Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 January 2022

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 January 2022 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


ü  China cuts interest rates as economic growth slows

ü  Credit Suisse boss resigns over 'personal actions'

ü  Wealth of world's 10 richest men doubled in pandemic, Oxfam says

ü  Cladding crisis: Norwegian wealth fund urged to pressure firms and
builders

ü  Marmite-owner Unilever makes three bids for GSK consumer goods arm

ü  How delivery apps created 'the Netflix of food ordering'

ü  YouTube rich list: MrBeast was the highest-paid star of 2021

ü  Top hedge funds earn record $65.4 bln for clients in 2021 - LCH data

ü  U.S. FAA clears 45% of commercial plane fleet after 5G deployed

ü  Stocks mixed as Beijing adds stimulus, Brent tops 2021 high

ü  Big brands call for global pact to cut plastic production

ü  Mexican entrepreneur Garza Calderon confirms interest in Citi asset sale

ü  Credit Suisse chairman resigns over COVID-19 breaches in new setback

ü  'Upside down again': Omicron surge roils U.S. small businesses

ü  China's economy loses steam as COVID-19 erupts, c.bank cuts rates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

China cuts interest rates as economic growth slows

China has unexpectedly cut a key interest rate for the first time in almost
two years as official figures showed its economic growth had slowed.

 

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4% for the last three months of 2021
from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

 

That was better than most economists had predicted but was a lot slower than
the previous quarter.

 

In another sign of weakness retail sales growth for December fell to 1.7%.

 

For the year as a whole, official data showed that China's economy grew by
8.1%, which beat economists' forecasts and came in well above Beijing's
annual target of "over 6%."

 

However, some economists highlighted that the growth data, which was the
slowest in a year and a half, has yet to take into account the effect of the
latest coronavirus outbreaks.

 

"The GDP figure didn't reflect the impact of domestic spread of the omicron
variant since late December which will hit the service industry
significantly, especially offline consumption and transportation, Yue Su
from the Economist Intelligence Unit said.

 

To help boost the economy the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it was
lowering the interest rate on 700bn yuan (£80.6bn; $110bn) worth of one-year
medium-term lending facility loans to 2.85%. It was the first such cut since
April 2020.

 

Another PBOC lending measure, the seven-day reverse repurchase rate, was
also cut, while the bank pumped another 200bn yuan of medium-term cash into
the financial system.

 

The moves put China further apart from other major central banks around the
world.

 

The US Federal Reserve has signalled that it plans to increase its interest
rate three times this year.

 

While in the UK, the Bank of England raised interest rate last month for the
first time in more than three years, in response to calls to tackle surging
price rises.

 

China's economic outlook has been clouded by growing concerns about the
effects of Beijing's regulatory crackdown on businesses, the financial
health of some of the country's biggest property firms and the spread of the
Omicron variant of Covid-19.

 

China's economy grew by an impressive 8.1% last year but the country was in
the middle of pandemic lockdowns in 2020 so that is coming off a low base.

 

And when you look at the latest data closely, there are two worrying signs.

 

The country's property sector is attracting less investment as some of its
biggest developers face a debt crisis.

 

The industry's slowdown was triggered by Beijing's measures to limit the
amount of money some real estate firms could borrow so does not come as too
much of a surprise. But a sharp contraction could affect the country's
overall economic growth as the sector accounts for about a quarter of its
GDP.

 

Consumers also seem to be feeling less optimistic, with retail sales coming
in much weaker than expected. China's strict zero Covid policy has meant
that some major cities started to go back into lockdown from last month due
to the Omicron variant. We have yet to see the full impact of that.

 

To help cushion the slowdown, the country's central bank has for the first
time in almost two years taken the unexpected step of making some key loans
for businesses cheaper.

 

While that may seem to be a loosening of President Xi's "common prosperity"
policies to curb corporate debt, it seems unlikely that Beijing will go much
further to support big businesses and their billionaire owners.

 

The government is also unlikely ditch its zero Covid policy ahead of next
month's Winter Olympics and a Communist party meeting later this year where
President Xi is expected to tighten his grip on the world's second largest
economy with a third term in power.-BBC

 

 

 

Credit Suisse boss resigns over 'personal actions'

The chairman of global banking giant Credit Suisse, Antonio Horta-Osorio,
has resigned with immediate effect after an internal company probe.

 

He was reportedly found to have broken the UK's Covid-19 quarantine rules.

 

The former boss of Lloyds Banking Group joined Credit Suisse after a series
of scandals at the Swiss bank.

 

Now, Mr Horta-Osorio, who was the chairman of Credit Suisse for just eight
months, has been replaced by board member Axel Lehmann.

 

"I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties for
the bank and compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and
externally," Horta-Osorio said in a statement issued by the bank.

 

"I therefore believe that my resignation is in the interest of the bank and
its stakeholders at this crucial time," he added.

 

 

Last month, it was reported by the Reuters news agency that a preliminary
investigation by Credit Suisse had found that Mr Horta-Osorio had breached
Covid-19 rules.

 

He reportedly attended the Wimbledon tennis finals in July at a time when
the UK's Covid-19 rules required him to be in quarantine.

 

Speaking to the BBC, a spokesperson for Credit Suisse said that the bank
would give no further details on Mr Horta-Osorio's resignation other than
those in its statement.

 

They also said that there were no plans to release the findings of the
investigation.

 

Before joining Credit Suisse Mr Horta-Osorio was chief executive of British
lender Lloyds Banking Group.

 

He was brought in to lead Switzerland's second-largest bank to help clean up
a corporate culture marred by its involvement with collapsed investment
company Archegos and insolvent supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital.

 

In February 2020, then-Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam resigned
after a scandal revealed the bank had spied on senior employees.-BBC

 

 

 

Wealth of world's 10 richest men doubled in pandemic, Oxfam says

The pandemic has made the world's wealthiest far richer but has led to more
people living in poverty, according to the charity Oxfam.

 

Lower incomes for the world's poorest contributed to the death of 21,000
people each day, its report claims.

 

But the world's 10 richest men have more than doubled their collective
fortunes since March 2020, Oxfam said.

 

Oxfam typically releases a report on global inequality at the start of the
World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

 

That event usually sees thousands of corporate and political leaders,
celebrities, campaigners, economists and journalists gather in the Swiss ski
resort for panel discussions, drinks parties and schmoozing.

 

However for the second year running, the meeting (scheduled for this week)
will be online-only after the emergence of the Omicron variant derailed
plans to return to an in-person event.

 

This week's discussions will include the likely future path of the pandemic,
vaccine equity and the energy transition.

