Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 22 October 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 22 October 2021

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Evergrande shares rise on report of bond interest payment

ü  Toymaker Mattel says price rise has not hit demand

ü  UK shop sales continue to fall in September

ü  Amazon sees fresh push to unionise in New York

ü  PG Tips and Cornetto maker Unilever warns prices will rise

ü  Elon Musk's Tesla reports record sales and profits

ü  China's trade practices come under fire

ü  Apple's talks with Chinese battery makers CATL and BYD mostly stalled
-sources

ü  Samsung SDI, Stellantis to set up EV battery joint venture in U.S.

ü  U.S. says firms may meet chip data request amid Taiwan, South Korea
concerns

ü  Chip crunch to hit Renault 2021 production harder than forecast

ü  Regional carrier SkyWest cancels 700 U.S. flights over technical woes

ü  SoftBank in talks to sell French robotics business to Germany's United
Robotics

ü  London Stock Exchange Q3 revenue up 2%, says Refinitiv savings on track

ü  Bank of Ireland buys KBC's Irish assets in 5 billion euro deal

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Evergrande shares rise on report of bond interest payment

Shares in embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande opened up 6% in Hong
Kong after Chinese media reported it had made an interest payment before a
crucial deadline.

 

The company missed an $83.5m (£61m) payment last month, triggering a 30-day
grace period set to expire on Saturday.

 

The company wired the funds on Friday, a source told newswire Reuters.

 

Had the deadline been missed, Evergrande would have plunged into formal
default.

 

News of the payment saw Evergrande's shares bounce back from a sharp fall
the previous day, following news that a deal to sell part of its property
services unit had fallen through.

 

Chinese real estate firm Hopson Development had been reportedly set to buy a
51% stake in the unit for $2.6bn (£1.88bn).

 

Both companies however, confirmed the deal was off after they were unable to
agree on terms.

 

Short-term fix

The latest payment is unlikely to allay longer-term investors concerns.

 

If Evergrande has indeed made its bond interest payment today it is still
only a short-term fix.

 

Another deadline on a second offshore bond payment worth $47.5m (£34m) looms
next week.

 

Evergrande has more than $300bn of debt which it looks increasingly unable
to repay. The company's total liabilities are equal to around 2% of China's
Gross Domestic Product.

 

The crisis has triggered fears that its potential collapse could send
shockwaves through global markets.

 

It began last year when Beijing, worried by sprawling debt in the real
estate sector, brought in new rules to control the amount owed by big
developers.-BBC

 

 

 

Toymaker Mattel says price rise has not hit demand

Higher prices in the run-up to Christmas have not dulled people's appetites
for toys, Barbie maker Mattel has said.

 

The toy giant raised prices after soaring shipping and raw materials costs.

 

The toymaker said its third quarter sales grew 8% to $1.8bn (£1.1bn), and
that it expected a strong Christmas.

 

Mattel is working hard to get toys on shelves amid supply disruptions, chief
executive Ynon Kreiz told the BBC.

 

Businesses around the world have been dealing with big increases in shipping
costs as Covid disrupts ports and containers back up.

 

The toy industry faces these challenges along with other businesses, Mr
Kreiz said.

 

"We were impacted by global supply chain disruptions [in the third
quarter]," he said. "But we worked through them."

 

The rising cost of resin for Mattel's plastic toys also meant price rises
for consumers, Mr Kreiz said, although he declined to say how much Mattel
toys had gone up by.

 

Mr Kreiz said that parents had prioritised spending on their children.

 

He said whether shipping and raw materials costs would continue to rise was
"volatile and hard to predict".

 

However, he said that if necessary higher toy prices and cost savings would
"offset the impact of inflation on our business".

 

Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars sold well in the third quarter, while there
was 50%-growth in action figures for franchises including Jurassic World and
Masters of the Universe.

 

Stock concerns

Last week The Entertainer, one of the UK's biggest toy retailers, warned
that delays at UK ports could mean shortages this Christmas.

