Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 October 2021

[Bulls n Bears]

 <https://bullszimbabwe.com/> 

 


 

 <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com> Bullszimbabwe.com
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=View%20and%20Comments> Views & Comments
<https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/> Bullish
Thoughts        <http://www.twitter.com/BullsBears2010> Twitter
<https://www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe> Facebook
<http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bulls-n-bears-zimbabwe/57/577/72> LinkedIn
<https://chat.whatsapp.com/CF6wllAfScU9Wr6dXxoQnO> WhatsApp
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe

 


 

 


Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 October 2021

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Facebook to hire 10,000 in EU to work on metaverse

ü  Gas price rises: Russia not withholding supplies, says ambassador to UK

ü  Ford to make electric car parts at Halewood plant

ü  Six things the UK could do to tackle climate change

ü  How energy flexibility can save us money and cut carbon

ü  Buy now, pay later firm Klarna to offer 'pay now' option

ü  Scams: Cost of impact on wellbeing calculated as £9bn a year

ü  China's economy stumbles on power crunch, property woes

ü  European shares dip on inflation worries, weak China data

ü  China property shares stumble on tax worry, signs of weakness

ü  For Britain's chicken farmers, Brexit and COVID brew a perfect storm

ü  How green champion Sweden could end up exporting its carbon sins

ü  Taiwan's Foxconn shows off three electric vehicle prototypes

ü  Bitcoin hovers near 6-month high on ETF hopes, inflation worries

ü  China's plunging construction starts reminiscent of 2015 downturn

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Facebook to hire 10,000 in EU to work on metaverse

Facebook is planning to hire 10,000 people in the European Union to develop
a so-called metaverse.

 

A metaverse is an online world where people can game, work and communicate
in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets.

 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been a leading voice on the concept.

 

The announcement comes as Facebook deals with the fallout of a damaging
scandal and faces increased calls for regulation to curb its influence.

 

What is the metaverse?

"The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative,
social, and economic opportunities. And Europeans will be shaping it right
from the start," Facebook said in a blog post.

 

The new jobs being created over the next five years will include "highly
specialised engineers".

 

 

Investing in the EU offered many advantages, including access to a large
consumer market, first-class universities and high-quality talent, Facebook
said.

 

Facebook has made building the metaverse one of its big priorities.

 

Despite its history of buying up rivals, Facebook claims the metaverse
"won't be built overnight by a single company" and has promised to
collaborate.

 

It recently invested $50m (£36.3m) in funding non-profit groups to help
"build the metaverse responsibly".

 

But it thinks the true metaverse idea will take another 10 to 15 years.

 

Some critics say this latest announcement is designed to re-establish the
company's reputation and divert attention, after a series of damaging
scandals in recent months.

 

This included revelations from whistleblower Frances Haugen, who worked as a
product manager on the civic integrity team at Facebook.

 

Internal research by Facebook found that Instagram, which it owns, was
affecting the mental health of teenagers. But Facebook did not share its
findings when they suggested that the platform was a "toxic" place for many
youngsters.-BBC

 

 

 

Gas price rises: Russia not withholding supplies, says ambassador to UK

Russia is not withholding gas supplies to Europe for political reasons, the
country's ambassador to the UK has said.

 

Andrei Kelin said that commitments to increase supply would take time to
take effect.

 

Gas prices globally have soared as economies start to recover from the Covid
pandemic.

 

The US has expressed concern that Russia may be using gas as a political
weapon as household bills rise.

 

Russia only provides about 5% of the UK's gas usage, but it accounts for
about half of the EU's natural gas imports, with most of the rest coming
from Norway and Algeria.

 

Some analysts have suggested Russia could be holding back supplies to Europe
to speed up approval of the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipeline running
directly from Russia to Germany.

 

This bypasses Ukraine, and has been met with objections on geo-political as
well as environmental grounds, although Russia is keen for it to come on
stream.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is not aware of any instances
where Russia has not met contractual obligations on gas supply.

 

"Russia can only deliver gas on the basis of contractual obligations and not
just like that," she has been quoted as saying.

 

Gazprom, Russia's majority state-owned energy company, supplies gas to
Europe under two different arrangements: long-term contracts often lasting
from 10 to 25 years, and "spot" deals or one-off purchases for a fixed
amount of gas.

 

Data from Gazprom's own electronic sales platform suggests very few "spot"
sales are currently taking place - which would result in little gas being
supplied to Europe under this mechanism.

 

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said claims Russia is
withholding gas to put pressure on Germany over Nord Stream 2 are "complete
rubbish... and politically motivated tittle-tattle".

 

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Mr Kelin echoed Mr Putin.

 

"Certainly, we do not withhold it for political reasons. But gas problems,
this is at the pump stations, of course," he said.

 

Mr Putin has described the gas allegations as "blather", and yet the Deputy
Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that German Nord Stream 2 approval
"would give a positive signal and cool off the current situation".

 

Mr Kelin said he didn't see "any contradiction" with that.

 

He said the pipeline was ready and that "we expect final go-ahead from
Germany. So as soon as it will happen then of course new gas supplies will
come from this pipeline".

 

'Dangerous'

Asked whether Russia would carry on increasing the amount of gas for western
Europe if Germany did not approve the pipeline quickly, Mr Kelin said: "As
much as we can do that.

 

"We have increased supplies via Ukraine pipeline by 10%, but as we
understand [it] we cannot do more because the equipment at this pipeline has
never been modernised and has never been reconstructed so it is simply
dangerous to use it."

 

When challenged about a lack of evidence that Russia has increased supply
through the Ukraine by 10%, Mr Kelin said he was not a specialist in that
area.

 

He added that supply would not increase so soon after Mr Putin announcing
that it would.

 

He said: "Gas travels at not the speed of light of course, it goes very
slowly by that."

 

"So what do you expect - once the president has said, tomorrow prices will
go down? This is not possible."

 

When asked whether Russia was doing everything it could to get more and
cheaper gas to Western Europe, Mr Kelin said Nord Stream 2 would help.

 

The Russian ambassador to the UK said he could not say if gas supplies would
rise from November, but said there had already been a 15% increase.

 

Addressing whether Nord Stream 2 would give Russia huge powers over western
Europe just by "using a tap", Mr Kelin dismissed those suggestions as
"nonsense" and joked whether such a tap might be in the basement of his
embassy.

 

"Of course, it is nonsense," he said.

 

Asked if gas supplies would increase from 1 November whether or not Nord
Stream 2 was granted approval, Mr Kelin said: "I simply do not know. But we
have, as I said, we increase it by 15% right now."

 

Mr Kelin also questioned the effect of Russian gas supply on price increases
in the UK, saying: "We watch what is happening in the UK, but the UK as far
as I understand has only this year from Gazprom has about 3% - it is just
nothing."