 

Danny Sriskandarajah, Oxfam GB's chief executive, said the charity timed the
report each year to coincide with Davos to attract the attention of
economic, business and political elites.

 

"This year, what's happening is off the scale," he said. "There's been a new
billionaire created almost every day during this pandemic, meanwhile 99% of
the world's population are worse off because of lockdowns, lower
international trade, less international tourism, and as a result of that,
160 million more people have been pushed into poverty."

 

"Something is deeply flawed with our economic system," he added.

 

According to Forbes figures cited by the charity, the world's 10 richest men
are: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and family, Bill Gates, Larry
Ellison, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Ballmer and Warren
Buffet.

 

While collectively their wealth grew from $700bn to $1.5tn, there is
significant variation between them, with Mr Musk's fortune growing by more
than 1,000%, while Mr Gates' rose by a more modest 30%.

 

Oxfam's report is based on data from the Forbes Billionaires List and the
annual Credit Suisse Global Wealth report, which gives the distribution of
global wealth going back to 2000.

 

The Forbes survey uses the value of an individual's assets, mainly property
and land, minus debts, to determine what he or she "owns". The data excludes
wages or income.

 

The methodology has been criticised in the past as it means that a student
with high debts, but with high future earning potential, for example, would
be considered poor under the criteria used.

 

Oxfam also says that due to the fact prices have risen during the pandemic,
it has adjusted for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), which
tracks how fast the cost of living has is increasing over time.

 

Oxfam's report, which was also based on data from the World Bank, said a
lack of access to healthcare, hunger, gender-based violence and climate
breakdown contributed to one death every four seconds.

 

It said 160 million more people were living on less than $5.50 (£4.02) a day
than would have been without the impact of the Covid pandemic.

 

The World Bank uses $5.50 a day as a measure of poverty in
upper-middle-income countries.

 

The report also says:

 

The pandemic is forcing developing countries to slash social spending as
national debts rise

Gender equality has been set back, with 13 million fewer women in work now
than in 2019 and over 20 million girls at risk of never returning to school

Ethnic minority groups have been hardest hit by Covid, including UK
Bangladeshis and the US's black population

"Even during a global crisis our unfair economic systems manage to deliver
eye-watering windfalls for the wealthiest but fail to protect the poorest,"
Mr Sriskandarajah said.

 

He said political leaders now had an historic opportunity to back bolder
economic strategies to "change the deadly course we are on".

 

That should include more progressive tax regimes, which impose higher levies
on capital and wealth, with the revenue spent on "quality universal
healthcare and social protection for all" Mr Sriskandarajah said.

 

Oxfam is also calling for the intellectual property rights on Covid-19
vaccines to be waived to enable wider production and faster distribution.

 

Earlier this month the president of the World Bank, David Malpass, voiced
his concerns over widening global inequality, arguing the impact of
inflation and measures to tackle it were likely to cause more damage to
poorer countries.

 

"The outlook for the weaker countries is still to fall further and further
behind," he said.-BBC

 

 

 

Cladding crisis: Norwegian wealth fund urged to pressure firms and builders

Campaigners have urged Norway's giant state investment fund to pressure
cladding firms and builders to fix fire safety issues.

 

Grenfell survivors and leaseholders affected by the cladding crisis called
on Norges Bank to pull £5.7bn of funds from companies if they fail to do so.

 

Lucy Brown-Cortes of the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign said pressure
from shareholders was "overdue".

 

The crisis has left many people with huge bills to fix unsafe homes.

 

After the Grenfell fire, which killed 72 people in 2017, flammable cladding
and other fire safety defects were discovered in hundreds of blocks of flats
across the UK.

 

Removing cladding can cost millions of pounds per block. The cost has often
been passed on to flat owners under the leasehold system in England and
Wales.

 

Many leaseholders have also seen sharply increasing service charges, and
some have had to pay for so-called "waking watch" fire wardens.

 

A letter was sent to the boss of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM)
demanding action on Friday, as first reported by the Sunday Times.

 

Its signatories include End Our Cladding Scandal, UK Cladding Action Group,
Grenfell United, Action for Fire Safety Justice, the National Leasehold
Campaign, Leasehold Knowledge Partnership and Tory MP Sir Peter Bottomley.

 

"This crisis has meant that at least 3,000,000 leaseholders are trapped in
flammable flats they cannot sell, they are financing interim fire safety
costs that they cannot afford to pay, and facing repossession/forfeiture
over life-changing bills to make homes safe," the letter says.

 

Nicolai Tangen, the chief executive of NBIM, should "leverage its position
as major shareholder", it says, to push 11 firms to fix safety issues and
provide compensation to victims of the Grenfell fire.

 

NBIM should "divest its holdings in these firms if they fail to do so", the
letter adds.

 

The fund is an investor in three companies that were involved in producing
materials used on Grenfell Tower: Kingspan, Arconic and Saint-Gobain.

 

NBIM also has stakes in different housebuilders, as pointed out by the
campaigners, such as Barratt, Bellway, Berkeley, Crest Nicholson, LendLease,
Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry.

 

Housing Secretary Michael Gove backed the campaigners' "call to action" on
Sunday.

 

"Developers and cladding companies who caused these problems must pay to fix
them. We want these companies to do the right thing and help end this
scandal," he said.

 

It was confirmed on Monday that firms would be given until March to agree
how to help leaseholders trapped in "unsellable homes".

 

Mr Gove warned those who had mis-sold unsafe cladding or cut corners on
homes that the government was "coming for you".

 

Residents in blocks 11-18m high had been ineligible for government support
to remove unsafe cladding, but the Housing Secretary said earlier this week
that the government was scrapping "the proposal for loans and long-term debt
for medium rise leaseholders".

 

Mr Gove said some building companies had shown leadership and covered the
costs but others "had not shouldered their responsibilities."

 

Ms Brown-Cortes told the BBC that campaigners wanted to see NBIM "live up to
their environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials and leverage
their position" as a major shareholder in some property developers.

 

The biggest sovereign wealth fund in the world promotes itself as a
"responsible" investor in more than 9,000 companies globally. It has
previously cut tobacco companies from its portfolio, for example.

 

NBIM did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.-BBC

 

 

 

Marmite-owner Unilever makes three bids for GSK consumer goods arm

GlaxoSmithKline has rejected three Unilever offers to buy its consumer goods
division, including one worth £50bn.

 

GSK said the proposals "fundamentally failed" to reflect the value of the
division.

 

With a successful bid, Unilever - which owns Marmite, Dove and PG Tips -
would add Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol to its list of household brands.