 

A container logjam at ports, including Felixstowe, and a shortage of HGV
lorry drivers has sparked widespread concern among retailers about future
stocks.

 

Toy shops warn of Christmas shortages amid port delays

Mr Kreiz said Mattel is "doing what we can... to make sure we have presents
on shelves".

 

The company has brought forward production, secured more freight containers,
and got access to more ports to keep up supplies, he said.

 

However, he said: "I can't say we will meet all of the demand."

 

But he said: "We do expect a strong holiday season" and for parents and
children to have "a happy holiday with lots of toys under trees this
Christmas."

 

Rival Hasbro also said this summer that it aimed to avoid pandemic-related
supply chain issues by increasing its shipping capabilities and speeding up
the process of sourcing its products.

 

Mattel shares were up 6% in extended New York trading after the earnings
announcement.

 

In recent years Mattel has made Barbie more diverse, with dolls based on
different role models and professions.

 

This year, the firm launched a doll based on tennis superstar Naomi Osaka.

 

Mattel's products include Polly Pocket, Magic 8 balls, Disney Classics and
Fisher-Price brands.

 

The firm began in 1945, as a collaboration between Ruth and Elliot Handler,
and Harold "Matt" Matson.-BBC

 

 

 

UK shop sales continue to fall in September

Retail sales fell for the fifth month in a row in September, with people
spending less in shops despite Covid restrictions easing in the summer.

 

Sales dipped by 0.2% in September, following a 0.6% drop in August,
according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

 

Non-food stores were hit hardest by the decline in sales, with customers
buying fewer household goods and furniture.

 

In contrast, fuel sales rose by 2.9%, pushed up by a spike in demand.

 

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "Household
goods were the main driver of this month's decline, with a fall of nearly
10%, while food sales ticked back up after falling last month."

 

He added that petrol sales exceeded their pre-pandemic levels for the first
time in September. Petrol stations reported strong sales during the last
week of the month after warnings over delivery problems due to a shortage of
lorry drivers.

 

Despite coronavirus-related restrictions being lifted in the summer,
shopping in-store remained subdued.

 

'Bounce back is vital'

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC),
said that shop owners would be "concerned" by the slump in sales in the
run-up to the key Christmas trading period.

 

"For the sake of the UK's economic recovery, it is vital that retail sales
bounce back as we near the festive season," she said.

 

She added that labour shortages across supply chains, warehouses, and
factories were all putting pressure on retailers ahead of the festive
season.

 

The proportion of online sales, however, rose to 28.1% in September, from
27.9% the month before - substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels.

 

Department stores also reported an increase in sales of 4.3%.

 

Tony Brown, chief executive of New Start 2020, which owns Beales department
stores, told the BBC's Today programme that people's shopping habits had
changed since restrictions had eased.

 

beales

"There is not much browsing anymore - people come out, they know what they
want, they spend and then they go. It is a different dynamic than what it
used to be," he said.

 

The retailer also warned of a "perfect storm", saying that high shipping
costs, additional customs checks because of Brexit, inflation and the cost
of fuel increasing meant that additional costs had to be passed on to
customers.

 

Bethany Beckett, UK economist at Capital Economics, said the latest figures
suggested the "economic recovery is fast running out of steam".

 

The fifth monthly fall in sales in September marks the longest continuous
drop since records began in 1996, although they remain about pre-pandemic
levels.

 

But Ms Beckett added: "Given the backdrop of continued shortages and rising
Covid-19 infections, we suspect that retail sales growth will continue to be
weak in the coming months."

 

In the run-up to Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Budget next week, trade
organisations recently called for additional support.

 

The BRC, in a joint letter also signed by the CBI and UK Hospitality, called
for the reform of business rates charged on non-domestic properties, saying
that businesses needed help to rebuild after Covid.-BBC

 

 

 

Amazon sees fresh push to unionise in New York

More than 2,000 Amazon warehouse workers in New York City hope to hold a
vote to unionise, in the latest labour push at the firm.

 

It's the second organising effort at the online shopping giant this year,
and comes amid a pick-up in union activity across the US.

