attention to the coronavirus crisis in
India, and as the top U.S. fuel pipeline network resumed operations after
being shut due to a cyber attack.

 

Brent crude declined 0.4% to $66.79 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas
Intermediate crude slipped 0.3% to $63.62 a barrel.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Analysis: U.S. investors looking for protection as inflation pressures
bubble, stocks volatile

U.S. investors grappling with the latest stock volatility and evidence of
inflation say they have been positioning themselves for more unexpected
kinks in the road to recovery.

 

The moves to hold assets that could withstand a prolonged surge in inflation
come as data earlier in the week showed U.S. consumer prices rose by the
largest amount in 12 years in April in a jump that was well above Wall
Street’s expectations. Bottlenecks in global supply chains and scarcity in
the labor market were among the reasons for the surge in prices, Labor
Department data showed.

 

Another wrinkle for investors trying to navigate the economic reopening is
the Federal Reserve, which expects a jump in inflation to be "transitory,"
meaning it will be slower to raise interest rates in order to make up for
persistently low inflation over the last decade.

 

"What we've learned in the past 24 hours is that the amplitude of inflation
is going to be more important than anyone realized and it's too soon to tell
how persistent it will be," Bob Miller, head of Americas Fundamental Fixed
Income at BlackRock, said on Thursday. "That will be the debate over the
summer."

 

Miller, who said his firm is holding more cash than it normally would,
expects that the combination of the Fed's policy and signs that inflation
may be rising more above expectations "is going to create more financial
market instability over the next summer and fall if not dialed back."

 

There has been evidence of more cautious behavior in recent weeks. Investors
moved $57.3 billion into cash during the last week of April, the largest
inflow to cash since March 2020, and followed that with the largest weekly
inflow into gold in three months during the first week of May, according to
Bank of America Global Research.

 

"The inflation bump that we expected will be higher and bumpier than we
expected," said Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at Nuveen, who has
been increasing his weighting in small-cap equities and is moving into
emerging markets stocks in anticipation that the reflation trade extends
throughout the remainder of the year.

 

"We are not dealing with runaway inflation, but we're dealing with the fact
that everyone has a different definition of what transitory means," he said.

 

TRANSITORY TROUBLES

 

Inflation fears have weighed on equities this week, particularly growth
stocks. Overall, the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) is down about 3% from its
record high hit earlier this month and the Nasdaq down about 7% (.IXIC) from
a recent peak, partially rebounding on Thursday after sharp falls earlier in
the week.

 

"I think every portfolio manager, every growth equity manager out there, is
trying to figure out ... are we getting close to the bottom, are we going to
retrace another 25%? It's why you see the market churning back and forth,"
said Brad Gerstner of hedge fund Altimeter Capital at the Sohn conference on
Wednesday.

 

Garrett Melson, a portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers, said
the reopening of the global economy will most likely take longer than many
investors expect, leaving the market's recent rotation into cyclical shares
with a "considerable runway," he said.

 

The Russell 1000 Value index (.RLV), for example, is up 15.5% for the year
to date, while the Russell 1000 Growth index (.RLG) is up 2.8% over the same
time.

 

Some investors concerned about inflation are favoring Treasury Inflation
Protected Securities, and yields on 10-year TIPS are close to a three-month
low. Benchmark 10-year yields , meanwhile, have steadied after rising over
the first three months of the year.

 

"The recent preference for TIPS is an acknowledgement that inflation could
potentially pick up and if it picks up it might persist for a longer period
of time than what the market or the Fed is expecting," said Jim Besaw, chief
investment officer at GenTrust Wealth Management, which has been increasing
positions in commodities and regional banks in anticipation of a long period
of higher inflation.

 

Not every prominent fund manager is as concerned. Cathie Wood, whose ARK
Innovation ETF was the top-performing U.S. equity fund last year, said in a
webinar on Tuesday that continued innovation will make deflation a larger
force than inflation in the years ahead.

