Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 February 2022

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 February 2022 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  Alibaba and Tencent sites added to US 'Notorious Markets List'

ü  Elon Musk says US is trying to 'chill' his free speech

ü  AirAsia boss calls on governments to be 'brave' and open borders

ü  Global stocks lower as tensions rise over Ukraine

ü  KitKat and Durex makers Nestle and Reckitt warn of price rises

ü  Indian tea start-ups search for an exotic edge

ü  Apple boss Tim Cook faces backlash to £73m pay package

ü  Amazon strikes global deal to accept Visa credit cards

ü  How a Saudi woman's iPhone revealed hacking around the world

ü  Odd steering wheel and controls trip up Tesla, rivals -Consumer Reports

ü  Two U.S. Big Tech antitrust bills backed by publisher trade group

ü  Sage's depression drug improves symptoms, but durability concerns sink shares

ü  EXCLUSIVE Ericsson informed U.S. DoJ in 2019 about Iraq probe - sources

ü  Oil slides 2% as Iran talks offset Ukraine crisis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

Alibaba and Tencent sites added to US 'Notorious Markets List'

The US has added sites operated by Chinese technology giants Alibaba and Tencent to its "Notorious Markets List" of businesses it believes are involved with trading counterfeit goods.

 

The list identifies 42 online sites and 35 physical stores, including e-commerce platforms, run by the firms.

 

The US trade agency says they "engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright privacy".

 

America and China are in a long-running dispute over trade and technology.

 

"The global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods undermines critical US innovation and creativity and harms American workers," US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.

 

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said its list had for the first time included AliExpress and WeChat e-commerce sites. AliExpress is owned by Alibaba and WeChat is operated by Tencent.

 

It called the sites "two significant China-based online markets that reportedly facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting".

 

China-based online markets Baidu Wangpan, DHGate, Pinduoduo and Taobao continue to be listed, it added, "as well as nine physical markets located within China that are known for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods".

 

Tencent said it had "invested significant resources" into protecting intellectual property rights on its platforms.

 

"We strongly disagree with the decision made by the United States Trade Representative and are committed to working collaboratively to resolve this matter," a spokesperson told the BBC.

 

Alibaba did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

 

The USTR first started identifying "notorious markets" in 2006.

 

Its list is aimed at protecting American businesses and workers from the effects of cheap counterfeit goods, that are usually manufactured outside the US.

 

Washington and Beijing remain locked in disputes over tariffs, technology and intellectual property.

 

Tensions between the world's two biggest economies surfaced once again this week.

 

In an annual review released on Wednesday, the USTR said China had repeatedly failed to live up to its trade commitments despite being a member of the World Trade Organization.

 

It also accused China of causing "serious harm" to workers and firms around the world with its trade policies.-BBC

 

 

 

Elon Musk says US is trying to 'chill' his free speech

Elon Musk's Twitter posts have brought him to the attention of financial regulators.

Tesla boss Elon Musk has accused US regulators of targeting him for "unrelenting investigation" because of his criticism of the government.

 

In a court filing, the billionaire says the Securities and Exchange Commission has engaged in "outsized efforts" to monitor the firm that "seem calculated to chill his exercise" of free speech.

 

The letter heightens the battle between Mr Musk and financial regulators over his social media activity.

 

His Twitter posts often move markets.

 

In 2018, the SEC ordered Mr Musk to submit to increased oversight of his posts about Tesla as part of a settlement into claims that he misled investors in 2018 with a post about taking the electric car company private.

 

The SEC has repeatedly raised questions since about Mr Musk running afoul of the agreement, in which Mr Musk agreed to give Tesla officials pre-approval of posts about the company.

 

In November, regulators subpoenaed the firm, requesting information about its governance processes related to the order.

 

That month, Mr Musk asked his more than 70 million Twitter followers whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla shares, driving shares lower.

 

In the letter to Judge Alison Nathan, who is overseeing the 2018 settlement, the billionaire's attorney Alex Spiro accused regulators of "weaponizing the consent decree by using it to try to muzzle and harass Mr. Musk and Tesla".

 

"The SEC seems to be targeting Mr. Musk and Tesla for unrelenting investigation largely because Mr. Musk remains an outspoken critic of the government," he wrote on behalf of Mr Musk and Tesla.

 

"The SEC's outsized efforts seem calculated to chill his exercise of First Amendment rights rather than to enforce generally applicable laws in even-handed fashion".

 

He said the SEC had opened "serial investigations" without seeking guidance from the court and that the agency was overdue to distribute to investors the $40m in penalties it collected as part of the 2018 settlement.

 

'Flouting the law'

The SEC declined to comment.

 

Mr Musk's Twitter musings on topics from Tesla to crypto currency have frequently appeared to move market prices.