 

The workers, from four Amazon sites in Staten Island, want higher wages,
safer working conditions and longer breaks.

 

Amazon said they were free to unionise but it was not the "best answer".

 

The employee group, called the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), said it will file a
petition to the National Labor Relations Board on Monday, asking it to
formally allow a vote.

 

So far more than 2,000 workers have signed the petition, out of a total of
7,000, meaning they roughly meet the required threshold. At least 30% of
workers have to sign for a vote to proceed.

 

 

"Workers are demanding Amazon to stop their union-busting practices and
allow workers to use their rights to organise towards collective bargaining
without interference," the ALU said in a statement.

 

"We intend to fight for higher wages, job security, safer working
conditions, more paid time off, better medical leave options and longer
breaks."

 

ALU organisers formed the group after a Staten Island worker was fired after
organising a walkout last year. Chris Smalls had been protesting against
allegedly unsafe working conditions during the pandemic, but Amazon claimed
he had repeatedly violated social distancing guidelines.

 

Later, Mr Smalls, who is black, was described as "not smart, or articulate"
in a leaked internal memo discussing Amazon's approach to worker activism
during Covid.

 

It sparked accusations of racism, and one of Amazon's lawyers apologised.

 

New York's attorney general Letitia James is now suing Amazon for allegedly
retaliating against Mr Smalls.

 

The Staten Island efforts come after an unsuccessful attempt by warehouse
workers to unionise in Bessemer, Alabama earlier this year. Currently no
Amazon warehouses in the US are unionised.

 

'Not the best answer'

The NLRB says it may allow a rerun of that vote, following accusations
Amazon interfered in the process. The company strongly denies those claims.

 

Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said: "Our employees have the choice of
whether or not to join a union. They always have. As a company, we don't
think unions are the best answer for our employees.

 

"Every day we empower people to find ways to improve their jobs, and when
they do that we want to make those changes - quickly. That type of
continuous improvement is harder to do quickly and nimbly with unions in the
middle."

 

The US is currently experience a swell of industrial action, sparked by
frustration over working conditions during the pandemic.

 

This month nurses, factory employees and TV and film crew held or threatened
to hold walkouts.

 

There have also been successful unionisation drives in 2021 at Google, the
American Civil Liberties Union, and the Mission Hospital in North Carolina,
one of the US states that is least sympathetic to unions.-BBC

 

 

 

PG Tips and Cornetto maker Unilever warns prices will rise

The company behind brands such as PG Tips, Cornetto and Dove has said it
will raise prices to cope with "elevated levels" of cost inflation which it
expects to continue next year.

 

Consumer goods giant Unilever said that it had already lifted its pricing.

 

Unilever said this would continue across its global operations and within
each of its product divisions.

 

The company reported a 2.5% rise in sales for the third quarter to 30
September.

 

Growth was supported by a 4.1% increase in prices while the volume of goods
sold fell by 1.5%.

 

On Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics said that the UK consumer
prices index (CPI) measure of inflation slowed to 3.1% in the year to
September.

 

However, inflation is expected to accelerate in the coming months due to a
rise in energy costs as well as continuing disruption to UK and global
supply chains.

 

Unilever's chief financial officer, Graeme Pitkethly, said: "We expect
inflation to be higher next year than this year."

 

'Balancing act'

It is not yet clear how Unilever's price rises will affect consumers. The
company sells to businesses such as retailers, supermarkets and wholesalers
who may or may not pass on higher costs to shoppers.

 

But Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell, said Unilever was facing a
"balancing act of not increasing prices so much that its products are no
longer competitive".

 

"It is a real test of the strength of the company's brands," she said.
"After all, will we really stick with branded soap at a materially higher
price when there's an unbranded alternative sitting next to it on the shelf
which is an order of magnitude cheaper?

 

"If enough consumers decide they can put up with a cheaper alternative then
it would become a big problem for Unilever."

 

Unilever's brands include Simple skin care, Sure deodorant and Vaseline. It
also produces Marmite, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Hellmann's mayonnaise and
Knorr stocks among many others.

