Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 11 November 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 11 November 2021

 


 

 


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ü  Elon Musk: Tesla boss sells $5bn of shares after Twitter poll

ü  Uber sued by Justice Department for overcharging disabled people

ü  US prices rising at 6.2%, fastest rate for three decades

ü  Electric truck maker Rivian raises almost $12bn from share sale

ü  Peter Jackson sells visual effects firm for $1.6bn to Unity

ü  Bank of England takes next steps in digital money plan

ü  Grays in Essex named as top spot for house sellers

ü  How GE's Larry Culp split the empire Jack Welch built

ü  Evergrande teeters on edge of default as $148 mln payment falls due

ü  U.S. airlines and Amazon join push to reduce aircraft emissions

ü  Global carmakers now target $515 billion for EVs, batteries

ü  China's regulatory crackdown pushes Tencent to slowest revenue growth
since 2004

ü  Nasdaq receives Nordic power spot market licence, start date not set

ü  Adidas sees $1.2 bln sales hit as supply snags drag on

ü  U.S. judge denies Apple's request for pause of 'Fortnite' antitrust
orders

ü  China vehicle sales fall 9.4% in October - industry body

ü  China import fair sees $70.72 bln worth of 'intentional' deals signed

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Elon Musk: Tesla boss sells $5bn of shares after Twitter poll

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has sold around $5bn (£3.7bn) of shares in
the electric carmaker.

 

It comes days after he asked his 63 million Twitter followers whether he
should sell 10% of his stake in Tesla.

 

The company's shares fell by around 16% in the two days after the poll came
out in favour of him selling shares, before regaining some ground on
Wednesday.

 

Tesla is the world's most valuable carmaker, with a stock market valuation
of more than $1tn.

 

Mr Musk's trust sold almost 3.6 million shares in Tesla, worth around $4bn.

 

He also sold another 934,000 shares for about $1.1bn after exercising
options to acquire nearly 2.2 million shares, according to filings with the
US stock market regulator.

 

 

The documents showed that the sale of about a fifth of the shares was made
based on a pre-arranged trading plan set up in September, long before Mr
Musk's social media posts at the weekend about selling some of his shares.

 

However, the regulatory filings also showed that the sale of the remainder
of the shares had not been scheduled.

 

On Saturday, Mr Musk posted a Twitter poll asking his followers to vote on
whether he should sell part of his stake in Tesla to meet his tax
obligations.

 

"Much is made lately of unrealised gains being a means of tax avoidance, so
I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock," he tweeted.

 

"I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes."

 

The poll attracted more than 3.5 million votes, with nearly 58% voting in
favour of the share sale.

 

Mr Musk also highlighted that he is not paid in cash by Tesla: "I only have
stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock."

 

Part of the latest transaction saw him exercising stock options that he was
awarded by the carmaker in 2012 as part of his pay package.

 

Such transactions trigger income taxes, which are typically settled using
money raised from immediately selling some of the newly acquired shares.

 

It was his first sale of shares since 2016, when he last exercised stock
options. At the time he also sold some of the shares to cover an income tax
bill of close to $600m.

 

Mr Musk is the world's richest person, with a personal fortune estimated to
be more than $280bn.-BBC

 

 

 

Uber sued by Justice Department for overcharging disabled people

The US Justice Department (DoJ) is suing ride-hailing app Uber over
allegations it has been overcharging disabled people.

 

The DoJ claims Uber's "wait time" fees are discriminating against disabled
passengers who need more than two minutes to get into a car.

 

It says Uber needs to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

 

But Uber said wait time fees were not intended to apply to disabled riders
and that it had been refunding fees.

 

Kristen Clarke, assistance attorney general for the DoJ's civil rights
division said the lawsuit aimed to send a "powerful message that Uber cannot
penalise passengers with disabilities simply because they need more time to
get into a car".

 

Uber and other companies that provide transportation services "must ensure
equal access for all people, including those with disabilities," she added.

 

However, Uber said it disagreed that its policies were in violation of the
the ADA.

 

A spokesman said the company had been in talks with the DoJ before the
"surprising and disappointing" lawsuit.

 

Wait time fees were "never intended for riders who are ready at their
designated pickup location but need more time to get into the car", he said.

 

Uber had a policy of refunding wait time fees for disabled riders whenever
they alerted the firm that they had been charged, the spokesman said.

 

"After a recent change last week, now any rider who certifies they are
disabled will have fees automatically waived," he added.

 

Uber's disability issues

Uber began charging passengers for driver waiting times in 2016.

 

The firm says riders are charged on average less than 60 cents, and that
wheelchair-accessible trips or Uber Assist trips do not have any wait time
fees by default.

 

It is not the first time that Uber has found itself in hot water over
disability issues.

 

In April, it was ordered to pay a blind woman in San Francisco $1.1m after
she was refused rides on 14 occasions. In the UK, Paralympic medallist Jack
Hunter-Spivey said in September that Uber and other taxi drivers regularly
drove off when they saw that he was a wheelchair user.

 

A 2020 study by the University of Tennessee found that it takes 28% more
income for a disabled person in the US to achieve the same standard of
living as a non-disabled person.

 

Maria Town, president and chief executive of the American Association of
People with Disabilities (AAPD), who has cerebral palsy, told the BBC that
disabled people often face a "disproportionate economic burden, often as a
result of realities they cannot change nor control".