 

Such a deal would be one of the biggest ever involving London-listed firms.

 

GSK said in a statement the most recent proposal from Unilever on 20
December contained an offer for £41.7bn in cash and £8.3bn in Unilever
shares.

 

The global healthcare company, which has its headquarters in London, has
already been preparing to separate its consumer goods division from its
pharmaceutical business in the middle of this year.

 

 

The firm has come under pressure from investors for failing to develop a
Covid vaccine.

 

Unilever said in a statement the GSK consumer arm "would be a strong
strategic fit as Unilever continues to reshape its portfolio".

 

The consumer goods giant, which became a fully British company in 2020 after
previously being separated between the UK and the Netherlands, also
approached Pfizer about the potential deal, since the American
pharmaceutical giant owns a 34% stake in GSK's consumer goods business.

 

Neither GSK nor Pfizer has any ideological objection to selling to Unilever.
GSK had planned to spin off its consumer business later this year anyway
through a demerger creating a separate publicly listed company but always
said it would have an open mind to a trade sale to another party if the
price was right.

 

GSK's problem with the Unilever bid is that the price isn't right.

 

Both Barclays and Goldman Sachs analysts have valued the business at around
£50bn. However, that does not include a few important things.

 

First, the premium you would normally expect to pay for taking control of a
business - somewhere in the range of 30% - although that might be reduced by
the debt of about £10bn GSK was expected to leave on the books of the
consumer business.

 

Second, the value of the cost savings GSK admits could be made to make the
business more profitable.

 

Third, it may not reflect the higher sales growth targets GSK boss Emma
Walmsley has said are possible for the business.

 

She has also said the benefit of a demerger is current GSK shareholders
would get shares in the demerged business so retain their participation in
any future growth in the consumer business.

 

Some will say if higher growth and greater cost reductions are possible, why
haven't they happened already? Emma Walmsley has been in charge for more
than four years. That's one of the questions activist shareholder Elliot
Management has implicitly asked by encouraging other shareholders to agitate
for a more radical greater break up of one of the UK's most valuable
companies.

 

The BBC understands the very different ideas on what this business is worth
means there are no active and ongoing discussions between GSK and Unilever.

 

But Unilever's intentions are very clear.

 

The "for sale" sign is now very visible and the elbows will get sharper as
this basket of household consumer goods gets closer to the checkout.

 

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Unilever's chief executive
Alan Jope was under pressure because the business had recently missed
targets for sales and profit margins.

 

"Unilever has strong cashflow, but the heat is on Mr Jope. He wants to be
seen to do something," Mr Mould said.

 

"But this is a high risk deal. Many investors see GSK as underperforming.
But at a time when inflation is rising, consumer goods with loyal customers
represent a good way for firms to try to manage profits."

 

The move was first reported in the Sunday Times.

 

GSK said its consumer goods division had the potential to increase sales by
up to 6% a year in the medium term, and Unilever's offers did not take that
into account. It said the proposals were not in the best interests of GSK
shareholders.

 

Preliminary figures show sales for GSK's consumer division reached £9.6bn in
2021.

 

Other brands in the division include Centrum vitamins, Aquafresh toothpaste
and Nicorette gum.

 

The company has said it is in late stage trails of a Covid vaccine it was
developing with the French pharmaceutical firm, Sanofi.-BBC

 

 

 

How delivery apps created 'the Netflix of food ordering'

Husband and wife, Emre Uzundag and Yonca Cubuk, say they are now "living
their small dream", all thanks to a food delivery app.

 

The Turkish couple moved to New York in 2020, and due to coronavirus they
found themselves stuck in their small apartment in Brooklyn.

 

Homesick, they started to cook more and more Turkish food, to help them cope
with the stresses of lockdown. "Which was a mental necessity during the
pandemic," says Ms Cubuk.

 

They then moved on to cooking meals for friends around the city, and Ms
Cubuk says the feedback was incredibly positive.

 

"They started to tell us that we should turn it into a career."

 

Despite neither of the pair having worked as a professional chef before,
last year they decided to take the plunge, and signed their business up to a
new food delivery app called Woodspoon.

 

While the huge market-leading delivery apps, such as Just Eat, Deliveroo,
Uber Eats and DoorDash (the biggest in the US) now list many large
restaurant chains, Woodspoon's business model is entirely different.

 

It was launched at the start of 2020 to link home cooks - people literally
cooking from the kitchen in their house or apartment - to customers who want
a fresh, homemade takeaway, rather than something from a chain restaurant.

 

You order via the Woodspoon app, which sends the details to the relevant
home chef. Then, when the food has been cooked, it is picked up and
delivered by a Woodspoon driver.

 

Although still only available in the Brooklyn borough of New York, with more
than 120 cooks currently on its books, the plan is to expand.

 

Emre Uzundag and Yonca Cubuk's BanBan Anatolian Home Cooking is now
available via the app four days a week, while on the other three days they
work on new recipes. Ms Cubik says that they are so busy that they recently
had to work on their fourth wedding anniversary.

 

Yet, thanks to Woodspoon, they don't have to go to the expense of renting a
commercial premise.

 

"Woodspoon gives us a platform and a voice to tell our story," she adds.
"And we are more than just kebabs and pilaf [a rice dish]... our
best-selling dishes are the lentil soup and the orange spinach stew, both
are vegetarian, the latter one is vegan."

 

New Tech Economy is a series exploring how technological innovation is set
to shape the new emerging economic landscape.

 

Presentational grey line

Woodspoon's co-founder, Lee Reschef, says that launching at the same time as
the start of the pandemic actually proved to be helpful. "We were fortunate
enough to help a lot of restaurant workers that needed to find a new line of
income," she says.

 

Before home chefs are accepted by Woodspoon they have to show proof of food
safety training, and the company sends someone out to carry out an
inspection of their kitchen.

 

The chefs also have to register their business with the relevant local
authority, and be subjected to official food hygiene tests.

 

While Woodspoon is currently focused on US expansion the concept could also
work in the UK, where it is also legal to run a food business from a
residential property.

 

With the pandemic closing restaurants for long periods of time, the past two
years has been boom time for takeaway delivery apps. The UK's largest, Just
Eat, saw its revenues hit £725m in 2020, up 42% from 2019, while those at
DoorDash jumped more than threefold to $2.9bn (£2.1bn).

 

Yet, while many of us are increasingly using these types of apps, people
often cite one frustration - that you cannot order from multiple restaurants
at the same time, and get all the different dishes delivered together.

 

That is, however, now changing, with a small but growing number of apps
starting to offer that service.