 

Unilever said it expected its full-year sales to grow between 3% and 5%, but
that its profit margin would be unchanged.

 

Earlier this week, the boss of the Food & Drink Federation warned that the
hospitality industry, which includes restaurants and pubs, was seeing
"terrifying" price inflation of between 14% and 18%.

 

Mark Derry, executive chairman of Brasserie Bar Co, which owns the Brasserie
Blanc chain of restaurants and whose chef patron is Raymond Blanc, told the
BBC that while trading was holding up well, costs were rising which means it
would have to raise prices for diners.

 

"There is an inevitable effect of all of this inflation and that is that we
will have to try and put prices up," he said

 

"At the moment, we've tried very hard to hold them because obviously we've
come out of a very, very serious problem over the last year and a half and
doing our best to control it, but I cannot see how it is possible not to put
prices up, frankly."

 

Kraft Heinz, known for its tomato ketchup and baked beans, recently warned
that people will have to get used to higher food prices.

 

On Wednesday, food giant Nestle revealed that it had also increased prices,
which rose by 2.1% in the third quarter.

 

The maker of Kit-Kats, Nescafé and Purina pet products, said prices had
risen on the back of higher energy and raw materials costs as well as
transport.

 

The Financial Times reported that Nestle's chief executive, Mark Schneider,
said "inflation costs are rising faster than we can roll forward through
pricing. The situation has not improved. If anything we are seeing further
downsides compared to what we told you in the summer".-BBC

 

 

 

Elon Musk's Tesla reports record sales and profits

Electric car maker Tesla has brushed off supply chain issues and the global
microchip shortage to report record quarterly sales and profits.

 

Revenues rose to $13.76bn in the third quarter of the year, up from $8.77bn
12 months earlier.

 

The company, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, posted a net profit
of $1.6bn and sold 241,391 cars.

 

"We achieved our best-ever net income, operating profit and gross profit,"
Tesla said.

 

The firm said China remained its main exporting hub and it planned to roll
out a different type of battery in its standard vehicles worldwide.

 

The new lithium iron phosphate batteries are cheaper than traditional
batteries but offer lower range, Reuters reported. Analysts said this could
help keep costs down and address part shortages.

 

Supply chain issues

Tesla said it had faced a "variety of challenges" to keep its factories
running, which included the global shortage of car microchips, congestion at
ports and "rolling blackouts".

 

There is currently a worldwide shortage of computer chips, also known as
semiconductors, which are used in millions of products including cars,
washing machines and smartphones.

 

However, Tesla added it planned to grow its "manufacturing capacity as
quickly as possible" and expected to see a 50% rise in car sales annually.

 

Elon Musk ‘rather hates’ being Tesla boss

Why electric cars will take over sooner than you think

"While Fremont factory produced more cars in the last 12 months than in any
other year, we believe there is room for continued improvement.
Additionally, we continue to ramp Gigafactory Shanghai and build new
capacity in Texas and Berlin," it said.

 

"The rate of growth will depend on our equipment capacity, operational
efficiency and the capacity and stability of the supply chain."

 

The majority of Tesla's revenue came from the sales of its lower priced
Model 3 and Model Y cars, which rose 87% to 232,102.

 

'Impressive numbers'

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said Tesla's
results beat analysts' expectations.

 

"This is an impressive set of numbers in the context of the ongoing global
chip shortage headwind," she said.

 

Telsa said electric vehicle (EV) demand continued to "go through a
structural shift".

 

"We believe the more vehicles we have on the road, the more Tesla owners are
able to spread the word about the benefits of EVs," it added.-BBC

 

 

 

China's trade practices come under fire

China's trade policies have come under strong criticism during a review at
the World Trade Organization (WTO).

 

The US accused China of "skewing the playing field" by using "unfair trade
practices" such as preferential treatment for state businesses.

 

Meanwhile Australia said the country's behaviour was "inconsistent" with its
WTO commitments.

 

China said it was committed to deepening reform and opening up its economy.

