Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 16 November 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 16 November 2021

 


 

 


 <https://www.nedbank.co.zw/> 

 


 

 


ü  Biden signs 'once-in-a-generation' $1tn infrastructure bill into law

ü  Google: US technology giant to invest $740m in Australia

ü  Philippines central bank boss says inflation biggest challenge of 2022

ü  Five items that tell the story of price rises

ü  Shell plans to move headquarters to the UK

ü  Apple digital ID scheme comes with conditions and costs

ü  Trump Organization selling Washington hotel for $375m, reports say

ü  China property: New home prices see biggest fall since 2015

ü  Tesla's Musk sells $930 mln in shares to cover stock option tax - filings

ü  Asian shares tick up on China property relief, focus shifts to Sino-U.S.
talks

ü  Google earmarks $740 mln for Australia to mend ties after exit threat

ü  Shell ditches the Dutch, seeks move to London in overhaul

ü  Bitcoin falls more than 4% to near $60,000

ü  'Big Short' Burry exits bearish bets on Tesla, Google

ü  Buffett's Berkshire cuts U.S. drugmaker stakes, invests in drug royalty
company

ü  JPMorgan sues Tesla for $162 mln over warrants, Musk tweets

ü  Exxon launches sale of shale gas properties in Texas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Biden signs 'once-in-a-generation' $1tn infrastructure bill into law

US President Joe Biden has signed into law a $1.2tn (£894bn) spending bill,
marking a legislative achievement for his administration.

 

"Today, we are finally getting this done," the Democrat told lawmakers from
both major parties in a bill signing ceremony at the White House on Monday.

 

The bill caused a rift in Mr Biden's party that was partly blamed for a
Democratic election loss this month.

 

Another massive social spending bill is currently being considered in
Congress.

 

"My message to the American people is America is moving again. And your life
is going to change for the better," Mr Biden said in a speech before signing
the law.

 

Billed as a "once-in-a-generation" infrastructure measure, the legislation
pledges $550bn in new federal expenditure over the next eight years to
upgrade highways, roads and bridges, and to modernise city transit systems
and passenger rail networks.

 

It also sets aside funding for clean drinking water, high speed internet,
and a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging points.

 

It is the largest federal investment in the country's infrastructure for
decades.

 

The law will be financed in several ways, including unspent emergency relief
funds from the Covid pandemic, new taxes on cryptocurrency and other smaller
sources.

 

The other bill, known as the Build Back Better Act, still faces an uncertain
future in Congress. Progressive Democrats had hoped to pass that bill
alongside the infrastructure package, but faced resistance from moderates
who asked that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) first release a
forecast of how much it will add to the national debt.

 

Earlier this month, Mr Biden denied that the Democrats' shock loss in the
gubernatorial race in Virginia was a verdict on his presidency, but
acknowledged that it would have been helpful for Congress to have passed the
infrastructure and spending bills ahead of the vote.

 

His explanation came amid rising discontent among voters over the party's
struggle to pass major legislation, despite controlling both chambers of
Congress, albeit narrowly.-BBC

 

 

 

Google: US technology giant to invest $740m in Australia

Google has announced that it will invest A$1bn ($740m, £550m) in Australia
over the next five years.

 

It is the US technology giant's largest investment in the country to date.

 

Google says the money will be used to build a research hub, increase its
cloud computing capacity and fund partnerships with local organisations.

 

The move - named the Digital Future Initiative - is expected to directly
create 6,000 jobs and support 28,000 overall.

 

"Australia can help lead the world's next wave of innovation, harnessing
technology to improve lives, create jobs, and make progress," Google boss
Sundar Pichai said at the initiative's launch in Sydney.

 

Also attending the event, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed
the plan: "The decision by Google has major benefits for Australian
businesses as we engage with the economic recovery before us."

 

The investment will see the company partnering with local organisations,
including Australia's science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

 

Joshua Kennedy-White of cyber investment company DivisionX Global called
Google's announcement a "huge win" for Australian technology:

 

"It takes money to move an idea into innovation and the first money is the
hardest to come by.

 

"If Google cut $250k cheques to promising start-ups, they could fund 4,000
new tech companies in Australia," he said.

 

'Silicon Valley of the Southern Hemisphere'

The move marks another major boost for Sydney's ambitions to become the
'Silicon Valley of the Southern Hemisphere'.

 

Construction of Tech Central, a hub multi-billion dollar hub in central
Sydney, is due to start next year and is expected to continue until 2026.

 

However, big technology companies have come under fire in Australia in
recent months for not paying local news publishers for content carried on
their platforms. They have also been accused of helping the spread of
disinformation.

 

During hearings in Australia's parliament in January, Google Australia's
Managing Director Mel Silva threatened to block its search engine in the
country to avoid paying for content posted to its websites.

 

The following month Australia became the first country in the world to pass
legislation requiring big technology firms, including Google and Facebook,
to pay for news content on their platforms.

 

There have also been calls to reduce the dominance of Google's search engine
in the country.

 

Last month, the head of Australia's competition regulator called for Google
to install a "choice screen" on smartphones, giving users the option of
choosing another search engine.-BBC

 

 

 

Philippines central bank boss says inflation biggest challenge of 2022

Inflation will be a bigger threat to economies next year than Covid-19, the
head of the Philippines central bank has told the BBC.