 

Indeed, the inflation picture is difficult to read.

 

“It’s kind of hard to ascertain what’s truly happening,” said Gregory
Peters, head of multi-sector and strategy for PGIM Fixed Income. “You have
so many supply line disruptions, you have data quirks, you have labor
disruptions.”

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Musk tweets, doge leaps and bitcoin retreats

Bitcoin was pinned near its lowest in more than two months on Friday and
headed for its worst week since February, while dogecoin leapt by a fifth as
tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk sent the two cryptocurrencies on a wild
ride.

 

Markets have gyrated to Musk tweets for months since his interest in
dogecoin sparked a hundred-fold rally in the previously ignored token's
value this year, while Tesla's $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase helped it break
past $50,000 in February.

 

Yet in an equally surprising U-turn he dented the world’s biggest
cryptocurrency this week after announcing Tesla stopped accepting bitcoin in
payment owing to environmental concerns, making investors uneasy about
Musk’s influence on crypto prices.

 

Bitcoin is down nearly 15% this week at $49,804.

 

Dogecoin is down about a third since last Friday, having tumbled after Musk
referred to it as a "hustle" on Saturday Night Live. It then jumped 20%
after his latest comments that he was involved in work to improve its
efficiency.

 

"Working with Doge devs to improve system transaction efficiency.
Potentially promising," Musk said on Twitter, vaulting dogecoin from about
$0.43 to $0.52 on the Binance exchange.

 

It was unclear if Musk was referring to efficiency in terms of energy use,
ease of use or suitability as a currency, said Mark Humphery-Jenner, an
associate professor of finance at the University of New South Wales business
school in Sydney.

 

Dogecoin consumes 0.12 kilowatt hours of electricity per transaction
compared with 707 for bitcoin, according to data center provider TRG, but it
is near impossible to use it to buy anything.

 

SPECULATIVE FRENZY

 

Almost worthless in late 2020, dogecoin is the latest darling of a frenzy
gripping crypto markets that began last year as institutional investors
announced big bitcoin purchases.

 

It has surged to become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap,
according to CoinMarketCap.com. Second-biggest cryptocurrency ether has also
soared more than 400% this year. It last sat at $3,865, steady for the week
so far.

 

The huge moves have begun to attract regulatory scrutiny, and a Bloomberg
report on Thursday which said major exchange Binance was under Justice
Department investigation in the U.S. added to some of the price pressure on
cryptos this week.

 

Musk's tweets and the market's response may also invite attention, said
Edward Moya, an analyst at brokarage OANDA.

 

"Tesla is drawing tremendous scrutiny for Musk's cheerleading of Bitcoin,"
he said. "If Tesla unveils a bet on dogecoin, regulators may have their eyes
on Musk."

 

Others, however, say the market might be more comparable to an old fashioned
bubble.

 

"Dogecoin remains a lesson in greater fool theory," said David Kimberley,
analyst at investing app Freetrade, which posits that buying overpriced
assets can be profitable, so long as there is a "greater fool" to buy them
at ever higher prices.

 

“It’s being pumped by people that want to get rich quick (and Elon Musk),”
he said.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

EXCLUSIVE Tesla in talks with China's EVE for low-cost battery supply deal
-sources

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is in talks with Chinese battery maker EVE Energy Co
(300014.SZ) to add the firm to its Shanghai factory supply chain, four
people familiar with the matter said, as it seeks to boost procurement of
lower cost batteries.

 

EVE makes lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are cheaper to
produce because they use iron instead of more expensive nickel and cobalt.

 

But LFP batteries generally offer a shorter range on a single charge than
the more popular nickel/cobalt alternative.

 

EVE would become the second supplier of LFP batteries to Tesla after China's
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (300750.SZ) (CATL).

 

The talks are advanced and the Palo Alto, California-based company is
seeking to finalise the partnership in the third quarter, said two of the
people.

 

Shenzhen-listed EVE is running some final-stage tests of its products for
Tesla, said one person.