 

He added that if there was an opportunity for "rescue we will do what we can
of course to alleviate difficult conditions which are now being created
through [the] crisis".-BBC

 

 

 

Ford to make electric car parts at Halewood plant

Ford is to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in its Halewood plant on
Merseyside, helping safeguard 500 jobs.

 

The factory will be Ford's first European plant to produce components for
electric cars.

 

The investment will mean the plant will run for many years longer, said
Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe.

 

There had been speculation about the future of the Halewood factory complex
as Ford moves towards electrifying its vehicles.

 

Up to £230m will be invested in the plant, with an undisclosed portion of
that coming from the government's Automotive Transformation Fund.

 

Ford is not the first manufacturer to receive financial help for electric
vehicle production through the fund, set up to encourage investment in
electric vehicle manufacturing in the UK.

 

In July, Nissan said it would expand electric vehicle production at its car
plant in Sunderland, with support from the government. And Nissan's partner,
Envision AESC, will build an electric battery plant.

 

Ford's Halewood plant will begin manufacturing electric power units - which
replace the engine and transmission in petrol cars - in 2024.

 

Mr Rowley said the plans were "a huge vote of confidence in [the]
workforce".

 

"Ford has been part of the industrial and social fabric of the UK for many
decades," he said, adding that the plant would be a "very important" part of
Ford's electrification plans in Europe.

 

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the Ford decision was "further proof
that the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for high-quality
automotive manufacturing".

 

"In this highly competitive, global race to secure electric vehicle
manufacturing, our priority is to ensure the UK reaps the benefits," he
added.

 

Kevin Pearson of the Unite union said the Ford investment "recognises the
experience, commitment and competitiveness of our world class workforce and
is a great source of pride for all of us working at Halewood Transmission
Plant and for the wider community".

 

The announcement suggested the facility would be an important part of
electric vehicle manufacturing in the UK, Prof David Bailey of Birmingham
Business School, said.

 

He said that was "especially great news" because there had been "a lot of
speculation about the plant", including that Ford might move parts
manufacturing and car assembly abroad.

 

Had Halewood closed, it would have had a knock-on effect on other parts of
the UK car industry and the local economy, he said.

 

Prof Bailey said that the UK's exit from the EU had been a "huge concern"
initially, before the tariff-free trade deal was agreed between the EU and
the UK.

 

However, Ford said that it was not currently facing the kind of supply chain
difficulties affecting some other UK businesses. Additional post-Brexit
paperwork at ports, which has contributed to bottlenecks for some UK-based
firms, has not been much of an obstacle for Ford as it has its own landing
facilities at Dagenham, the firm said.

 

Ford is concerned about any possible fallout from UK and EU negotiations
over the Northern Ireland Protocol, a spokesperson said.

 

The global car giant also recently announced a $1bn (£730m) investment in
its vehicle assembly facility in Cologne, Germany, and an expansion of
electric vehicle production in Turkey and Romania.-BBC

 

 

 

Six things the UK could do to tackle climate change

The government is due to announce its plan for how to reduce the UK's carbon
emissions, possibly this coming week.

 

It has already signed up to ambitious targets, attempting to set an example
to other countries before November's COP26 meeting of world leaders in
Glasgow.

 

The government has pledged to reduce emissions sharply by 2035 and put the
UK on track to be net zero by 2050 - meaning the country will absorb as much
carbon dioxide (through things like tree planting) as it emits.

 

But as the hosts of the Glasgow meeting, the UK will also need to show it is
ready to act. As the Queen and Greta Thunberg have both seemingly put it, in
different ways - less talking, more doing.

 

So what could be in the government's net zero strategy?

 

1. Subsidise warmth

It's not just the protestors blocking motorways - just about everyone agrees
that tackling the way we heat our homes is a priority.

 

 

So the government is likely to make clear how it will meet previous
manifesto commitments on insulating homes, especially social housing, and
promoting the switch to cleaner heating sources.

 

It could set a date for ending the sale of gas boilers. And it could go
further.

 

There's a cleaner alternative to gas boilers: heat pumps. They are much
cheaper to run but the initial cost, at £6,000 and upwards, puts most people
off.

 

Heat pumps: What are the alternatives to gas boilers?

A really simple guide to climate change

Nick Mabey at environmental consultancy E3G suggests the government could
support firms to supply them with interest-free loans.

 

"You'd get it in a hire purchase kind of way," says Mr Mabey. "Spread it
over the lifetime of the heat pump and people would be saving money."

 

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) representing businesses agrees
the government should "get the ball rolling" - with the expectation that in
the long run heat pumps come down in price and the subsidies can be phased
out.

 

2. Cut the burger rate

Prince Charles has a couple of meat-free days a week. The government could
call for more of us to follow suit.

 

They may be reluctant to tell shoppers what to put in their baskets, but
according to a survey by the think tank Demos, more than 90% of us would be
in favour of a government-led campaign to reduce meat and dairy consumption.

 

A more radical move would be to set higher taxes for meat, or lower taxes on
fruit and veg, to influence what we buy.

 

But the government appeared to take that idea off the table earlier this
year, saying it would not be putting a tax "on the great British banger or
anything else".

 

As well as looking at consumer demand, Polly Mackenzie, chief executive of
Demos, says the government should use agricultural policy to move away from
simply subsidising production.

 

"We've repatriated control of agricultural subsidies because of Brexit," she
says. "We can change what we pay farmers to do, shift that effort and
investment into encouraging rewilding, better upland land management,
reforestation."

 

3. Streetlamp charging

The switch to electric vehicles (EVs) is underway but there's a roadblock:
not enough charging points.

 

You can't easily charge a car from a fifth floor flat and according to the
AA around 30% of homeowners don't have access to somewhere to charge at home
or at work.

 

MPs have proposed requiring property developers to include public charging
points, and said councils should make sure charging infrastructure is built.

 

But low income, remote and rural areas risk being left behind if it's left
to the commercial sector to install charging points, says E3G's Nick Mabey.

 

One way to help plug the gap, he says, would be to turn more streetlamps
into charging points - something that's being widely trialled already.

 

Charging is slower than at a custom-built charging points, but the
installation can be relatively cheap.

 

Above all though the chancellor needs to backs local government financially
to make sure charging points are rolled out for all, he says.

 

4. Climate accounting

Nick Mabey's number one priority though is something which sounds more
mundane: company reporting.

 

The problem is most company bosses aren't in the job long enough to think
past the short term, he argues, and he wants new rules obliging firms to
publish their longer term plans to reach net zero.

 

No other country has managed to do this yet.

 

"It would change the whole face of British business. Investors would fight
shy of firms that can't show they're ready," he says.

 

"Firms should be planning for the transition anyway. If they are, they can
show investors those plans. If they aren't, why aren't they? And do you want
to put your pension in a firm that has its head stuck in the sand?"