 

Benjamin Diokno also said he believes his country's economy will return to
pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022.

 

"We expect the economy to be back to where it was by the middle of next
year, or even earlier," he said.

 

The Philippines was one of the south east Asian nations worst affected by
the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Mr Diokno said that like many other countries as they emerge from the
pandemic, price rises will be a challenge for the Philippines, even as he
sees the economy recovering in the months ahead.

 

"Right now inflation is elevated because of food prices. And that's a
resultof recent weather disturbances. Also partly because of the
international price of crude oil, which of course has affected the whole
world," Mr Diokno said in an exclusive interview with Asia Business Report.

 

"I think we'll be over this [the pandemic] by the first quarter of next
year, given our ramp up in the vaccination programme," he added.

 

Looking ahead to next year's presidential election, Mr Diokno said that "the
most important issue at that time" for the Philippines economy will be
inflation and unemployment, in particular amongst the youth.

 

"I think the impact of the Covid-19 is on our youth because they lost one
full year of studies," he said. "The Philippines has a very young
population, its median age is 25. So the next government should continue to
focus on investment in human capital."

 

If Mr Diokno's predictions about economic recovery are correct it would mark
a major leap forward from the situation the Philippines found itself in
during the Covid crisis.

 

Just a month ago the country was assessed by Bloomberg as being the worst
place to be during the pandemic.

 

The country has reported more than 2.8m Covid-19 infections, and seen over
45,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. This is amongst the
highest in the region.

 

According to recent data, almost 70m doses of Covid vaccines have been
administered in the country so far. That would be enough to fully vaccinate
about a third of the population of the Philippines.

 

The country's government is trying to push ahead with its vaccination
programme. It is reportedly set to carry out a nationwide three-day
immunisation drive from 29 November.-BBC

 

 

 

Five items that tell the story of price rises

Official figures are expected to confirm what we all know, or have
suspected, from experience in recent weeks - that the cost of living is now
rising faster than it has for some time.

 

Prices are going up at a relatively rapid rate on a variety of items and
services. The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has even
apologised for the situation. "None of us want to see that happen," he says.

 

The reasons behind those rising prices can be complicated. Here are five
examples that help to explain why we are feeling the pinch:

 

1. An Uber fare

The cost of getting around is getting more expensive. The popular
ride-hailing app recently increased its base fare in London by 10%.

 

Travellers in the capital who want to get to the airport at peak times are
now also facing a 15% surcharge.

 

Uber says increased demand means it needs more drivers. By raising fares,
the firm hopes to attract new drivers, and tempt back those who have gone to
work for delivery firms instead.

 

 

And of course, the queues outside petrol forecourts are still fresh in the
memory for anyone trying to travel.

 

Motorists with their own petrol or diesel car, can now fill up the tank
without a wait, but prices remain high. Motoring group, the RAC says that
unleaded petrol hit 146p a litre, and diesel reached 150p a litre in recent
days.

 

"This means, filling up a 55-litre family car with unleaded has now topped
£80 for the first time ever," says RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams.

 

The high cost of oil and the component parts of the fuel mean drivers will
face an "excruciatingly expensive winter", he adds, especially for those on
a low income who use their car to travel to work each day.

 

2. Renovating your home

If you want a compendium of issues that are causing price rises in general,
then consider the example of do-it-yourself (DIY) and home improvements.

 

The pandemic, global demand, shipping costs, plus a shortage of workers are
all reasons why it is now more expensive to put up a garden fence.

 

The cost of timber has doubled compared to a year ago, owing to all those
reasons, so not only fences, but also interior walls, have become pricier.

 

Covid pushed up the cost of raw materials, and shipping container prices
from China saw a more than fourfold rise, says Rico Wojtulewicz, head of
housing and planning policy at the National Federation of Builders. That
contributed to a 25% rise in the price of materials for renovations.

 

"Not all materials are immediately available, so anyone having work done is
likely to see prices rise again by the time works start. The cost of labour
has also gone up by an average of 20%," he adds.

 

"If you are getting new windows, or doors, the plastic used has gone up by
around 13%. Insulation [cost] has gone up by 20% and is going up again next
year. Even paint is 10% more expensive than it was in 2020," he says.

 

3. Savoury snacks

To be specific, we're talking the kind of processed snacks popular among all
age groups - Pringles, Doritos, Hula Hoops, and so on.

 

Prices for these snacks went up by 7.6% in the 12 weeks to the end of
October, compared with the same period a year earlier, information from data
firm, Kantar shows.

 

Prices for canned colas, potato crisps and cat food also all went up by
nearly 6%, or more, at the same time, the data show.

 

Part of the reason is a hangover from the struggles caused by the pandemic.

 

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, explains
that prices are comparatively higher than late summer and autumn last
yearbecause there is less discounting in supermarkets. In order to ensure
there is stock on the shelves, retailers are cutting promotions.

 

That also means people are now far less loyal about where they shop.

 

"As prices increase in certain categories, we can expect shoppers to
continue to visit several supermarkets and shop around to find the best
deals," he says.

 

"Already, households visit an average of 3.3 supermarkets per month, in
order to find the best value for money."

 

Why is the cost of living going up?

Food prices in general are rising, but not at the same rate as some other
products. However, the latest Kantar figures show they are still going up
faster than at anytime since August 2020.