 

Shares of the Chinese battery firm jumped more than 10% in afternoon trade
on Friday following the Reuters report about the talks.

 

All sources declined to be identified as the discussions are private. Tesla
and EVE did not reply to Reuters requests for comment.

 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said this year the company was shifting standard range
cars to an iron cathode due to concerns about the supply of nickel for
scaling up battery production.

 

The talks come as Tesla faces growing competition from Chinese rivals such
as Nio (NIO.N) and Li Auto , as well as mounting cost pressure.

 

Tesla raised the starting price of a standard range Model 3 sedan in China
by 1,000 yuan ($155) on Saturday to 250,900 yuan, citing cost fluctuations.

 

Data showed this week that China's factory gate prices rose at their fastest
in three and a half years in April as the world's second-largest economy
gathers momentum. read more

 

Tesla also faces mounting regulatory pressure in China after consumer
disputes over product safety and scrutiny over how it handles data. read
more

 

The company is using batteries from China's Contemporary Amperex Technology
Co (300750.SZ) (CATL) and South Korea's LG Chem (051910.KS) for its
China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars.

 

CATL has been the sole supplier of the LFP batteries for China-made Model 3
cars with standard driving ranges since late last year.

 

Three of the sources said Tesla has been working closely with EVE to get its
batteries to meet its requirements, as it aims to bring in the supplier as,
what one of the sources called a "check and balance" against CATL.

 

One of the sources said Tesla could start using EVE's LFP batteries in the
China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles within the next six months and EVE
had ramped up production in order to be prepared for the possible
partnership.

 

EVE, which supplies batteries to Chinese EV maker Xpeng Inc (XPEV.N), said
in March it also has battery supply partnerships with BMW (BMWG.DE) and
Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE).

 

($1 = 6.4505 Chinese yuan)

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Toshiba to undergo strategic review, unit hit by cyberattack in Europe

Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Friday it would undergo a strategic
review that comes after it dismissed a $20 billion buyout bid, while a unit
said its European business was hit by a cyberattack.

 

Toshiba Tec Corp (6588.T), which makes point-of-sale systems and copiers,
said it had been hacked.

 

Public broadcaster NHK said the perpetrator was DarkSide, the group the U.S.
FBI blamed for the Colonial Pipeline attack. Security firm Mitsui Bussan
Secure Directions had noted that DarkSide had put out a statement on its
dark web site claiming responsibility, NHK said.

 

Toshiba Corp said it was setting up a strategic review committee to consider
ways to increase corporate value and had appointed UBS (UBSG.S) as financial
adviser.

 

It also forecast on Friday a hefty 63% rise in annual operating profit after
pandemic-induced pain in the last year and as restructuring measures bear
fruit.

 

It is expecting 170 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in operating profit for the
year to end-March, which compares with a consensus estimate of 179 billion
yen drawn from 13 analysts polled by Refinitiv.

 

For the year just ended, Toshiba posted a 20% slide in operating profit to
104.4 billion yen.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Foxconn profit leaps as COVID-19 drives demand for work-from-home devices

Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW), which assembles iPhones for Apple (AAPL.O),
reported first-quarter profit soared past estimates amid the work-from-home
boom spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic that has stoked demand for devices
like smartphones and laptops.

 

The world's biggest contract electronics maker also said it sees growth
continuing in the second quarter, expecting revenue for consumer electronics
and computing products to both rise more than 15% on the year, extending
first-quarter sales growth.

 

Officially known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the firm January-March
net profit rocketed to T$28.2 billion ($1 billion) from T$2.1 billion a year
earlier, when the company's business was badly hit by the early outbreak of
the COVID-19 pandemic

 

The result, a 13-fold jump, was well above an average forecast of T$24.41
billion compiled from 11 analysts' estimates by Refinitiv.

 

Foxconn said sales from its major revenue contributor - consumer electronics
including smartphones and wearable devices - climbed more than 15% in the
first quarter from a year earlier, while computing products such as laptops
also rose more than 15%.