 

WTO reviews are typically quite routine. Mandated in the organisation's
agreements, the trade policies of member countries are examined and
evaluated at regular intervals.

 

For the biggest countries, such as China, this happens every two years.

 

This December marks 20 years since China joined the WTO, but critics say the
country's market reforms have been inadequate.

 

Trade rules 'tested'

At the WTO review in Geneva, Australia said China had benefited
"significantly" since it joined the WTO, but argued it was not acting
fairly.

 

In the past 18 months, China has imposed restrictions on many Australian
exports including barley, coal, sugar, wine and beef.

 

"China has increasingly tested global trade rules and norms by engaging in
practices that are inconsistent with its WTO commitments," the Australian
government said in a statement.

 

"By undermining agreed trade rules China also undermines the multilateral
trading system on which all WTO members rely."

 

Tensions between Australia and China have hit their lowest level in decades,
in part triggered by Australia calling for an international inquiry into the
origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The US was similarly critical. Charge d'affaires David Bisbee listed what he
called China's "unfair trade practices" including preferential treatment for
state enterprises, data restrictions, inadequate enforcement of intellectual
property rights and cyber theft,

 

"We also cannot ignore reports of China's use of forced labour in several
sectors," Mr Bisbee said, in an apparent reference to allegations of Uighurs
being subjected to forced labour camps in Xinjiang.

 

Trade sources told the Reuters news agency that Britain, Canada, the
European Union and Japan have also called for reforms to make the world's
second-largest economy more free and open.

 

China's Commerce Minister, Wang Wentao, told the meeting: "Since the last
review, China has stayed committed to deepening reform, expanding, opening
up and growing its open economy at a higher level.

 

"China has been reinforcing intellectual property protection by legislative,
administrative and judicial means, and fulfilling its obligations on
transparency."-BBC

 

 

 

Apple's talks with Chinese battery makers CATL and BYD mostly stalled
-sources

(Reuters) - Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) talks with China's CATL and BYD over
battery supplies for its planned electric vehicle have been mostly stalled
after they refused to set up teams and build U.S. plants that would solely
cater to the tech giant, three people with knowledge of the discussions
said.

 

The firms informed Apple sometime in the past two months that they were not
able to meet its requirements, the people said. But the U.S. company has not
given up hope of resuming talks with either CATL (300750.SZ) or BYD ,
according to one source.

 

Chinese battery makers are more advanced than rivals in the development of
lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries which are cheaper to produce and
sources have previously said Apple favours this battery technology.

 

CATL, the world's No.1 maker of batteries for EVs, has been reluctant to
build a U.S. factory due to political tensions between Washington and
Beijing as well as cost concerns, said one of the people with direct
knowledge of the talks.

 

The Chinese firm has also found it impossible to set up a separate product
development team exclusively working with Apple due to difficulties in
finding sufficient personnel, the person added.

 

BYD, which has an iron-phosphate battery plant in Lancaster, California,
declined to build a new factory and team that would solely focus on
supplying Apple, said two of the sources.

 

The stalled discussions have meant that Apple has been considering Japanese
battery makers and it sent a group of people to Japan this month, they
added.

 

Panasonic Corp (6752.T) is one of the companies that Apple is considering,
said one of the people.

 

The sources declined to be identified as the talks were confidential. Apple,
BYD and Panasonic declined to comment.

 

CATL said in a statement to Reuters that it denied "the relevant
information".

 

"We are evaluating the opportunity and possibility of manufacture
localization in North America," the statement said, adding that it has a
dedicated professional team exclusively for each customer.

 

Sources told Reuters last year Apple was aiming to launch an electric car by
2024. Apple has not publicly disclosed its plans.

 

The stall in discussions comes at a time when U.S. President Joe Biden is
seeking to make the United States a powerhouse in electric cars, setting a
goal of having half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 electric.

 

Any delays in securing battery supplies could further impede EV development
for Apple which last month lost the head of its car project, Doug Field,
after he decided to return to Ford Motor Co (F.N).

