Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 February 2022

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 February 2022 

 


 

 


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ü  Private equity firm Silver Lake to buy stake in All Blacks

ü  UK to scrap golden visa scheme for foreign investors

ü  Ex-Goldman banker: 'Bribes' made 1MDB business possible

ü  US accuses China of 'serious harm' to workers through trade

ü  Nick Clegg gets bigger role at Facebook owner Meta

ü  Cost of living: Heineken to put up beer prices as costs soar

ü  Paramount+ reveals big plans, but do we need another streaming service?

ü  U.S. sanctions on Russian banks are the West's most potent economic
threat

ü  Oil recoups some losses after report of Kyiv forces attacking
Russia-backed rebels

ü  Nestle proposes Apple CFO for election to its board

ü  ISS urges Apple shareholders to vote against CEO Cook's bonus

ü  Chinese businessman Guo Wengui files for bankruptcy in U.S. court

ü  Visa, Amazon reach global deal over payment fees

ü  Asian stocks pull back, bond yields drop on reported shelling in Ukraine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

Private equity firm Silver Lake to buy stake in All Blacks

US private equity giant Silver Lake has agreed to invest in the organisation
behind New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team, after months of debate.

 

Under the deal, the firm will back a new entity which owns the legendary
team's commercial rights.

 

Initially, Silver Lake will invest NZ$200m (£98.4m; $133.6m) in exchange for
a stake of up to 8.58%.

 

New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Players Association say they
plan to "invest in the game at all levels".

 

The agreement came after months of often heated negotiations.

 

Players blocked previous attempts for private ownership of the All Blacks
brand, which has always been publicly owned.

 

The deal has now been made possible by the backing of the powerful rugby
players' association."I want to acknowledge that the journey to get here
hasn't been easy at times. There was healthy debate and some adjustments by
all parties, but always with the good of the game at the heart of this
process," Stewart Mitchell, chairman of New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said in a
statement.

 

"This is a pivotal moment for rugby in New Zealand," David Kirk, the former
All Black captain and chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Players Association
said.

 

The statement also said that under the new agreement, NZR will "retain full
control over rugby as well as the commercial strategy", with Silver Lake
remaining a minority investor.

 

The deal values NZR CommercialCo, the new holding company for the revenue of
All Blacks and other New Zealand rugby associations, at NZ$3.5bn.

 

Later this year, New Zealand-based institutional investors will be given the
opportunity to take part in the sale of a stake in NZR CommercialCo of up to
NZ$100m.

 

Silver Lake, which manages around $90bn of assets, already has other
sport-related investments in its portfolio.

 

It has a stake of around 10% in City Football Group Limited, which owns or
has significant stakes in several football clubs around the world, including
Manchester City.

 

Other investments include stakes in the New York Knicks basketball team and
the New York Rangers ice hockey team.

 

In December, it bought a minority stake in the Australian Professional
League, which operates the top-flight men's and women's football leagues in
the country.

 

It is also a backer of sports retailer Fanatics and Endeavor, the owner of
the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-BBC

 

 

 

UK to scrap golden visa scheme for foreign investors

Visas offering foreign investors fast-track residency in the UK are expected
to be scrapped by the government, amid pressure over UK links to Russia.

 

A government source confirmed reports of an announcement next week on Tier 1
investor visas, which offer residency to those spending at least £2m.

 

The scheme was introduced in 2008 to encourage wealthy people from outside
the EU to invest in the UK.

 

It has been under review for some time, after concerns it is open to abuse.

 

However, the expected announcement next week comes amid pressure on
ministers to cut UK ties to Russia over the threat of invasion to Ukraine.

 

Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine's border - but
denies it is planning an invasion.

 

The Tier 1 (investor) visa, often called a "golden visa", offers residency
to those investing £2m or more in the UK, and allows their families to join
them.

 

Holders of these visas can then apply for permanent residency in the UK, at
a speed depending on how much they invest.

 

A £2m investment allows an application within five years, shortened to three
years with £5m or two years if £10m is invested.

 

The Home Office said it had already reformed the scheme to ensure it is not
used to facilitate corruption, and did not rule out further changes.

 

A spokesperson added it would report "in due course" on an ongoing review of
visas granted before changes to the scheme in 2015.

 

Changes to scheme

The Home Office has issued 14,516 investor visas to Russian citizens since
the scheme opened in 2008.