 

First-quarter revenue rose 45% from a year earlier to T$1.34 trillion, the
company said.

 

The company had previously expected first-quarter revenue to be "better than
normal" for the season thanks to strong sales of smartphones and
telecommuting devices.

 

Foxconn, however, has said it was closely monitoring "materials shortages"
in the consumer electronics supply chain, amid a crunch in semiconductor
supplies that has hit the auto industry, though described the impact as
"limited". It assembles iPhones at plants in China and India, the latter now
ravaged by the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Foxconn's shares have risen 14% this year. They ended up 1.5% on Friday,
compared with a 1% rise for the broader market (.TWII).

 

($1 = 27.9500 Taiwan dollars)

 

 

 

Gas faces existential crisis in climate wary Europe

Europe faces the prospect of higher electricity bills and a supply crunch,
as utilities struggle to finance new gas-fired power plants unless they meet
tougher emissions criteria imposed by banks pressured to stop financing
fossil-fuel projects.

 

The region's utilities already anticipate power supply problems as they
phase out coal and nuclear generation and ageing infrastructure. read more

 

International producers have for well over a decade said gas was a necessary
transition fuel on the journey to decarbonisation.

 

But increased urgency to halt climate change and the scaling up of renewable
technology have left investors and policymakers hesitating over plans for
large new plants in the region.

 

The falling cost of renewable energy and the potential of emerging
technologies, such as hydrogen, is at the front of policymakers' minds,
pushing gas out of favour as they legislate even more ambitious climate
targets.

 

Natural gas produces roughly half the carbon dioxide emissions of coal when
burned in a power plant.

 

A way to get rid of the remaining emissions is to use carbon capture and
storage (CCS) technology to trap carbon dioxide, but that is expensive.

 

It also does not address mounting concerns that leaks of planet-warming
methane from gas infrastructure may cancel out the benefits of switching to
gas from coal.

 

The European Commission's executive vice-president Frans Timmermans told an
industry event in March that there will only be a "marginal role for fossil
gas" on the path to net zero emissions by 2050.

 

Last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said EU gas demand will be
8% lower in 2030 than in 2019.

 

"In some mature markets in Europe, North America and parts of Asia, natural
gas is facing existential questions, particularly following announcements of
net zero targets," the authors of the IEA's World Energy Outlook said in an
email.

 

STRANDED ASSET RISK

 

Some developers and utilities have already diverted funds from gas. read
more

 

In Europe's five largest power markets - Britain, France, Germany, Italy and
Spain - developers have announced more than 60 gigawatts of new gas plant
projects, S&P Global Market Intelligence figures show, although they are not
all likely to be built.

 

A report by U.S.-based thinktank Global Energy Monitor in April said that
building all the gas infrastructure planned or under way in the European
Union would create 87 billion euros ($105 billion) of stranded asset risk.

 

Gas projects worth some 30 billion euros were cancelled, delayed or
indefinitely postponed last year as they struggled to find funding.

 

The costs of renewables are expected to continue falling, while gas plant
owners are exposed to EU carbon prices , which have hit record levels above
50 euros a tonne, and volatile wholesale energy prices.

 

If CCS is required by regulators, that would add on several euro cents a
kilowatt hour more, analysts say, as CCS requires additional infrastructure
and means overall more fuel is needed to produce the same amount of
electricity.

 

Gas generation remains a quick, effective way to bring on new capacity to
meet demand.

 

As utilities shy away from committing to it, several European governments
are looking at importing more power and liquefied natural gas, as well as
paying operators to keep gas plants available at short-notice as standby
capacity. That could also inflate consumer energy bills.

 

GREATER SCRUTINY

 

Elsewhere, gas plants might not have the same struggle. The Oxford Institute
for Energy Studies said China could add 40-50 GW of new gas-fired power
capacity by 2025 to 140–150 GW, up 50% from current levels, as the
government tries to limit coal consumption.