 

Supermarkets operate in an extremely competitive environment, and analysts
suggest they will be keen to keep prices down and retain their customers
over the vital Christmas trading period.

 

4. Your heating bill

As the mercury dips, so the cost of heating our homes rises - and it is
going to hit some people very hard in coming months.

 

The rising cost of gas has been well documented in recent weeks. The cost to
suppliers on the wholesale markets soared to unprecedented levels, for
reasons which are complex and global.

 

The effect on your domestic energy bill has been seen in three key ways:

 

Firstly, a host of suppliers have gone bust. Their customers have been moved
to another supplier, but on a more expensive tariff

Secondly, many customers of remaining firms have been told that their
monthly direct debit demand is going up

Thirdly, there is protection for customers on variable tariffs, through
regulator Ofgem's price cap, but this limit was put up to a new high in
October and is likely to rise by hundreds of pounds more in April

Rising domestic energy bills are influential in the forecast for the
inflation rate (measuring the rising cost of living as a whole), rising in
the coming months, before being expected to drop as the situation eases.

 

Inflation graphic

Scott Byrom, chief executive of price comparison website TheEnergyShop,
says: "The bubble has not burst yet."

 

While a warm winter may help some suppliers offer better deals than they
would otherwise have expected, everyone should still brace for significant
further price rises, he says.

 

That hit will be felt particularly hard among poorer people, as heating and
eating take up a bigger proportion of household income.

 

5. Second-hand cars

Motoring group, the AA, says that some cars are gaining in value as they sit
on the driveway.

 

Three to five-year-old Ford Fiestas, the most popular on its AA Cars
website, are valued at £9,770 compared to £7,448 two years ago.

 

The steepest increase was the price of a three-year-old Mini Hatch, which in
2021 was 57% higher (£15,367) than a model of the same age in 2019 (£9,811).

 

The trend is so significant to cost of living data in general that it has
been regularly highlighted by the official collector of the numbers - the
Office for National Statistics.

 

The main driver (pun intended) for second-hand car prices is pressure on
manufacturing new vehicles.

 

A global shortage of computer chips used in car production, as well as other
materials such as copper, aluminium and cobalt, has led to fewer new
vehicles rolling off production lines.

 

That has meant more buyers turning to the used-car market. Rising demand
means rising prices.--BBC

 

 

 

Shell plans to move headquarters to the UK

Royal Dutch Shell has announced a plan to move its headquarters to the UK as
part of proposals to simplify the company's structure.

 

The oil giant will ask shareholders to vote on shifting its tax residence
from the Netherlands to the UK.

 

It also wants to do away with its dual share structure in favour of just one
class of shares to boost "the speed and flexibility" of shareholder payouts.

 

Shell's chief executive, Ben van Beurden, will relocate to the UK.

 

The company's chief financial officer, Jessica Uhl, will also move,
alongside seven other senior employees.

 

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng welcomed Shell's announcement,
tweeting that it was "a clear vote of confidence in the British economy".

 

The Dutch government, however, said it was "unpleasantly surprised" by
Shell's proposal.

 

According to reports in the Financial Times newspaper, Dutch government
officials are scrambling to find a parliamentary majority to scrap a 15%
withholding tax charged on dividends, which Shell has previously described
as a problem.

 

Stef Blok, economic affairs and climate minister, said earlier on Monday:
"We are in a dialogue with the management of Shell over the consequences of
this plan for jobs, crucial investment decisions and sustainability."

 

Royal Dutch Shell's structure is pretty complicated. The company is
currently registered in the UK, but its headquarters are in the Netherlands.

 

There are two different types of shares - effectively a Dutch share and a UK
share - and this affects the way payments to shareholders are taxed.

 

Now, under pressure from an activist investor, and facing huge change as the
world moves away from fossil fuels, the company has decided it is time to
simplify further. The move is designed to make payments to shareholders
easier, while Shell says it will also help it to transform its business.

 

But whether intended or not, this is also a deeply political move. If the
proposals are adopted, Shell will no longer be "Royal Dutch" - and questions
are being asked in The Hague about the extent to which the new company will
be Dutch at all.

 

2px presentational grey line

The company said: "Shell is proud of its Anglo-Dutch heritage and will
continue to be a significant employer with a major presence in the
Netherlands.

 

"Its projects and technology division, global upstream and integrated gas
businesses and renewable energies hub remain located in The Hague."

 

The decision to simplify Shell's structure comes after Third Point, a US
activist investor, recently bought a stake in the company and suggested the
business should be split into two firms, according to the Wall Street
Journal.

 

Third Point told Shell in a letter it should split itself into "multiple
standalone companies", one of which would house its legacy oil and gas
business while another would contain renewable energy.

 

In an interview with the BBC earlier this month, Mr van Beurden dismissed
Third Point's proposal. He said that while Shell could transition to net
zero by 2050, the move to greener energy could only be funded by oil and
gas.

 

Earlier this year, a court in the Netherlands ruled that by 2030 Shell must
cut its CO2 emissions by 45% compared to 2019 levels. The decision only
applies in the Netherlands and Shell said it would appeal against the
ruling.

 

Shell has been incorporated in the UK and had a Dutch tax residence - as
well as the dual share structure - since 2005.

 

The changes also mean the company will drop "Royal Dutch" from its title and
be renamed Shell. This element dates back to 1890 when the Royal Dutch
Petroleum Company was formed. That company merged with the UK's Shell
Transport and Trading Company in 1907.