 

He has used his perch to criticise the SEC, saying oversight at the agency was "broken".

 

Mr Musk has also criticised US President Joe Biden for not acknowledging the contributions of SpaceX or Tesla, most recently dismissing the president as a "damp [sock emoji] puppet".

 

But Professor James D Cox, who teaches corporate and securities law at Duke University, said the SEC is responding to Mr Musk's decision to repeatedly flout a court order, not his other antics.

 

Executives at publicly traded companies are bound by protocols governing disclosure of information, he said.

 

"This isn't a question of the SEC targeting him," he said. "They're doing it because he is brazenly ignoring the order of the SEC that has the imprimatur of the federal court system."

 

In addition to the financial regulator's subpoena, Tesla faces a racial discrimination lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and a safety probe from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.-BBC

 

 

 

AirAsia boss calls on governments to be 'brave' and open borders

The boss of one of Asia's biggest airlines has called on governments in the region to open their borders for the sake of people's livelihoods.

 

"Politicians have to be brave," AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes told the BBC.

 

Cross-border tourism, which accounted for 12% of South East Asia's GDP in 2019, was hit hard by Covid-19 rules.

 

He was speaking at the Singapore Airshow, which returned this week to the city-state after two years of tough travel restrictions.

 

"It's time to take a deep breath and assess the facts... Having borders closed isn't logical anymore because Omicron is in society," the Malaysian low-cost carrier's chief executive said.

 

"Now we have to protect people's livelihoods and economies," he added.

 

Air fare rises are unavoidable, warns airline boss

Will travel return to normal this summer?

Like most airlines around the world, AirAsia reported a massive loss in 2020. But while low-cost international carriers in Europe and North America enjoyed a rebound in 2021 as travel rules were relaxed, Asian airlines slumped even further.

 

Ireland's Ryanair, for example, more than tripled its year-on-year revenue in the third quarter of 2021. In the same period, AirAsia's dropped by a third.

 

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Asia-Pacific was the only region in the world that failed to register any significant improvement in air traffic by the end of 2021.

 

While some Asian countries, such as China and Japan have completely sealed off their borders to outsiders, others like Singapore have made tentative moves into less restrictive travel through selected Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs).

 

It guarantees virtually quarantine-free entry into Singapore, but flights are limited and often more expensive.

 

Other similar schemes in the region - designed to encourage tourism - involve extensive paperwork as well as multiple costly Covid tests and short periods of compulsory isolation.

 

"To me, opening our borders means no quarantine, no form-filling, no constant testing," Mr Fernandes said.

 

"It's time to move on and get on with our lives," he added.

 

In spite of the continued restrictions, the return of the Singapore Airshow was hailed by many as a sign of confidence in the region's aviation industry.

 

All of the world's biggest aerospace players were in attendance and most were cautiously optimistic that 2022 will be a better year for Asia.

 

"We let governments here take the lead and we follow their pace", said Ted Colbert, the US-based chief executive of Boeing Global Services. "But we're prepared for a comeback and we're excited about that happening."

 

"We're expecting inter-regional travel to come back soon and for the full market to return to normal by 2023 or 2024," he added.

 

But regional industry experts say a lot more needs to be done to ensure the industry's full recovery in the short-term, especially when it comes to building a more cohesive travel policy between governments.

 

"Each country in Asia sets its own rules, often fast-changing rules, which makes it risky and complicated for travellers," Henk Ombelet from aviation analysts Cirium said. "So it ends up that most opt to just not travel, or at most just travel domestically."

 

The uncertainty surrounding snap restrictions, or potential new virus variants, means that passenger services have become a less reliable source of income for companies in the long-term.

 

Mr Colbert highlights Boeing's increasing focus on air cargo, something that has been accelerated by high shipping costs and which he says is forecast to grow by 70% by 2040.

 

Meanwhile, AirAsia moved into new businesses, including food delivery, digital banking and e-commerce, while many of its planes remained grounded.

 

To reflect this change the airline's parent company last month changed its name from AirAsia Group to Capital A.

 

But Mr Fernandes denies the shift into different areas shows a lack of confidence in AirAsia's core business.

 

"People will always need to fly. At the moment people are desperate to spend a weekend in Phuket or Langkawi or wherever. When borders fully open, there's going to be a lot of 'revenge travel'."

 

"I believe this is the beginning of the end. I'm aware I've said that a few times before, but I do believe we're on the road to recovery."

 

-BBC

 

 

 

Global stocks lower as tensions rise over Ukraine

Global stock markets have dropped amid alarm over rising tensions between Washington and Moscow over Ukraine.

 

In New York, the Dow Jones dropped 1.8%, the S&P 500 slid by more than 2% and the Nasdaq closed nearly 3% lower.