 

One of those at the forefront is US app, Go By Citizens, which is run by
restaurant and takeaway group C3. It allows its customers to order from a
number of its brands at the same time, such as Umami Burger, Krispy Rice,
Cicci di Carne, and Sam's Crispy Chicken.

 

To ensure that the food is all cooked and ready for delivery at the same
time, C3 says it operates 800 so-called "dark" or "ghost" kitchens across
the US - warehouse cooking facilities that house a number of kitchens under
the same roof, all making delivery-only meals.

 

"Our app allows consumers to pick, choose and group their favourite menu
items [together] from an array of C3 brands in a single order," says C3
chief executive Sam Nazarian. He describes it as "the Netflix of food
ordering".

 

In addition to C3 brands, the company is inviting other people's restaurants
and food businesses into its ghost kitchens and tech platform, including
California's Soom Soom Fresh Mediterranean and Florida's Cindy Lou's
Cookies.

 

Meanwhile, US ghost kitchen business, Kitchen United, also now lets its
customers order from a number of different restaurant brands at the same
time, via its app Kitchen United Max.

 

"Everything is delivered, or available for pick-up, at the same time and on
the same bill," says Kitchen United, chief executive, Michael Montagano.
"So, if someone in the household wants sushi, but another wants pizza,
that's entirely doable."

 

Kitchen United Max is available in 10 US locations, with another eight
currently in development.

 

In the UK, Deliveroo also runs a number of dark kitchens, called Deliveroo
Editions - where takeaway businesses are invited to set up shop rent free.
However, a Deliveroo spokeswoman confirmed that, currently, the food from
each offering still has to be ordered separately via its app.

 

Whether it's a focus on home cooks, or allowing customers to order from more
than one restaurant at once, does the continuing growth of delivery apps put
more pressure on physical restaurants and takeaways already struggling to
stay afloat?

 

UK food and restaurant critic, Andy Hayler, says he thinks some people might
find it off-putting that an app allows you to order food from two or more
restaurants at once.

 

"If I saw a menu offering two to three different things, this would suggest
to me this is just some generic catering company, which is banging out
industrial foods," he says.

 

Mr Hayler adds that certain foods, such as curry are well suited for
delivery. While others, such as French and Japanese cuisine, struggle in
takeaway form because the dishes are supposed to be well presented on a
restaurant plate, and not bashed about in transit in a plastic container.

 

"Half of the experience [of French and Japanese restaurants] is looking at
the food there," he says.-BBC

 

 

 

YouTube rich list: MrBeast was the highest-paid star of 2021

Jimmy Donaldson, the 23-year-old American better known as MrBeast, was
YouTube's highest-earning content creator in 2021, according to Forbes.

 

His elaborate stunts have generated more than 10 billion views on the
platform and earned him $54m (£39m).

 

He has overtaken 10-year-old toy reviewer Ryan Kaji, who has topped the
annual list for the past two years.

 

Together, the 10 best-paid YouTubers made a combined $300m (£218m) in 2021,
the US magazine estimated.

 

Jake Paul is in second place, his first appearance in the top 10 since 2018,
and his brother Logan also returns after being absent since 2017.

 

Minecraft player Nathan Graham, known as Unspeakable, makes the list for the
first time in fifth place.

 

YouTube trends expert Chris Stokel-Walker said this year's list is
interesting because it shows "how stale" YouTube has become. "It strikes me
how white and male this whole list is," he said.

 

"If you take any of the names and look at previous years' lists, you'll
probably find them on there as well, just in a different order."

 

Boom time

During the pandemic, lots of traditional entertainment media had a difficult
time adjusting. Movies were delayed, soap opera schedules were altered and
video game releases were postponed.

 

For YouTube, however, it was a time of boom.

 

Research suggests that in 2021, the platform had 2.3 billion users
worldwide. YouTube says one billion hours of video content is consumed on
the platform every day.

 

Stokel-Walker said: "YouTube was developed as something that would shake up
the media industry and get rid of gatekeepers. It was going to democratise
how our society and entertainment industry looks.

 

"This list suggests that it's become more like TV than it would prefer to
be. The arrival of money on the platform means content is very high stakes -
and we see this in what MrBeast is making.

 

"It's not really similar to anything else on YouTube. It's more like
big-budget TV."

 

Stokel-Walker suggested the high production values of YouTube today are
creating a barrier to entry, meaning you need to "pay to play and be
successful".

 

The top earners as identified by Forbes are not necessarily those with the
most views, but rather those who have been able to successfully earn money
through brand partnerships, sponsorship deals and merchandise sales.

 

Although it's estimated that two-thirds of YouTube content is not in the
English language, it seems that English-speaking creators are most able to
financially capitalise on their popularity.

 

YouTube, like many other modern media platforms, is dealing with issues of
misinformation and harmful content - however this doesn't seem to have
affected its creators' abilities to attract advertisers and sponsors to
their channels.

 

Here is the full top 10.

 

10. Preston Arsement

Preston Arsement grew his community largely thanks to videos centred around
Minecraft, although he runs several channels on the website.

 

A regular on this list, he earned an estimated $16m (£11m) in 2021 - down a
little from the year before, when he placed sixth.

 

9. Logan Paul

The controversial boxer and vlogger was last in the top 10 in 2017. He
earned $18m (£13m) in 2021.

 

8. Dude Perfect

Comedy pranksters Dude Perfect was number three on the list in 2020. They
made $20m (£14m) last year.

 

7. Ryan Kaji

The world's most famous toy reviewer has dropped from the top of the tree to
number seven.

 

In 2021, his blend of toy reviews, educational videos and family vlogs
helped him earn $27m (£19m).

 

6. Nastya

The seven-year-old Russian has nearly 90 million subscribers on YouTube.

 

She started as a toy unboxer but now her vlogs and music videos are growing
in popularity and her earnings have risen to $28m (£20m) in 2021.

 

5. Unspeakable

A new entry, the Minecraft player has been uploading to YouTube for a
decade.

 

He sold the rights to his back catalogue to the business Spotter last year,
which contributed to his earnings of $28.5m (£20m).

 

4. Rhett and Link

A staple of the YouTube highest earning list, the hosts of geek chat show
Good Mythical Morning earned $30m (£22m) in 2021.

 

3. Markiplier

Another regular gaming creator, Markiplier has used his business acumen to
make a successful brand of merchandise, earning $38m (£27m) last year.

 

2. Jake Paul

By branching out into boxing, Jake Paul has found himself back in the top
10. His high-profile fights against UFC stars helped him earn $45m (£32m) in
2021.