 

Several changes have been made since its introduction, including extra
checks on how and when applicants acquired their wealth.

 

Banks are also now required to complete certain checks before opening
accounts for applicants - who are also required to submit extra paperwork if
their qualifying funds are invested through a chain of different companies.

 

In 2020, Parliament's intelligence and security committee argued for a "more
robust" approach to approving Tier 1 visas as part of a report on Russian
influence in the UK.-BBC

 

 

 

Ex-Goldman banker: 'Bribes' made 1MDB business possible

Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, once hailed for bringing the bank
lucrative Malaysian business, has told a court that "bribes and kickbacks"
made the deals possible.

 

Mr Leissner was testifying in the trial of his former colleague, Roger Ng.

 

Prosecutors say the two men helped divert billions from Malaysia's 1MDB
sovereign wealth fund to be used in bribes for politicians and others.

 

Mr Ng, who is on trial over the matter, has denied wrongdoing.

 

Mr Leissner, the former boss of Goldman's Southeast Asia unit, told a New
York courtroom on Wednesday that Mr Ng was a key banker for the 1MDB
transactions, in which Goldman helped raise $6.5bn for the fund through a
series of bond deals.

 

He said he and Mr Ng, Goldman's former head of investment banking in
Malaysia, were hailed as "heroes" within the bank for winning the business,
which brought Goldman roughly $600m in fees.

 

But US prosecutors say $4.5bn worth of the money was siphoned off as bribes
for Malaysian politicians and others, who spent their gains on art,
jewellery and property.

 

"The bribes and kickbacks made the transactions possible," Mr Leissner told
a New York court on Wednesday.

 

In 2020, Goldman admitted that its Malaysia unit had paid bribes and agreed
to pay fines in the US, Malaysia and elsewhere.

 

Defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo has said his client is a "fall guy" and sought
to raise doubts about the credibility of Mr Leissner, who pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to launder money and violate anti-bribery laws in 2018.

 

Mr Leissner is cooperating with prosecutors ahead of his sentencing.

 

"My greed and ambition took over," Leissner said in the court, adding that
the fallout from his actions had destroyed his life.

 

Prosecutors say Mr Ng, who worked for Goldman from 2005 to May 2014,
received $35m in kickbacks for his role in the scheme.

 

They say he introduced Mr Leissner to Chinese-Malaysian financier Jho Low,
the alleged mastermind of the scheme and a confidant of former president
Najib Razak.

 

They say the two men hid Mr Low's role from Goldman officials after bank
officials had objected to doing business with him.

 

In 2020, Goldman Sachs reached a $3.9bn settlement with the Malaysian
government for its role in the multi-billion-dollar corruption scheme.

 

It also paid nearly $3bn to authorities in four countries to end an
investigation into work it performed for 1MDB.

 

The same year, Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak was sentenced to
12 years in jail after he was found guilty of abusing his power, laundering
money and breaching the public's trust.-BBC

 

 

US accuses China of 'serious harm' to workers through trade

The US has accused China of causing "serious harm" to workers and firms
around the world with its trade policies.

 

The US Trade Representative accused Beijing of repeatedly failing to live up
to trade commitments.

 

It published its annual review of China's compliance with the deal that gave
it membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday.

 

China said it is a firm supporter of and important contributor to the WTO.

 

The US report is the first since President Biden's appointee Katherine Tai
took up office as the top US trade negotiator, and it lays out US concerns
about China's trade policies.

 

Many of the them are long-standing in Washington and are shared by both
Democrats and Republicans.

 

They include Beijing's subsidies for industries it deems important,
restrictions on foreign companies' abilities to do business in China and
lack of protection for intellectual property rights.

 

China says it is "building a socialist market economy" that will allow
market forces to determine resource allocation and allow the government to
"play a better role".

 

The report says: "China's embrace of a state-led, non-market approach to the
economy and trade has increased rather than decreased over time, and the
mercantilism that it generates has harmed and disadvantaged US companies and
workers, often severely."

 

It also points out that the US has won all 27 cases it has brought against
China at the WTO, but "meaningful reforms by China remain elusive".

 

The trade war which started under former President Donald Trump means that
more than half of what the world's two biggest economies sell each other is
subject to tariffs, or import taxes.