 

Many businesses are supportive says the CBI, but they aren't yet doing it
voluntarily.

 

5. Taxing carbon

The UK already has a sort of tax on carbon because industry has to pay for
emissions permits. There are fuel duties too.

 

Economists like the principle: charge people to burn carbon and you give
them an incentive not to.

 

So we could raise these taxes further. However, the CBI argues that tax
breaks would be more appropriate.

 

These businesses are precisely the ones that need to make huge investments
to decarbonise, argues Tom Thackray, programme director for decarbonisation
at the CBI. "There's a case for supporting them not financially penalising
them."

 

But what about a direct tax on the stuff we buy?

 

In its favour: it doesn't cost the government anything up front and could
even raise a bit of revenue.

 

The problem: a carbon tax would make up a bigger proportion of day-to-day
spending for society's poorest which seems unfair.

 

Those in favour of carbon taxes say there are ways around this -
redistributing the proceeds to people on low incomes for example or using
the money to reduce the cost of fruit and vegetables or public transport.

 

The other stumbling block, how to avoid untaxed goods from overseas
undercutting tax-paying UK producers, is trickier. But then that is what
conferences like COP26 are there for: international cooperation.

 

6. Throw money at it

Rishi Sunak may not be keen on further big outlays after the past 18 months.

 

But, both employers and workers organisations believe it is crucial. The CBI
is calling for a "wall of investment" from government and the TUC puts a
figure on it saying over the next two years £85bn should be spent on
everything from faster broadband to reforestation.

 

The CBI's Tom Thackray says "those costs have to be weighed up against the
cost of inaction."

 

As well as the impact of severe weather, without investment the UK risks
being left behind in the global green tech race, he says.

 

Mika Minio-Paluello from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) says government
investment will drive private investment, and the UK could establish some
"international leadership."

 

Other G7 nations area already pumping money into helping industries like
steel decarbonise, she says.

 

"If we are ahead of the game, developing technology, that helps future
exports.

 

"If we're late to the game our steel industry is not going to be
competitive. For us it's about hitting those climate targets but it's also
about future-proofing UK jobs and industries."

 

Action not words

Of course there are dozens more policy options, from building more nuclear
generation - which the government is reported to favour - to a frequent
flyer levy; supporting carbon capture and storage to restoring peatlands;
investing in public transport networks to generating energy from household
waste.

 

But whatever the net zero strategy contains, it will be judged not only on
its direction and priorities, but also on how concrete its proposals are, so
that people and businesses waiting to take action can work out what their
next step might be.-BBC

 

 

 

How energy flexibility can save us money and cut carbon

Imagine your future home as an energy hub storing electricity from the grid
when clean wind power is plentiful, and then selling it back - at a profit -
when demand surges elsewhere.

 

For Sussex grandmother Kate Giammatteo, that future is happening right now.

 

She has batteries bolted to the front of her Worthing flat that do just
that, and they are forecast to cut her energy bill by £173 a year.

 

And what's good for Kate will be good for the country, because as the UK
shifts to electric heating and electric cars to meet its climate goals, the
demand for electricity is expected to double by 2050.

 

Already the sector is under pressure to ramp up renewables, because Prime
Minister Boris Johnson has mandated that all electricity must come from
zero-carbon sources by 2035.

 

Much of the extra energy will be generated by wind power, which is clean and
cheap - but - of course - dependent on the wind.

 

That leaves an intermittent hole in supplies. This can be by increasing
energy storage using batteries or other technologies - but experts say part
of the gap can be filled by enabling consumers to use electricity more
flexibly.

 

That's where Kate fits in. The tale of her giant battery offers a glimpse of
an energy future in which appliances will use power when it's plentiful, and
conserve it when it's scarce.

 

So, you could allow your freezer to turn off for a short time to save power,
and your washing machine to switch itself on in the afternoon to use cheap
power.

 

Khalid Abdulla, an engineer from Edinburgh, has a hot water tank from a firm
called Mixergy that's automatically switched on by his energy supplier's
computer when power is cheapest (it can be overruled manually).

 

The tank's insulation ensures the water remains hot whenever Khalid's ready
for a shower. In effect, he's storing energy in hot water.

 

It will save Khalid money. And the technology has brought a bonus - the new
system has allowed him to dispense with his second water tank, and free up
storage for the paraphernalia that accompanies a new baby.

 

But this energy revolution stretches beyond the home, because more and more
businesses are being paid by electricity suppliers to use the grid
differently.

 

When supplies are plentiful, big refrigeration plants can utilise the power
to chill their freezers even harder. Then when there's a surge in demand,
they can power down as the freezer temperatures slip back to normal.

 

They are paid in effect for storing energy through cold. Some hotels do the
same with their air conditioning. Some asphalt plants are super-heating the
asphalt when power is cheap - then allowing the temperature to drop as
demand peaks.

 

More on climate summit top strapline

The COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November is seen as crucial if
climate change is to be brought under control. Almost 200 countries are
being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major
changes to our everyday lives.

 

Big prices are charged by firms volunteering to turn off their power for a
spell when it's needed elsewhere. The steel giant Corus has offered to
switch off its supply from time to time for £45,000 per Megawatt. One
estimate suggests the value of the flex-elecs market by 2030 will be £2.4bn
a year.

 

One firm involved in a UK government trial, Geo, claimed it showed a DSR
system could save 49% on utility bills for homes with electrical heating and
electric cars. There would be CO2 savings, too.

 

"They are pretty amazing figures, but they are achievable in the majority of
homes as time goes on," its CEO, Steve Cunningham, told me.

 

What's more, those savings were achieved using only major contributors such
as home heating and hot water. Even more cash would have been saved, he
said, if appliances such as freezers and washing machines were fitted with
smart plugs so they could also be controlled individually from afar.

 

He said smart thermostats costing £25 could save gas heating by learning how
fast a house heats up and cools down, and adjusting boiler use accordingly.
"It's tragic that people who most need tech like this can't afford to access
it," he said.

 

So how big a role can reducing demand play in smoothing the peaks of
electricity use? Sara Walker, reader in energy at Newcastle University, says
it needs a big push from policy-makers.

 

She told me: "There's great potential but there appears little attention on
the subject at government level. We really need a strong policy signal - and
we're not getting it."-BBC

 

 

 

Buy now, pay later firm Klarna to offer 'pay now' option

Buy now, pay later firm Klarna is extending its services, including offering
the choice of paying for items in full, immediately.

 

It said the "pay now" option and other changes it was making would give
customers more clarity and control.

 

Buy now, pay later firms such as Klarna have seen business boom over the
last few years.

 

However, charities warn they can make it too easy to fall into debt and the
sector is facing tougher regulation.

 

Klarna said it wanted to "drive up standards" in the buy now, pay later
market by improving the way it operates and communicates.