 

It's some turnaround for the creator who was criticised alongside his bother
for some of their vlogs in 2017, which many found to be in poor taste.

 

With more boxing plans in the pipeline for 2022, it would be no surprise to
see him keep his place among YouTube's elite on next year's list.

 

1. MrBeast

YouTube's top earner is a creator who uses stunts and pranks to delight his
audience.

 

Last year, he recreated elements of Netflix hit Squid Game on his channel,
played hide and seek in an 80,000-seater stadium and was buried underground.

 

His 10 billion views, alongside the MrBeast burger franchise, meant Jimmy
Donaldson almost doubled his income in 2021 after ranking second on this
list the previous year.-BBC

 

 

 

Top hedge funds earn record $65.4 bln for clients in 2021 - LCH data

(Reuters) - The world's 20 best-performing hedge funds earned $65.4 billion
for clients in 2021, setting a new record as stock markets marched higher
despite rising prices and coronavirus cases, LCH Investments data show.

 

As a group, the most successful managers earned more than one third of the
$176 billion that all hedge funds made last year, LCH Investments, a fund of
funds firm that tracks returns and is part of Edmond de Rothschild group,
reported.

 

The top 20, including brand-name investment firms TCI Fund Management and
Citadel, returned an average 10.5% and jointly managed nearly one fifth of
the industry's $3.6 trillion in assets, the data show. Their returns,
however, lagged broader stock market gains.

 

The best performers in 2021 topped the $63.5 billion they made in 2020 and
2019's $59.3 billion, despite the Delta and Omicron coronavirus variants and
fears the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon have to raise interest rates to
tackle spiking prices.

 

"The net gains generated by the top 20 managers for their investors ... were
the highest ever," topping 2020's gains which also set a record, Rick
Sopher, LCH's chairman said.

 

There was a shake-up among the very best performers in 2021 as Chris Hohn's
TCI Fund Management earned $9.5 billion and Ken Griffin's Citadel made $8.2
billion for investors to rank as the top two.

 

2020's breakout winner, Chase Coleman's Tiger Global, which earned $10.4
billion in 2020, posted losses of $1.5 billion in 2021, the data show.
Israel Englander's Millennium, which also ranked at the top of the list in
2020 with a $10.2 billion gain, posted a $6.4 billion gain in 2021.

 

Ray Dalio's Bridgewater, the world's biggest hedge fund, snapped back after
a disappointing year of losses in 2020 with a$5.7 billion gain in 2021, the
data show.

 

Daniel Loeb's Third Point, which pursues a range of strategies including
activist investing, broke into the top twenty in 2021 with a gain of $3.3
billion.

 

Representatives for the hedge funds declined to comment.

 

Even though many firms earned billions, stock oriented hedge funds largely
lagged the broader stock market S&P 500 index' 27% gain in 2021. They
"generally did not fully capture the spectacular returns available in equity
markets," Sopher said, adding "their low net exposure and a difficult
environment for short selling limited their returns."

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

U.S. FAA clears 45% of commercial plane fleet after 5G deployed

(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Sunday it
had cleared an estimated 45% of the U.S. commercial airplane fleet to
perform low-visibility landings at many airports where 5G C-band will be
deployed starting Wednesday.

 

The FAA has warned that potential interference could affect sensitive
airplane instruments such as altimeters and make an impact on low-visibility
operations.

 

U.S. passenger and cargo airlines have been sounding the alarm to senior
government officials that the issue is far from resolved and could severely
impact flights and the supply chain.

 

"Even with the approvals granted by the FAA today, U.S. airlines will not be
able to operate the vast majority of passenger and cargo flights due to the
FAA's 5G-related flight restrictions unless action is taken prior to the
planned Jan. 19 rollout," said Airlines for America, a trade group
representing American Airlines (AAL.O), Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), Fedex
(FDX.N) and other carriers.

 

The FAA approved two radio altimeter models used in many Boeing and Airbus
planes, including some Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, MD-10/-11 and Airbus A310,
A319, A320, A321, A330 and A350 models. The announcement came just days
before AT&T (T.N) and Verizon (VZ.N) launch new 5G service on Wednesday. The
FAA said it expects to issue more approvals in the coming days.

 

The FAA said the aircraft and altimeter approvals open "runways at as many
as 48 of the 88 airports most directly affected by 5G C-band interference."
But the agency warned that "even with these new approvals, flights at some
airports may still be affected."

 

Reuters reviewed the 36-page list of the runways covered by the approvals
that has not yet been made public - and it does not include many larger U.S.
airports.

 

The FAA told Boeing in a letter Sunday reviewed by Reuters that it was
granting approvals for specific runways and planes with certain altimeters
"because the susceptibility to interference from 5G C-band emissions has
been minimized."

 

AT&T and Verizon, which won nearly all of the C-Band spectrum in an $80
billion auction last year, on Jan. 3 agreed to buffer zones around 50
airports to reduce interference risks and take other steps to reduce
potential interference for six months. They also agreed to delay deployment
for two weeks, averting an aviation safety standoff.

 

The FAA on Thursday issued nearly 1,500 notices detailing the extent of
potential impact of 5G services.

 

"Passengers should check with their airlines if weather is forecast at a
destination where 5G interference is possible," the FAA said Sunday.

 

On Jan. 7, the FAA disclosed the 50 U.S. airports that will have 5G buffer
zones, including in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas,
Minneapolis, Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle and Miami.

 

But airlines warn those buffer zones may not be enough to prevent flight
disruptions at those airports.

 

On Thursday, Airports Council International – North America urged a delay 5G
implementation to avoid widespread disruption across the U.S air
transportation system.

 

On Friday, the FAA said it would require Boeing 787 operators to take
additional precautions when landing on some wet or snowy runways.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

Stocks mixed as Beijing adds stimulus, Brent tops 2021 high

(Reuters) - Share markets were choppy on Monday as a slew of Chinese
economic data confirmed the deadening effect of coronavirus restrictions on
consumer spending, prompting Beijing to again ease monetary policy.

 

A holiday in the United States made for thin trading, but that did not stop
Treasury futures from sliding further and Brent crude hitting a three-year
top of $86.71 a barrel.

 

Worryingly for the world's second-largest economy, retail sales rose only
1.7% year-on-year in December, missing forecasts for a 3.7% rise.

 

Industrial output did fare better and the economy as a whole grew a little
above forecasts at 4.0% in the fourth quarter.