 

The falls came as US President Joe Biden accused Russia of looking for excuses for an invasion, which he said could happen in days.

 

In Friday's trade in Asia, losses eased with benchmark indexes in Japan and Hong Kong down by around 0.3%.

 

"There's a lot of nervousness out there and as we approach the weekend nothing's been settled between Russia and Ukraine," Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities said.

 

"The continued weakness, especially in the growth names, is indicative of elevated nervousness and sellers continuing to swamp buyers in just about every stock."

 

President Joe Biden said on Thursday that military action could begin imminently.

 

Russia called the claims "baseless" and accused the US of stoking tensions.

 

Russia seeking excuse to invade Ukraine, US says

But uncertainty surrounding the situation, as Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists traded fire in eastern Ukraine, added to investor worries, prompting the sell-off to accelerate in late afternoon trade.

 

Technology and communication firms led the declines, which touched most sectors on the S&P 500 and pushed the Dow to its steepest daily percentage fall since 30 Nov.

 

Oil futures fell more than 2%, and US officials held discussions with Saudi Arabia about a "collaborative approach" to managing potential market pressures stemming from a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House said.

 

The consumer staples sector was one of the few exempt from the declines, lifted by Walmart.

 

The discount giant rose 4% after it reported strong holiday sales and executives said they expected more shoppers to turn to it as concerns about the rising cost of living increase.

 

Meanwhile some assets considered less risky gained, with gold rising to an eight-month high.

 

 

 

KitKat and Durex makers Nestle and Reckitt warn of price rises

KitKat and Nescafe-maker Nestle has warned it will increase the prices of its products due to the growing cost of producing its goods.

 

Mark Schneider, boss of the food group, said it was "safe assumption" that prices would rise this year.

 

He said there was "no place" in the company that was "exempt of inflation".

 

Reckitt Benckiser, the consumer goods company behind Durex and Dettol, also said prices would rise, but added it hoped to absorb most of the increases.

 

Reckitt's costs rose 11% in 2021, but chief executive Laxman Narasimhan said that wouldn't mean prices rising by that amount, as the company had ways to "mitigate and manage pricing"

 

"We care about the competitiveness of our brands," he told a conference call.

 

Jeff Carr, chief financial officer, said the firm's costs had increased "across the board", ranging from crude oil and plastic, to shipping and wages.

 

But he said that company was "absorbing a significant part" of higher operating costs through "efficiency" and "better buying".

 

"We are not passing it on to consumers," he said. "We are passing some pricing onto consumers but we minimise that through the programmes we have…to absorb those cost increases."

 

Shares rose in the company by as much as 5.4% on Thursday.

 

Living costs at 30-year high as households squeezed

Meanwhile, Nestle said it had already lifted prices by 3.1% in the fourth quarter of its financial to offset rising operating costs.

 

"It is a safe assumption that our input cost increases for 2022 will be higher than 2021, that is something that we have to reflect in our pricing," said Mr Schneider

 

"There is almost no place in the company that is exempt of inflation now," he added. "Some of these things you can hedge against, some not."

 

Consumer goods companies have previously warned of price rises for products due the rising costs of raw materials, energy and labour.

 

It will raise pressure on households who are facing a cost of living crisis.

 

Recent data showed that inflation hit a 30-year high of 5.5% in the year to January and the Bank of England forecasts that the cost of living could reach over 7% by spring - far above its 2% inflation target.

 

Gas and electricity costs are set to rise in April when the new, higher energy price cap is introduced. At the same time companies, their staff and the self-employed will pay 1.25p more in the pound for National Insurance.

 

Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell, said big brand owners were facing an "important test given pressures on the cost of living".

 

"Consumers may not be able to keep stomaching price increases and so there is a risk they buy less of the popular and more expensive brands and/or trade down to cheaper options," she added.

 

"The big brand companies therefore face the risk of having to cut their prices just to maintain sales volumes."

 

Rising sales

Nestle, which also makes Cheerios and Smarties, revealed total sales increased by 3.3% to SwFr87.1bn (£69.5bn) last year.

 

The firm's net profit grew by 38.2% to SwFr16.9bn.

 

It said sales had been driven by strong demand for coffee, pet products and health foods during the pandemic.

 

Meanwhile, Reckitt said its full-year sales had increased by 3.5%, ahead of expectations, on demand for hygiene and health products.

 

Splitting its divisions, hygiene performed best with sales up 1.6% in the year to £5.9 billion, including strong sales of Air Wick, Lysol, Finish and Vanish.

 

Sales of Durex condoms, KY lubricants and Veet hair removal products were boosted as lockdowns were lifted.

 

The firm added sales of US cleaning and disinfecting spray Lysol were about 90% higher than 2019.

 

It said it expected its health business to benefit from stronger cold and flu treatment sales.