 

It said it would perform more thorough checks on how much users could afford
to borrow, and use clearer language during the checkout process to ensure
customers understood they were taking on debt.

 

Like other buy now, pay later services, Klarna offers shoppers the
opportunity of delaying or spreading the cost of a purchase without being
charged fees or interest.

 

Instead Klarna charges retailers a small percentage of the transaction cost
in exchange for providing the payment service.

 

The opportunity to pay in instalments appeals in particular to younger and
low-income shoppers.

 

It allows customers to order several sizes of a clothing item, for example,
in the expectation that those which don't fit will have been returned and
refunded before they are charged the full amount.

 

But such schemes have been widely criticised for encouraging shoppers to buy
more than they can afford, with charities warning it can be a "slippery
slope into debt".

 

Critics say customers are bombarded with messages urging them to use buy
now, pay later credit without a clear enough explanation of what it
involves.

 

In particular, buy now, pay later firms have been accused of failing to
explain that customers could be referred to debt collectors and that their
credit scores could be affected if they miss payments.

 

Consumer group Which? recently found that although Klarna and other firms
shared their guidelines with retailers about how their service should be
presented, some retailers didn't adhere to those guidelines.

 

Klarna is the largest buy now, pay later platform but many other firms offer
a similar service, including Clearpay, LayBuy and Paypal.

 

Buy now, pay later services were used by five million people in the UK for
total sales of £2.7bn in 2020. However, one in 10 people using them already
had debt arrears elsewhere, a review by the Financial Conduct Authority
found.

 

The review, led by Chris Woolard, found that three quarters of buy now, pay
later users were under the age of 36 and the vast majority of transactions
related to clothing purchases.

 

Breakdown of buy now, pay later customers

The Citizens Advice charity said it had found shoppers did not view buy now,
pay later services as "proper borrowing" and many did not understand fully
what they were signing up for.

 

The charity warned that four-in-10 of those who had used this type of credit
in the previous 12 months were struggling to repay.

 

Klarna's chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski said he believed there was
a place for this kind of affordable credit offering.

 

"We firmly believe that most of the time, people should pay with the money
they have, but there are certain times where credit makes sense," he said.

 

"In those cases, our [buy now, pay later] products offer a sustainable and
no-cost healthy form of credit - and a much needed alternative to high-cost
credit cards."

 

Klarna said it had worked with consumer group Fairer Finance to ensure its
terms and conditions were "clear, simple and easy to understand", and that
the language during the checkout process made it "absolutely clear" there
would be "consequences for missed payments".

 

It had also improved its complaints procedure for dissatisfied customers, it
said.

 

In February, the government announced it would review regulation of buy now,
pay later products.-BBC

 

 

 

Scams: Cost of impact on wellbeing calculated as £9bn a year

The cost to scam victims' wellbeing can be calculated at a monetary total of
£9.3bn a year, according to the consumer group Which?.

 

That is the equivalent of £2,509 a year for each victim, but the impact can
be higher for someone hit by online fraud.

 

People targeted by fraudsters have spoken of suffering from anxiety and
ill-health after being scammed.

 

Which? says the cost to well-being is higher than the typical financial hit
of £600.

 

The consumers' association appointed consultants to study data including
17,000 responses to the Office for National Statistics' Crime Survey for
England and Wales.

 

The results were then applied to an approach to assessing social impacts
approved by the Treasury earlier this year. The model allows researchers to
value changes in wellbeing in monetary terms.

 

The research suggested scam victims faced a drop in life satisfaction,
significantly higher levels of anxiety, and lower levels of happiness. It
was also associated with people self-reporting worse general health,
although to a much smaller degree.

 

Jennifer Runham burst into tears in her local bank branch, on her way to the
school run, after being told she was a victim of a scam.

 

A cycle of events began when she received an email claiming that she needed
to renew her TV licence. She entered her details on what proved to be a fake
website, before receiving a call from criminals claiming to be from her
bank's fraud department. They had even spoofed her bank's phone number.

 

She transferred £1,500 before realising she had been tricked.

 

 

"The impact was massive. I was so upset, scared and anxious," said Mrs
Runham, who is in her 40s.

 

"My severe level of anxiety meant I had a lot of help from Victim Support."

 

It took a year of battling before her bank reimbursed the money.

 

"It takes a lot of courage to go through the complaints process. I felt they
were blaming me," she said.

 

"I went to the ombudsman. When I got my money back, I felt I had some
freedom to get on with my life."

 

 

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: "This brings
home the scale of the emotional and psychological harm that victims suffer
when they are defrauded. 

 

"The government must not ignore the huge impact an epidemic of fraud is
having on our society."

 

She is presenting the findings to MPs on the Draft Online Safety Bill Joint
Committee on Monday.

 

The draft Bill includes measures to tackle user-generated fraud like romance
scams, but omits the scam adverts leading to other types of fraud such as
investment scams.

 

The consumer group, alongside campaigners such as Moneysavingexpert's Martin
Lewis, are calling for more comprehensive and urgent action regarding online
scams.

 

It is calling on the government to include scam adverts in the Online Safety
Bill as the first step towards new laws and regulations placing more content
policing responsibility on online platforms.

 

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said that the scam provisions in the Online
Safety Bill would help fight "ruthless criminals who defraud millions of
people".-BBC

 

 

 

China's economy stumbles on power crunch, property woes

(Reuters) - China's economy hit its slowest pace of growth in a year in the
third quarter, hurt by power shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and major
wobbles in the property market and raising pressure on policymakers to do
more to prop up the faltering recovery.

 

Data released on Monday showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9% in
July-September from a year earlier, the weakest clip since the third quarter
of 2020 and missing forecasts.

 

The world's second-largest economy is facing several major challenges,
including the China Evergrande Group debt crisis, ongoing supply chain
delays and a critical electricity crunch, which sent factory output to its
weakest since early 2020, when heavy COVID-19 curbs were in place.

 

"The domestic economic recovery is still unstable and uneven," said National
Bureau of Statistics (NBS) spokesperson Fu Linghui at a briefing in Beijing
on Monday.

 

China's economy had staged an impressive rebound from last year's pandemic
slump thanks to effective virus containment and hot overseas demand for the
country's manufactured goods. But the recovery has lost steam from the
blistering 18.3% growth clocked in the first quarter of this year.

 

"In response to the ugly growth numbers we expect in coming months, we think
policymakers will take more steps to shore up growth, including ensuring
ample liquidity in the interbank market, accelerating infrastructure
development and relaxing some aspects of overall credit and real estate
policies," said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics.

 

A Reuters poll of analysts had expected GDP to rise 5.2% in the third
quarter.