 

"Carrying the Royal designation has been a source of immense pride and
honour for Shell for more than 130 years," Shell said.

 

"However, the company anticipates it will no longer meet the conditions for
using the designation following the proposed change."

 

Shell said the simplified share structure means it would be able to
"accelerate" shareholder distributions through, for example, share buybacks.

 

The company announced a $2bn (£1.5bn) share buyback in July and will
distribute an additional $7bn from the sale of its Permian Basin oilfield in
the US.

 

"Aside from the fact that the shares they hold will no longer come with a
'Royal' designation, this new alignment won't change much for investors,"
said Laura Hoy, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

 

"The long-term growth story for Shell still rests heavily on the oil price.
For now, buoyant oil prices are keeping the group's cash coffers topped up.
However, with the inevitable shift to more sustainable energy picking up
steam we suspect the need to invest in greener operations will keep a lid on
what the group can pass on to shareholders."

 

Shares in Shell rose by more than 2% on Monday. The company said its shares
would continue to be listed in Amsterdam, London and New York.

 

Shareholders will vote on the proposals at a meeting on 10 December.-BBC

 

 

Apple digital ID scheme comes with conditions and costs

Apple's much promoted digital driver's licence feature comes at a cost to
the taxpayer, according to reports.

 

Announced in September, it will allow residents in eight US states to store
state IDs and driver's licences inside the Apple Wallet app on their iPhone.

 

Apple has "sole control" of several aspects of the rollout, CNBC reports.

 

But Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and
Utah "bear the burden of maintaining [the feature], at taxpayer expense".

 

Using public-record requests and other means, CNBC acquired details of the
agreements between some of those states and Apple:

 

·         Apple retains control over when the feature is launched and what
devices are compatible - but state agencies are responsible for maintaining
the relevant computer systems and legal compliance and Apple stipulates how
they report on its "performance"

·         State bodies must employ or allocate people and resources to
support the project "on a timeline to be determined by Apple" and, if Apple
requests, "designate" project managers to answer Apple's questions

·         The contract requires states to market the new feature - but Apple
has review and approval power of those marketing materials

·         The digital ID must be "proactively" offered to every new licence
holder or renewal at no extra cost to the person applying

States must promote it to agencies such as local law enforcement or anyone
else who regularly checks IDs

"The end result is that states bear the burden of maintaining technology
systems at taxpayer expense, a move that ultimately benefits Apple and its
shareholders by making its devices even more essential than they already
are," CNBC's report says.

 

 

Jason Mikula, a financial technology writer who also obtained the Apple
records, wrote the states "have ceded a shocking degree of control to
Apple".

 

"Beyond giving Apple near total control over the programme, states also
agree to terms that make it nearly impossible to terminate the programme in
the future," he said.

 

According to two memoranda of understanding, "the state agencies that have
entered into them can only terminate them with Apple's consent or for cause
- if Apple breaches the terms of the agreement and doesn't remedy within 30
days".

 

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

 

When Apple announced the first details of its ID scheme, it emphasised the
encryption and other security features, stressing neither the company nor
state officials could know "when or where" users showed IDs.

 

During the coronavirus pandemic, there was significant public resistance in
some countries - including the UK - to the idea of digital Covid passports
or other ID, despite the NHS Covid-19 app eventually being widely adopted
for that purpose in England.

 

Civil-liberties concerns also led to the scrapping of a 2019 attempt to
introduce a more general digital-ID system in the UK.-BBC

 

 

 

Trump Organization selling Washington hotel for $375m, reports say

The Trump Organization has reportedly reached a deal to sell its prized
Washington hotel for $375m (£279m).

 

Under the planned sale, the Trump International will be renamed the Waldorf
Astoria and managed by the Hilton group, according to reports.

 

Last month, a US congressional probe found the hotel lost more than $70m
during Donald Trump's presidency.

 

The former US president's company opened the hotel to the public in
September 2016.

 

The Trump Organization, which bought a 60-year lease on the building, had
been looking for buyers for the 263-room hotel since 2019.

 

The deal with Miami-based investment firm CGI Merchant Group is expected to
be finalised in the first quarter of next year, sources told The Wall Street
Journal and Bloomberg.

 

The 120-year-old building stands less than a mile away from the White House
on Pennsylvania Avenue.

 

The Trump Organization won approval to redevelop the historic Old Post
Office building in 2012.

 

It opened as a hotel four years later, just weeks after Mr Trump accepted
the Republican Party's nomination to run for president.

 

During Mr Trump's term as president, the hotel became popular amongst
Republicans visiting the city.

 

But it also attracted controversy. In 2018, religious leaders called for its
liquor licence to be revoked, claiming its owner was "not a person of good
character".

 

More recently, a congressional investigation found that Mr Trump had
"grossly exaggerated" the hotel's profits when he claimed it made $150m
during his term.

 

The congressional committee said the hotel had instead lost more than $70m
while he was in office.

 

The report also found Mr Trump seemed to have "concealed potential conflicts
of interest" related to his ownership of the hotel and his roles as its
lender and the guarantor of third-party loans.

 

Documents showed that the hotel received $3.7m in payments from foreign
governments - enough to cover 7,400 nights at the hotel on an average daily
rate, according to the committee.