 

China's central bank also surprised by cutting some key lending rates by a
sizable 10 basis points. read more

 

"The cut was larger than expected, suggesting that the authorities have
become more preoccupied about weakness in the economy," said Carlos
Casanova, senior Asia economist at Union Bancaire Privee in Hong Kong.

 

"The latter (Omicron risks) will only start to be fully priced in the
combined Jan-Feb data, as the most severe lockdowns started in late
December."

 

The easing seemed to help China blue chips (.CSI300), which edged up 0.9% in
the wake of the data.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS)
eased 0.3%, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) bounced 0.8% after losing 1.2% last
week.

 

Nasdaq futures slid another 0.3%, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.1%. EUROSTOXX
50 futures edged up 0.4% and FTSE futures were flat.

 

The main feature of the market recently has been a rotation into value
stocks and away from growth, particularly technology. The S&P 500
information technology sector (.SPLRCT), which accounts for nearly 29% of
the index, has shed 5.5% this year.

 

With valuations still high, earnings will have to be strong to stop further
losses. Overall S&P 500 earnings are expected to climb 23.1% this season,
according to Refinitiv IBES, while the tech sector is seen up by 15.6%.

 

Companies reporting this week include Goldman Sachs (GS.N), BofA (BAC.N),
Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Netflix .

 

The market will be spared speeches from U.S. Federal Reserve officials this
week ahead of their Jan. 25-26 policy meeting, but there has been more than
enough hawkish comments to see the market almost fully price in a first rate
hike for March and rates of 1.0% by year end.

 

There was also talk the Fed will start trimming its balance sheet earlier
than previously thought, draining some of the excess liquidity from world
markets.

 

Yields on cash 10-year Treasuries climbed to their highest in a year at 1.8%
last week, while the implied yield on futures jumped to 1.86% on Monday .

 

BEWARE THE BOJ

 

A Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy meeting this week will bear watching given talk
it will revise up its outlook for growth and inflation, while sources told
Reuters policy makers were debating how soon they could start telegraphing
an eventual interest rate hike.

 

While a move is unlikely this year, financial markets may be
under-estimating its readiness to gradually phase out its once-radical
stimulus programme. read more

 

This was one reason the yen rallied, with the dollar slipping 1.2% last
week. On Monday the dollar had regained some ground to 114.45 yen still well
above major chart support at 112.52.

 

The euro was a shade lower at $1.1414 , while rising bond yields helped the
dollar index inch up to 95.258 and away from a 10-week trough of 94.626 hit
on Friday.

 

"We continue to think that the greenback will strengthen again before long,
as we expect strong cyclical price pressures in the U.S. to mean the Fed
tightens by more and for longer than investors currently discount," argued
Joseph Marlow, an economist at Capital Economics.

 

They see Fed rates topping 2.5% while the market has priced in a peak around
1.75-2.0%. .

 

The risk of higher rates kept non-yielding gold restrained at $1,816 an
ounce , while industrial and energy resources have benefited from resilient
demand and limited supplies.

 

Oil prices have climbed for four weeks straight and such is demand that
physical barrels of oil are changing hands at near record high premiums.

 

Brent added another 13 cents to $86.19 a barrel, having earlier pipped the
2021 top of $86.70. The 2018 peak is at $86.74, and a break would take it to
heights last visited in 2014. U.S. crude also firmed 35 cents to $84.17.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

 

Big brands call for global pact to cut plastic production

(Reuters) - International brands including Coca Cola and PepsiCo called on
Monday for a global pact to combat plastic pollution that includes cuts in
plastic production, a key growth area for the oil industry.

 

World officials will meet at a United Nations Environment Assembly
conference (UNEA 5.2) later this year to start negotiations on a treaty to
tackle a plastic waste crisis that is choking landfills, despoiling oceans
and killing wildlife.

 

It remains unclear whether any deal will focus on waste management and
recycling or take tougher steps such as curbing new plastic production, a
move that would likely face resistance from big oil and chemical firms and
major plastic-producing countries like the United States.

 

The more than 70 signatories to Monday's joint statement include consumer
goods companies like Unilever and Nestle, which sell a myriad of products in
single-use plastic from shampoo to chocolate bars, as well as retailer
Walmart and French bank BNP Paribas.

 

"We are at a critical point in time to establish an ambitious U.N. treaty,"
the statement said, noting that any deal should "reduce virgin plastic
production and use."

 

"UNEA 5.2 is the decisive, most auspicious moment to turn the tide on the
global plastic pollution crisis. We cannot afford to miss it," the statement
said.

 

Less than 10% of all the plastic ever made has been recycled, and a Reuters
investigation last year revealed that new recycling technologies touted by
the plastics industry have struggled to combat the problem.

 

Meanwhile, production of plastic, which is derived from oil and gas, is
projected to double within 20 years. This is a key source of future revenue
for energy majors, as demand for fossil fuels wanes with the rise of
renewable energy and electric vehicles.

 

While scaling-up global recycling is critical to tackling plastic waste,
these efforts will not prevent plastic pollution from continuing to
skyrocket without constraints on production, a landmark 2020 study by Pew
Charitable Trusts found.

 

As pressure mounts on firms that sell products in hard-to-recycle plastic to
tackle the resulting waste, some have teamed up with cement makers to burn
plastic waste as a cheap fuel in the developing world, a Reuters
investigation found last year.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Mexican entrepreneur Garza Calderon confirms interest in Citi asset sale

MEXICO CITY, Jan 16 - Mexican entrepreneur Javier Garza Calderon aims to bid
on the consumer banking arm of Citigroup (C.N) in the country, pledging to
return it to Mexican hands, he said in a statement Sunday.

 

Garza Calderon, founder of the organization "Entrepreneurs for the Fourth
National Transformation (E4T)," said he was interested in inviting other
business leaders to form a group of investors to analyze the possible
acquisition.

 

"I perceive a great opportunity to rescue its historical, cultural and
financial assets so that they return to the hands of Mexican businessmen,"
Garza Calderon said in a statement shared with Reuters.

 

"A team of national and international analysts and specialists will evaluate
all the lines of business that Citi Banamex handles and subsequently we will
make an offer," he added.

 

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday named Garza Calderon as a
potential bidder after Citigroup said this week it would sell its
Citibanamex consumer banking operations, ending a two decade retail presence
in Mexico.

 

Still commonly known as Banamex, the bank Citi bought in 2001 has long been
a fixture on Mexican high streets.

 

Lopez Obrador has urged Mexican investors to snap up the assets with the aim
of "Mexicanizing" the bank.

 

Garza Calderon's organization E4T is a business association that supports
Lopez Obrador's so-called Fourth Transformation (4T) to root out corruption
and inequality, according to the group's website.

