Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 23 October 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 23 October 2021

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Taxi-hailing firm reveals 4,158 reports of sexual assault

ü  Inflation likely to hit 5%, warns Bank of England chief economist

ü  China's troubled property behemoth averts default, signals business shift

ü  U.S. stock options traders see smooth sailing as Fed taper looms

ü  Wall St Week Ahead Tech giants' earnings may be another test for markets
at new highs

ü  Walmart's corporate workers to start returning to offices next month

ü  U.S. budget deficit in September smallest since January 2020, Treasury
says

ü  Epic Games opposes Apple's effort to pause antitrust trial orders

ü  Exxon, USW may meet next week to resume Texas refinery contract talks

ü  Saudi Arabia, world's biggest oil exporter, to unveil green goals

ü  Big Oil to attend U.S. House climate disinformation hearing

ü  German solar car firm Sono Motors files for U.S. IPO

ü  South Africa: SA to Lobby for More Investment for Developing Countries At
Cop26

ü  South Africa: Farm Fare Far From the Frantic Crowds

ü  South Africa: The Steel Industry Strike Is Over but At a Painful Cost to
Workers

ü  Kenya: Foreign Firms Fight Over Sh2.6 Billion Gold in Nairobi Vaults

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Taxi-hailing firm reveals 4,158 reports of sexual assault

Lyft, the US taxi-hailing app, has said that 4,158 incidents of sexual
assault were reported to the firm between 2017 and 2019.

 

In its first-ever safety report, Lyft also detailed the number of motor
vehicle deaths and fatal physical assaults during the period.

 

Those instances were far outweighed by the volume of sexual attacks reported
over the three years.

 

Lyft said "over 99% of trips occurred without any reported safety incident".

 

But it said: "Behind every number, there is a person who experienced that
incident. Put simply, even one of these incidents is too many.

 

"That is what drives our relentless work to continuously improve safety for
riders and drivers."

 

Lyft, alongside its larger US rival Uber, had pledged in 2018 to release
data on serious safety incidents and abuse.

 

The following year, Uber disclosed 5,981 reports of sexual assault involving
passengers and drivers between 2017 and 2018.

 

Lyft has failed to publish figures until now.

 

Looming lawsuits

Of the 4,158 incidents of sexual assaults disclosed by Lyft, 360 were
reports of rape.

 

Between the beginning of 2017 and the end of 2019, Lyft said it had recorded
105 motor vehicle fatalities and 10 deaths involving physical assaults.

 

Lyft is facing a number of US lawsuits from passengers over alleged sexual
assault and the first trial is scheduled to take place in 2022. Uber is also
being sued in the US over similar claims.

 

In its safety report, Lyft said the data was based on when an incident was
reported to the company and not necessarily when the incident occurred.

 

It said: "We recognize that sexual assault is chronically underreported, and
it can sometimes be months or years before a survivor is ready to come
forward and report what happened - if they choose to do so at all.

 

"Knowing this, Lyft included any incident reported in 2017, 2018 and 2019,
regardless of when the incident was reported to have occurred."

 

The company said that 52% of reports of sexual assault were made by
passengers, 38% came from drivers and the remaining 10% were made through
third parties such as law enforcement.

 

Lyft said also said "individuals who are accused of committing the types of
incidents detailed in this report will be permanently removed from the Lyft
community, preventing them from riding or driving in the future".-BBC

 

 

 

Inflation likely to hit 5%, warns Bank of England chief economist

The Bank of England's new chief economist has warned that UK inflation is
likely to hit or surpass 5% by early next year.

 

Huw Pill told the Financial Times that the Bank would have a "live" decision
to make at its next interest rate-setting meeting on 4 November.

 

It follows recent comments from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey who
said it "will have to act" on inflation.

 

The UK interest rate has been at a historic low of 0.1% since March 2020.

 

Recent data showed that inflation growth slowed to 3.1% in the year to
September. However, it is expected to increase because of rising energy
costs, higher wages to fill record vacancy numbers and supply chain
disruption.

 

Mr Pill, who succeeded the Bank of England's former chief economist Andy
Haldane last month, said he would "not be shocked" to see inflation reach 5%
or above in the coming months.

 

He told the Financial Times: "That's a very uncomfortable place for a
central bank with an inflation target of 2% to be."

 

While Mr Pill declined to say how he would vote when the Bank's interest
rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee meets early next month - stating "it
is finely balanced" - he said: "I think November is live."