 

But in Europe, where coal is already hard to finance, lending institutions
and governments have moved on to tightening requirements for funding gas
projects.

 

The European Investment Bank, Europe's largest public lender, has revamped
its lending policy to largely exclude new gas infrastructure from the end of
this year.

 

"To put it mildly, gas is over...Without the end to the use of unabated
fossil fuels, we will not be able to reach the climate targets," EIB
president Werner Hoyer said in January.

 

The European Commission has proposed rules to restrict funding for natural
gas projects because of the risk they pose to the bloc’s climate goals. read
more

 

Industry and some governments have lobbied hard as the Commission also
considers how to classify power plants fuelled by natural gas under its
sustainable finance taxonomy and it has delayed the decision until later
this year. read more

 

If gas power plants are classified as green provided they are equipped with
CCS, that would allow them to be marketed in Europe as sustainable
investments from next year.

 

Even with that, the end of Europe's gas era could be in sight.

 

"The window for (building) conventional gas generation does seem to be
narrowing. We have the feeling you have to get material gas investments done
by the mid-decade unless pairing it with CCS or doing something creative
with hydrogen," said Murray Douglas, research director at consultancy Wood
Mackenzie.

 

"But we still need something to plug the (supply) gap over the next 10-15
years so gas will have to remain part of the power mix."

 

($1 = 0.8295 euros)

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

U.S. judge dismisses advertisers' antitrust claims against Google

A U.S. judge on Thursday dismissed antitrust claims against Alphabet Inc's
(GOOGL.O) Google brought by a group of advertisers, but offered them a
chance to try again after addressing what she called "serious concerns."

 

The ruling by District Judge Beth Labson Freeman in San Jose, California,
marks one of the first major decisions in a spate of antitrust cases filed
against Google over the last two years by users and rivals as well as the
U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general.

 

Labson Freeman said plaintiffs, including Hanson Law Firm and Prana Pets,
that alleged Google abuses its dominance in digital advertising need to
clarify which market they think it monopolizes.

 

"The Court is particularly concerned that Plaintiffs’ market excludes social
media display advertising and direct negotiations," she wrote.

 

The plaintiffs also need to better explain why Google's refusal to support
rival systems that the advertisers rely upon is anticompetitive, because
antitrust law does not require monopolists to help competitors survive,
Labson Freeman said.

 

"The Court has serious concerns that some of Plaintiffs’ allegations rely on
a 'duty to deal' theory of antitrust," she wrote.

 

Plaintiffs have until June 14 to amend their lawsuit, according to the
decision.

 

Attorneys for Google and the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.

 

Google in other cases faces claims about its dominance of search and mobile
software businesses. InItial decisions in those cases could be years away.
For instance, a federal judge in Texas this month heard arguments on whether
to schedule a trial for the spring of 2022, as states that brought the
lawsuit prefer, or fall of 2023, as Google seeks. read more

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Disney's streaming growth slows as pandemic lift fades, shares fall

Disappointing growth of Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N)namesake streaming service
on Thursday overshadowed better-than-expected overall profits, driving down
shares of the entertainment company.

 

Shares of Disney fell 3.7% in after-hours trading.

 

CEO Robert Chapek said that movie and television shows were resuming normal
production and new offerings would help bring in new customers to Disney+,
ESPN+, Hulu and Hotstar.

 

Adjusted earnings-per-share for the fiscal second quarter came in at 79
cents for January through April 3, Disney said. Analysts had expected 27
cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

 

Disney is focusing on quickly building its streaming service to challenge
Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) as audiences move away from cable TV. The company's
popular theme parks remain in recovery mode with attendance limits due to
the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"(Disney+) growth is significantly decelerating as the initial pandemic
boost has waned," eMarketer analyst Eric Haggstrom said. "Given Disney's
content investments, subscriber growth should return strongly once this
short-term turbulence ends."

 

Upcoming Disney+ series include "Loki" about the Marvel villain and Star
Wars series "The Book of Boba Fett."