 

Despite this, trade between the two countries soared to $657.4bn (£484bn)
last year after struggling through the pandemic. That's less than $1.5bn
short of the record set in 2018.

 

Analysis box by Chris Morris, Global trade correspondent

The trade relationship between China and the US is arguably the most
important bilateral relationship in the world.

 

It matters to all of us, and it's not going well.

 

The conclusion drawn in Washington that China is buying less from the US
than it was five years ago, rather than $200bn more, shows how difficult it
will be to make progress.

 

And whether you look at bilateral trade ties, or at a multilateral trade
forum like the WTO, relations between the two largest economies in the world
are a little bit stuck.

 

There's not much evidence that the tariffs have helped either side. Nor is
there any great prospect that they will be removed any time soon.

 

Equally, China's membership of the WTO has not really made it more like the
West, and it has certainly had no impact on political freedoms.

 

These are two very different economic systems and the rivalry between them
will help define the 21st Century.

 

2px presentational grey line

Dennis Shea, who was the US Ambassador to the WTO during Donald Trump's
presidency, told the BBC that failure to achieve lasting change was a
driving force behind the trade deal the two sides agreed in 2020.

 

"We undertook the phase one trade deal to try to exact costs on the Chinese
to get their attention and to try to move the needle that way."

 

He added: "Interestingly, Ambassador Tai [and] the current administration is
still trying to enforce the Phase One deal."

 

In that deal, the US reduced some tariffs and China pledged to boost US
imports by $200bn above 2017 levels as well as strengthen intellectual
property rules.

 

Chinese government spokesman Mr Liu Pengyu said trade with the US was
growing and that the phase one deal was benefitting the US and the rest of
the world.

 

He said any differences could be addressed through dialogue.

 

"China has been working on joint implementation despite the impact of
Covid-19, global economic recession, supply chain disruptions as well as US
government's continuous sanctions and suppression towards Chinese entities,"
he said.

 

China has bought none of those extra goods according to research by Chad
Bown of the Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington.

 

While the pandemic hasn't helped, he points out that US farmers and
manufacturers have struggled to produce enough goods for the target to be
achieved.

 

Mr Bown told the BBC: "There is no sense in which US-China trade relations
will improve anytime soon, but there is also no sense that they are on the
verge of getting worse.

 

"Unlike President Trump, the Biden administration is not threatening a
re-escalation of the trade war and imposition of new tariffs on billions of
dollars of trade."

 

The World Trade Organization remains an unlikely place for the two sides to
resolve their differences.

 

The main dispute resolution mechanism, the Appellate Body, has been unable
to function since December 2019 because the US has repeatedly blocked the
appointment of new judges, partly over its treatment of China.

 

The USTR report says that new strategies are needed to deal with "the many
problems posed by China's state-led, non-market approach to the economy and
trade, including solutions independent of the WTO".

 

Multi-lateral approach needed

Mr Shea said that the increase in Chinese exports to the US and the growing
trade deficit it has caused is not just because of US consumers' appetite
for cheap Chinese goods.

 

Another commitment that China needs to fulfil is a move towards making its
economy more dependent on consumer spending, he says.

 

"Part of the imbalance is the fact that China has not moved to a
consumption-led economy. They're still export-led, production-led".

 

The Peterson Institute's Chad Bown says other countries are increasingly
voicing similar concerns.

 

He said: "That includes the European Union, as demonstrated through the
US-EU Trade and Technology Council, as well as Japan, where the three have
formed a 'trilateral' group to identify potential new rules that could
address problems posed by economies dominated by state-owned enterprises and
industrial subsidies".

 

Any improvement in US-China trade relations, says Mr Bown, "will take time
and will [probably] only result from negotiations between not just those two
economies, but the other major players as well".-BBC

 

 

 

Nick Clegg gets bigger role at Facebook owner Meta

Former UK deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg has been promoted to a new
senior role at Facebook's owner Meta.

 

A Facebook post from the company's boss Mark Zuckerberg said Sir Nick would
become its president of global affairs.

 

The move puts the former Lib Dem leader on a par with Mr Zuckerberg himself
at the recently-rebranded firm.

 

Sir Nick joined Facebook in 2018 as its head of its global affairs and
communications team. His new role will see him focus on regulatory issues.

 

Mr Zuckerberg said Meta needed "a senior leader at the level of myself...
who can lead and represent us for all of our policy issues globally".