 

Mexican tycoon Ricardo Salinas, billionaire Carlos Slim of Grupo Financiero
Inbursa (GFINBURO.MX) and Carlos Hank Gonzalez, chairman of the board of
Grupo Financiero Banorte (GFNORTEO.MX) could also be interested in the sale,
Lopez Obrador said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

Credit Suisse chairman resigns over COVID-19 breaches in new setback

(Reuters) - Credit Suisse Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio has quit following
an internal probe into his personal conduct, including breaches of COVID-19
rules, raising questions over the embattled lender's new strategy as it
tries to recover from a string of scandals.

 

His exit comes less than a year after he was hired to help the bank deal
with the implosion of collapsed investment firm Archegos and the insolvency
of British supply chain finance company Greenshill Capital, even as it was
still reeling from the 2020 exit of CEO Tidjane Thiam over a spying scandal.

 

Combined these triggered multi-billion dollar losses and sackings at
Switzerland's No.2 bank, and Horta-Osorio unveiled a new strategy in
November to rein in its investment bankers and curb a freewheeling culture.
read more

 

However, the Portuguese banker's personal conduct has recently come under
scrutiny, after he breached COVID-19 quarantine rules twice in 2021. read
more

 

"I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties for
the bank and compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and
externally," Horta-Osorio said in a statement issued by Credit Suisse on
Monday.

 

"I therefore believe that my resignation is in the interest of the bank and
its stakeholders at this crucial time," added Horta-Osorio, the former CEO
of Lloyds (LLOY.L).

 

Credit Suisse said Horta-Osorio resigned following an investigation
commissioned by the board, and that board member Axel Lehmann had become its
chairman with immediate effect.

 

"It has been in the 'damaged goods' section for a while now. While Horta was
responsible for the new strategy, his short tenure means that the revamp is
likely to only be in the nascent stages," said Justin Tang, head of Asian
research at investment adviser United First Partners in Singapore.

 

"The irony of it is that Horta was hired to fix the reputational damage to
Credit Suisse and revamp its risk taking culture in the bank," Tang added.

 

In December, Reuters reported that a preliminary internal bank investigation
had found that Horta-Osorio attended the Wimbledon tennis finals in London
in July without following Britain's quarantine rules. read more

 

Horta-Osorio also broke COVID-19 rules on a visit to Switzerland in November
by leaving the country during a 10-day quarantine period, the bank said in
December. read more

 

Public scrutiny of the actions of politicians and athletes has increased
amid COVID-19 curbs as governments push to get their population vaccinated.

 

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic flew out of Australia on Sunday after a
court upheld the government's decision to cancel his visa, capping days of
drama over the country's COVID-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status.

 

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to resign after
admitting he attended staff drinks during the May 2020 lockdown. read more

 

Horta-Osorio's exit is likely to unnerve investors, who had been hoping his
strategic changes would help lift the ailing Swiss bank's share price.

 

David Herro, portfolio manager at Harris Associates, Credit Suisse's
third-biggest shareholder, told Reuters before Horta-Osorio's departure was
announced, that he believed the infractions were "minor". read more

 

"One of the reasons to invest in the business today, one of the most
important reasons, is that there is a very capable and committed person in
that seat that will turn this ship around," Harris told Reuters earlier this
month.

 

"So, that's a very important reason to invest in the company. And if that
person leaves, that very important reason leaves".

 

'WHAT A WASTE'

 

Credit Suisse said on Monday that Lehmann, the board and the executive board
would continue to implement the bank's strategy.

 

"We have set the right course with the new strategy and will continue to
embed a stronger risk culture," Lehmann, who was elected to the board in
October, said in the bank's statement.

 

Lehmann spent over 10 years at rival UBS (UBSG.S), where his roles included
helming its Swiss personal and corporate banking unit after nearly two
decades at Zurich Insurance Group (ZURN.S).

 

Reeling from a disastrous year, Credit Suisse posted a 21% fall in its
third-quarter profit last year and warned of a loss for the final three
months of 2021. read more

 

UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, however posted its highest quarterly profit
in six years in the third quarter. read more

 

Credit Suisse shares have shed 23% over the past one year, while UBS shares
have soared 33% to their highest in four years.

 

Horta-Osorio's sudden exit demoralised staff at Credit Suisse, with some
questioning what was next for the bank.

 

"What a waste and again we make the headlines for the wrong reason," a
senior Credit Suisse private banker said on condition of anonymity as he was
not allowed to speak to media.

 

"In between we froze for one year waiting for the new strategy from the new
man!" he said.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

'Upside down again': Omicron surge roils U.S. small businesses

(Reuters) - Phillip Howard pointed toward a stack of black ski pants piled
atop a counter in his winter sports shop as evidence of the hurdles small
business owners still face as the pandemic drags on.

 

The pants were supposed to arrive by August at Troy's Ski Lubbock shop in
west Texas - well before his five-month hot season of selling that kicks off
in October. Instead, they came from China the first week of January, delayed
by supply-chain failures.

 

"Late-arriving product really kills us," Howard said this week, noting that
several other items had also arrived late, missing his pre-holiday sales
season. "I've been in this business for almost 20 years, and I've never
encountered anything like this."

 

As the pandemic enters its third year, many small businesses across the
United States are besieged on three fronts: deepening supply chain issues;
periodic staffing shortages; and fewer customers showing up in some areas,
fearing the Omicron spike in COVID-19 cases.

 

This week the Federal Reserve released its latest collection of anecdotes
about the state of the economy from businesses, labor groups and others
nationwide, showing that the fast-spreading Omicron variant was exacerbating
difficulties, especially for hiring and inflation.

 

U.S. retail sales fell 1.9% in December amid the shortage of goods and
surging infections, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

 

Though federal aid and the economy's overall recovery have kept failure and
bankruptcy rates for small businesses far lower than expected, day-to-day
management has become a challenge. Census surveys conducted since early in
the pandemic show concerns steadily shifting from dwindling cash reserves
and a hunt for financing to challenges with supply chains and rising costs.

 

"I'm placing orders for next year now, and we're looking at double-digit
inflation," Howard said. "It's probably 10% across the board for almost
everything that I'm having to order."

 

'UPSIDE DOWN AGAIN'

 

Staffing shortages forced Gage & Tollner, a 19th-century chop house in
Brooklyn, New York, to close for five days in late December.

 

Co-owner St. John Frizell estimates about 30% of the nearly 60 people
working at the restaurant have had COVID-19 in the last month. Owners wanted
staff to have a negative coronavirus test before returning to work, but that
often meant employees spent hours waiting in lines to get swabbed.