 

A total of 103.6 million customers subscribed to Disney+ as of early April,
the company said. Two Marvel superhero series, "WandaVision" and "The Falcon
and the Winter Soldier," debuted during the quarter. Analysts had projected
109.3 million, according to FactSet.

 

The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for Disney+ decreased from
$5.63 to $3.99, the company said, due to the launch of the lower-priced
Disney+ Hotstar in overseas markets. Factset estimates showed Wall Street
was expecting average revenue of $4.10 per user.

 

Disney plans to launch Disney+ in Malaysia on June 1 and in Thailand on June
30, executives said on a call with analysts.

 

Overall revenue fell 13% to $15.61 billion in the second quarter ended April
3, a touch below what analysts estimated, according Refinitiv.

 

Net income from continuing operations rose to $912 million in the second
quarter from $468 million a year earlier.

 

Operating income at Disney's media division rose 74% from a year earlier to
$2.9 billion as profit rose at domestic and international TV networks. The
streaming media unit lost $290 million, less than half of what Wall Street
expected, thanks in part to higher advertising revenue at Hulu and ESPN+
income from Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view events.

 

The theme parks division posted an operating loss of $406 million. The
Disneylands in California and Paris were closed for the full quarter.
Disneyland in California reopened April 30.

 

Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said reservations at Disney's
U.S. parks were strong, "demonstrating the strength of our brands as well as
growing travel optimism."

 

Chapek said Disney will continue to experiment with movie distribution while
theaters try to lure audiences back. The company will offer late summer
releases "Free Guy" and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings"
exclusively in theaters for 45 days, a shortened period that has been
embraced by other studios to allow for home viewing sooner.

 

Disney renewed a deal with Major League Baseball with 30 exclusive regular
season games through 2028. The deal includes an option to simulcast all live
MLB coverage for ESPN networks on ESPN+.

 

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Inside First Bank Board Shake-Up - How Vested Interests Divide
Nigeria's Oldest Lender

A key reason for the crisis is the tussle for control of the bank between a
block led by Oba Otudeko and Mike Adenuga, who recently emerged as one of
the biggest shareholders in the bank.

 

The battle for the control of Nigeria's oldest lender, First Bank of Nigeria
Limited, among two power blocs dominated by key shareholders with interests
in its ownership, was at the heart of the recent shake-up of the bank's
board, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

 

One of the blocks is led by Nigeria's second richest man, Mike Adenuga,
insiders said.

 

On April 29, the CBN dismissed the boards of the bank and its holding
company, FBN Holdings, in a dramatic move that came a day after the bank
appointed a new managing director. The regulator reinstated the former MD of
the bank, Adesola Adeduntan.

 

The regulator said First Bank, which has over 31 million customers with a
deposit base of N4.2 trillion, shareholders' funds of N618 billion, has for
years been plagued by "bad credit decisions, significant and non-performing
insider loans and poor corporate governance practices".

PREMIUM TIMES has learnt that a key reason for the crisis is the tussle for
control of the bank between a block led by Oba Otudeko, who until a
fortnight ago was the chairman of FBN Holdings' board, and Mr Adenuga, who
recently emerged as one of the biggest shareholders in the bank.

 

While Mr Otudeko had Ibukun Awosika, removed alongside him as chair of First
Bank board, as his candidate, Mr Adeduntan, the reinstated chief executive,
represented the interest of Arisekola Alao, a late Ibadan business mogul and
prominent shareholder, on the board, according to people with knowledge of
the matter.

 

Mr Adeduntan, 51, is viewed by the Otudeko block as now serving the interest
of Mr Adenuga, who took over Mr Alao's significant shares after the latter's
death in 2014.

He was appointed First Bank's managing director in 2016 to help the lender
regain a sound financial footing after an avalanche of bad loans threatened
to sweep it under.