 

The Trump Organization denied wrongdoing and called the report "misleading".

 

The Trump Organization and CGI Merchant Group did not immediately respond to
the BBC's requests for comment on the sale of the Trump International
Hotel.-BBC

 

 

 

China property: New home prices see biggest fall since 2015

China's property slump has deepened official data showed, with new home
prices seeing their biggest month-on-month decline since 2015.

 

New construction starts in January to October also fell 7.7%, compared to a
year earlier.

 

The country's property market has been shaken in recent months as real
estate giant Evergrande struggles to keep up interest payments on its huge
debts.

 

China has also been hit by a new wave of Covid cases and major power cuts.

 

The 0.2% drop in new home prices in October was the biggest fall seen in
China since February 2015.

 

It also marks the first decline in new home prices +since March 2015.

 

 

Sentiment in China's property market, which accounts for about a quarter of
the country's economic activity by some measures, has been rocked as major
property developers grapple with huge debts.

 

The Evergrande issue

The industry has come under intense scrutiny as fears continue over the
future of companies including real estate giant Evergrande.

 

Last week, Evergrande, which is saddled with around $300bn (£223bn) of debt,
avoided defaulting on overdue interest payments of $148m.

 

Just days before a 30-day grace period on the payments was set to expire it
sold a 5.7% stake in media firm HengTen Networks Group for around $145m.

 

The previous week Evergrande's car making business sold its UK-based
electric motor business Protean for an undisclosed sum.

 

Other Chinese home builders have also struggled to find the money to make
debt repayments.

 

Shares of developer Fantasia plunged by 50% last week after it said there
was no guarantee it would be able to meet its other financial obligations
following a missed payment of $205.7m in October.

 

And earlier this month, trading in shares of Kaisa Group and three of its
units was halted in Hong Kong after one of its businesses missed a payment
on a wealth management product.

 

Global impact

The debt crisis faced by Chinese property giants had triggered concerns
amongst some international investors that it could have a major impact on
global financial markets.

 

However, in recent weeks a number of high-profile figures have moved to help
calm those fears.

 

On Monday, the governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda said that he
believed that China's property woes were unlikely to trigger a global shock
as the amount of money owed to creditors outside the country was relatively
low.

 

"We don't expect China's property woes to have a big impact on Japan's
economy or financial institutions. We also don't see a huge risk of the woes
triggering a big, global shock," Mr Kuroda told business leaders in the city
of Nagoya, central Japan.-BBC

 

 

 

Tesla's Musk sells $930 mln in shares to cover stock option tax - filings

(Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk has sold $930 million in shares to
meet tax withholding obligations related to the exercise of stock options,
U.S. securities filings showed on Monday.

 

Musk sold 934,091 shares after exercising options to buy 2.1 million stocks
at $6.24 each on Monday. Tesla shares closed at $1,013.39. He is required to
pay income taxes on the difference between the exercise price and fair
market value of the shares.

 

This is the second time in a week that the billionaire has exercised his
stock option. Last Monday, he sold another 934,000 shares for $1.1 billion
after exercising options to acquire nearly 2.2 million shares. read more

 

The two options-related sales were set up in September via a trading plan
that allows corporate insiders to establish preplanned transactions on a
schedule, the filings said.

 

As of the end of 2020, he had an option to buy 22.86 million shares, which
expire in August next year, a Tesla filing shows.

 

On Nov. 6, Musk polled Twitter users about selling 10% of his stake, pushing
down Tesla's share price after a majority on Twitter said they agreed with
the sale. It was not clear how or whether the trading plan related to Musk's
Twitter poll.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Asian shares tick up on China property relief, focus shifts to Sino-U.S.
talks

(Reuters) - Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday, as relief in China's
property sector supported sentiment while investors also kept a close eye on
a key meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi
Jinping.

 

Biden and Xi Jinping opened their closely-watched talks warmly, with both
leaders stressing their responsibility to the rest of the world to avoid
conflict. read more

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS)
rose 0.27% to a 2-1/2 week high, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) gained 0.39%.

 

"Investors will be keeping a close eye on the first Biden-Xi summit to see
if the exchange will lead to any amelioration in an already fraught
relationship," said David Chao global market strategist for Asia Pacific
(ex-Japan) at Invesco. "Though no breakthroughs are expected, it's still a
positive first step forward."

 

Chao added that markets in Asia this week are also responding to China's
better than expected economic data, released Monday, and the situation in
the mainland property market.

 

"So far we haven’t seen a loss of confidence in certain developers and the
government has come out more forcefully to ensure that homeowners are
protected," he said.

 

Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) rose 0.4% and the Hong Kong benchmark (.HSI)
rose 0.7%, helped by property stocks

 

An index of Hong Kong listed mainland Chinese developers (.HSMPI) rose as
much as 3%. However, shares of Kaisa Prosperity (2168.HK), a property
services unit of embattled developer Kaisa Group (1638.HK), tumbled 14%
after the bell as trading resumed a day after the company said its parent's
liquidity issues would not impact operations. L4N2S70BD

 

U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis , advanced 0.11%, and Nasdaq futures
gained 0.17%.

 

Wall Street closed little changed as rising Treasury yields dented appetite
for technology stocks but boosted interest in financials.

 

Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose nearly five basis points to a three-week
high on Monday as companies rushed to sell debt before liquidity thins
during holiday trade and ahead of a U.S. government sale of new 20-year
bonds on Wednesday.