 

Sir Nick, who served as deputy prime minister as part of the coalition
government from 2010-2015, left politics after losing his Sheffield Hallam
seat in the 2017 general election.

 

At the time of his move to California, it was reported Mr Zuckerberg and
chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg were personally involved in his
recruitment, hoping to capitalise on his political experience in the face of
increased scrutiny of the tech industry and their use of data.

 

Sir Nick has since spearheaded the establishment of Facebook's independent
content oversight board, and recently defended the company against the
accusations of whistleblower - and former employee - Frances Haugen, who
claimed the social media site put profit before user safety.

 

His promotion comes ahead of the US midterm elections in November.

 

"Nick will now lead our company on all our policy matters, including how we
interact with governments as they consider adopting new policies and
regulations, as well as how we make the case publicly for our products and
our work," Mr Zuckerberg wrote in his post.

 

Ms Sandberg said the new role came at "a crucial time for our company and
our industry as new rules for the internet are written all over the
world".-BBC

 

 

 

 

Cost of living: Heineken to put up beer prices as costs soar

Heineken, the world's second largest brewer, has warned that it will
increase the price of its beers due to the impact of inflation.

 

The firm, which sells brand including Strongbow cider, Amstel and Europe's
best-selling lager, Heineken, blamed soaring ingredient and energy costs.

 

It comes after the founder of Cobra beer also said its prices will rise
because of "vicious" cost pressures.

 

Neither firm has said how much their prices will go up by.

 

Heineken's chief executive Dolf van den Brink said: "These kind of price
increases and inflation, I think we have not seen in a generation."

 

He added that putting up prices could lead to "softer beer consumption" as
drinkers reined in their spending due to soaring living costs.

 

Inflation in the UK hit a new 30-year high in January as energy prices, fuel
and food costs continued to rise. The cost of living is now rising faster
than wages and is expected to climb above 7% this year.

 

Marmite-maker Unilever, the bakers Greggs and sandwich chain Pret a Manger
have all warned on price rises as their costs rises.

 

Heineken said its input costs were now set to rise by a mid-teens percentage
due to the price of barley doubling compared to a year ago and aluminium
prices going up by around 50%.

 

Transport and energy costs have also risen for the business.

 

'Uncertain year'

It comes after a strong year for the Dutch brewer, when consumers splashed
out on alcohol during the pandemic.

 

Heineken said that its net revenues increased by 11.3% to 21.9 billion euros
(£13.4 billion) in 2021, with sales of its Heineken-branded beer up by
17.4%.

 

The brewer's profits rose by 80%, although it said the coming year remained
"uncertain" due to "inflationary challenges".

 

Huw Dixon, Professor of Economics at Cardiff University and the National
Institute of Economic and Social Research, questioned the brewer's decision
to put up prices.

 

"Heineken's strong sales seem to indicate that their profit margins aren't
being squeezed even though there might be certain costs that are rising," he
told the BBC.

 

"It's very hard for us as experts to say whether Heineken's increased
production costs are wholly reflected in higher prices for customers."-BBC

 

 

 

Paramount+ reveals big plans, but do we need another streaming service?

Streaming service Paramount+ has announced a huge slate of new shows and
films ahead of its expansion to countries including the UK this year.

 

The platform's plans include a Sonic the Hedgehog series, 14 new South Park
movies, four SpongeBob films and a prequel series to 2000 film Sexy Beast.

 

The service is already home to the Star Trek franchise and the forthcoming
Frasier reboot and Halo adaptation.

 

It launched in the US last year and will arrive in the UK this summer.

 

It is spending big on programming in an attempt to compete with Netflix,
Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Now and Apple TV+, not to mention traditional
broadcasters, for viewers' time and money.

 

It will have a $6bn (£4.4bn) content budget by 2024, according to Variety.

 

The UK launch date and subscription price have not yet been announced. It
costs $9.99 (£7.37) a month in the US for ad-free shows, or $4.99 (£3.68)
with ads.

 

Sexy Beast and A Gentleman in Moscow are examples of the "high-quality local
content" the platform will create in the UK, according to Ben Frow, chief
content officer of the UK arm of parent company ViacomCBS, which has now
been rebranded as Paramount.

 

But there is a question mark over whether will all that programming will be
enough in the highly competitive world of streaming.