 

Separately, a survey of consumers found that a high proportion of them
expect inflation to rise over the next 12 months.

 

GfK, the market research group, said that 48% of people it surveyed in
October think inflation will accelerate, compared with 34% in September.

 

Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said: "More and more shoppers
expect that costs for goods and services will jump dramatically in the next
12 months.

 

"This rapid increase will impact our ability to shop and save, and our
willingness to spend, at a time when our incomes are outpaced by inflation."

 

'Tough time'

Tony Brown, chief executive of New Start 2020, which owns Beales department
stores, told the BBC's Today programme that retailers were facing higher
costs, some of which were being passed on to shoppers.

 

He said that the cost of a container to ship goods into the UK had risen
from about $2,000 (£1,450) a year ago to $18,000.

 

"The wholesalers are passing those costs onto us," said Mr Brown.

 

He said that, for example, the cost price of a vacuum cleaner had risen from
£49 last year to £79.

 

"So that cost price has to be passed on, we can't absorb it," Mr Brown said.
"We are passing on a proportion of that and having to take a hit on the
rest, so it does dilute margins.

 

"It is a tough time for retail out there and I think what we need more than
anything is some sort of calmness in the supply chain."

 

Some of the world's biggest food producers have also said they have been
increasing prices of their products to cope with rising raw material costs,
as well as higher energy price and supply chain difficulties.

 

Unilever, which makes PG Tips, Cornetto, Marmite and Dove skin care, said it
had lifted prices and expects that to continue into next year.

 

The Times reported that Unilever said the cost of palm oil, which the
company uses in soap and moisturisers, had risen by 82% over two years
because of labour shortages in Indonesia.

 

Poor crop production of soya bean oil in Brazil, which is used in food, has
also led to higher prices.

 

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

 

And Nestle revealed this week that it too had 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.-BBC

 

 

China's troubled property behemoth averts default, signals business shift

(Reuters) - China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) appeared to have averted
default with a last-minute bond coupon payment, a source said on Friday,
buying it another week to wrestle with a debt crisis looming over the
world's second-biggest economy.

 

The property developer also announced plans to give future priority to its
electric vehicles business over real estate.

 

 

Facing a deadline on Saturday to pay interest on a U.S. dollar bond,
Evergande sent $83.5 million to a Citibank trustee account on Thursday, the
person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

 

That brought relief for investors and regulators worried about fallout for
global markets and added to reassurances from Chinese officials that
creditors would be protected. 

 

Still, the world's most indebted property firm - with more than $300 billion
in liabilities - needs to make payments on a string of other bonds, with the
next major deadline to avoid default on Oct. 29.

 

With little known about its ability to pay and property sales tumbling 30%
in the last 12 months, there is deep scepticism over Evergrande's capacity
to ride out the crisis.

 

 

The company, once China's top-selling property developer, did not respond to
a request for comment on debt payment.

 

Citibank declined to comment.

 

Evergrande chairman Hui Ka Yan said on Friday the company would aim to make
its new electric vehicle venture its primary business instead of property
within 10 years.

 

Property sales will slow to about 200 billion yuan ($31.31 billion) per year
by that time, compared to more than 700 billion yuan last year, he was
quoted as saying by the state-backed Securities Times.

 

Evergrande's new vehicle business, founded in 2019, has yet to reveal a
production model or sell a single vehicle. Last month, the unit warned it
was still seeking new investors and asset sales, and that without either it
might struggle to pay salaries and cover other expenses.

 

'BIT OF A RELIEF'

 

Evergrande's overall woes have snowballed for months and its dwindling
resources set against its vast liabilities have wiped out 80% of its value.
read more

 

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

 

It was not clear how cash-strapped Evergrande was able to raise funds to pay
the bondholders or whether any had already received the money. Evergrande
next needs to find $47.5 million by Oct. 29 and has nearly $338 million in
other offshore coupon payments coming up in November and December. read more

 

"While obviously a positive, the coupon payment does not address the overall
concerns about Evergrande's sustained liquidity through the first maturity
in Q2 2022 and beyond," said John Han, a partner at law firm Kobre & Kim in
Hong Kong.

 

"This only shows that the company is not yet ready for the house to come
down completely through a massive cascade of cross defaults. Time is needed
for what is planned next." 