 

In addition to higher costs for health care, medical supplies and
accessibility tools, the practice of applying extra fees for services, such
as grocery delivery or rideshare wait times, adds an additional "tax" for
disabled consumers, she said.

 

Ending the practice of charging wait-time fees for disabled riders would be
a "step in the right direction toward economic equality and dignity", Ms
Town added.

 

The AAPD said it had seen many cases where Uber drivers had driven away when
they saw that the passenger was using a wheelchair, crutches, a walker or a
service dog.

 

"The presence of disability alone sometimes is enough, it's a huge issue,"
Ms Town said, recalling an incident from 2017 concerning a man in Texas who
had a genetic disorder that affected his appearance.

 

She also said that it was unfair of Uber to expect disabled people to use
only its wheelchair-accessible services or Uber Assist.

 

"It's not fair on a number of fronts - there's a limited supply of these
cars on the road, but also people with disabilities may not want
assistance," she stressed.

 

Forcing someone to take an assist ride could cause "some tense driver-rider
interactions that are completely unnecessary," Ms Town said.-BBC

 

 

 

US prices rising at 6.2%, fastest rate for three decades

Americans' cost of living is rising faster than it has for three decades,
with food and fuel driving the increases.

 

The consumer prices index for October showed prices rose 6.2% over the last
twelve months.

 

It marks a sharp jump from September when prices were already rising at
5.4%.

 

Inflation has been a growing concern for shoppers and policymakers this year
as the impact of the pandemic persists.

 

Rising prices for food, shelter, used cars and trucks and new vehicles were
among the larger contributors, the Bureau for Labour Statistics said.

 

Meat, fish and eggs rose more than other foodstuffs, while petrol, or
gasoline, prices are at seven-year highs.

 

Almost every sector saw some price inflation, except for airfares and
alcoholic beverages.

 

Bottlenecks in the supply of some goods, combined with increasing demand
from customers as the vaccine programme allowed the economy to reopen, are
partly to blame for the rises.

 

A shortage of staff has prompted employers to raise wages in some sectors,
too, which in turn can feed into higher prices.

 

Even excluding the cost of food and fuel, which tend to be more volatile,
prices were rising strongly at 4.6%.

 

Bessy Clarke says she has mostly noticed the price of petrol going up.

 

"Steadily every week, it gets higher and higher," she says. "I'm actively
thinking about how I need to limit my gas trips."

 

"It takes over 30 bucks (£22) to fill my tank right now and it used to take
about 23."

 

The 29-year-old waitress from New Orleans, Louisiana says her food bills are
also rising.

 

"We go to our local grocery store, and things that were 40 to 50 bucks a
couple months ago are now creeping over 60.

 

"Even in the restaurant I work at, meat prices have gone up and now we're
having to pass that price on to consumers."

 

She's finding it impossible to save money, so is looking for a better paid
job.

 

"I just hope that it eventually stabilises," she says.

 

Taken on a monthly basis, the Bureau for Labour Statistics said prices rose
0.9% in October, after gaining 0.4% in September, illustrating the pace of
acceleration.

 

On an annual basis, prices are rising at their fastest pace since 1990.

 

President Joe Biden said reversing the spike in inflation was a "top
priority".

 

However, the Federal Reserve, which is responsible for monitoring inflation
and is independent from the government, has said it believes the current
high rate is "transitory".

 

As a result, the Fed is not expected to raise interest rates soon - the
usual response to rising inflation.

 

Last week, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell did announce a scaling back
of the Fed's bond-buying programme, the first move towards a tightening of
monetary policy.

 

Pressure on Fed

Many economists are warning inflation could prove more intractable as the
scramble for staff and supplies continues to exert pressure on prices.

 

"I expect lots of eyeballs were bulging out of their sockets when they saw
the number come in," said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global
Investors.

 

"Inflation is clearly getting worse before it gets better, while the
significant rise in shelter prices is adding to concerning evidence of a
broadening in inflation pressures."

 

Shelter refers to the cost of maintaining a home, including mortgage, rent
and utilities costs.

 

The news would "heap pressure on the Fed" to raise interest rates, she
added. "Yet it is doubtful they will act before late 2022."-BBC

 

 

 

Electric truck maker Rivian raises almost $12bn from share sale

Shares in electric vehicle firm Rivian are set to start trading in New York
on Wednesday, after raising more than $11.9bn (£8.8bn) from investors.

 

That's as the shares were priced at $78 each, well above the company's
target range.

 

That flotation ranks among the top 10 initial public offerings (IPOs) of all
time in the US.

 

Yet Rivian only started delivering its first electric pick-up trucks to
customers in September.

 

And the California-based start-up has made losses of over $2bn over the last
two years.

 

But the van and truck maker has drawn significant investor interest, in part
because it already has the backing of online giant Amazon.

 

And it is has beaten rivals include Ford and General Motors to a segment of
the market - small trucks, pick-ups and SUVs - which is popular with
American drivers.

 

The shares were priced at $78 each, which is above the target range of $72
to $74.

 

Rivian is already being compared to Elon Musk's Tesla, which transformed the
market for electric cars.

 

Alongside the pick-up truck, Rivian is due to start rolling out its sports
utility vehicle (SUV) in December and a delivery van in 2023.