 

The weak numbers sent the yuan and most Asian stock markets lower amid
broader investor concerns about the world economic recovery. read more

 

Global worries about a possible spillover of credit risk from China's
property sector into the wider economy have also intensified as major
developer China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) wrestles with more than $300
billion of debt. read more

 

Chinese leaders, fearful that a persistent property bubble could undermine
the country's long-term ascent, are likely to maintain tough curbs on the
sector even as the economy slows, but could soften some tactics as needed,
policy sources and analysts said.

 

NEW RISKS

 

New construction starts in September slumped for a sixth straight month, NBS
data showed, the longest spate of monthly declines since 2015, as
cash-strapped developers reined in investment and paused projects following
tighter borrowing limits. read more

 

Meanwhile, the industrial sector has been hit by power rationing triggered
by coal shortages, as well as environmental curbs on heavy polluters like
steel plants and floods over the summer. read more

 

Overall industrial output rose just 3.1% in September from a year earlier,
marking the slowest growth since March 2020, during the first wave of the
pandemic.

 

Aluminium output declined for the fifth consecutive month and daily crude
steel output hit the lowest level since 2018.

 

Bucking the negative trend, retail sales grew 4.4%, faster than forecasts
and the 2.5% growth in August, and the surveyed nationwide jobless rate fell
from 5.1% to 4.9%.

 

"Most of the (negative) factors are policy-driven... the economy is having a
lot of pain points and these pain points are not going away soon because
policies are here to stay, and therefore it will continue into 2022," said
Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING.

 

On a quarterly basis, growth eased to 0.2% in July-September from a
downwardly revised 1.2% in the second quarter.

 

Premier Li Keqiang said last week that China has ample tools to cope with
economic challenges despite slowing growth, and expressed confidence in
hitting full-year development goals.

 

On Sunday, People's Bank of China governor Yi Gang said the economy is
expected to grow 8% this year. read more

 

"At present, China's fiscal strength is continuously increasing, and there
is still relatively big room for monetary policy," said the NBS's Fu.

 

Still, the central bank is expected to remain cautious about monetary easing
due to worries about high debt and property risks.

 

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the People's Bank of China to refrain from
attempts to stimulate the economy by reducing the amount of cash banks must
hold in reserve until the first quarter of 2022.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

European shares dip on inflation worries, weak China data

(Reuters) - European shares opened lower on Monday, as surging commodity
prices added to fears around a burgeoning energy crisis, while weak data
from China kept concerns around slowing economic growth alive.

 

The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) fell 0.4% by 0707 GMT after an upbeat
start to the U.S. and European quarterly earnings season helped the
benchmark mark its strongest weekly performance since March on Friday. read
more

 

Asian stocks came under pressure after data showed China's economy hit its
slowest pace of growth in a year in the third quarter, hurt by power
shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and major wobbles in the property
market. read more

 

China-exposed luxury stocks including LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Kering (PRTP.PA)
fell about 2% each after Chinese President Xi Jinping's call to expand a
consumption tax.

 

Dutch health tech firm Philips (PHG.AS) fell 2.3% after lowering its outlook
as a massive recall of respiratory devices and a shortage of electronic
components hit third-quarter earnings. read more

 

European miners (.SXPP) and oil & gas (.SXEP) were among the few gainers as
crude futures rose past $85 a barrel and metal prices rallied.

 

British online retailer The Hut Group (THG.L) rose 9.5% after saying it
would remove its founder's "golden share" and seek a premium listing after
its shares plummeted last week. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China property shares stumble on tax worry, signs of weakness

(Reuters) - Chinese property shares fell on Monday, as Beijing pushed ahead
with plans for a property tax and amid fresh signs of weakening in the real
estate market.

 

But Chinese developer Kaisa Group's (1638.HK) coupon payment for a dollar
bond and the central bank's efforts to calm nerves over China Evergrande
Group's (3333.HK) debt woes, helped in part to offset the overall bearish
mood in the property sector.

 

The CSI300 Real Estate Index (.CSI000952), which tracks China's biggest
developers, fell 2.6%.

 

Hong Kong property shares fared a bit better, with an index tracking
mainland property firms (.HSMPI) trading flat.

 

China's President Xi Jinping called on Friday for the nation to "vigorously
and steadily advance" legislation for a property tax, which could curb
rampant speculation, according to an essay in the ruling Communist Party
journal Qiushi.

 

Rocky Fan, economist at Sealand Securities, said property tax expectations
are negative for real estate shares because "people would balk at buying
properties and take a wait-and-see attitude, hurting developers' revenues."

 

Global financial markets have been rocked by fears of contagion over a
liquidity crisis at Evergrande, which has more than $300 billion in
liabilities.

 

The People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said on Sunday the economy faces
challenges such as default risks for certain firms due to "mismanagement",
and that authorities are keeping a close eye "so they do not become
systematic risks". read more

 

 

On Friday, another PBOC official said the spillover effect of Evergrande's
debt problems on the banking system were controllable and individual
financial institutions' risk exposures were not big. read more

 

Investors reacted favourably to the PBOC's comments on Friday but some
analysts are not as optimistic.

 

"The PBOC is downplaying the market impact of Evergrande's default,"
JPMorgan wrote in a research note, adding that it thinks Evergrande's
problems are not isolated but represent an industry-wide problem.

 

"The policymakers have the levers to contain the spillover risk; but if no
policy action is taken, the risk of further deterioration should not be
under-estimated, which may lead to investment slowdown, weaker consumption,
fiscal problems for local governments and broader financial sector pressure.

 

 

China's economy expanded 4.9% in the third quarter, slower than expected,
data showed on Monday, and industrial output also missed expectations. read
more

 

New construction starts in September slumped for a sixth straight month, the
longest spate of monthly declines since 2015, according to Reuters
calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
read more

 

Onshore, major developers China Vanke (000002.SZ) and Poly Development
(600048.SS) were both down over 3%. Real estate shares (.CSI000952) have
fallen 22% so far this year.

 

However, Hong Kong-listed shares of top developers Country Garden (2007.HK)
and Sunac China (1918.HK) climbed 1.4% and 4.2%, respectively.

 

Chinese developers' offshore bonds also rallied, with Kaisa Group's notes
due June 2024 jumping over 6% to 54.34 cents on the dollar. A bond of Yuzhou
Group (1628.HK), Zhongliang Holdings (2772.HK) and Zhenro Properties
(6158.HK) all gained around 7%.

 

Kaisa told Reuters on Monday it had paid $39.4 million worth of coupon for a
dollar bond due Oct. 16, and plans to transfer funds for coupon worth $35.85
million due Oct. 22 into bondholders' accounts on Thursday.

 

Still, rating agency Moody's downgraded the corporate family rating (CFR) of
Kaisa on Monday to "B2" from "B1", and placed all its ratings on review for
further downgrade, citing weakening liquidity and rising refinancing risk
expectations over the next six to 12 months amid tight funding conditions
and the company's large debt maturity.