 

They inched lower on Tuesday and were last at 1.6094% though still up
sharply since a one-month low of 1.42% hit one week ago.

 

Rising yields also helped the dollar, which stayed strong at a 16-month high
against a basket of its peers .

 

Also driving currency markets are investors' assessment of the different
responses to rising inflation from global central banks.

 

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Monday, pushed back on
market bets for tighter monetary policy saying doing so now to rein in
inflation could choke off the euro zone's recovery.

 

This sent the euro lower to near a 16-month low at $1.354. The pound was
$1.3359 near a year low and the dollar was at 114.17 against the yen, within
a sight of October's four-year high of 114.69.

 

Also helping the dollar is recent data showing a strong U.S. economy that
also cast doubts on the Fed's view that price pressures will be transitory,
fuelling speculation that interest rates will be lifted sooner than
previously thought.

 

Britain will publish its September labour market report later on Tuesday,
which analysts at CBA said "could make or break the case for a rate hike
this year".

 

Later in the day, U.S. retail sales, trade prices and industrial production
for October are also due, giving another hint about the health of the
economy.

 

In oil markets, U.S. crude rose 0.37% to $81.18 a barrel. Brent crude rose
0.5% $82.48 per barrel.

 

Gold was steady, spot gold was at $1,862 an ounce just off Monday's five
month high of $1870.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Google earmarks $740 mln for Australia to mend ties after exit threat

(Reuters) - Google will spend A$1 billion ($736 million) in Australia over
five years, the internet giant said on Tuesday, resetting ties months after
a threatto pull its services to avoid tougher government regulation.

 

The main operating unit of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) said it planned to expand
cloud infrastructure, set up a research hub staffed by Australian
researchers and engineers, and partner with science agency the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

 

Google Australia Managing Director Mel Silva, who earlier this year
threatened to block Google's search engine in the country, said the spending
plan would bring significant technology resources and investment.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the plan a "A$1 billion vote of
confidence" in Australia, and said it would "bring more STEM jobs to our
shores", using the acronym for science, technology, engineering and
mathematics.

 

At a parliamentary hearing in January, Silva said Google might block its
search engine in Australia to avoid new laws forcing the company and social
media operator Facebook Inc (FB.O) to pay news outlets for content posted to
their websites. read more

 

However, the law went ahead and Google backed away from its threat. Google
and Facebook instead struck licencing deals with most of Australia's main
media companies.

 

The federal government is scheduled to begin a review of the law's
effectiveness in March.

 

Australia has also said it plans to make large internet companies take legal
responsibilty for defamation and misinformation hosted on their platforms, a
change which the technology sector has largely opposed.

 

The Australia Institute's Centre for Responsible Technology, a think tank,
said the spending commitment made a "great headline" but "simply paying tax
on Australian earnings would deliver far more money to Australia".

 

Google paid less than 1% tax on Australian annual earnings of about A$5
billion, and "when big tech offers to put money into a nation there are
always strings attached", said centre director Peter Lewis.

 

($1 = 1.3592 Australian dollars)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Shell ditches the Dutch, seeks move to London in overhaul

(Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said on Monday it would scrap its
dual share structure and move its head office to Britain from the
Netherlands, pushed away by Dutch taxes and facing climate pressure in court
as the energy giant shifts from oil and gas.

 

The company, which long faced questions from investors about its dual
structure and had recently been hit by a Dutch court order over its climate
targets, aims to drop "Royal Dutch" from its name - part of its identity
since 1907 - to become Shell Plc.

 

The firm has been in a long-running tussle with the Dutch authorities over
the country's 15% dividend withholding tax on some of its shares, making
them less attractive for international investors. Shell introduced the
two-class share structure in 2005 after a previous corporate overhaul.

 

The new single structure with all shares under British law means none of its
shares would be under this tax. It would also allow Shell to strike swifter
sale or acquisition deals.

 

 

In a further knock to its relations with the Netherlands, the biggest Dutch
state pension fund ABP said last month it would drop Shell and all fossil
fuels from its portfolio.

 

The Dutch government said on Monday it was "unpleasantly surprised" by
Shell's plans to move to London from The Hague.

 

 

In a political long-shot, Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Stef Blok
contacted the heads of political parties in parliament on Monday to gauge
support for scrapping the dividend tax, broadcaster RTL reported.

 

The government was forced to withdraw the same plan in 2018 following
widespread opposition to the move, which was seen by the public as a gift to
foreign shareholders.

 

Shell's decision will, however, be seen as a vote of confidence in London
after Britain's exit from the European Union triggered a shift in billions
of euros in daily share trading from the UK capital to Amsterdam.

 

Shell's shares, which will still be traded in Amsterdam and New York under
the plan, climbed more than 2% in London on Monday morning after the news.

 

"The current complex share structure is subject to constraints and may not
be sustainable in the long term," Shell said, as it announced its plan to
change the structure.

 

The dual structure means Shell now has primary listings in both London and
Amsterdam, as well as two overarching legal headquarters despite operating
as one economic group.

 

Such set-ups are expensive and complex, requiring the replication of
board-level functions in two jurisdictions as well as being incorporated
under two different legal regimes.

 

The change requires at least 75% of votes by shareholders at a general
meeting to be held on Dec. 10, the company said.