 

Last week, Unilever, the firm behind brands such as Marmite and Dove Soap, said it would put up its prices again this year as its overheads continue to rise.

 

The company, which also makes Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Hellmann's mayonnaise, said it was facing €3.5bn (£2.95bn) of extra costs in 2022 alone.-BBC

 

 

 

Indian tea start-ups search for an exotic edge

Bina Nongthombam used to gather wild fruits and flowers and sell them at a local market in her home state of Manipur in northeast India.

 

But it was a tough way to make a living: "I used to spend the whole day in the market and was hardly able to make a decent living," she says.

 

It was a way of life that had been in her family for generations,

 

But in 2018 one of her customers, impressed with her produce and attitude, offered her a job and her life changed.

 

Since then, she has been sourcing produce for Dweller Teas, a start-up with a focus on unusual and forgotten Indian plants and flowers that can be used in teas and infusions.

 

It is still a lot of work. Mrs Nongthombam starts early to visit villages for ingredients like Indian olive, roselle and sumac berries - some of these are grown by farmers and others are collected in the wild.

 

She takes buses to remote villages to scout for the produce she wants, and then returns later in a tuk-tuk or three-wheeled taxi to make the final purchases.

 

"Collecting wild fruits and flowers is very fulfilling for me. Since childhood we [have been] collecting these fruits, but other than people of northeast India, hardly anyone knew about them."

 

Eli Yambem founded Dweller Teas in 2016 with $25,000 of her savings. She now has three cafes in Manipur's state capital, Imphal.

 

Tea is one of the local strengths of the region, she says: "We also have an abundance of indigenous plants that are yet to be shared with the world and that can be sustainable"

 

"The traditional knowledge and memories associated with indigenous plants are slowly fading with each passing generation. I wanted to preserve the indigenous traditions, and share the hidden goodness and innovative flavours."

 

One ingredient, the shrub the shrub Nongmangkha or Phlogocanthus thyrsiformis Ms Yambem distinctly remembers from her childhood.

 

"It is a traditional medicinal plant known by dwellers of Manipur for its antiviral properties. I remember my grandma would boil its leaves to help me with cough, cold, and fever.''

 

In case you were wondering, the Tea Board of India states that only products with a minimum of 70% tea leaves can actually call themselves teas.

 

That distinction does not trouble consumers much, as exotic and herbal infusions are the most dynamic part of the market.

 

"This is the space where there is the most excitement in the tea business," says Tea Board chairman Prabhat Bezboruah.

 

It is a competitive business, he points out: "It's a fact that most of these start-ups will close down soon after inception, but the few that survive have a shot at becoming the next unicorn [a company with a billion dollar valuation] given the huge popularity and product acceptance that tea has."-BBC

 

 

Apple boss Tim Cook faces backlash to £73m pay package

Investors are being urged to vote against a $99m (£73m) pay package awarded to Apple boss Tim Cook last year.

 

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said it has "significant concerns" over the size of the award, up from $14.8m the year before.

 

Mr Cook, whose net worth is reportedly more than £1bn, received the pay in shares, salary, and for other costs.

 

The BBC has contacted Apple for comment.

 

In a letter to shareholders, the ISS said there are "significant concerns" over the "design and magnitude" of the package. "Half of the award lacks performance criteria," ISS said.

 

Mr Cook, 61, who has often spoken publicly about his concerns over equality and human rights issues, said in 2015 that he would give away his entire fortune before he dies.

 

According to ISS, Mr Cook's pay was 1,447 times more than the wage of an average Apple employee.

 

His package included $630,600 in personal security costs and $712,500 for personal use of a private jet. ISS said the cost of such perks "significantly exceeded" comparable companies last year.

 

Last year, a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing showed that Mr Cook donated almost £7.4m worth of Apple shares to charity, without naming the recipient.

 

The company behind the iPhone, iPad and MacBook became the first company to hit a $3tn (£2.2tn) stock market value in January before dipping to its current value of $2.8tn (£2.1tn).

 

Shareholder returns are now more than 1,000% since Mr Cook took over in 2011.

 

Apple is due to hold its annual meeting for shareholders in the first week of March. However, shareholder votes are only advisory, while Apple's board decide on pay packages.

 

At last year's meeting, 95% of shareholder votes supported Apple's executive compensation programme.

 

Growing opposition

Companies in the US, and UK, are facing stronger shareholder opposition over pay and compensation.

 

General Electric, IBM and Starbucks failed to win a majority of shareholder backing for executive pay in 2021. US oil firms ExxonMobil and Chevron also saw shareholder revolts from climate activists last year.

 

Millionaires ask to pay more tax

Asset manager Blackrock, Exxon's second largest shareholder, doubled its votes against executive pay proposals in the Americas in early 2021, compared to 2020.