 

Sinic Holdings (2103.HK), which has a $246 million bond maturing on Monday,
said last week it would likely default. Fantasia Holdings (1777.HK), who has
missed a payment early this month, has another $21.44 million coupon due on
Monday.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

For Britain's chicken farmers, Brexit and COVID brew a perfect storm

(Reuters) - When Nigel Upson checks the plucked chicken carcasses dangling
from a rotating line at his poultry plant in England, he sees cash
haemorrhaging out of his business from a collision of events that has
distressed every part of the farm-to-fork supply chain.

 

Like food manufacturers across Britain, Upson was hit this year by an exodus
of eastern European workers who, deterred by Brexit paperwork, left en masse
when COVID restrictions lifted, compounding his already soaring cost of feed
and fuel.

 

Such is the scale of the hit, he cut output by 10% and hiked wages by 11%, a
rise that was immediately matched or bettered by neighbouring employers in
the northeast of England.

 

Increases in the cost of food will surely follow.

 

 

"We're being hit from all sides," Upson told Reuters in front of four vast,
spotless sheds that house 33,000 chickens apiece. "It is, to use the phrase,
a perfect storm. Something will have to give."

 

The deepening problems at Upson's Soanes Poultry plant in east Yorkshire are
a microcosm of the pressures building on businesses across the world's fifth
largest economy as they emerge from COVID to confront the post-Brexit trade
barriers erected with Europe.

 

In the broader food sector, operators have increased wages by as much as 30%
in some cases just to retain staff, likely forcing an end to an economic
model that led supermarkets such as Tesco (TSCO.L) to offer some of the
lowest prices in Europe.

 

Following the departure of European workers who often did the jobs that
British workers didn't want, retailers may have to import more.

 

 

While all major economies have been hit by supply chain problems and a
labour shortage after the pandemic, Britain's tough new immigration rules
have made it harder to recover, businesses say.

 

Already a driver shortage has led to a lack of fuel at gas stations and gaps
on supermarket shelves, while chicken restaurant chain Nandos ran out of
chicken.

 

The Bank of England is weighing up how much of a recent jump in inflation
will prove long-lasting, requiring it to push up interest rates from their
all-time low.

 

MOUNTING PRESSURE

 

 

For the rural businesses situated near the flat, open fields of Yorkshire,
Upson says the situation is dire.

 

Although he says he needs 138 workers for his plant, he recently had to
operate with under 100. Staff turnover is high.

 

Richard Griffiths, head of the British Poultry Council, says that with
Europeans making up about 60% of the sector, the industry has lost more than
15% of its staff.

 

When numbers are particularly tight Upson gets his sales, marketing and
finance staff to don the long white coats and hairnets that are needed on
the processing line.

 

"Three weeks ago the offices were empty, everyone was in the factory," he
said, of a business that supplies high-end birds for butchers, farm shops
and restaurants. For the run-up to Christmas, he may look to students.

 

On difficult days Soanes can only deliver the absolute basics - chickens
piled into boxes. They do not have time to truss the birds for retail or put
them into separate, Soanes-labelled packaging that commands a higher selling
price.

 

Around 3 tonnes of offal that is normally sold each week is going in the
skip due to the lack of staff to process it.

 

The sudden rise in wages and the drop in output also come on top of spikes
in the cost of animal feed, energy and fuel, carbon dioxide, cardboard and
plastic packaging.

 

"We've just had to say to our customers, sorry, the price is going up,"
Upson said, shaking his head. "We're losing money, big style." The poorest
consumers would be hardest hit, he said.

 

Business owners have urged the government to temporarily ease visa rules
while they do the staff training and automation of processes needed to help
close Britain's 20-year, 20% productivity gap with the United States,
Germany and France.

 

But far from changing course, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says businesses
need to cut their addiction to cheap foreign labour now, invest in
technology and offer well-paid jobs to some of the 1.5 million unemployed
people in Britain.

 

Upson says there is a shortage of workers in rural communities and with some
1.1 million job vacancies in the country, people can be choosy about which
they pick. "Working in a chicken factory isn't everybody's idea of a
career," he said.

 

While 5,500 foreign poultry workers will be allowed to work in Britain
before Christmas, and the UK will offer emergency visas to 800 foreign
butchers to avoid a mass pig cull sparked by a shortage in abattoirs, the
industry says it needs more.

 

As for automation, the production of whole birds is already highly
mechanised, and while it could be used more for boneless meat and
convenience cuts, the cost is prohibitive for a small operator.

 

The National Farmers' Union and other food bodies said in a recent report
that parts of the UK's food and drink supply chain were "precariously close
to market failure", limiting the ability to invest in automation.

 

Soanes has an annual turnover of around 25 million pounds ($34 million). In
the last three years its owners have spent 5 million on expansion. Now
output must fit the size of the workforce.

 

TOO CHEAP

 

According to "Chicken King" Ranjit Singh Boparan, founder of the UK's
biggest producer, 2 Sisters, food prices must now rise.

 

"Food is too cheap," he said. "In relative terms, a chicken today is cheaper
to buy than it was 20 years ago. How can it be right that a whole chicken
costs less than a pint of beer?"

 

Upson says he can get a higher price selling bones for pet food than he can
for a leg of chicken.

 

For major producers, the main barrier to higher prices is often the
purchasing power of the biggest supermarkets, which have since the 2008
financial crash battled to keep prices down for key items such as fruit,
vegetables, bread, meat, fish and poultry.

 

Sentinel Management Consultants' CEO David Sables, who coaches suppliers on
how to negotiate with British supermarkets, said desperate food producers
had already pushed through some price rises, and he expects another round to
come in early next year.

 

With chicken a so-called "known value item", of which shoppers instinctively
know the cost, he said supermarkets would likely push the price rises on to
other goods. He described the chicken sector as an "absolute horror show".

 

One senior executive at a major supermarket group, who asked not to be
named, said retailers were under pressure to "hold the line" on key prices,
and that they all watch each other.

 

"If you see one of the big six move (on price), you can bet your damnedest
others will take about 12 hours to follow," he said.

 

Back in Yorkshire, Upson and others are praying they do. While he
acknowledges Johnson's desire to move to a "high-wage, high-skills" economy,
he said not all jobs fit that bill.

 

"What skill do you need to put chicken in a box?" he asks. "We can put wages
up, but prices will go up." He is starting to despair. "Normally you can
just be pragmatic and say, it will sort itself out. But I'm not sure where
this one ends."

 

($1 = 0.7277 pounds)

 

 

 

How green champion Sweden could end up exporting its carbon sins

(Reuters) - When a Swedish court ordered the country's biggest cement maker
to stop mining limestone by its huge factory on the windswept island of
Gotland to prevent pollution, ecologists cheered.

 

Besides protecting wildlife and water supplies, the ruling could force the
plant that makes 75% of Sweden's cement and is the country's second biggest
carbon emitter to slash output while it finds raw materials elsewhere, or
even shut altogether.