 

First Bank's bad loan charges had ballooned by almost four times from
N25.942 billion to N119.322 billion between 2014 and 2015. That figure would
soar further in the next twelve months, although at a slower pace this time,
by 90 per cent to N226.037 billion, taking its delinquent loan to 24 per
cent of its entire credit portfolio, well above the 5 per cent permitted by
the central bank.

 

The CBN's intervention in the crisis, aimed at salvaging First Bank from a
"grave financial condition", meant N150 billion was written off in bad loans
after shareholders failed to recapitalise the bank amid capital adequacy
concerns.

 

The situation became problematic following a N75 billion loan facility by
First Bank to Honeywell Flour Mills, in which Mr Otudeko owns majority
stake. The insider lending, said to be beyond the single-obligor limit
particularly for a director, called the bank's corporate governance to
question.

 

Honeywell Flour Mills said in a statement that the loan has performed from
inception till date, and in accordance with agreed terms, the facilities
were adequately secured with collaterals at over 170% of Forced Sales Value
and 230% at Open Market Value.

 

But the CBN said the bank failed to perfect its lien on Mr Otudeko's shares
in First Bank, which were placed as collateral for the loan. A lien ensures
the creditor (First Bank in this case) obtains the right to the property (Mr
Otudeko's shares) if the borrower (Honeywell Flour Mills) fails to meet its
debt repayment obligations.

 

"We further noted that after four years the bank is yet to perfect its lien
on the shares of Mr. Oba Otudeko in FBN Holdco which collateralized the
restructured credit facilities for Honeywell Flour Mills contrary to the
conditions precedent for the restructuring of the company's credit
facility," the CBN said.

 

The CBN has called in Honeywell Flour Mill's loan, and if the company is
unable to pay up, Mr Otudeko may lose his shares in the bank.

 

On the other hand, Mr Adenuga, who owns telco Globacom and holds majority
stakes in Conoil, Sterling Bank, and Julius Berger Plc, has been stepping up
efforts to buy the shares pledged as security for the loan.

 

Insiders say Mr Adeduntan had demonstrated his willingness to oblige the
CBN's demand to perfect the collateral, a decision that may likely favour Mr
Adenuga and hand him majority control of the bank.

 

Mr Otudeko and allies currently hold 1.5 per cent of the bank's shares while
Oye Hassan-Odukale holds 1.03 per cent, according to the bank's 2020 report.
Mr Adenuga is said to be forging alliance with Mr Hassan-Odukale to oust Mr
Otudeko as the bank's majority shareholder.

 

Write Off or Restructure

 

Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES learned there had been plans by members of First
Bank's top rank to either write off the N75 billion or restructure it to
give the debtor some relief. The issue divided the lender's management into
pro-Otudeko and anti-Otudeko groups.

 

But those backing the one-time chairman seemed to be stronger and had pushed
for the removal of Mr Adeduntan, a source said.

 

On April 28, Mrs Awosika announced through a statement the retirement of Mr
Adeduntan from the board and the appointment of Deputy Managing Director
Gbenga Shobo as the new CEO. The statement also named a number of new
directors who would join the board.

 

Bank officials told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Otudeko had rejected a CBN earlier
position that Mr Adeduntan should not be removed. The dismissal of the
latter and the new appointments to the board was executed without the
knowledge of the CBN, prompting the regulator to demand an explanation.

 

It promptly dissolved the boards of both FBN Holdings and First Bank, naming
Remi Babalola and Tunde Odukola respectively as chairmen of the boards in a
move it said it took to protect minority shareholders' and depositors'
interests. The regulator went ahead to restore Mr Adeduntan, whom he has
worked with since the 2016 crisis and whose retirement is actually due this
December.

 

"We will not allow a shareholder who feels he will not subject himself to
regulatory control and authority to remain as a director of the bank," said
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.-Premium Times.