 

"Rivian exists to create products and services that help our planet
transition to carbon neutral energy and transportation," said RJ Scaringe
the company's founder and chief executive in the firm's submission to the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of the share flotation.

 

"This is what inspired me to start Rivian, and it's what drives every
decision we make as an organisation."

 

The firm was founded in 2009 as Mainstream Motors, changing in 2011 to
Rivian, a name derived from "Indian River".

 

Originally Mr Scaringe pursued the idea of an electric sports car but later
changed track to focus on trucks and vans.

 

Recently Rivian has invested heavily in production of the R1T which is
designed as an aspirational, outdoor adventure style vehicle. It comes with
the option of a three person tent roof attachment and a slide-out kitchen
unit for cooking in the wild.

 

But crucial to investors' interest is the firm's relationship with Amazon,
which not only owns 20% of Rivian, but has also said it will buy 100,000
electric delivery vans from the firm, once the firm starts to roll them out
too.

 

Not so long ago, US investors didn't have that much time for electric
vehicles. But things have changed - and how!

 

When Tesla went public in 2009, its shares were priced at $17 apiece, giving
the company a total value of $1.5bn.

 

Today, the share price stands at well over $1,000, and the value of the
company at more than $1tn.

 

That may explain at least some of the hype surrounding Rivian. EV businesses
are simply hot property these days.

 

Factor in powerful backing from Ford and Amazon, pickup trucks that look
all-American, even if they run on batteries, with commercial vehicles as
well, and you can see why the IPO has gathered such momentum.

 

Rivian is not Tesla. Its products are very different, and deliberately so.
But investors are clearly betting on the company one day becoming every bit
as disruptive.

 

line

Ford has also invested in the firm, as well as working on its own electric
trucks.

 

Karl Brauer at ISeeCars.com said there was a lot of excitement around the
brand because of the backing it has already secured, and because it presents
itself as a premium truck brand.

 

"It's not all about it being an electric vehicle. It's about it being an
extremely effective truck that's powered by electricity," he said.

 

"I think people have a lot of anticipation, because they do feel like
there's shades of Tesla here," he said.

 

However he said Rivian's fortunes could be undermined by an economic
downturn reducing demand, or by mechanical or production difficulties.

 

There is already another cloud on Rivian's horizon. Its former vice
president of sales and marketing, Laura Schwab is suing the company claiming
she was was wrongfully dismissed after making a gender discrimination
complaint about the "toxic bro" culture at the company.

 

She also says she warned the company its delivery targets were "not
achievable".-BBC

 

 

 

Peter Jackson sells visual effects firm for $1.6bn to Unity

The New Zealand-based visual effects studio co-founded by Oscar-winning
director Sir Peter Jackson has been sold for $1.6bn (£1.2bn).

 

Weta Digital, which has worked on films including Lord of the Rings and
Avatar, is being bought by video games software company Unity.

 

Unity's technology is behind games such as Pokémon Go and Call of Duty:
Mobile.

 

The firms say the deal means that Weta's special effects tools will be
"democratised".

 

"Together, Unity and Weta Digital can create a pathway for any artist, from
any industry, to be able to leverage these incredibly creative and powerful
tools," Sir Peter said in a statement.

 

Weta, which was co-funded by Sir Peter in 1993, is known for creating
animated characters such as Avatar's Neyriti, Gollum in the Lord of the
Rings film series and Caesar from Planet of the Apes.

 

"For the southern hemisphere, Weta is our version of Hollywood,"
Sydney-based film critic James Fletcher told the BBC.

 

"Peter Jackson is a visionary filmmaker. He didn't have the tools he needed
to achieve the results he wanted so he put a team together," he added.

 

Under the deal the company will be split up, with its technology assets
being sold to Unity as Weta Digital.

 

Its visual effects business will remain as a separate company called WetaFX,
which is expected to become one of Unity's largest customers.

 

Weta told the BBC that Sir Peter, along with the company's digital artists,
will be "staying in New Zealand and continuing to make movies here."

 

In a statement, Unity said it will "put Weta's incredibly exclusive and
sophisticated visual effects tools into the hands of millions of creators
and artists around the world" enabling them to shape the future of the
metaverse.

 

The term metaverse has come into wider mainstream use in recent weeks after
Facebook said last month that it would change its name to Meta to better
reflect its new focus on connecting users through augmented and virtual
reality.

 

"This deal is actually quite exciting," said Mr Fletcher.

 

"They'll be able to make this technology available to filmmakers. It's
really going to be a disruptive deal and be beneficial to creatives all
around the world."

 

After the announcement of cash-and-stock deal Unity's shares fell by more
than 6% in extended trade on the New York Stock Exchange.-BBC

 

 

 

Bank of England takes next steps in digital money plan

The Bank of England and the Treasury are to launch a formal consultation on
a UK central bank digital currency.

 

This evaluation of the design and possible benefits a new kind of digital
money is a further step towards its possible creation.

 

The currency, for use by households and businesses, would sit alongside cash
and bank deposits, rather than replacing them.

 

No decision has been taken on whether to have such a currency in the UK.

 

But the consultation in 2022 will form part of a "research and exploration"
phase and will help the Bank and government develop the plans over the
following few years.

 

Central banks around the world are developing or exploring digital
currencies after the rise of crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin.

 

China, for example, is a front-runner in this global race, and is in the
process of testing a digital yuan in major cities including Beijing,
Shanghai and Shenzhen.