 

"Unless it's differentiated, it's going to be a very difficult sell," said
Tom Harrington, head of television at Enders Analysis. UK households
currently have just under two subscriptions on average, one of which is
normally Netflix, he said.

 

"These services by large are loss making, they are still in a growth phase,
and they are being forced to spend ridiculous amounts on content, which
isn't necessarily being returned from subscriber fees, which are
artificially pushed down by Netflix."

 

'There will be losers'

Because of the competition, services can't raise their fees much unless
they're offering much better content than their rivals - which costs money.

 

"So there's a sort of a vicious cycle going on, and people are only taking
two services, so there are going to be losers," Harrington said.

 

"How this goes is very important for the future of the company, and that's
why they're going all in, although they are very late and it looks like a
tough sell. But who knows? It's all very early and in a few years we'll know
what the people want."

 

Paramount's chief financial officer Naveen Chopra said the service had
"outperformed all expectations" since launching in the US and had "serious
momentum and the credibility to establish ourselves as a scaled streaming
player".

 

Netflix is the most popular subscription video streaming service in the UK,
in around 17 million households, followed by Amazon Prime Video in around 13
million, according to the latest figures from ratings body Barb.

 

Paramount+'s competition in the US also includes services like Hulu, Peacock
and HBO Max.-BBC

 

 

 

U.S. sanctions on Russian banks are the West's most potent economic threat

(Reuters) - For NATO members, the most powerful measure against Russia were
it to invade Ukraine would be U.S. sanctions cutting off Russian state banks
from the dollar according to Russian executives, bankers, and former senior
U.S. sanctions officials.

 

The United States has warned that Russia could invade as early as this week.
Moscow denies it has such plans but says the West needs to take its concerns
about NATO expansion seriously. read more

 

Washington, and its allies in Europe, are finalising an extensive package of
sanctions if Russia were to launch an invasion according to U.S. and
European officials. read more

 

The U.S. package would expand a technology export ban to include any goods
made with U.S. components or software, as well as proposed sanctions against
specific Russian billionaires. But sanctions experts say more than any other
measure, aggressive action against Russia's state banks would hit its
economy the hardest.

 

"Banking sanctions are the most impactful measure the U.S. can carry out in
the short term," said Brian O'Toole, a former senior advisor to the director
of the Office of Foreign Assets Control or OFAC in the U.S. Treasury
Department, which designs and manages the implementation of sanctions.

 

Proposed sanctions against Russian banks would bar them from making any
transactions in U.S. dollars, essentially freezing any dollar-denominated
assets or liabilities held by the banks at home and abroad.

 

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Wednesday said sanctions against
Russian banks would be “unpleasant” and lead to a spike in volatility, but
said the state would make sure that all deposits with banks and all
transactions, including in foreign currencies, were secured. Russia’s
abundant hard currency reserves – now at $635bn – would help shield against
the potential blow, he said. read more

 

When asked about possible sanctions on Russian state banks, Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters that Russia was “preparing for
unpredictable actions” from the United States “by hedging against any
risks."

 

He said: "We could get the impression that all this information noise and
all these claims that Russia is about to attack Ukraine are being made to
further contain Russia and to create a reason to impose further sanctions -
and so they are speaking about these hellish sanctions."

 

Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International
Finance in Washington said even though Russia has enough reserves, the
potential measures "could cause a run on deposits. It will definitely have a
strong impact on the domestic financial system. It will raise the risk of
financial instability including a widening of spreads and a sell-off of the
rouble.”

 

U.S. sanctions far outweigh the power of any other jurisdiction because the
White House can potentially impose secondary sanctions on any foreign banks
continuing to deal with these institutions, said O’Toole and Tom Keatinge,
finance and security expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a
London-based think tank. The White House did not answer requests for comment
about secondary sanctions.

 

Shares in banking giant Sberbank (SBER.MM) and smaller rival VTB (VTBR.MM)
have both fallen in the past week on the prospect of sanctions, although
recovered some losses after Russia said on Tuesday that some troops
stationed near borders with Ukraine were returning to base after completing
drills

 

Sberbank holds nearly half of Russia's 21 trillion roubles in deposits and
together with state lenders VTB, Gazprombank, and Rosselkhozbank accounts
for nearly 60% of the nation’s banking assets.

 

GOING IN HEAVY

 

Sberbank, VTB and the Russian Central Bank declined to comment. Gazprombank
and Rosselkhozbank did not respond to requests for comment.