 

If it fails to make next week's payment, or any other final deadlines in
coming weeks, defaults would be triggered on all $19 billion of its bonds in
international capital markets.

 

That would be the second biggest emerging market corporate default after
Venezuela's state-owned oil firm.

 

Evergrande missed coupon payments totalling nearly $280 million on its
dollar bonds on Sept. 23, Sept. 29 and Oct. 11, beginning 30-day grace
periods for each.  

 

DISTRESSED LEVELS

 

Evergrande's dollar bond prices surged on Friday morning after news of the
transfer, with its April 2022 and 2023 notes jumping more than 10%, data
from Duration Finance showed, though they still traded at deeply distressed
levels of less than a quarter of face value.

 

Those gains evaporated on Friday afternoon in Asia, however, pushing several
of the company's other bonds down more than 6%.

 

Evergrande's shares rose as much as 7.8% before closing up 4.3%, but still
finished a shortened week down 8.8%.

 

Evergrande's woes have reverberated across the $5 trillion Chinese property
sector, which accounts for a quarter of the economy by some metrics, with a
string of default announcements, rating downgrades and slumping corporate
bonds. read more

 

Chinese property companies could now be locked out of offshore debt markets
until early next year. read more

 

Still, Friday's news helped the Hang Seng mainland properties index (.HSMPI)
rise 3.3%.

 

In mainland markets, the CSI300 Real Estate index finished up 2.4%, and an
index tracking the broader property sector (.CSI000006) added 2%.

 

Asked whether it would step in to help its rival ease its liquidity crisis,
the chairman of China's third-biggest developer, China Vanke Co Ltd
(000002.SZ), said developers needed to ensure their own safety first.

 

"Everyone feels the chill as 'winter' arrives for the sector," Chairman Yu
Liang told a company forum.

 

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

 

Bank exposure to developers is also extensive.

 

A leaked 2020 document, branded a fake by Evergrande but taken seriously by
analysts, showed the company's liabilities extended to more than 128 banks
and over 121 non-banking institutions.

 

"Given that we have little clarity on how bank financing is going for
stalled real estate projects, but we know that project pre-sales are down a
lot, the onshore business is unlikely to be supplying cash to Evergrande
near-term," said Quiddity's Lundy.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

U.S. stock options traders see smooth sailing as Fed taper looms

(Reuters) - Options traders are showing little fear that U.S stocks will
turn volatile in coming weeks, even as the Federal Reserve appears set to
announce an unwind of the easy money policies that helped equities double
from last year’s lows.

 

The Cboe Volatility Index (.VIX), known as Wall Street’s fear gauge,
recently stood at 15.52 after closing at a post-pandemic low of 15.01 on
Thursday.

 

 

The S&P 500 Index was down 0.2% on Friday, a day after closing at a record
high. Though many investors have worried over how stocks will react when the
Fed begins to taper its $120 billion in monthly government bond purchases,
the so-far sanguine trading in the options market suggests that market
participants are not rushing to buy insurance against volatility over the
next few weeks.

 

The Fed has suggested it will likely announce a taper at the conclusion of
its next policy meeting on Nov 3.

 

"It definitively points towards investors being more comfortable with the
Fed," said Chris Murphy, equity derivative strategist at Susquehanna
International Group.

 

"The Fed has done a really good job telegraphing all their moves, making
everyone comfortable with what's going to happen," Murphy said.

 

That is not to say things couldn't change as investors get more details on
the Fed's plans to withdraw monetary support and eventually raise rates.

 

The VIX briefly spiked to a four-day high of 16.39 on Friday after Fed
Chairman Jerome Powell said that the U.S. central bank is "on track" to
begin reducing its purchases of assets, and noted that he expects inflation
to abate next year as pressures from COVID fade. read more

 

VIX futures expiring in coming months have been slower to pull back relative
to the spot VIX, signaling a fair bit of anxiety about how stocks will
perform in coming months, analysts said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Wall St Week Ahead Tech giants' earnings may be another test for markets at
new highs

(Reuters) - Investors are homing in on a flood of earnings reports from Wall
Street’s tech and Internet giants, as the high-growth stocks that have led
markets higher for years face pressures from regulation, supply-chain snags
and rising Treasury yields.

 

Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Google parent Alphabet Inc
(GOOGL.O), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) are all set to
report earnings next week. Collectively, those five names account for over
22% of the weighting in the S&P 500, giving their stock moves enormous sway
over the broader index.