 

Its next steps are to improve the eCNY currency's privacy protections and to
improve how it interacts with other payments tools, People's Bank of China
governor Yi Gang said on Tuesday.

 

UK plans

The UK's central bank digital currency (CBDC) is not so far advanced as the
Chinese effort, with the with earliest date for the launch of a UK CBDC in
the second half of the decade.

 

The consultation paper will set out an assessment from the Treasury and and
the Bank of the case for a CBDC before a decision on whether to proceed.

 

"A technical specification would follow the consultation explaining the
proposed conceptual architecture for any CBDC.

 

"This could involve in-depth testing of the optimal design for, and
feasibility of, a UK CBDC," the Bank said in a statement.

 

Financial services minister John Glen said a retail CBDC would be used by
people and businesses for everyday payments needs and helping Britain stay
at the forefront of innovation and technology in the financial sector.

 

The European Central Bank in July took a first step towards launching a
digital version of the euro, kicking off a 24-month investigation phase to
be followed by three years of implementation.

 

Work on a digital euro accelerated after Facebook unveiled plans to create
its own currency in 2019, although Facebook later thought again about plans
for its Libra currency after strong opposition from regulators, and renamed
it "Diem" .

 

While China has been at the forefront of CBDC moves, the US Federal Reserve
has been more sceptical.

 

Some central banks have warned that widespread use of CBDCs could deprive
banks of a cheap and stable source of funding from consumer deposits.

 

Last month, Nigeria was the first African country to launch a CBDC pilot and
in September, El Salvador became the first country to use the virtual
Bitcoin currency as a legal tender, alongside the US dollar.

 

It led to widespread protests as demonstrators feared it would bring
instability and inflation to the country.-BBC

 

 

 

Grays in Essex named as top spot for house sellers

UK property remains a sellers' market, according to property portal
Rightmove, with Grays in Essex named as the top spot for vendors.

 

It said eight in 10 properties listed for sale on the website in the area
have already had offers accepted.

 

Some coastal towns also appear on the list of in-demand areas, as pandemic
priorities among buyers for indoor and outside space continues.

 

Chelsea in London is calculated to be the best market for buyers at present.

 

Coastal demand

A surge in house prices in the last 18 months has been driven to a
considerable extent by high demand from buyers which has been unmatched by
the number of homes on the market.

 

Rightmove analysed listings in each area, calculating the proportion of
properties that were sold subject to contract. That means an offer has been
accepted, but the sale - and potentially the final price - are still to be
confirmed.

 

 

It found that Grays, a town on the Thames 20 miles from East London, and
Mangotsfield near Bristol both had 84% of listed properties sold subject to
contract.

 

Also in the 10 areas with the highest proportion of listings with offers
accepted were Eastleigh, Redditch, Yeovil, Hythe, Gosport, Corby, Fareham,
and Bognor Regis.

 

UK house prices

At the other end of the scale were Bayswater in London, with 14% of listings
sold subject to contract, Aberdeen with 14% and Chelsea with 13% listings at
that stage.

 

The areas with listings least likely to be the subject of offers are
primarily in London.

 

Analysts also found that that eight out of 10 houses for sale for £250,000
or below in Britain were sold subject to contract. There was more demand for
houses than flats, the research found.

 

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property data, said: "Sellers have
had a better chance this year than at any time over the past decade of
finding a buyer for their home.

 

"Over the past year the higher price brackets have been performing strongly,
helped by the temporary stamp duty exemption threshold increasing to
£500,000, but the tapering until the end of September has helped the mass
market of £250,000 and below emerge as the strongest market more recently.

 

"The race for space is still a critical need for many, but smaller homes are
now coming back into the most competitive property types, which is helping
to sustain demand in the lower priced brackets."-BBC

 

 

 

How GE's Larry Culp split the empire Jack Welch built

(Reuters) - It was the break-up that eluded a generation of General Electric
Co (GE.N) insiders.

 

When Larry Culp, the first GE chief executive not to rise from within its
ranks, convened a board meeting earlier this month to greenlight the split
of the industrial conglomerate into three companies, he secured its backing.

 

It was a far cry from board meetings held in the 1980s and 1990s by one of
Culp's predecessors, Jack Welch. The iconic entrepreneur got the GE board to
back his moves in the opposite direction, getting GE into businesses as
diverse as mortgages, credit cards and television entertainment and
prompting the Federal Reserve to characterize the company as too big to
fail.

 

Welch's successors, Jeff Immelt and John Flannery, gradually sold of many of
GE's businesses to boost the company's ailing share price in the two decades
that followed.

 

But it was Culp who managed to push through the ultimate untangling of GE,
with a plan to break it up into three companies to house its healthcare,
aviation and power businesses separately.

 

Culp, 58, became GE's CEO in October 2018 after joining it as a board
director six months earlier. He started discussing the idea of a break-up
with GE's board a year ago, according to a person familiar with the matter,
but discussions intensified in the last six months as the plan he put
together took shape.

 

"With the progress on the deleveraging, the progress with our operational
transformation, the pandemic lifting ... there's no reason to wait a day,"
Culp told Reuters in an interview. "It's the right thing to do."

 

The idea to spin off healthcare was not new - Flannery had floated it
publicly in 2018, but never got to see it through. Financial woes at GE's
power business escalated into a crisis that caused the company to miss many
profit targets and cost Flannery his job.