 

That might be good for Sweden's emissions targets, but not such good news
for the rest of the planet.

 

A government-commissioned report seen by Reuters said it could force Sweden
to import cement from countries that pump out more emissions in the overall
manufacturing process - or risk massive job losses in the construction
industry at home.

 

 

"Imports from countries outside the EU would probably lead to larger
environmental impacts as a result of lower standards related to CO2
emissions and lower standards in land use," the report, obtained via a
freedom of information request, said.

 

Sweden's dilemma encapsulates one the challenges facing nations meeting in
Glasgow for the U.N. COP26 climate talks: how to show they are not cutting
emissions by simply exporting the problem elsewhere - a phenomenon known as
"carbon leakage".

 

A rich, stable Nordic democracy, Sweden has long topped international
environmental rankings and has managed to cut back on greenhouse gases for
years while preserving economic growth on a path towards its target of net
zero emissions by 2045.

 

It has the world's highest carbon tax at $137 per tonne and is a leader in
the use of renewable energy. In 2018, its carbon emissions per head stood at
3.5 tonnes, well below the European Union average of 6.4 tonnes, according
to World Bank data.

 

 

But the stand-off over the Slite cement plant epitomises the growing tension
between local environment goals and the 2015 Paris Agreement signed by
nearly 200 countries to try to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius.

 

"We have to weigh up the global focus - doing the most for the climate - but
also maintain our high ambitions when it comes to our local environmental
problems," Sweden's Minster for Environment and Climate Per Bolund told
Reuters. "These two things can be balanced."

 

ALTERNATIVE FUELS

 

Much of Europe's imported cement comes from Turkey, Russia, Belarus and
countries in North Africa.

 

 

They don't have anything like the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS), the
world's largest carbon market and one that sets the price of carbon permits
for energy-intensive sectors, including cement, within the 27-nation bloc.

 

The World Bank says only 22% of global emissions were covered by pricing
mechanisms last year and the International Monetary Fund put the average
global price of carbon at $3 a tonne - a tiny fraction of Sweden's carbon
tax. read more

 

While the Swedish court's decision was not linked to Slite's carbon
footprint, but rather the risks its quarry poses to local groundwater, the
impact from an emissions point of view depends on the efficiency and energy
mix of the producers likely to supply Sweden with cement to plug any
shortfalls.

 

Slite's owner, Germany's HeidelbergCement (HEIG.DE), also plans to make it
the world's first carbon neutral cement factory by 2030, but the uncertainty
over its future following the court ruling may delay or even scupper the
project.

 

"We need a decision soon on the long-term basis for these operations if that
is not to be delayed," Magnus Ohlsson, chief executive of HeidelbergCement's
Swedish subsidiary Cementa, said last month.

 

Koen Coppenholle, head of European cement lobby group Cembureau, said he was
confident European plants were "cleaner" overall because high EU carbon
charges on producers had encouraged them to invest in reducing their
emissions.

 

"In Europe, right now, we are replacing 50% of our primary fuel needs by
alternative fuels," he said

 

According to Cembureau data, however, imports of cement from outside the EU
have jumped by about 160% in the last five years, even though total volumes
remain relatively small.

 

But carbon leakage, where emissions are shifted from countries with tight
environmental rules to ones with laxer and cheaper regimes, is an issue for
dozens of industries and policymakers are trying to tackle it.

 

In July, the EU unveiled plans for the world's first carbon border tax to
protect European industries, including cement, from competitors abroad whose
manufacturers produce at lower cost because they are not charged for their
carbon output.

 

Europe's cement industry supports the move, but warns it is fraught with
difficulties, such as how to measure emissions in different countries given
varying processes and fuels.

 

"If you impose strict requirements on CO2 and emissions, you have to make
sure you do that in a way that you don't push companies outside the EU,"
said Coppenholle. "That's the whole discussion on carbon leakage."

 

For a country such as Sweden, which has cut its emissions by 29% over the
last three decades, the issue of domestic action versus global impact goes
beyond cement.

 

The country's already low, and declining, emissions from domestic production
dropped to just under 60 million tonnes of carbon equivalent in 2018.

 

But if you measure what Swedes consume, including goods and services
produced abroad, the figure is about a third higher, according to Statistics
Sweden, which put so-called consumption-based emissions at 82 million tonnes
that year.

 

CLIMATE IS GLOBAL

 

The local versus global perspective also raises questions about which type
of industrial policy is ultimately greener.

 

Sweden's leading steel firm SSAB (SSABa.ST), state-owned miner LKAB and
utility Vattenfall, for example, have invested heavily in developing a
process to produce steel without using fossil fuels. read more

 

They say switching to so-called green hydrogen power would reduce Sweden's
emissions by about 10%, a big step towards reaching the country's 2045 net
zero emission goal.

 

But for researchers Magnus Henrekson at the Research Institute for
Industrial Economics, Christian Sandstrom at Jonkoping International
Business School and Carl Alm at the Ratio Institute, this is an example of
the "environmental nationalism" that benefits one country, but not the
world.

 

They estimate that if Sweden exported the renewable energy it would use to
make hydrogen to Poland and Germany instead - so they could cut back on
coal-fired power - overall CO2 emissions would fall by 10 to 12 times more
than by making "green" steel.

 

The EU's carbon border levy, meanwhile, is only due to be phased in from
2026, potentially too late to have a bearing on the fate of Cementa's Slite
limestone quarry.

 

Sweden's parliament has agreed to a government proposal to tweak the
country's environmental laws to give Cementa a stay of execution, but no
long-term solution is in sight.

 

Environmentalists such as David Kihlberg, climate head at the Swedish
Society for Nature Conservation, say easing regulations gives industries an
excuse to put off changes that need to happen now.

 

"It would be incredibly destructive for climate diplomacy if Sweden came to
the top climate meeting in Glasgow and said our climate policy is to
increase emissions and the local environmental impact in order to pull the
rug from under Chinese cement producers," he said, referring to a
hypothetical scenario that is not Swedish policy.

 

"The climate question is global and has to be solved by cooperation between
countries."

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Taiwan's Foxconn shows off three electric vehicle prototypes

(Reuters) - Taiwan tech giant Foxconn (2317.TW) unveiled its first three
electric vehicle prototypes on Monday, underscoring ambitious plans to
diversify away from its role of building consumer electronics for Apple Inc
(AAPL.O) and other tech firms.

 

The vehicles - an SUV, a sedan and a bus - were made by Foxtron, a joint
venture between Foxconn and Taiwanese car maker Yulon Motor Co Ltd
(2201.TW).

 

Foxtron Vice Chairman Tso Chi-sen told reporters that electric vehicles
would be worth a trillion Taiwan dollars to Foxconn in five years time - a
figure equivalent to around $35 billion.