 

 

Overall, companies representing 46% of the S&P 500's market value are due to
post quarterly results next week, according to Goldman Sachs.

 

Strong earnings reports have helped lift the S&P 500 (.SPX) to fresh record
highs, with the benchmark index rising 5.5% so far in October. In September,
the index posted its biggest monthly percentage drop since the pandemic
began in March 2020.

 

While investors expect most of the big technology firms to show robust
profits, many will also be listening for indications of whether they will be
able to sustain that growth. Also in focus will be any forecasts regarding
supply bottlenecks, such as the chip shortage that has affected a broad
swath of global industries, as well as their views on how sustainable the
recent surge in consumer prices will be.

 

There have already been some signs that tech companies may have a high bar
to clear. Intel (INTC.O) and IBM (IBM.N) fell sharply after their reports
disappointed this week. read more

 

Meanwhile, shares of Facebook fell 5% on Friday after Snap Inc (SNAP.N), the
owner of photo messaging app Snapchat, said privacy changes implemented by
Apple on iOS devices hurt its ability to target and measure its digital
advertising. read more

 

"I would expect the potential for more volatility," said James Ragan,
director of wealth management research at D.A. Davidson. "We just might get
the possibility for some of these big companies to disappoint a little bit."

 

The market's gains this month have been led by sectors seen as particularly
sensitive to swings in the economy, including energy (.SPNY) and financials
(.SPSY), which have gained 11% and 8%, respectively. The S&P 500 technology
sector is up 6% month-to-date.

 

Many tech-focused companies received a boost in the wake of the pandemic,
amid a shift in consumer behavior amid economic lockdowns and a move to
working from home.

 

"The question then becomes, can they keep it up?” said Sameer Samana, senior
global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "What do the
growth rates look like for large tech?"

 

A BofA Global Research survey showed earlier this month that fund managers
are slightly underweight technology relative to their average positioning of
the past 20 years. At the same time, they named “long tech” as the market’s
most crowded trade for the fourth straight month.

 

Supply-chain issues including the semiconductor shortage are sure to be a
topic for iPhone maker Apple, while Amazon could give a window into how the
holiday shopping season may be hit by logistics snags.

 

"If ... Apple says, 'Yeah, we would have sold a lot more phones except for
the chip shortage,' you think it’s really severe then because they are
probably first in line to get chips from everybody,” said Peter Tuz,
president of Chase Investment Counsel.

 

The prospect of U.S. government regulatory intervention, also hangs over
these behemoth companies, so investors will be keen for any insight.

 

This week, the U.S. consumer watchdog said it has demanded information from
a number of tech giants on how they gather and use consumer payment data.
read more

 

A sustained rise in Treasury yields, which move inversely to bond prices,
may also pose a longer-term threat to technology and other growth shares.
Valuations of those companies rely more on future cash flows, which are
discounted more acutely in standard models when yields rise. The yield on
the 10-year Treasury note has risen about 35 basis points in the past month
to 1.64%.

 

"It hasn’t been all good news on the earnings front," wrote Art Hogan, chief
market strategist at National Securities. "So far the good news has won the
tug of war against the bad, but we have a long and potentially bumpy road in
front of us."

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Walmart's corporate workers to start returning to offices next month

(Reuters) - Walmart Inc's (WMT.N) U.S. corporate workers will start working
at the retailer's offices from Nov. 8 after more than a year and a half, a
company memo showed on Friday.

 

The big-box retailer, one of the largest employers in the United States,
said employees would work at its campus offices on a more regular basis,
with all of them expected to be fully vaccinated or have an approved
accommodation in November.

 

 

"There is no substitution for being in the offices together — it helps shape
our culture, collaborate, innovate, build relationships and move faster,"
Chief People Officer Donna Morris said in the memo.

 

Walmart's global tech team, however, will primarily work virtually.

 

 

Rival Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) will let individual teams decide for how many
days corporate employees would be expected to work from office in a week,
Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said in a message to employees earlier
this month.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

U.S. budget deficit in September smallest since January 2020, Treasury says

(Reuters) - The U.S. federal budget deficit shrank in September to $62
billion from $125 billion in the year-earlier period and was the smallest
budget gap since January 2020.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Epic Games opposes Apple's effort to pause antitrust trial orders

(Reuters) - "Fortnite" creator Epic Games on Friday opposed Apple Inc's
(AAPL.O) efforts to put on hold orders handed down in an antitrust trial as
a potentially lengthy appeals process plays out.