 

In the weeks that followed his appointment, Culp, a former CEO of industrial
conglomerate Danaher Corp (DHR.N), undertook a top-to-bottom review of GE's
sprawling businesses and numerous profit-and-loss lines, people familiar
with the matter said. Analysts and investors lauded him for improving GE's
profitability.

 

Culp decided at the time that the healthcare business, a pre-eminent
supplier of medical equipment and instrumentation, was too important of a
cash cow, while GE's other two businesses were still not self-sufficient for
the break-up to happen, one of the sources said.

 

READY FOR BREAK-UP

 

Still, Culp wanted to pursue the idea, and pruned GE through other deals in
the mean time. These included a $30 billion merger of GE's jet-leasing unit
with Ireland's AerCap, and the $21-billion sale of the biopharma business to
Danaher.

 

Now, GE's troubled power business is finally turning a profit. The company's
renewable energy business has also been able to improve its cost structure
and be in a position to capitalise on the transition to a low-carbon
economy.

 

"We can spin healthcare, we can do that first. That business is clearly
performing well. We have some preparations on the shelf from the (abandoned)
IPO a few years ago," Culp told Reuters.

 

"We've talked about some of the work we still need to do in renewables ...
but we'll really be ready for this next step in early 2024."

 

Hedge fund Trian Fund Management, an ally of Culp on GE's board, lauded the
latest moves, stating it "enthusiastically supports this important step in
the transformation of GE."

 

To be sure, Culp's tenure at GE has not been without criticism.

 

Earlier this year, GE shareholders rejected a payout for Culp of as much as
$230 million in a non-binding vote.

 

Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services Inc and Glass Lewis,
which opposed the pay packages, argued that GE had lowered the bar on Culp's
performance targets during the COVID-19 pandemic and that his stock award
was too generous.

 

GE countered that the payout was necessary to incentivise Culp.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Evergrande teeters on edge of default as $148 mln payment falls due

(Reuters) - Cash-strapped China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) teetered again on
the precipice of default as it faced a final deadline to make an offshore
bond coupon payment on Wednesday, amid growing concerns about a liquidity
squeeze in the property sector.

 

Evergrande, the world's most indebted developer, has been stumbling from
deadline to deadline in recent weeks as it grapples with more than $300
billion in liabilities, $19 billion of which are international market bonds.

 

The company has not defaulted on any of its offshore debt obligations. But a
30-day grace period on coupon payments of more than $148 million on its
April 2022, 2023 and 2024 bonds ends on Wednesday. , ,

 

A failure to pay would result in a formal default by the company, and
trigger cross-default provisions for other Evergrande dollar bonds,
exacerbating a debt crisis looming over the world's second-largest economy.

 

There was no word from Evergrande on payment as of Wednesday evening Asia
time.

 

The developer, which also has coupon payments totalling more than $255
million on its June 2023 and 2025 bonds on Dec. 28, declined to comment when
contacted by Reuters about its Wednesday payment deadline. read more

 

China's property woes rattled global markets in September and October. There
was a brief lull in mid-October after Beijing tried to reassure markets the
crisis would not be allowed to spiral out of control. read more

 

But concerns have resurfaced, with the U.S. Federal Reserve warning on
Tuesday that China's troubled property sector could pose global risks.

 

More developers are seeing their credit ratings slashed on their worsening
financial profiles.

 

S&P Global Ratings said on Wednesday it had downgraded property developer
Shimao Group Holdings' (0813.HK) rating to "BB+" from "BBB-" over concerns
that tough business conditions would hinder the company's efforts to reduce
debts.

 

S&P considers a rating under "BBB-" to be speculative grade.

 

Worries over the potential fallout from Evergrande have also roiled China's
property sector in recent days, slamming the bonds of real estate companies
amid worries the crisis could spread to other markets and sectors.

 

Shares of developer Fantasia Holdings (1777.HK) plunged 50% on Wednesday
after it said there was no guarantee it would be able to meet its other
financial obligations following a missed payment of $205.7 million that was
due on Oct. 4.

 

FINANCING OPTIONS

 

Underlining the liquidity squeeze, some real estate firms disclosed plans to
issue debt in the inter-bank market at a meeting with China's inter-bank
bond market regulator, the Securities Times reported on Wednesday. read more

 

In the near future, real estate companies will issue bonds in the open
market for financing, while banks and other institutional investors will
assist via bond investment, said the paper.

 

Debt-laden developers including Evergrande and peer Kaisa Group (1638.HK)
have also been looking to raise cash to repay their many creditors by
selling some of their property and other business assets.

 

Beijing has been prodding government-owned firms and state-backed property
developers to purchase some of Evergrande's assets to try to control the
fall. read more

 

Rising concerns about the developers' woes spreading to other sectors was
visible on Wednesday as the spread, or risk premium, between lower risk,
investment grade Chinese firms and U.S. Treasuries widened to a more than
five-month high. (.MERACCG)

 

Once China's top-selling property developer, Evergrande narrowly averted
catastrophic defaults twice last month by paying interest for its offshore
bonds just before the expiration of their grace periods.