 

In the UK, more than twice as many FTSE 100 companies faced shareholder revolts than in 2020, condemning executive pay-outs when many employees faced added financial hardships in the pandemic.

 

President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats have called for higher taxes on the billionaires and big business to help pay for a major social spending package. The proposal would raise about $16bn by limiting deductions for executive compensation.

 

The tax hike plan would pay for federally funded paid family leave, expanded education budgets and climate change problems.-BBC

 

 

 

Amazon strikes global deal to accept Visa credit cards

Amazon will accept Visa credit cards across all of its sites after the two businesses reached a global agreement.

 

The online retail giant had last year threatened to stop the use of Visa credit cards in the UK due to the fees Visa charged to process payments.

 

Amazon customers in Singapore and Australia also had to pay a surcharge if they used a Visa credit card to purchase goods.

 

However, Amazon and Visa said they have now struck a deal.

 

The Visa surcharge on Amazon's Singapore and Australia websites will be removed from Thursday, 17 February.

 

Amazon had already postponed the ban on using Visa credit cards in the UK while negotiations continued.

 

Amazon said: "We've recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all customers to continue using their Visa credit cards in our stores,"

 

Visa said it was "pleased", adding: "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."

 

Last year, when it was considering the ban on accepting Visa credit cards in the UK, Amazon said that the cost of processing payments was "an obstacle" to providing the best prices for customers.

 

A European Union (EU) cap on fees charged by card issuers was no longer in place in the UK following Brexit.

 

Last October, Visa began to charge 1.5% of the value of a transaction for credit card payments made online between the UK and the EU. It had previously charged 0.3%. Mastercard also increased its fees.

 

The mooted UK ban by Amazon did not affect Visa debit cards. Though Visa, and Mastercard, also increased the cost of processing debit card payments from 0.2% to 1.15%, according to the UK Treasury Committee.

 

At the time, Visa accused Amazon of restricting customer choice. It said: "When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins."

 

Last year, the Payment Systems Regulator conducted a review into card fees which showed that they had "increased significantly in recent months". It is currently investigating whether any action is required on the issue.-BBC

 

 

 

How a Saudi woman's iPhone revealed hacking around the world

(Reuters) - A single activist helped turn the tide against NSO Group, one of the world’s most sophisticated spyware companies now facing a cascade of legal action and scrutiny in Washington over damaging new allegations that its software was used to hack government officials and dissidents around the world.

 

It all started with a software glitch on her iPhone.

 

An unusual error in NSO’s spyware allowed Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul and privacy researchers to discover a trove of evidence suggesting the Israeli spyware maker had helped hack her iPhone, according to six people involved in the incident. A mysterious fake image file within her phone, mistakenly left behind by the spyware, tipped off security researchers.

 

The discovery on al-Hathloul's phone last year ignited a storm of legal and government action that has put NSO on the defensive. How the hack was initially uncovered is reported here for the first time.

 

Al-Hathloul, one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent activists, is known for helping lead a campaign to end the ban on women drivers in Saudi Arabia. She was released from jail in February 2021 on charges of harming national security. read more

 

Soon after her release from jail, the activist received an email from Google warning her that state-backed hackers had tried to penetrate her Gmail account. Fearful that her iPhone had been hacked as well, al-Hathloul contacted the Canadian privacy rights group Citizen Lab and asked them to probe her device for evidence, three people close to al-Hathloul told Reuters.

 

After six months of digging through her iPhone records, Citizen Lab researcher Bill Marczak made what he described as an unprecedented discovery: a malfunction in the surveillance software implanted on her phone had left a copy of the malicious image file, rather than deleting itself, after stealing the messages of its target.

 

He said the finding, computer code left by the attack, provided direct evidence NSO built the espionage tool.

 

“It was a game changer,” said Marczak “We caught something that the company thought was uncatchable.”

 

The discovery amounted to a hacking blueprint and led Apple Inc (AAPL.O) to notify thousands of other state-backed hacking victims around the world, according to four people with direct knowledge of the incident.

 

Citizen Lab and al-Hathloul’s find provided the basis for Apple’s November 2021 lawsuit against NSO and it also reverberated in Washington, where U.S. officials learned that NSO’s cyberweapon was used to spy on American diplomats.

 

In recent years, the spyware industry has enjoyed explosive growth as governments around the world buy phone hacking software that allows the kind of digital surveillance once the purview of just a few elite intelligence agencies.

 

Over the past year, a series of revelations from journalists and activists, including the international journalism collaboration Pegasus Project, has tied the spyware industry to human rights violations, fueling greater scrutiny of NSO and its peers.