 

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), which has been making some of its Model 3 and Model Y
cars in China with LFP batteries from CATL, said this week it intended to
use that battery chemistry outside China as well.

 

CATL and BYD use a type of battery pack technology to improve the
performance of LFP batteries. Without that, LFP batteries usually offer much
shorter driving ranges and lower energy density than the more expensive
lithium batteries that use cobalt and nickel.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Samsung SDI, Stellantis to set up EV battery joint venture in U.S.

(Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung SDI Co Ltd (006400.KS) said on Friday that
it had entered an agreement for a joint venture with automaker Stellantis NV
(STLA.MI) to produce electric vehicle (EV) battery cells and modules in the
United States.

 

The joint venture aims to start operations by the first half of 2025 with an
initial annual battery production capacity of 23 gigawatt hours (GWh), the
South Korean battery maker said.

 

The joint venture's annual battery production capacity could increase to 40
GWh in the future, Samsung SDI added.

 

No financial details of the deal were provided.

 

 

The batteries produced at the U.S. joint venture will be supplied to
Stellantis' factories in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The location
of the factory is under review.

 

Samsung SDI, an affiliate of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics
(005930.KS), already has EV battery plants in South Korea, China and
Hungary, which supply customers such as BMW (BMWG.DE) and Ford Motor (F.N).

 

The Stellantis-Samsung SDI tie-up comes less than a week after the world's
No. 4 automaker signed a battery joint venture agreement with South Korea's
LG Energy Solution to produce 40 GWh of batteries a year.

 

With these two joint ventures, Stellantis has secured up to an annual
battery production capacity of 80 GWh, which could power about 1.2 million
electric vehicles.

 

Stellantis, formed in January from the merger of Italian-American automaker
Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, has said it wants to secure more than 130
GWh of global battery capacity by 2025 and more than 260 GWh by 2030.

 

Samsung SDI shares rose as much as 2.4% to 740,000 won ($628), highest since
late last month, versus benchmark KOSPI's (.KS11) 0.2% fall as of 0540 GMT.

 

($1 = 1,177.4400 won)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

U.S. says firms may meet chip data request amid Taiwan, South Korea concerns

(Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it had received
indications from companies such as Intel and Infineon that they would
cooperate with a voluntary request for data on the chips crisis, but that
the final number and quality of responses would determine whether it would
need to make it compulsory.

 

The White House made the request to automakers, chip companies and others
last month saying that the information would boost supply chain transparency
and help understand where bottlenecks exist. The deadline for firms to
respond is Nov. 8.

 

"Companies including Intel, GM, Infineon, and SK Hynix, have indicated that
they plan to be very forthcoming with their data. We are very appreciative
of their efforts and encourage other companies to follow suit," a Commerce
spokesperson told Reuters.

 

"The (request for information) is voluntary but this information is crucial
to addressing concerns about transparency in the supply chain. Whether or
not we have to use compulsory measures depends on how many companies engage
and the quality of the data shared."

 

Intel, GM, Infineon and SK Hynix did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.

 

The request has caused concern in Taiwan that companies such as Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , the world's largest contract
chipmaker and a major Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier, would have to hand over
sensitive data. TSMC said earlier this month that it would not leak any
sensitive company information. read more

 

South Korea's trade ministry has also expressed concern over the request.

 

"The scope of the requested data is vast and a number of operational secrets
are included, which is a big concern in South Korea," it said in an Oct. 6
statement.

 

However, South Korean trade minister Moon Sung-wook told a parliament
committee on Thursday that companies were preparing to review and submit
data that can be provided without violating contractual confidentiality
provisions or domestic laws.

 

Automakers from General Motors Co (GM.N) to Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) to
French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) have slashed output and sales forecasts
due to scarce chip supplies, made worse by a COVID-19 resurgence in key
Asian semiconductor production hubs.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Chip crunch to hit Renault 2021 production harder than forecast

(Reuters) - Renault's(RENA.PA) production losses in 2021 due to a global
semiconductor shortage will be far larger than previously forecast, the
French carmaker said on Friday, though it maintained its profit outlook
helped by higher car prices and cost cuts.