 

"Taking out Sberbank would have massive ramifications," O'Toole added.

 

The nature of the sanctions would likely hinge on the scale of a Russian
invasion.

 

A Russian invasion limited to an incursion into the rebel-held Donbass
region of east Ukraine for example, might mean the United States staggered
its targeting of the Russian state banks in order to maintain further
deterrence, potentially keeping Sberbank until last, said Daniel Fried, a
former State Department coordinator for sanctions policy in the Obama
administration.

 

But "if the Kremlin goes in big, so could we, and we might go in heavy in
any case," Fried said.

 

Sanctions on banks would be partly aimed at forcing Russia's central bank to
dig into its hard currency reserves in order to bail out the banks and keep
them afloat, O'Toole and Fried both said. The central bank declined to
comment on hard currency reserves and sanctions.

 

Russia has some defences to withstand a U.S.-led attack on its financial
stability. The hard currency reserves, high oil prices and a low debt to GDP
ratio of 18% in 2021 place it in a good position to weather a further
tightening of existing sanctions, said Chris Weafer, director of
MacroAdvisory, a Moscow-based consultancy.

 

In addition, Russian state banks curtailed their exposure to Western markets
when the United States and EU imposed limited sanctions on VTB and Sberbank
in retaliation for Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, which restricted
their ability to raise debt.

 

Today, the proposed state bank sanctions would include a system of waivers,
licenses and wind-down periods to ensure payments for dollar-denominated
commodity contracts and debt payments could be made, the sanctions experts
said.

 

Russian officials have largely focused on threats to cut off Russia from the
SWIFT financial messaging system in case of war.

 

But U.S. and European officials said last week this measure was now off the
table due to concerns from European lenders that it could mean billions of
dollars in outstanding loans they have in Russia would not be repaid. read
more

 

DOLLARS THE KEY

 

Sberbank chief executive German Gref has previously brushed off reports that
U.S. sanctions could prevent Moscow from converting roubles into dollars on
the grounds that he believed it was "impossible to execute."

 

Two senior Russian bankers interviewed by Reuters said they expected any
targeted bank to escape the worst of the impact by converting their dollar
holdings into euros.

 

Former senior U.S. sanctions officials, however, said this confidence was
misplaced as the dollars would still have to ultimately go through a U.S.
clearing bank in order to convert them.

 

"Anything that is denominated in dollars has to clear through the U.S. and
once you do that it's stuck," said O'Toole.

 

These sanctions, he said, could also lead to freezes on dollar accounts held
abroad by the Russian state banks in correspondent accounts, set up to
handle funds on behalf of another bank.

 

Igor Yurgens, vice president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs, a powerful lobby group for Russian business, told Reuters the
Russian central bank had been working on a programme for correspondent
accounts with China through which to convert cash that might help mitigate
the impact of sanctions.

 

"Everything would be difficult, but it won't collapse," he said. The Russian
authorities "have conducted technological stress tests and consider they
will muddle through for a while."

 

Sergey Aleksashenko, a former deputy Russian central bank chairman now
living in exile in the United States, said he believed the West's sanctions
threats were no more than an escalating virtual, or information, war between
Russia and the West.

 

In this standoff, "Putin's weapon is (the movement of) tanks and the West's
is talk of sanctions. All of this is part of a great game," he said.

 

But one of Russia's top 50 billionaires interviewed by Reuters warned that
the political manoeuvring between Moscow and Washington could end up in
conflict and economic reprisals.

 

"Everyone has been playing a virtual game...But then all these virtual
events can become facts in life."

 

"Sanctions will lead to serious economic consequences," he said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Oil recoups some losses after report of Kyiv forces attacking Russia-backed
rebels

(Reuters) - Oil recovered some of its more than 2% fall in Asian trade on
Thursday after Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine accused Kyiv
government forces on Thursday of shelling their territory with mortars.

 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading down 0.7% at $92.98 a
barrel at 0422 GMT, after earlier falling more than 2%.

 

Brent crude was trading down 0.6% at $94.2 at 0420 GMT, after also dropping
earlier by over 2%.