 

"Among other benefits, the proposed changes will increase Shell's ability to
buy back shares," Jefferies said in a research note.

 

Shell has said it would return $7 billion from selling U.S. assets to
ConocoPhillips (COP.N) in addition to an ongoing share buyback programme.
read more

 

'MORE AGILE'

 

Monday's move follows a major overhaul Shell completed this summer as part
of its strategy to shift away from oil and gas to renewables and low-carbon
energy. The overhaul included thousands of job cuts around the world.

 

In May, a Dutch court ordered Shell to deepen its planned greenhouse gas
emission cuts in order to align with the Paris climate deal which aims to
limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Shell has said it would appeal.
read more

 

"If this decision will enable the company to be more agile in order to
execute its transition to net zero, then it should be viewed positively,"
said Adam Matthews, chief responsible investment officer at Church of
England Pensions Board, a Shell shareholder.

 

Matthews, who is leading talks with Shell on behalf of the investor group
Climate Action 100+, said it should not remove Shell's responsibility to
implement the Dutch court ruling.

 

Shell said the change would not change the impact of the court decision.

 

Shell is also battling calls made last month from activist investor Third
Point for the firm to be broken up into multiple companies. Shell's top
executives hit back, saying the firm's businesses worked better together.
read more

 

Corporate giants are under growing pressure to simplify their structures
with General Electric (GE.N), Toshiba (6502.T) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N)
announcing plans last week to split into separate companies.

 

Dual listings, which are more expensive to maintain, are also falling out of
favour.

 

Consumer products giant Unilever (ULVR.L)abandoned its dual Anglo-Dutch
structure last year in favour of a single London-based entity. Miner BHP
Group (BHP.AX) has also called time on such a structure. read more

 

If BHP and Shell complete their shifts to single share structures, Rio Tinto
(RIO.L), Carnival (CCL.L) and Investec (INVP.L) will be the few remaining
dual-listed companies on London's main market.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Bitcoin falls more than 4% to near $60,000

(Reuters) - Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, fell
more than 4% on Tuesday as it extended a decline through a week that also
included an upgrade to its blockchain.

 

Bitcoin fell to $60,350 at its lowest for the day, taking losses from a
record high of $69,000 struck on Nov. 10 to more than 11%.

 

Ether , the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market value, was down 4.5% at
$4,355.4.

 

Cryptocurrency analysts said there did not seem to be any news driving the
declines, and the moves seemed driven by profit taking after the sharp
run-up.

 

"There is a lack of news and this is some pure selling of spot and some
additions of short selling. Outside of this, there is no significant news,"
said Matthew Dibb, chief operating officer at Singapore-based crypto asset
manager Stack Funds.

 

Bitcoin's value has more than doubled since June, driven by mainstream
adoption of cryptocurrencies and, more recently, the launch of futures-based
bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States.

 

It went through a major upgrade, called Taproot, on Sunday that enables its
blockchain to execute more complex transactions, potentially widening the
virtual currency's use cases and making it a little more competitive with
ethereum for processing smart contracts. Smart contracts are self-executing
transactions whose results depend on pre-programmed inputs.  

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

'Big Short' Burry exits bearish bets on Tesla, Google

(Reuters) - Fund manager Michael Burry of "The Big Short" fame exited
bearish bets on Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, and
fund manager Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation fund (ARKK.P) last quarter,
according to SEC filings released on Monday.

 

Burry, whose bets against mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008
financial crisis were featured in Michael Lewis' 2010 book "The Big Short,"
and who now runs $638 million Scion Asset Management, exited out of put
options on slightly more than 1 million shares of Tesla, a snapshot of his
portfolio as of Sept. 30 showed.

 

 

Burry told CNBC in October that he was no longer betting against Tesla and
that his position, which was disclosed earlier this year, was just a trade.
read more

 

Put options give investors the right to sell shares at a certain price in
the future.

 

 

Among other positions he exited were put options on 91,900 shares of
Alphabet Inc and 1.9 million shares of the iShares 20 year plus Treasury
ETF.

 

Burry also exited a put position on 235,500 shares of ARK Innovation, the
ETF run by star stockpicker Cathie Wood which was the top-performing U.S.
equity fund last year thanks to its bets on high-growth companies that
rallied during the early stages of the pandemic.

 

 

The $20.5 billion fund has slipped this year, however, and is down 4.8% for
the year to date despite the 24.7% rally in the S&P 500.

 

It was not clear how Burry's bearish bets on Tesla and the others fared,
given that regulatory filings do not require the disclosure of options
strikes, purchase prices and expiration dates.

 

At the same time, Burry added a new long position in Lockheed Martin Corp
(LMT.N), oil drilling equipment company Now Inc (DNOW.N) and biotech company
Scynexis Inc (SCYX.O), according to SEC filings.

 

Each company rose in afternoon trading on Thursday, while the broad S&P 500
index was flat.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Buffett's Berkshire cuts U.S. drugmaker stakes, invests in drug royalty
company

(Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) said on Monday
it eliminated its investment in Merck & Co (MRK.N) and reduced its stakes in
AbbVie Inc (ABBV.N) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N), as it pared its
overall stock market investments.

 

Berkshire also eliminated its small stakes in Organon & Co (OGN.N), a Merck
spinoff specializing in contraception and other women's health products, and
telecommunications company Liberty Global Plc (LBTYA.O).