 

Despite the company's debt problems, its electric vehicles (EV) unit is
pushing ahead with its business plan. The unit is seeking Chinese regulatory
approval to sell its inaugural Hengchi 5 sport-utility vehicles. read more

 

China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd (0708.HK) plans to sell HK$500
million ($64 million) worth of shares to fund production of new energy cars.

 

Shares in Evergrande ended up 3% on Wednesday, while stock in the EV unit
closed the day 0.8% higher after having risen more than 2% earlier.

 

Founded in Guangzhou in 1996, Evergrande epitomised a freewheeling era of
borrowing and building. But that business model has been scuttled by
hundreds of new rules designed to curb developers' debt frenzy and promote
affordable housing.

 

Any prospect of Evergrande's demise raises questions over more than 1,300
real estate projects it has in some 280 cities.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

U.S. airlines and Amazon join push to reduce aircraft emissions

(Reuters) - Major U.S. airlines and Amazon.com's (AMZN.O) aviation unit are
joining an effort to speed development and use of sustainable aviation fuels
(SAF) to decrease emissions in air transport.

 

The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) said Amazon Air, Alaska
Airlines (ALK.N), JetBlue (JBLU.O), and United Airlines are joining the
effort, which includes major corporate airline customers, to help drive
greater SAF production, price cuts and technological advancements.

 

The Environmental Defense Fund and the Rocky Mountain Institute launched the
Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) in April with companies
including Boeing (BA.N), Bank of America (BAC.N), JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N),
Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Netflix (NFLX.O) to support increased market demand
for SAFs.

 

On Tuesday, the United States said it was setting a goal of achieving
net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050.

 

The White House said in September it was targeting 20% lower aviation
emissions by 2030. Major U.S. airlines backed a voluntary industry target of
3 billion gallons of SAF use in 2030.

 

"By working together with other companies, we are demonstrating there is
strong and growing demand for the rapid deployment of cost-effective
sustainable aviation fuels, which will help Amazon meet our commitment to
reach net-zero carbon by 2040,” said Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon
Global Air.

 

Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Airlines, said the new "Aviators Group" within
SABA is "focused on tangible steps, at scale, to accelerate progress."

 

SABA also said Facebook parent Meta and LiveNation are joining.

 

"Making sustainable travel a reality will require extensive investment in
low-carbon technologies such as sustainable aviation fuel by our entire
industry,” said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby.

 

At the climate talks in Glasgow, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete
Buttigieg will represent the United States as a coalition of countries led
by Britain are expected to announce the "International Aviation Climate
Ambition Declaration," Reuters reported, citing sources.

 

Nearly 2.5% of global emissions are a result of air travel. Despite demand
to reduce emissions, there is very little SAF in use.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Global carmakers now target $515 billion for EVs, batteries

(Reuters) - Global automakers are planning to spend more than half a
trillion dollars on electric vehicles and batteries through 2030, according
to a Reuters analysis, amping up investments aimed at weaning car buyers
away from fossil fuels and meeting increasingly tough decarbonization
targets.

 

Less than three years ago, a similar analysis by Reuters found car companies
planned to spend $300 billion on EVs and related technologies. But looming
zero-carbon mandates in cities such as London and Paris and countries from
Norway to China have lent additional urgency to the industry’s EV-related
investment commitments.

 

The most recent analysis shows carmakers planning to spend an estimated $515
billion over the next five to 10 years to develop and build new
battery-powered vehicles and shift away from combustion engines. But
industry executives and forecasters remain concerned that consumer demand
for EVs could fall well short of aggressive targets without substantial
additional incentives and even greater spending on charging infrastructure
and grid capacity.

 

Brian Maxim, head of global powertrain forecasting at AutoForecast
Solutions, likens the growing investment commitments in vehicle
electrification to the Cold War: "Once a few manufacturers announced EV
programs, everyone else had to announce their own or be viewed as being left
behind."

 

However, he added, "this leaves a lot of vehicle manufacturers planning
significant volumes for a vehicle category that has unknown consumer
acceptance, and will have minimal to no profit" for years.

 

Reuters compiled the investment data from company statements, investor
presentations and regulatory filings.

 

Other surveys have come up with different spending projections. In June,
consulting firm AlixPartners said auto industry investments in electric
vehicles would reach $330 billion by 2025. In 2020, all global automakers
combined spent nearly $225 billion on capital expenditures and research and
development, according to AlixPartners.

 

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), the world's largest EV manufacturer, appears to be the
one company that is selling virtually every vehicle it can build and is
readying new multibillion-dollar "gigafactories" near Berlin and Austin that
will significantly boost its annual production capacity. In early November,
the company was valued at $1.2 trillion, more than twice the combined value
of Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), Ford Motor Co
(F.N) and General Motors Co (GM.N).

 

Meanwhile, political and regulatory pressure is building on the world's
carmakers to begin phasing out production of fossil-fueled vehicles,
including gasoline-electric hybrids, over the next 10-15 years, while
ramping up output of full electric models.

 

A number of countries, from Singapore to Sweden, have said they will ban
sales of new combustion engine vehicles by 2030. U.S. President Joseph Biden
has said he wants 40% to 50% of sales to be electric vehicles by 2030.

 

Germany's VW Group, which is still recovering financially from the 2016
Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal, continues to lead the rest of the
industry, with more than $110 billion in EV and battery investment
commitments through 2030. Those commitments, which represent more than 20%
of the industry total, underpin VW's aggressive rollout plans for millions
of EVs in Europe, China and North America over the next decade.