 

U.S. district Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in September struck down some of
the iPhone maker's App Store rules, including a prohibition on developers
directing their users to other payment options beside Apple's in-app payment
system, in a partial win for Epic and other app makers. read more

 

 

Apple has until Dec. 9 to comply with the injunction, but earlier this month
the company said it will appeal the ruling and asked Gonzalez Rogers to put
her order on hold as the appeals process, which could take more than a year,
unfolds.

 

Epic on Friday argued in a court filing that Apple has not met the legal
standard for that pause, which requires Apple show that it will be
irreparably harmed by even temporarily complying with the order if the
injunction is later reversed on appeal.

 

Epic said that Apple's positive comments about the ruling shortly after it
landed, and its delay in asking for a pause, showed that it would not be
harmed by enacting the orders.

 

"The public interest favors denying (Apple's request); an injunction is the
only path to effective relief," Epic wrote. "History shows ... that in the
absence of an injunction, Apple will not make any changes."

 

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

A hearing on Apple's request is set for Nov. 9.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Exxon, USW may meet next week to resume Texas refinery contract talks

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) may meet next week with negotiators
following rejection of a company contract proposal by Beaumont, Texas,
refinery workers, the United Steelworkers union (USW) said on Friday.

 

Union workers turned down a proposed six-year contract on Tuesday, leaving a
lockout in place while the two sides seek an agreement. Exxon said after the
vote it would leave the last offer on the table until Nov. 1. read more

 

 

Exxon has told the USW it might be willing to meet next week, said USW
International union representative Bryan Gross, after passing up a chance
for talks this week.

 

"After notifying the corporation that their proposal had been rejected, USW
leadership reached out to Exxon Mobil to meet this week, including nights or
weekends, only to have Exxon Mobil decline to meet this week," a union Local
13-243 statement said.

 

Exxon in a Friday web statement blamed "the Union's misinformation campaign
and rumored voter fraud" for the rejection. It urged Beaumont workers to
oust the union.

 

The union could face a decertification vote next month. A petition seeking
to remove it is before the National Labor Relations Board.

 

"They are dragging things out to see what happens with the decertification
petition or get to the Nov. 1 deadline," the USW's Gross said. "They're
going to have to realize they can't take their ball and go home."

 

Exxon on May 1 locked out 650 hourly workers at the 369,000 barrel-per-day
(bpd) refinery and adjoining lubricant oil plant, continuing to operate with
managers and temporary employees. Its proposed contract provisions are
needed to assure profitability in even low-margin environments, the company
has said.

 

If a new contract is not reached by Nov. 1, Exxon has said it would
eliminate worker pay raises for this year, remove a contract signing bonus
and some job-protection provisions.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Saudi Arabia, world's biggest oil exporter, to unveil green goals

(Reuters) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, one of the world's biggest
polluters, will detail its plans to address climate change at an environment
event on Saturday.

 

The Saudi Green Initiative, first announced in March, comes ahead of the
26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26, in Glasgow from
Oct. 31 - Nov. 12, that hopes to agree on deeper emissions cuts to tackle
global warming.

 

 

Riyadh, a signatory to the Paris climate pact, has yet to announce
nationally determined contributions (NDCs) - goals for individual states
under global efforts to prevent average global temperatures from rising
beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

 

The United States and the EU want Saudi Arabia to join a global initiative
on slashing emissions of methane by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. U.S.
climate envoy John Kerry will attend a wider Middle East green summit Riyadh
is hosting on Monday. read more

 

 

Saudi Arabia has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by more than 4% of
global contributions through initiatives including generating 50% of its
energy needs from renewables by 2030 and planting billions of trees in the
desert state. read more

 

It has yet to set a net-zero goal. Fellow Gulf OPEC producer the United Arab
Emirates earlier this month announced a plan for net-zero emissions by 2050.
read more

 

Despite the renewables push and moves to improve energy efficiency, Saudi
Arabia has been criticised for acting too slowly, with Climate Action
Tracker giving it the lowest possible ranking of "critically insufficient".

 

The kingdom's economy remains heavily reliant on oil income as economic
diversification lags ambitions set out by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi officials have argued the world will continue to need Saudi crude for
decades to come.