 

During a presentation to analysts, Renault Chief Financial Officer Clotlide
Delbos said the carmaker's visibility on the chip shortage in the fourth
quarter was "still very poor because the information coming from suppliers
is very unreliable."

 

Delbos said the chip shortage should ease a little by the end of the year
with the end of a COVID-19 lockdown in Malaysia, but said supplies will
remain constrained throughout much of 2022.

 

When asked about other raw materials, she said Renault was not seeing
shortages but was facing price increases.

 

 

The shortage of chips, used in everything from brake sensors to power
steering to entertainment systems, has led automakers around the world to
cut or suspend production, pushing up vehicle prices.

 

Like its peers, Renault has focused production on more profitable models.

 

The French carmaker said its production losses for the year would now be
close to 500,000 vehicles, or more than double the 220,000 units forecast in
early September.

 

Sources close to the firm told Reuters this week production losses would be
much higher than previously forecast. read more

 

 

The carmaker said its order book hit a 15-year high by the end of September
for the equivalent of 2.8 months worth of sales.

 

CFO Delbos said the wait time for the Dacia Sandero, a popular, low-cost
city car, was now six months.

 

During the third quarter, fully electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid models
made up more than 31% of sales, Renault said.

 

The carmaker is on track to meet more stringent 2021 European CO2 emission
targets, it added.

 

 

Renault said third-quarter revenue had fallen by 13.4% to 8.98 billion euros
($10.4 billion) from 10.37 billion a year earlier, as higher car prices
helped offset some of the 22.3% drop in global sales.

 

The company reiterated that its full-year operating margin would be around
the same as the 2.8% it reported for the first half of the year. That
compared to a loss margin of minus 0.8%.

 

CFO Delbos said the company would complete a 2 billion euro cost cutting
plan in coming weeks, more than a year ahead of schedule and aimed to speed
up further cost cutting plans.

 

The carmaker said it would achieve positive free cash flow for its
automotive business for 2021, excluding changes in working capital
requirements. That cash flow target will be boosted by a 930 million euro
dividend from its financing arm RCI Banque, Delbos said.

 

Renault said vehicle inventories had fallen to 340,000 cars at the end of
the quarter from 470,000 a year earlier.

 

($1=0.8601 euros)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Regional carrier SkyWest cancels 700 U.S. flights over technical woes

(Reuters) - U.S. regional air carrier SkyWest Airlines (SKYW.O) cancelled
about 700 flights because of an internal computer issue that crippled
operations for five hours before it was resolved, the airline said on
Thursday.

 

SkyWest provides regional service for key operators such as American
Airlines (AAL.O), United Airlines , Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) and Delta Air
Lines (DAL.N).

 

A spokeswoman for SkyWest said the schedule changes included flight
"cancellations into tomorrow morning, as we work to get crews and aircraft
into position."

 

SkyWest added it was working "to return to normal operations as quickly as
possible."

 

 

 

SoftBank in talks to sell French robotics business to Germany's United
Robotics

(Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp is in talks to sell the Paris-based robotics
business behind its Pepper android to Germany's United Robotics Group,
according to sources and documents reviewed by Reuters, scaling back a
business it once touted as a major growth driver.

 

The talks are ongoing and plans could change, said two sources familiar with
the matter, who declined to be named as they are not permitted to speak to
the media. It is not clear whether SoftBank will retain a stake in the
business, nor how much the deal would be worth.

 

United Robotics Group, which is backed by German industrial robot maker
Hahn, became the European master distributor for SoftBank's (9984.T)
struggling Pepper and Nao robots in October.

 

United Robotics declined to comment. SoftBank has said it remains committed
to the Pepper business.

 

Reuters reported in June that SoftBank had stopped production of Pepper and
slashed jobs at its robotics business globally. Roughly half of 330 staff
positions were cut in France, where operations date back to the 2012
acquisition of start-up Aldebaran, which custom-designed Pepper for
SoftBank.