 

VW's investments, like those of many of its rivals, are aimed at improving
the range and performance of batteries and lowering the cost of EVs, as well
as expanding battery and EV production across the globe, according to public
data released by the companies.

 

VW and fellow German automakers Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and BMW AG (BMWG.DE)
are planning to spend a combined $185 billion through 2030, while U.S.
automakers GM and Ford expect to spend nearly $60 billion through 2025.

 

Chinese automakers, led by VW and GM local partner SAIC Motor (600104.SS),
have announced well over $100 billion in investment targets over the next
decade. Japanese automakers lag far behind, with Honda Motor (7267.T),
Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor (7201.T) so far publicly committing less than
$40 billion combined.

 

These investments do not include the tens of billions of dollars being
invested in additional production capacity by the world's largest battery
companies, many in cooperation with their automaker partners.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China's regulatory crackdown pushes Tencent to slowest revenue growth since
2004

(Reuters) - Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings (0700.HK)
posted its slowest revenue growth since it went public in 2004 on Wednesday,
hurt by a regulatory crackdown, and said the outlook for the advertising
sector would remain weak into next year.

 

Revenue climbed 13% to 142.4 billion yuan, slightly below expectations, and
was the slowest quarterly growth since the company went public in 2004,
Refinitiv data showed.

 

Net profit for the three months through September rose 3% to 39.5 billion
yuan ($6.18 billion), the company said in a statement. This beat analyst
expectations who were predicting a decline, according to Refinitiv data.
Non-IFRS profit fell 2%, the company said.

 

China's largest company by market value has been hit on multiple fronts by
new regulation, including new limits on the amount of time children can
spend playing video games. The government has not approved any new games
since August. read more

 

Beijing's year-long crackdown on its once-freewheeling internet industry has
punished well-known companies for engaging in what were previously
considered regular market practices, wiping billions of dollars off their
market values.

 

"During the third quarter, the internet industry, including the domestic
games industry, and certain advertiser categories, adapted to new regulatory
and macroeconomic developments," Tencent's chairman and CEO, Pony Ma, said
in a statement.

 

"We are proactively embracing the new regulatory environment which we
believe should contribute to a more sustainable development path for the
industry," he said.

 

Sales from mobile games rose 9%, the owner of games such as "Honor of Kings"
and "PUBG mobile" said in a statement.

 

Tencent said minors accounted for 0.7% of domestic games time in September
this year, down from 6.4% in September 2020, after the government's new
limits came into force at the beginning of that month.

 

The regulatory crackdown has also hit tutoring centres and the medical
beauty industry and curbed appetite from such industries for advertising.

 

Tencent said its advertising revenue growth rate slowed in the period,
citing such regulatory factors as well as macro challenges. It expected
advertising pricing industry-wide to remain soft for several quarters but
said the industry should adjust next year, it said.

 

China also barred Tencent from signing exclusive music deals and ordered the
company as well as other tech firms to end a long-standing practice of
blocking each other's links on their sites. read more

 

($1 = 6.3917 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Nasdaq receives Nordic power spot market licence, start date not set

(Reuters) - Nasdaq (NDAQ.O) has received the right to operate in the Nordic
day-ahead power market, it said late on Tuesday, after Swedish regulatory
authorities issued the exchange operator a licence.

 

The Nordic market comprises 15 individual bidding, or price, zones, and a
daily auction determines a common system price as well as individual prices
for each zone.

 

Stockholm-based Nasdaq subsidiary Nasdaq Spot has been granted status as a
Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMO), entitling it to carry out
day-ahead market coupling operations, the Swedish Energy Markets
Inspectorate (Ei) said.

 

The NEMO concept was introduced by the European Union in 2015 to harmonise
physical power trading for next-day and same-day markets, as well as
increase competition between exchanges.

 

"The approval is valid for all Nordic markets – and although we of course
welcome the decision as it allows us to keep moving forward with our plans
to launch a day-ahead market for power, we don´t have an update on when we
will be able to go live," David Augustsson, a spokesperson for Nasdaq's
European Markets, told Reuters by e-mail.

 

Sweden-based Nasdaq Commodities currently operates a financial trading
platform for European energy markets, including for Nordic power. There are
already two other NEMOs operating in the Nordic market - Norway-based Nord
Pool Spot and EPEX Spot, headquartered in Paris.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Adidas sees $1.2 bln sales hit as supply snags drag on

(Reuters) - German sportswear company Adidas (ADSGn.DE) warned on Wednesday
of a 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) hit to sales from factory closures in
COVID-hit Vietnam and supply chain bottlenecks that it expects to affect
business into next year.

 

Shares in the company fell more than 5% as it became the latest
multinational to report manufacturing disruptions and shipping delays as the
global economy rebounds from the worst effects of the pandemic.

 

Factory closures in Vietnam from July to September and a gradual re-opening
since October meant Adidas had lost capacity for 100 million items in the
second half of 2021, finance chief Harm Ohlmeyer told journalists.

 

That was exacerbated by delays to container shipping at both origin and
destination ports, with a third of shipments leaving Asia with significant
delays, Ohlmeyer added.

 

The lost capacity will wipe 1 billion euros off total sales across the
fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 even after mitigation
actions, with the sourcing network set to be mostly back to normal by the
end of this year, Adidas said.