 

And experts say it is too early to tell what the impact of Saudi's nascent
solar and wind projects will be. Its first renewable energy plant opened in
April and its first wind farm began generating power in August.

 

Megaprojects, such as futuristic city NEOM, also incorporate green energy
plans including a $5 billion hydrogen plant, and Saudi state-linked entities
are pivoting to green fundraising.

 

Some investors have expressed concerns over the kingdom's carbon footprint.
Others say Saudi Arabia emits the least carbon per barrel of oil and that de
facto ruler Prince Mohammed is serious about economic diversification.

 

"Obviously the carbon footprint is an issue. However, we would highlight
that realistically carbon is going to be slow to phase out, and oil is here
for some time yet," Tim Ash at BlueBay Asset Management said in emailed
comments.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Big Oil to attend U.S. House climate disinformation hearing

(Reuters) - Top executives from Exxon Mobil Corp, BP America, Chevron Corp
and Shell Oil will testify on Oct. 28 at a congressional hearing examining
whether the fossil fuel industry led an effort to mislead the public and
prevent action to curb climate change warming, a House panel said on Friday.

 

Democratic lawmakers who called for the hearing, which is billed as
"Exposing Big Oil’s Disinformation Campaign to Prevent Climate Action,” have
said they intend to model the high-profile event after congressional
hearings on big tobacco firms, who misrepresented the health impacts of
their products.

 

 

The CEOs who will attend are ExxonMobil's (XOM.N) Darren Woods, BP America's
(BP.L) David Lawler, Chevron's Michael Wirth and Shell (RDSa.L) President
Gretchen Watkins.

 

American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers and Chamber of Commerce
President Suzanne Clark will also testify before the U.S. House Oversight
Committee.

 

House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and Ro Khanna, chairman
of the Subcommittee on Environment, sent a letter last month to the
executives citing a study in the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change that
said 91 think tanks and advocacy organizations that downplayed global
warming were funded by Exxon and industry groups. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

German solar car firm Sono Motors files for U.S. IPO

(Reuters) - German solar car firm Sono Motors on Friday filed for a U.S.
initial public offering (IPO), looking to cash in on investor demand as
governments worldwide push for a shift to greener transport.

 

Reuters reported in March that Sono is exploring a U.S. stock market listing
that may value the company at more than $1 billion, citing people close to
the matter.

 

 

Sono was founded in 2016 by four friends from a small garage in Munich, and
is developing the Sion, a fully-electric vehicle that has solar cells
integrated into its bodywork. The car has a range of up to 305 kilometers
(189.52 miles) and can be charged via solar power or from conventional power
outlets.

 

It intends to begin delivering the cars in the first half of 2023, the
company said in its filing.

 

Sono reported more than 14,000 reservations with advance payments, resulting
in total net cash inflows of 38.8 million euros ($45.16 million) from its
customers by August-end, up from total net cash inflows of 37.9 million
euros at the end of June.

 

These reservations correspond to a net sales volume of about 300 million
euros.

 

It plans to license and sell its solar technology to manufacturers of buses,
trucks, camper vans, trains and even boats, Sono said.

 

The company's filing, issued ahead of next month's COP26 global climate
talks in Glasgow, highlighted the need for climate-friendly and affordable
electric mobility to curb total CO2 emissions.

 

Government policy changes to tackle global warming could result in
zero-emission vehicles comprising around 30% of all vehicles on the road by
2030, a policy report forecast on Monday.

 

According to a report by McKinsey & Company, the COVID-19 pandemic has also
prompted many governments to increase consumer incentives for electric
vehicle purchases as part of economic stimulus programs.

 

Berenberg and Craig-Hallum are underwriters on the offering.

 

($1 = 0.8593 euros)

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

South Africa: SA to Lobby for More Investment for Developing Countries At
Cop26

South Africa will use the upcoming international climate change talks to
lobby for more investment for developing countries to assist them in
implementing their plans for a transition to low carbon emission economies.

 

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, said
this ahead of the talks - known as the 26th Conference of Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) - scheduled to
be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from the end of this month.

 

Low carbon emissions economies require countries to transition from
dependence on the use of coal-fired energy to the use of green energies such
as solar and wind power.

Creecy said developing countries such as South Africa are unable to
implement their climate change mitigation targets or fulfil their energy
transition plans without "sustainable, cost effective financing" from more
wealthier countries and other institutions.