 

Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine said Kyiv government forces on
Thursday used mortars to attack their territory, in violation of agreements
aimed at ending the conflict, Russian state news agency RIA said. read more

 

An escalation in the years-long conflict with Donbass separatists could fuel
tension between Russia and the West. Russia has massed more than 100,000
troops close to Ukraine's border and the West has threatened Moscow with new
sanctions if it attacks.

 

Oil tumbled earlier after France and Iran said parties are closer to an
agreement to salvage Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, offsetting
tensions over Ukraine.

 

"Positive news from the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations is providing
much-needed relief to global oil prices, as the possibility of new crude
supplies reduces the supply-demand deficit," said Claudio Galimberti, senior
vice president of consultancy Rystad Energy.

 

France said on Wednesday a decision on salvaging Iran's 2015 nuclear deal
with world powers was just days away and that it was now up to Tehran to
make the political choice, while Tehran called on Western powers to be
"realistic." read more

 

With the new deal beckoning, South Korea, previously one of Tehran's leading
oil customers in Asia, said on Wednesday it had held working-level talks on
resuming imports of Iranian crude oil and unfreezing Iranian funds. read
more

 

In a research note earlier on Thursday, Eurasia Group said in the event of a
deal Iran would be able to enter the market ramping up supplies faster than
following the deal in 2015.

 

"This time around, the phasing in of the deal could take 1-2 months, but
Iran will likely begin ramping up oil exports immediately, both legally and
illegally," Eurasia noted, adding that the supplies could come from floating
storage Iran held in Asia as well as oil stored in bonded tanks in China.

 

Oil markets have been dominated in recent weeks by Russia's threatening
posture toward Ukraine, with concerns that supply disruptions from the major
producer in a tight global market could push oil prices to $100 a barrel.

 

Russia's announcement of a partial pullback of troops from near Ukraine
earlier this week was countered by Western governments' warning that Russia
was building up military presence near the Ukraine border, keeping the
tension simmering. read more

 

"In the past few weeks, markets have priced in Russia-Ukraine tension that
would lead to more production and supply disruption in an already tight
supply situation in the oil markets," said Tina Teng, analyst at CMC
Markets, adding prices could see a further pullback if tensions de-escalate.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Nestle proposes Apple CFO for election to its board

(Reuters) - Food group Nestle (NESN.S) said on Thursday it was proposing
Luca Maestri, chief financial officer at Apple (AAPL.O), and Chris Leong,
chief marketing officer at Schneider Electric (SCHN.PA), for election to its
board of directors.

 

The elections will take place at the company's annual general meeting on
April 7. Ann M. Veneman will retire from the board, and Kasper Rorsted has
decided not to stand for re-election, Nestle added in a statement.

 

The board will propose the re-election of the chairman and all other current
members of the board. With the proposed nominees, the Nestle board will
comprise 14 members, of which 12 are independent directors.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

ISS urges Apple shareholders to vote against CEO Cook's bonus

(Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS)
urged Apple Inc (AAPL.O) investors to vote against Chief Executive Officer
Tim Cook's remuneration, citing concerns around the magnitude and structure
of his equity award.

 

Apple will hold its annual shareholder meeting in the first week of March.

 

"There are significant concerns regarding the design and magnitude of the
equity award made to CEO Cook in FY21... Half of the award lacks performance
criteria," ISS said in a letter on Wednesday.

 

Cook took home $3 million in salary in 2021. In addition, he received $82.3
million in stock awards, $12 million for hitting Apple's targets, $1.4
million for air travel, 401(k) plan, insurance premiums and others.

 

In total, he earned $98.7 million in 2021, compared with $14.8 million a
year earlier.

 

He received 333,987 restricted stock units, in his first stock grant since
2011 as part of a long-term equity plan. He will be eligible to receive
additional units in 2023.

 

ISS valued Cook's 2021 equity award at $75 million. His pay was 1,447 times
that of the average employee at the tech giant, according to a filing
disclosed in January.

 

"Half of the $75 million award is purely time-based, and the award would
continue to vest in full in the event of his retirement," ISS wrote.

 

Apple declined to comment and referred to the company's proxy filing
detailing Cook's performance-based compensation.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Chinese businessman Guo Wengui files for bankruptcy in U.S. court

(Reuters) - Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, filed
for individual bankruptcy protection in a U.S. bankruptcy court in
Bridgeport, a court filing showed.

 

Guo listed assets in the range of $50,001 to $100,000 in the bankruptcy
filing, and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million.