 

Rival Puma (PUMG.DE) has also warned supply bottlenecks would mean a
shortage of its products in 2022. read more

 

Vietnam usually accounts for 28% of Adidas sourcing and its factories mostly
make shoes for the company.

 

Adidas managed to shift production to China and Indonesia for 30 million
units, Ohlmeyer said, and is redeploying stock from markets in Asia
currently hit by lockdowns, as well as using more air freight to get
products to customers on time.

 

The company also plans to cut the number of products it offers at a discount
and increase prices by around 5% going into 2022.

 

Adidas expects "flattish" sales in the fourth quarter, meaning about 17-18%
sales growth for the full year, Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said. The
company expects sales growth of at least 8-10% for 2022, Ohlmeyer said.

 

Third-quarter sales rose a currency-neutral 3% to 5.752 billion euros while
operating profit fell 8.5% to 672 million euros, missing analysts' average
forecast.

 

Sales fell 15% in Greater China owing to renewed pandemic restrictions as
well as the ongoing fallout from a consumer boycott that Adidas has faced in
the country since March.

 

Western brands have come under fire in China for saying they would not
source cotton from Xinjiang after reports of human rights abuses against
Uyghur Muslims. Beijing denies any abuses.

 

Adidas has launched an action plan to try to revive its fortunes in China,
long its most important growth market. It has set up a dedicated studio to
generate faster marketing and is increasing its creation of products just
for the Chinese market.

 

($1 = 0.8648 euros)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

U.S. judge denies Apple's request for pause of 'Fortnite' antitrust orders

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday denied Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) efforts to
pause orders handed down after an antitrust case brought by "Fortnite"
creator Epic Games.

 

The iPhone maker immediately said it would appeal the denial, aiming to
stave off potentially significant changes to its lucrative App Store before
a Dec. 9 deadline to implement the court's orders.

 

Epic went to trial earlier this year over Apple's practice of forcing
developers to use its in-app payment system and to pay commissions to the
iPhone maker. In September, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a ruling
that was mostly favorable to Apple.

 

But she expressed concern that Apple was keeping consumers in the dark about
alternative payment methods and ordered Apple to lift its ban on in-app
links, buttons and messages to users about other ways to pay.

 

Apple has appealed the judge's ruling, asking her to pause her orders while
the appeals process plays out, which could take several years.

 

In a sharp rebuke to the iPhone maker, Gonzalez Rogers said that Apple's
prohibitions on telling consumers about other payment methods showed
"incipient antitrust conduct including supercompetitive commission rates
resulting in extraordinarily high operating margins" for its App Store.

 

She wrote that Apple's own in-app payment methods would still be more
convenient than third-party methods and that many consumers might still
choose to use it.

 

"The fact remains: it should be their choice," Gonzalez Rogers wrote.
"Consumer information, transparency, and consumer choice is in the interest
of the public."

 

Apple said it will appeal Gonzalez Rogers' denial to the U.S. Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals, which could grant Apple a temporary stay before the Dec. 9
deadline.

 

"Apple believes no additional business changes should be required to take
effect until all appeals in this case are resolved. We intend to ask the
Ninth Circuit for a stay based on these circumstances," Apple said in a
statement.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China vehicle sales fall 9.4% in October - industry body

(Reuters) - China's auto sales fell in October for a sixth consecutive
month, slumping 9.4% from a year earlier, industry data showed on Wednesday,
as a prolonged global shortage of semiconductors disrupts production.

 

Overall sales in the world's biggest car market were 2.33 million vehicles
in October, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
(CAAM) showed.

 

This time of year, known as "Golden September, Silver October", is usually a
high point in sales for the industry, with consumers making purchases after
staying away from showrooms during the stifling summer months.

 

One bright spot in the data was the strong sales of new energy vehicles
(NEV), which grew 135% in October to 383,000 units, thanks to the
government's promotion of greener vehicles to cut pollution. These include
battery-powered electric vehicles, plug-in petrol-electric hybrids and
hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

 

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) sold 54,391 China-made vehicles in October, slightly less
than 56,006 the previous month when it hit the highest monthly sales in
China since it started production in Shanghai about two years ago, according
to data of export, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released on
Monday.

 

CAAM official Chen Shihua said chip supply is easing in the fourth quarter
which is helping the country's auto production to grow gradually.

 

Chinese EV makers Nio Inc (NIO.N) sold 3,667 cars last month and Xpeng Inc
(9868.HK) delivered 10,138 vehicles. Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) said it sold
over 12,000 ID. series EVs in China in October. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China import fair sees $70.72 bln worth of 'intentional' deals signed

(Reuters) - The fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE) saw $70.62
billion worth of “intentional” deals signed, down 2.6% from last year, state
broadcaster CCTV said, citing an organiser of the event that closed on
Wednesday.

 

It cited Sun Chenghai, deputy director-general of the bureau responsible for
organising the week-long import fair in the commercial hub of Shanghai to
highlight the nation’s openness to foreign imports.

 

Last year state media said intentional deals worth $72.62 billion were
agreed at the fair.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

National Unity Day

 

December 22

 


 

Christmas Day

 

December 25

 


 

Boxing Day

 

December 26

 


 

Public Holiday in lieu of Boxing Day falling on a Sunday

 

December 27

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


ART

PPC

 

 


Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

 


Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has
been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its
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.

 


 

 


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