 

Additional staff have quit because of low morale, forcing SoftBank to
advertise positions to fill core functions, according to the sources and a
review of job postings.

 

United Robotics has offices in Germany and Austria, according to its
website. Recently departed SoftBank staff in areas such as sales have been
hired by the company, according to the sources.

 

SoftBank, which is riven by a culture divide between its European workforce
and Japanese managers, has a dwindling stock of aging Pepper units and
components approaching obsolescence, Reuters reported previously.

 

In addition to selling Pepper and Nao, a small humanoid robot, United
Robotics also markets robots like Sawyer, an industrial robot that can
operate alongside humans.

 

The restructuring comes as SoftBank focuses on selling third party hardware
following the commercial failure of Pepper.

 

The conglomerate has created a parallel sales operation in Britain, reducing
its reliance on the Paris-based business.

 

SoftBank engineers in France have been working on a secret project to design
a serving robot called Plato, according to the sources and documents
reviewed by Reuters.

 

However, managers in Japan have put off ordering the robot, the sources
said. At the same time, SoftBank has struck deals to sell similar robots
from outside firms, diminishing the commercial viability of its own product.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

London Stock Exchange Q3 revenue up 2%, says Refinitiv savings on track

(Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) posted a 2.1% rise in
revenue in the third quarter and said it was on track to achieve cost
savings from the integration of data platform Refinitiv.

 

The exchange said pro forma underlying income was 1.78 billion pounds ($2.46
billion) in the three months to the end of September, compared with 1.75
billion pounds a year ago, helped by a strong showing from its capital
markets business.

 

"We are making excellent progress on the integration of Refinitiv and are
comfortably on track to achieve 125 million pounds of cost synergies in
2021, ahead of our original phasing," Chief Executive David Schwimmer said
in a statement.

 

LSEG shares fell 1.7% in early trading.

 

LSEG said it expected year to April income to grow between 4-5%, but for
income in the fourth quarter to not grow as fast as it did in third quarter
on a constant currency basis.

 

There was no change to previous cost or capital expenditure, though supply
chain pressures could impact the timing of some of its spending on
technology, it said, without giving further details.

 

Refinitiv was carved out from Thomson Reuters, parent of Reuters News, in
2018 by a consortium led by Blackstone (BX.N) before being bought by LSEG in
a $27 billion deal finalised in January 2021.

 

With the takeover, Schwimmer is trying to transform LSEG into a one-stop
shop for data, trading and analytics, though the costs of absorbing the data
provider have worried some investors.

 

LSEG's shares are down around 17% since the start of March, when they slid
on comments about the costs of the Refinitiv integration that spooked
investors.

 

Thomson Reuters now holds a minority stake in LSEG and Refinitiv pays
Thomson Reuters for news it distributes.

 

($1 = 0.7249 pounds)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Bank of Ireland buys KBC's Irish assets in 5 billion euro deal

(Reuters) - Bank of Ireland (BIRG.I) on Friday agreed to buy "substantially
all" of KBC's (KBC.BR) Irish performing assets for 5 billion euros as the
Belgian financial group confirmed it would become the latest lender to leave
the shrinking Irish market.

 

The two banks announced they were in talks about the deal in April, just
weeks after NatWest (NWG.L) began winding down its Ulster Bank business in
the Irish Republic. The departures leave Ireland with just three retail
banks.

 

Bank of Ireland, the country's largest bank by assets with a loan book of 77
billion euros, said it would acquire 8.8 billion euros of performing
mortgages, 100 million euros of performing commercial and consumer loans and
4.4 billion euros of deposits.

 

A portfolio of around 300 million euros of non-performing mortgages would
also be acquired as part of the transaction, the joint statement from the
two banks said.

 

"Today's agreement with Bank of Ireland Group regarding the sale ... of
substantially all of the performing loan assets and deposits of KBC Bank
Ireland ... represents an important step in KBC Group's withdrawal from the
Irish market," KBC Group Chief Executive Johan Thijs said in a statement.

 

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.

 

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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344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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