 

But security researchers say the al-Hathloul discovery was the first to provide a blueprint of a powerful new form of cyberespionage, a hacking tool that penetrates devices without any interaction from the user, providing the most concrete evidence to date of the scope of the weapon.

 

In a statement, an NSO spokesperson said the company does not operate the hacking tools it sells – “government, law enforcement and intelligence agencies do.” The spokesperson did not answer questions on whether its software was used to target al-Hathloul or other activists.

 

But the spokesperson said the organizations making those claims were “political opponents of cyber intelligence,” and suggested some of the allegations were “contractually and technologically impossible.” The spokesperson declined to provide specifics, citing client confidentiality agreements.

 

Without elaborating on specifics, the company said it had an established procedure to investigate alleged misuse of its products and had cut off clients over human rights issues.

 

Al-Hathloul had good reason to be suspicious - it was not the first time she was being watched.

 

A 2019 Reuters investigation revealed that she was targeted in 2017 by a team of U.S. mercenaries who surveilled dissidents on behalf of the United Arab Emirates under a secret program called Project Raven, which categorized her as a “national security threat” and hacked into her iPhone.

 

She was arrested and jailed in Saudi Arabia for almost three years, where her family says she was tortured and interrogated utilizing information stolen from her device. Al-Hathloul was released in February 2021 and is currently banned from leaving the country.

 

Reuters has no evidence NSO was involved in that earlier hack.

 

Al-Hathloul’s experience of surveillance and imprisonment made her determined to gather evidence that could be used against those who wield these tools, said her sister Lina al-Hathloul. “She feels she has a responsibility to continue this fight because she knows she can change things.”

 

The type of spyware Citizen Lab discovered on al-Hathloul’s iPhone is known as a “zero click,” meaning the user can be infected without ever clicking on a malicious link.

 

Zero-click malware usually deletes itself upon infecting a user, leaving researchers and tech companies without a sample of the weapon to study. That can make gathering hard evidence of iPhone hacks almost impossible, security researchers say.

 

But this time was different.

 

The software glitch left a copy of the spyware hidden on al-Hathloul’s iPhone, allowing Marczak and his team to obtain a virtual blueprint of the attack and evidence of who had built it.

 

“Here we had the shell casing from the crime scene,” he said.

 

Marczak and his team found that the spyware worked in part by sending picture files to al-Hathloul through an invisible text message.

 

The image files tricked the iPhone into giving access to its entire memory, bypassing security and allowing the installation of spyware that would steal a user's messages.

 

The Citizen Lab discovery provided solid evidence the cyberweapon was built by NSO, said Marczak, whose analysis was confirmed by researchers from Amnesty International and Apple, according to three people with direct knowledge of the situation.

 

The spyware found on al-Hathloul’s device contained code that showed it was communicating with servers Citizen Lab previously identified as controlled by NSO, Marczak said. Citizen Lab named this new iPhone hacking method "ForcedEntry." The researchers then provided the sample to Apple last September.

 

Having a blueprint of the attack in hand allowed Apple to fix the critical vulnerability and led them to notify thousands of other iPhone users who were targeted by NSO software, warning them they had been targeted by “state-sponsored attackers.”

 

It was the first time Apple had taken this step.

 

While Apple determined the vast majority were targeted through NSO’s tool, security researchers also discovered spy software from a second Israeli vendor QuaDream leveraged the same iPhone vulnerability, Reuters reported earlier this month. QuaDream has not responded to repeated requests for comment. read more

 

The victims ranged from dissidents critical of Thailand's government to human rights activists in El Salvador.

 

Citing the findings obtained from al-Hathloul’s phone, Apple sued NSO in November in federal court alleging the spyware maker had violated U.S. laws by building products designed “to target, attack, and harm Apple users, Apple products, and Apple.” Apple credited Citizen Lab with providing "technical information" used as evidence for the lawsuit, but did not reveal that it was originally obtained from al-Hathloul's iPhone.

 

NSO said its tools have assisted law enforcement and have saved "thousands of lives." The company said some of the allegations attributed to NSO software were not credible, but declined to elaborate on specific claims citing confidentiality agreements with its clients.

 

Among those Apple warned were at least nine U.S. State Department employees in Uganda who were targeted with NSO software, according to people familiar with the matter, igniting a fresh wave of criticism against the company in Washington.

 

In November, the U.S. Commerce Department placed NSO on a trade blacklist, restricting American companies from selling the Israeli firm software products, threatening its supply chain. read more

 

The Commerce Department said the action was based on evidence that NSO’s spyware was used to target “journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers.”

 

In December, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and 17 other lawmakers called for the Treasury Department to sanction NSO Group and three other foreign surveillance companies they say helped authoritarian governments commit human rights abuses.