 

Among the list of creditors who have claims against Guo, he listed Pacific
Alliance Asia Opportunity fund as the one with the largest claim of about
$254 million.

 

The fund, which sued Guo for unpaid loans worth $88 million, allegedly
borrowed between 2008 and 2011, has been locked in a legal battle with him
in a New York State Court over this issue for four years.

 

In September, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fined three media
companies, affiliated with Guo, $539 million on charges of illegally selling
stock and digital assets to investors. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Visa, Amazon reach global deal over payment fees

(Reuters) - Visa Inc (V.N) cards will be accepted at all Amazon.com Inc
stores and sites as part of a global agreement, the companies said on
Thursday.

 

Amazon said last November that it would stop accepting Visa credit cards
issued in the UK because of the high transaction fees charged by the payment
processor. read more

 

"We've recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all
customers to continue using their Visa credit cards in our stores," an
Amazon spokesperson said in an email to Reuters on Thursday.

 

Earlier this year, the e-commerce giant eventually said it would not stop
accepting UK-issued Visa credit cards on its British website, adding that it
was working with Visa to resolve a dispute over payment fees. read more

 

An EU-enforced cap on fees charged by card issuers is no longer in place in
the UK following Brexit.

 

"Visa is pleased to have reached a broad, global agreement with Amazon. This
agreement includes the acceptance of Visa at all Amazon stores and sites
today, as well as a joint commitment to collaboration on new product and
technology initiatives to ensure innovative payment experiences for our
customers in the future," a Visa spokesperson said in an email to Reuters.

 

Last month, British lawmakers said that they planned to scrutinise increases
in the fees Visa and Mastercard charge businesses after the country's
payments regulator found no evidence to justify the rises. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Asian stocks pull back, bond yields drop on reported shelling in Ukraine

(Reuters) - Asian stock markets retreated on Thursday after Russian media
reported that rebels in eastern Ukraine had accused Kyiv government forces
of using mortars to attack their territory.

 

U.S. and European equities futures also fell, while traders sought safety in
government bonds and oil clawed back some of its heavy early losses.

 

Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine accused government forces on
Thursday of opening fire on their territory four times in the last 24 hours
and said they were trying to establish if anyone had been hurt or killed.
read more

 

The report comes as Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops close to
Ukraine's borders, raising fears of an invasion.

 

Initial fears of a cross-border flare up were soothed a little by details
suggesting the incident occurred within the contested area of Donbass, said
Westpac analyst Sean Callow.

 

“But markets are clearly on edge,” he added, and vulnerable since a lot of
traders had assumed tension was ebbing.

 

“The price action tells you that this is the weak side of the market,” he
added.

 

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell 7 basis points (bps) and was
last at 1.967%, with the 2-year yield falling 4.7 bps to 1.4798%.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS) lost 0.09%,
reversing morning gains, with Japan's Nikkei (.N225) falling 0.77%.

 

Investors also pulled back from Hong Kong stocks with the Hang Seng Index
dropping 0.37%.

 

MSCI's equivalent regional index excluding Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose
slightly by 0.02%, backed by China and Korean stocks.

 

Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) added 0.36%, and Australia's benchmark (.AXJO)
rose 0.16% as higher metals prices outweighed geopolitical concerns. South
Korea's Kospi (.KS11) leapt 1.21%.

 

U.S. and European markets looked set for weaker opens, with S&P 500 futures
falling 0.43% and Britain's FTSE Index futures down 0.29%.

 

Crude oil pared some losses after earlier tumbling more than 2% on optimism
that negotiations will salvage Iran's 2015 nuclear deal and bring more
supply to a tight market.

 

By afternoon, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $1.59 at
$92.07 a barrel, while Brent slid $1.63 to $93.18 a barrel.

 

"The fear is that Russia-Ukraine risks may become entrenched, maybe even
normalized," analysts at Mizuho wrote in a research note.

 

At the same time, worries about a super-hawkish Fed rate-tightening
campaign, potentially including a 50 basis-point hike next month, took a
step down overnight after minutes of the latest policy meeting signaled a
more measured, data-dependent approach from central bank officials. read
more

 

A softer dollar and lower yields combined with subdued risk sentiment helped
to keep gold near an eight-month peak at $1873.57. It last traded around
$1,868 an ounce.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2022

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


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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<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell: +263 77
344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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