 

Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, aims become a
major player in the global EV market and has clinched deals with U.S.
startup Fisker Inc (FSR.N) and Thailand's energy group PTT PCL (PTT.BK).
read more

 

"Hon Hai is ready and no longer the new kid in town," Foxconn Chairman Liu
Young-way told the event timed to mark the birthday of the company's
billionaire founder Terry Gou.

 

Gou drove the sedan, which was jointly developed with Italian design firm
Pininfarina, onto the stage to the tune of "Happy Birthday".

 

The sedan will be sold by an unspecified carmaker outside Taiwan in the
coming years, while the SUV will be sold under one of Yulon's brands and is
scheduled to hit the market in Taiwan in 2023.

 

The bus, which will carry a Foxtron badge, will start running in several
cities in southern Taiwan next year in a partnership with a local
transportation service provider.

 

Foxconn this month bought a factory from U.S. startup Lordstown Motors Corp
(RIDE.O) to make electric cars. In August it bought a chip plant in Taiwan
in a move to supply future demand for auto chips. read more

 

Foxconn has also set a target to provide components or services for 10% of
the world's EVs by between 2025 and 2027.

 

($1 = 27.9880 Taiwan dollars)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Bitcoin hovers near 6-month high on ETF hopes, inflation worries

(Reuters) - Bitcoin hovered near six-month highs on Monday in anticipation
of the listing of the first futures-based bitcoin exchange-traded funds
(ETF) in the United States, which investors hope will boost cryptocurrency
trading volumes.

 

If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not object, the
ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF completes a 75-day period since the fund
manager filed plans and could begin trading on Tuesday.

 

Other fund managers could list bitcoin ETFs in the coming days and weeks,
and that could lead to wider investment in digital assets.

 

The world's largest cryptocurrency last stood at $62,288 , near Friday's
six-month high of $62,944 and not far from its all-time high of $64,895 hit
in April.

 

Ether , another popular token used on the Ethereum blockchain, was traded
around $3,866 and has been rising in tandem with bitcoin since
mid-September.

 

"The news of a suite of futures-tracking ETFs is not new to those following
the space closely, and to many this is a step forward but not the
game-changer that some are sensing," said Chris Weston, head of research at
Pepperstone in Melbourne, Australia.

 

"We've been excited by a spot ETF before, and this may need more work on the
regulation front."

 

Among fund managers who have applied to launch bitcoin ETFs in the United
States are the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, ProShares, Invesco, Valkyrie and Galaxy
Digital Funds.

 

The Nasdaq on Friday approved the listing of the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy
ETF. Grayscale, the world's largest digital currency manager, is planning to
convert its flagship product, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC.PK) into a
spot bitcoin ETF, CNBC reported on Sunday.

 

After months of back-and-forth between the SEC and potential bitcoin futures
ETF issuers, the regulator appears prepared to greenlight a handful of
filings that would open the door to wider access to cryptocurrencies for
retail and institutional investors alike.

 

Under the rule sets used by the ETF issuers, the SEC does not have to give
explicit approval to the ETFs, which can be launched at the end of a 75-day
period if the U.S. regulator has no objections.

 

Cryptocurrency investors expect the approval of the first U.S. bitcoin ETF
to trigger an influx of money from institutional players who cannot invest
in digital coins at the moment.

 

Rising global inflation worries have also increased appetite for bitcoin,
which is in limited supply, in contrast to the ample amount of currencies
issued by central banks in recent years as monetary authorities print money
to stimulate their economies.

 

"Unlike its previous rallies, there doesn't seem to be much of exuberance in
the market. A growing number of investors started to think inflation may not
be temporary and it is possible that bitcoin is getting chosen as a hedge
against inflation," said Makoto Sakumra, researcher at NLI Research
Institute.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

China's plunging construction starts reminiscent of 2015 downturn

(Reuters) - China's September new construction starts slumped for a sixth
straight month, the longest spate of monthly declines since 2015, as
cash-strapped developers put a pause on projects in the wake of tighter
regulations on borrowing.

 

New construction starts in September fell 13.54% from a year earlier, the
third month of double-digit declines, according to Reuters calculations
based on January-September data released by the National Bureau of
Statistics on Monday.

 

That marks the longest downtrend since declines in March-August 2015, the
last property malaise.

 

When the sector recovered in 2016 after authorities loosened their grip on
purchases and development, tens of thousands of real estate firms borrowed
heavily to build homes.

 

But as regulations tightened again this year, many of them have started to
face a liquidity crunch, which was then worsened by sharply weaker demand
due to tighter restrictions on speculative purchases.

 

Property sales by floor area dropped 15.8% in September, down for a third
month, according to Reuters calculations based on the statistics bureau's
data.

 

The slowdown in the sector was also underscored by a 3.5% drop in property
investments by developers in September, the first monthly decline since
January-February last year at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

 

"All the data are poor," said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst with property
agency Centaline.

 

"Financing is hard, sales are tough, so of course, there has been no
enthusiasm to build. For the first time in history, developers are
encountering two blockages - blockages in sales and blockages in financing."

 

The potential collapse of highly indebted real estate firms such as China
Evergrande Group (3333.HK) have raised concerns about systemic risks to the
broader economy. The real estate sector accounts for a quarter of China's
gross domestic product.

 

Authorities will try to prevent problems at Evergrande from spreading to
other real estate companies to avoid broader systemic risk, Yi Gang,
governor of China's central bank, said on Sunday. read more

 

On Friday, a central bank official said the spillover effect of Evergrande's
debt problems on the banking system was "controllable." read more

 

"There is a likelihood that housing policies may loosen in the fourth
quarter, and that would ease the pessimism in the property transaction
data," said Yan Yuejin, director of Shanghai-based E-house China Research
and Development Institution.

 

On Friday, representatives from 10 Chinese property companies met government
regulators to ask for an "appropriate loosening" on policy restrictions,
financial news outlet Yicai reported. read more

 

China's real estate shares (.CSI000952) have fallen 22% so far this year. On
Monday, they were down 2.6% as of 0300 GMT.

 

In the first nine months, property investment rose 8.8% from a year earlier,
slowing from 10.9% growth seen in January-August.

 

Funds raised by China's property developers grew 11.1%, slower than the
14.8% rise seen in the first eight months.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674

Alt. Email:       <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw  

Website:         <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com> www.bullszimbabwe.com 

Twitter:         @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:       Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimba
bwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA>
www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

 

 

 


 

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.

 


 

 


(c) 2021 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com>  www.bullszimbabwe.com Email:
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77
344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20211018/0bedb951/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 9458 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20211018/0bedb951/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 409853 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20211018/0bedb951/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 22328 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listmail.bulls.co.zw/pipermail/bulls/attachments/20211018/0bedb951/attachment-0001.jpg>