 

“When the public saw you had U.S. government figures getting hacked, that quite clearly moved the needle,” Wyden told Reuters in an interview, referring to the targeting of U.S. officials in Uganda.

 

Lina al-Hathloul, Loujain’s sister, said the financial blows to NSO might be the only thing that can deter the spyware industry. “It hit them where it hurts,” she said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Odd steering wheel and controls trip up Tesla, rivals -Consumer Reports

(Reuters) - Automakers are adopting new technology and designs for vehicle controls faster than ever, but that does not always make consumers happy, according to a new ranking of automotive brands by Consumer Reports.

 

Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) new "yoke" steering wheel installed in Model S sedans and Model X sport utility vehicles is so difficult to use that it dropped the most valuable automaker's position in the Consumer Reports annual car brand rankings by seven spots to 23rd place - below average, the independent testing organization said on Thursday.

 

"It makes driving these vehicles frustrating all the time," said Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports.

 

The more conventional Tesla Model 3 is ranked as "average" by Consumer Reports.

 

Overall, Fisher said, “reliability has to do with the frequency of unrolling new technology. The brands at the top tend to very methodically roll out new technology."

 

Japan's Subaru Corp (7270.T) was No. 1 in the latest Consumer Reports ranking - a brand known for efficient all-wheel drive systems and safety-oriented marketing but not for pushing technology to the edge.

 

Other mainstream brands including Honda (7267.T), Toyota (7203.T), Hyundai (005380.KS) and Ford (F.N) earned above-average scores on the brand ranking.

 

"There isn't much daylight between mainstream brands and luxury brands," Fisher said. "These luxury automakers try to differentiate themselves" with new designs for controls or complex dashboard displays, Fisher said. "They make the driving experience more stressful."

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Two U.S. Big Tech antitrust bills backed by publisher trade group

(Reuters) - A group representing publishers such as News Corp and National Public Radio wrote to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday to back two bills targeting Big Tech, including one that would open up smartphone app stores to more competition.

 

Digital Content Next, whose members also include the New York Times and Associated Press, wrote to Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, a Democrat, and Senator Chuck Grassley, the top Republican, to back a bill aimed at reining in app stores owned by Apple (AAPL.O) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google.

 

The group also backed a measure that would bar giants like Amazon.com from giving preference to their own businesses when customers search their platforms.

 

The two bills were voted out of the committee in recent weeks. They have also been approved by the House Judiciary Committee. read more

 

"Platforms should be able to moderate their services to protect consumers, police IP theft and prevent security lapses. However, some dominant platforms have leveraged their privileged status as gatekeeper to unfairly compete in other markets," Digital Content Next executives Jason Kint and Chris Pedigo wrote in the letter.

 

They also expressed concern about any potential move to put the publishers themselves in with companies covered by the bills - currently a small number of giant firms.

 

Publishers, whose news budgets have been squeezed as advertising dried up, have been battling search and advertising giant Google over what they see as the company's unfair siphoning off of badly needed ad revenues.

 

Smartphone maker Apple, a target of the app store bill, has urged that it not be adopted because it supports practices such as "sideloading," essentially using a non-Apple app store, which would mean that consumers lose privacy protections that Apple offers, among other concerns. read more

 

Google, for its part, lowered its Play Store fees for subscription apps last October, following criticism about 30% fees. read more

 

U.S. lawmakers in both parties, some concerned about outsized market power and others about allegations that conservative voices have been stifled, have scrutinized the biggest technology companies, including Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook (FB.O). A long list of bills is aimed at reining them in, but none have become law.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Sage's depression drug improves symptoms, but durability concerns sink shares

(Reuters) - Sage Therapeutics Inc's (SAGE.O) drug helped improve depressive symptoms after three days in a late-stage study, but investor concerns over how long the treatment's effect would last sent the drug developer's shares down 17% on Wednesday.

 

In a study among 440 patients with major depressive disorder, the drug, zuranolone, taken along with an antidepressant also showed a statistically significant improvement in symptoms over a two-week period, the company and partner Biogen Inc (BIIB.O) said on Wednesday.

 

Analysts, however, said the near-term durability of the oral drug would likely be the key to broader commercial success.

 

"The clinical benefit is modest and the effects are not durable," said Truist Securities analyst Joon Lee, adding that the regulatory process for the drug is likely to be "wrought with noise, controversy" over the next 12-18 months.

 

The trial results come after a separate late-stage trial in June raised similar concerns about how long the symptom improvement would last. read more

 

Major depressive disorder affects over 16 million American adults every year and is mainly treated with antidepressants, which could take up to six weeks to show effect.

 

Sage, which has a postpartum depression drug on the market, said it plans to file for U.S. approval of the drug this year. Sage signed a deal worth up to $1.5 billion with Biogen in 2020 to develop zuranolone along with another experimental drug.