 

 

 

Africa: Solar Minibuses for Africa? Data Seen As Key to Green Transport
Switch

Barcelona — Solar-powered electric charging points could be the solution for
African cities, researchers say - but to attract investment, more
information is needed on informal transport systems

 

As emissions from African transport surge, governments need to find ways to
encourage a shift to cleaner, healthier electric vehicles, especially among
the minibus and motorcycle taxis that dominate transport in many cities,
researchers said on Thursday.

 

Investment in generating more solar-powered electricity to charge electric
vehicles (EVs) could encourage their use, cut pollution and costs for
passengers, and help stabilise unreliable energy systems, they said in a
commentary published in Nature Sustainability.

 

But most African governments lack the data on privately run mass transport
systems needed to make the case for financial institutions and development
banks to put money into building electric charging infrastructure, they
added.

Co-author Katherine Collett, a fellow with the Oxford Martin Programme on
Integrating Renewable Energy, described it as a "chicken and egg" problem.

 

"Nobody wants to invest in electric vehicle charging before there are enough
EVs to make it profitable. But nobody wants to buy an EV that they are
unable to charge," she said in a statement.

 

The University of Oxford researchers noted that in 2018, carbon dioxide
emissions from sub-Saharan Africa contributed only 2.3% of global emissions.
Less than 12% of those African emissions came from transport.

 

But with populations growing, migration to cities from rural areas
accelerating and the continent's middle class expanding, demand for road
transport in the region will increase, they said.

 

"Unless there is disruption to business-as-usual, the related emissions will
also increase," the commentary said, calling for "urgent action" to find
ways of decarbonising of transport in sub-Saharan Africa.

Transport emissions in Africa grew by 84% between 2010 and 2016, the
researchers noted, citing data from the Belgium-based Partnership on
Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport.

 

>From Kenya to South Africa, where both ownership of private family cars and
official public transport is limited, the majority of urban journeys are
undertaken using informal private transport - often old and imported
second-hand minibus taxis or two- and three-wheeled vehicles.

 

Mostly, the drivers do not follow formal, fixed routes and many vehicles are
not properly registered, making for poorly documented systems and a "drastic
lack" of data, the paper said.

 

At the same time, many poorer areas have limited access to electricity or
struggle with frequent grid power outages, which would make reliable
electric vehicle charging a challenge.

 

The best solution in many places would be to install off-grid solar panels
alongside charging points, said the researchers, noting Africa's abundant
sunshine, the need to curb planet-warming emissions and the falling price of
technology.

They also recommended mandatory vehicle registration and insurance, along
with GPS tracking for informal transport operators.

 

Governments, meanwhile, should promote the use of cashless payments and
mobile apps to better track and understand transport user behaviour.

 

Such changes would generate data to demonstrate the market size and business
opportunities for electricity companies, EV manufacturers and other firms
that could, for instance, retrofit existing vehicles with batteries, the
researchers added.

 

"Cleaner air, cheaper transport and stable access to electricity is within
grasp for sub-Saharan Africa - we just need to mobilise the data and
investment to make it happen," said co-author Stephanie Hirmer of the
University of Oxford's Energy and Power Group.-Thomson Reuters Foundation.

 

 

 

Nigeria: TCN Restores 'Bulk Power' to Grid - Official

There was a national grid collapse on Wednesday. The Transmission Company of
Nigeria (TCN) says it has restored bulk power to all the 330 Kilo Volt
(kV)Transmission Stations across the entire grid by 5.54 p.m. Wednesday.

 

TCN's General Manager, Ndidi Mbah, made this known in a statement in Abuja
on Thursday.

 

It would be recalled that there was a national grid collapse at about
11.01a.m. Wednesday.

 

TCN said that the total system collapse of the grid was as a result of
voltage collapse in some parts of the grid.

 

Ms Mbah said that the Kainji-Birnin Kebbi line "tripped on fault but was
restored".

 

She also said "the TCN substations feed 132kV substations, through which
Distribution Companies offtake electricity they deliver to electricity
consumers nationwide".-Premium Times.

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

Africa Day

 

25/05/21

 


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
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been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
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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
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other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
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any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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