 

It disclosed new investments of $475 million in Royalty Pharma Plc (RPRX.O),
which buys drug royalties, and $99 million in flooring retailer Floor &
Decor Holdings Inc (FND.N).

 

The changes were disclosed in a regulatory filing detailing Berkshire's
U.S.-listed holdings as of Sept. 30.

 

Shares of Royalty Pharma rose more than 5% after the market close, a common
occurrence after Berkshire reveals new stakes. Royalty Pharma did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

Investors monitor Berkshire's investments closely to see where Buffett and
his investment managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler see value. The filings
do not say who bought and sold what, though Buffett generally handles larger
investments.

 

While Berkshire ended September with $310.7 billion of equity holdings, it
sold $2 billion more stocks than it bought in the third quarter, and has
been a net seller for all of 2021.

 

About 41% of Berkshire's stock investments are in Apple (AAPL.O), with
another 29% in Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), American Express Co (AXP.N) and
Coca-Cola Co (KO.N).

 

The sales and Buffett's nearly six-year drought in buying large whole
companies have contributed to Berkshire's boosting its cash holdings to a
record $149.2 billion, despite at least $21.9 billion of stock buybacks this
year.

 

They have also disappointed investors who have seen Berkshire's stock price
significantly lag the Standard & Poor's 500 (.SPX) since the end of 2018.

 

Berkshire's respective share stakes in AbbVie and Bristol-Myers fell 30% and
16% in the quarter.

 

Royalty Pharma helps fund late-stage clinical trials and product launches in
exchange for future royalty streams, and sometimes buys royalties from drug
developers.

 

Its larger revenue streams come from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRTX.O)
treatments for cystic fibrosis, Biogen Inc's (BIIB.O) Tysabri for multiple
sclerosis, and AbbVie's Imbruvica for various cancers.

 

The company's share price has recently traded about 50% above its initial
public offering price in June 2020, but below where it closed on its first
trading day.

 

Berkshire is based in Omaha, Nebraska. It also owns dozens of businesses
including the BNSF railroad, Geico auto insurance and Dairy Queen ice cream.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

JPMorgan sues Tesla for $162 mln over warrants, Musk tweets

(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) on Monday sued Tesla Inc (TSLA.O)
for $162.2 million, accusing Elon Musk's electric car company of
"flagrantly" breaching a contract related to stock warrants after its share
price soared.

 

According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Tesla in 2014
sold warrants to JPMorgan that would pay off if their "strike price" were
below Tesla's share price upon the warrants' expiration in June and July
2021.

 

JPMorgan, which said it had authority to adjust the strike price, said it
substantially reduced the strike price after Musk's Aug. 7, 2018 tweet that
he might take Tesla private at $420 per share and had "funding secured," and
reversed some of the reduction when Musk abandoned the idea 17 days later.

 

But Tesla's share price rose approximately 10-fold by the time the warrants
expired, and JPMorgan said this required Tesla under its contract to deliver
shares of its stock or cash. The bank said Tesla's failure to do that
amounted to a default.

 

"Though JPMorgan's adjustments were appropriate and contractually required,"
the complaint said, "Tesla has flagrantly ignored its clear contractual
obligation to pay JPMorgan in full."

 

Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment after market
hours.

 

According to the complaint, Tesla sold the warrants to reduce potential
stock dilution from a separate convertible bond sale and to lower its
federal income taxes.

 

JPMorgan said it had been contractually entitled to adjust the warrants'
terms following "significant corporate transactions involving Tesla."

 

The automaker in February 2019 complained that the bank's adjustments were
"an opportunistic attempt to take advantage of changes in volatility in
Tesla's stock," but did not challenge the underlying calculations, JPMorgan
said.

 

Musk's tweets led to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges
and $20 million fines against both him and Tesla.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Exxon launches sale of shale gas properties in Texas

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) on Monday launched a sale of its oil and gas
properties in the first major U.S. shale field, a spokesperson confirmed, as
part of a portfolio reshuffling to focus on more lucrative assets.

 

The top U.S. oil producer set a goal three years ago of raising $15 billion
from asset sales, and put several U.S. and international assets on the
market as energy prices have recovered from the pandemic-induced slump.

 

It will open a data room on Thursday for its Barnett Shale holdings that
include 2,700 wells across about 182,000 acres in North Texas, home of the
first horizontally drilled shale wells. Exxon spokesperson Sarah Nordin
confirmed the sale process.Production operations will continue normally
during the marketing process, Nordin said. There has been no agreement
reached on a sale and no buyer was identified, she said.

 

The producing properties are valued at between $400 million and $500
million, according a person familiar with the matter. U.S. gas prices are up
75% year to date, settling at $5.01 per million British thermal units on
Monday.

 

Bids are due Dec. 21 and Exxon aims to close any sale in January. The
properties' shale gas production has declined by half since 2016, to around
227 million cubic feet per day (mcfd) in the first half of this year,
according to a marketing document seen by Reuters.

 

The wells were among natural gas properties Exxon last year said it wanted
to sell. It put about 5,000 natural gas wells in the Fayetteville Shale in
Arkansas on the block in August. read more

 

Exxon, which suffered a historic $22.4 billion loss in 2020, is selling
assets in Asia, Africa and Europe as it as focuses on production ventures in
Guyana, offshore Brazil and the Permian Basin.

 

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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