 

While zuranolone showed greater reduction in symptoms than placebo after three days, the difference was still lower than Street expectations, Guggenheim analyst Yatin Suneja said.

 

But Suneja added that the drug remains approvable and he had expected its effect to wane over time as the company had decided to evaluate the results at day three for the main goal instead of at day fifteen as it had done in the June trial.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

EXCLUSIVE Ericsson informed U.S. DoJ in 2019 about Iraq probe - sources

(Reuters) - Ericsson (ERICb.ST) informed the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) about an internal investigation into payments in Iraq when it signed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) in 2019 to settle separate corruption probes, sources familiar with the matter said.

 

The Swedish company's shares fell 14% on Wednesday over concerns that it might be subject to another fine by the DoJ following the disclosure of its Iraq investigation that found evidence of misconduct. read more

 

One of Ericsson's (ERICb.ST) largest shareholders, Cevian Capital, told Reuters the company's actions were "unacceptable" after disclosure that some payments made in Iraq may have reached militant organisations, including Islamic State.

 

"The information that has now emerged is serious and the company’s actions are, of course, unacceptable," Christer Gardell, Cevian's managing partner and co-founder said in a statement to Reuters.

 

"As we understand the situation, the DoJ was informed about the internal investigation at the time of the so-called Deferred Prosecution Agreement, and Ericsson losing almost SEK 50 billion in market value yesterday is a strong overreaction," he said.

 

The DoJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

An Ericsson spokesman said it does not comment on dialogue with the U.S. authorities under the terms of its DPA.

 

Analysts said if Ericsson had not shared its findings with the DoJ, this could have posed serious financial risks for the company.

 

'OLD MISMANAGEMENT'

 

Ericsson went through several rounds of restructuring over the past decade and it faced a U.S. investigation into its anti-corruption programme.

 

"What has emerged with the 'Iraqi situation' is a remnant of this old mismanagement, " Cevian's Gardell said.

 

Swedish investment company Investor AB and Industrivarden are two of the largest investors in Ericsson with big voting rights and a say on how the company is operated.

 

An Investor AB spokeswoman said Ericsson's Board and management had its full support. Industrivarden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Ericsson started to turn around under CEO Borje Ekholm, who had served for a decade as CEO of the Wallenberg family-backed investment firm Investor AB.

 

"The company today takes these issues very seriously and has invested significant resources in solving the historical problems and ensuring that no new issues arise," Gardell said. "It needs to urgently address the remaining complexity and loss making businesses to help reduce such mismanagement in the future."

 

Ericsson's shares have doubled in the last five years, but Gardell thinks the valuation is still low. Cevian, which started investing in Ericsson in 2017, currently holds around a 4.55% stake based on stock market disclosures.

 

"With a valuation below 8x 2022's expected operating profit, the company is one of the cheapest large caps in Europe," Gardell said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Oil slides 2% as Iran talks offset Ukraine crisis

(Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 2% on Thursday as talks to resurrect a nuclear deal with Iran entered their final stages and could unlock more crude supplies, but losses were limited by tension between top energy exporter Russia and the West over Ukraine.

 

"(The) oil market is locked in a tug of war between Iranian sanctions relief and Russian-Ukraine tensions," said Stephen Brennock at brokerage PVM Oil.

 

Brent futures fell $1.84, or 1.9%, to settle at $92.97 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.90, or 2.0%, to settle at $91.76.

 

Both benchmarks rose to their highest levels since September 2014 earlier in the week and both continue to face extreme backwardation in coming months, a market structure where prompt contracts are more expensive than those for later dates, indicating supply tightness.

 

Futures for Brent and WTI through August were in what Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho, has called "super-backwardation" with each month trading at least $1 a barrel below the prior month.

 

"The price could already be in triple-figure territory if not for the nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at OANDA, noting a deal "could mean around 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude quickly re-entering the market."

 

The United States is in "the midst of the very final stages" of indirect talks with Iran, aimed at salvaging a 2015 deal limiting Tehran's nuclear activities, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday. read more

 

With a new deal possibly on the horizon, South Korea said on Wednesday it had held talks on resuming imports of Iranian crude oil and unfreezing Iranian funds. South Korea was previously one of Tehran's leading oil buyers in Asia. read more

 

However, tension over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine continued to support oil markets because of the potential disruption to energy supplies. Russia denies planning to invade its neighbour.

 

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday there was every indication Russia planned to invade Ukraine in the next few days and was preparing a pretext to justify it, after Ukrainian forces and pro-Moscow rebels traded fire in eastern Ukraine. read more

 

Russia, meanwhile, has expelled Bart Gorman, the No. 2 U.S. official in Moscow, the State Department said on Thursday, with Washington warning that it would respond to the "unprovoked" move. read more

 

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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