 

This, she said, required those developed nations to make good on their
financing commitments to lower income countries both now and into the
future.

 

"COP 26 must re-establish trust between developed and developing nations by
ensuring existing financing commitments are honoured. Equally important is
to start the process for determining a new and more ambitious post 2025
finance mobilisation goal from developed countries for developing countries
from a floor of US$ 100 billion per year," Creecy said at briefing in
Pretoria on Friday.

The Minister acknowledged that talks regarding financing will not be easy,
bearing in mind differences in what both developed and developing nations
believe is required to finance climate change mitigation plans.

 

"Although countries have committed to open and transparent discussions...
the greatest challenge is expected to be finance issues where huge
differences exist between developed and developing countries on the finance
required for developing and [the] least developed countries to meet the
challenges posed by climate change," she said.

 

The Minister, however, warned that the transition is expected to be a "just"
transition, which takes into account the impact, which the reduction on coal
dependency will have on communities and some businesses.

 

"[A] transition to a low emissions economy and a climate resilient society
must be based on just principles. The wellbeing of workers and communities
in the transition is an absolute non-negotiable. Vulnerable workers and
communities across the globe, who bear no responsibility for the historical
accumulation of carbon emissions, must be protected against the risks, and
benefit from the opportunities presented by this transition, so no one is
left behind."

 

Investment in climate change

 

She announced that South Africa, together with three other countries, has
been selected to take part in the Accelerating Coal Transition Investment
Programme, formulated by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF).

 

The CIF has made an indicative amount of between $200 million and $500
million available to the country in grant financing to assist in the
transition towards cleaner energy.

 

The actual funding, Creecy said, will be dependent on the kind of investment
plan the country can present to the CIF.

 

She revealed that the plan would focus on the State's power utility, Eskom.

 

"Our government is in the process of setting up a high powered Finance
Workstream, focusing on our Just Transition, which will develop this
investment plan.

 

"We see the decision by the CIF as a small but important first step towards
laying the foundation work for the broader financing programme of our Just
Transition. The focus of this investment plan [will] be the Eskom energy
transition, including repowering and repurposing of retiring coal plants and
investment in new low carbon generation capacity," the Minister
said.-SAnews.gov.za.

 

 

South Africa: Farm Fare Far From the Frantic Crowds

Die Rooi Granaat has recently been transported from the seaside resort of
Yzerfontein which Evert Smit and Marais Ziervogel found 'just too frantic'.
In Aurora they have found a place where frantic has never been seen.

 

There is something slightly downhearted about a Sunday drive up the West
Coast, all that pollen and someone always saying, "Oh aren't the flowers
lovely". I am sick of flowers. I want food - poached oysters, tiny snippets
of succulent pork in a peppery sauce, bright salads with jewelled vegetables
and foamy potatoes.

 

While everyone else is looking at the scenery, I am imagining what I will
have for lunch.

 

But where to lunch? We pass laminated pictures in crayon colours of
hamburgers and fast food, heart attack grills. We pass McDonalds and
Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the flowers look brighter.

 

Where to eat on the West Coast with its technicolour vistas on a hot Sunday
with the gypsy coloured surroundings, blue mountains, lots of orange flowers
and bright blue sky? We veer off the coastal road and find the aptly named
village of Aurora and just when we're thinking, sod this for a lark, let's
go down the arcade and get ourselves tattooed...Daily Maverick.

 

 

 

South Africa: The Steel Industry Strike Is Over but At a Painful Cost to
Workers

Steel industry workers have lost more than R200m in wages since the strike
started on 5 October. The strike could have ended a week ago if Numsa
accepted an improved wage offer of 6% from workers. Instead, the trade union
insisted on an 8% adjustment.

 

The crippling strike in the steel and engineering industry is over, with
more than 100,000 workers being immediately called back to shop floors at
factories across SA that have been abandoned for nearly three weeks.

 

Arguably, the strike was prolonged unnecessarily and could have ended sooner
(in fact, a week earlier), limiting the harm caused to striking steelworkers
who have lost more than R200-million in wages since the industrial action
started on 5 October. This is because employers implemented a "no work, no
pay" policy for striking workers in the steel and engineering industries
that are affiliated with the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa).

 

On Thursday 21 October, Numsa accepted an above-inflation wage increase
offer of 6% from employers -- a markedly lower-wage adjustment than the 8%
that the trade union tabled and doggedly defended.

 

Employers -- represented by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation
of Southern Africa (Seifsa) -- improved their offer... Daily Maverick.

 

 

 

Kenya: Foreign Firms Fight Over Sh2.6 Billion Gold in Nairobi Vaults

Two foreign firms are locked in a bitter court battle over a 650kg gold haul
valued at Sh2.6 billion that was mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) and stored in Nairobi.

 

Spanish firm Inner Spirit SL claims that DRC's STE Cooperative Miniere Pour
Le Progress De La Nation Congolese Sarl (Coomidepco) is colluding with a
local security firm to defraud it of the gold.

 

It wants the High Court to issue orders barring removal of the haul from the
safe deposit boxes in Nairobi. Inner Spirit reportedly penned a deal to
purchase the gold from Coomidepco on May 8.

 

Each kilo was worth $37,000 (Sh4.1 million), meaning that Inner Spirit was
to pay $24.05 million (Sh2.66 billion) for the consignment.

 

Coomidepco mines gold in North Kivu and Kasai provinces. It's one of six
giant firms that control a large chunk of the industry in the DRC called the
Cooperative of Artisanal Mining Operations of Masisi (Cooperamma).

 

Others are Societe Agro-Pastorale et Miniere du Kivu (Samikivu Sarl),
Societe Miniere de Bisunzu (SMB), Societe Cooperative Miniere de Mutanga
(Comimu Coopca) and Virunga Riverine Exploitation Mining Cooperative
(Comervi).

 

Inner Spirit is headquartered in Madrid with interests in the Equatorial
Guinea, a former Spanish colony.

 

On May 12, Inner Spirit and Coomidepco signed a second contract indicating
that the gold would be stored in a security firm of the buyer's choice. It
would only be exported to Spain upon completion of the Sh2.6 billion
payment.

 

Inner Spirit opted to store the gold in five safe deposit boxes of Kenya's
MySafe Vaults Limited. Its owners are Terry Downs (Ireland), William Pike
(UK), Moss Ngoasheng (SA) and Ezra Bunyenyezi (Rwanda). Bunyenyezi died in
December last year.

 

As a commitment to the contract, Inner Spirit released a down payment of
$47,240 (Sh5.2 million) to cater for transport expenses and debts that the
Congolese firm already owed MySafe Vaults Limited.

 

Inner Spirit now claims that MySave Vaults wants to release the gold to
Coomidepco before its representatives arrive in Nairobi to complete the
deal. It fears that it may lose out after committing the initial Sh5.2
million.

 

Purchase deal

 

The Spanish firm has sued Coomidepco and its principal official, Mr Paul
Mohindo Katchuva, alongside MySafe Vaults Limited, seeking orders barring
release of the gold.

 

"MySafe Vaults Limited's officials have since called Inner Spirit's
officials threatening to release the said gold to Mr Katchuva without
further reference and notice to Inner Spirit. Inner Spirit avers that Mr
Katchuva is in Kenya but he is not a Kenyan citizen and is therefore a
flight risk.

 

"Coomidepco and Mr Katchuva have not supplied Inner Spirit with any gold
despite the fact that they have received huge sums of money," Inner Spirit
manager Kennedy Mua Kamwathi says in court papers.

 

Neither Coomidepco nor MySafe Vaults has responded to the suit.

 

Documents filed in court indicate that the purchase deal was to be completed
within three months of signing the contract, which means Inner Spirit should
have had the gold by August 8, and Coomidepco should have been paid its
Sh2.6 billion by the same time.

 

"Reasons wherefore Inner Spirit prays for judgment jointly and severally
against the defendants jointly and severally for a permanent injunction do
issue to prevent the defendants, their agents or any other person acting on
their behalf from releasing the said gold in custody of MySafe Vaults
Limited without the presence of Inner Spirit's representatives as stored at
the defendants' premises vide file boxes number referenced as 1601, 1602,
1603, 1604, 1605 and 1606 in Nairobi City County," Mr Kamwathi adds.

 

Inner Spirit has also asked the High Court to order Coomidepco, Mr Katchuva
and MySafe Vaults to compensate it financially for the alleged attempt to
"illegally release the gold".

 

The Spanish firm does not, however, state how much it wants in compensation.
It has also asked that the three defendants ordered to foot all legal bills
in respect of the case filed in court.-Nation.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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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

 


 

 

 

 

 

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