 

"We just need tests, lots and lot of tests," he said.

 

He welcomed the proposal this month by Governor Kathy Hochul that New York
should permanently allow restaurants and bars to sell cocktails "to go," an
emergency provision first brought in when establishments were forbidden from
seating customers inside in 2020.

 

Just down the road at Junior's Restaurant and Bakery - renowned for its
cheesecakes - owner Alan Rosen said he had suffered with supply chain issues
and staffing shortages. He has sometimes had to rope off entire sections of
his restaurants when there were not enough servers to go around.

 

"Our costs of goods are through the roof, there's inflationary pressure,
supply chains are a mess," Rosen said.

 

Amy Glosser shifted BYKlyn, her cycling studio, to new outdoor premises in
the summer of 2020 to keep the Brooklyn business afloat. But Glosser said
she and her two dozen employees agreed they could not do another winter
outdoors, so she moved the business to a temporary indoor space on Dec. 1.

 

Then the Omicron variant hit New York City hard, and about 40% of the gym's
200 members said they wanted to cancel or pause their memberships.

 

"People are nervous to come inside and sweat together," Glosser said.

 

Randy Peers, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, said he's
worried about small businesses being evicted after New York state's
pandemic-era evictions moratorium ended on Saturday, noting that about a
third of businesses in the Chamber owe back rent.

 

Peers said optimism grew over the summer and early fall, with the city's
high vaccination rates and many restrictions lifted. That lasted through
Thanksgiving.

 

"Then Omicron just threw everything upside down again," he said.

 

'HOLDING OUR BREATH'

 

Small businesses in states where COVID restrictions have been far looser
than New York say customers are still coming out, but other pandemic issues
continue to plague them.

 

Mark Pectol, who owns four Zesty Zzeeks Pizza & Wings shops in the Phoenix
metro area, said he never dreamed his biggest nightmare as a small business
owner would come in the form of supply chain issues.

 

"I don't know if I'm going to have pizza boxes at the end of the week," he
said. "If I don't have pizza boxes - I'm going out of business. We're just
holding our breath."

 

Even if he can get pizza boxes, Pectol said he's already getting warnings
about a possible flour shortage next.

 

That would be cruelly ironic. In the first year of the pandemic, when
grocery stores could not keep flour on shelves, Pectol said he could still
buy it in bulk from his supplier. While his stores were closed under
pandemic restrictions, he kept money coming in by selling 140,000 pounds of
flour to the public.

 

Now, the fickleness of the supply chain failures may be turning on him.

 

"My distributor told me they have flour for me for a month. But this week,
they didn't get any flour in at all," he said. "If I can't get it from a big
distributor, where will I get it?"

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

China's economy loses steam as COVID-19 erupts, c.bank cuts rates

(Reuters) - China's economy rebounded in 2021 from its pandemic-induced
slump helped by robust exports but the pace slowed further in the fourth
quarter off the back of weak consumption and a property downturn, pointing
to the need for more policy support.

 

Growth in the October-December quarter hit a one-and-a-half-year low,
government data showed shortly after the central bank moved to prop up the
economy with a cut to a key lending rate for the first time since early
2020.

 

The world's second-largest economy is struggling with a rapidly cooling
property sector, as well as sporadic small-scale COVID-19 outbreaks that
could deal a blow to its factories and supply chains.

 

Several Chinese cities went on high alert ahead of the Lunar New Year
holiday travel season, as the Omicron variant reached more areas including
the capital Beijing.

 

The economy grew 8.1% in 2021, faster than a forecast 8.0% and well above a
government target of "above 6%" and 2020's revised growth of 2.2%.

 

Gross domestic product grew 4.0% in the final quarter, National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS) data showed, faster than expected but still its weakest
pace since the second quarter of 2020. Growth was 4.9% in the third quarter.

 

"At present, the downward pressure on China's economy is still relatively
big, and growth of residents' employment and income is restricted," Ning
Jizhe, head of the NBS, told a news conference.

 

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP rose 1.6% in October-December, compared
with expectations for a 1.1% rise and a revised 0.7% gain in the previous
quarter.

 

China's economy got off to a strong start in 2021 but economists expect
growth to slow in the coming months.

 

China's central bank unexpectedly cut the borrowing costs of its medium-term
loans for the first time since April 2020, leading some analysts to expect
more policy easing this year to guard against developers' mounting risk of
default.

 

The People's Bank of China said it was lowering the interest rate on 700
billion yuan ($110.2 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility
(MLF) loans to some financial institutions by 10 basis points to 2.85%. It
also cut the 7-day reverse repo rate . read more

 

"Economic momentum remains weak amid repeated virus outbreaks and a
struggling property sector. As such, we anticipate another 20 bps of cuts to
PBOC policy rates during the first half of this year," said analysts at
Capital Economics, in a note.

 

But Nomura said in a note the space left for future rate cuts this year was
small. "We expect another 10 bp rate cut before mid-2022."

 

Adding to another long-term concern for the economy, mainland China's birth
rate dropped to a record low of 7.52 per 1,000 people in 2021, NBS data also
showed on Monday, extending a downward trend that led Beijing last year to
begin allowing couples to have up to three children. read more

 

PROPERTY, RETAIL SALES SLOW

 

China's property market has slowed in recent months as regulators stepped up
a campaign to cut high rates of borrowing, triggering defaults at some
heavily indebted companies.

 

Property investment dropped 13.9% in December from a year earlier, falling
at the fastest pace since early 2020, according to Reuters calculations
based on official data. Investment grew 4.4% in 2021, the slowest since
2016.

 

Weak consumption data also clouded the outlook, with retail sales in
December missing expectations with only a 1.7% increase from a year earlier,
the slowest pace since August 2020.

 

"The biggest challenge this year for policymakers is how to stabilise the
economy at a 5-5.5% range against the backdrop of dynamic zero-COVID
policy," said Nie Wen, chief economist at Hwabao Trust in Shanghai.

 

A bright spot was industrial output, up an annual 4.3% in December, picking
up from a 3.8% increase in November, and better than a 3.6% increase in a
Reuters poll.

 

China's refinery output hit a new record in 2021, as did aluminium and coal
production. read more

 

Fixed asset investment rose 4.9% in 2021, compared with the 4.8% increase
tipped by analysts and 5.2% in the first 11 months of the year.

 

Booming shipments to coronavirus-hit economies overseas were a key boost to
China's growth last year, with net exports accounting for more than a
quarter of GDP growth in Q4 and the country logging its biggest trade
surplus in 2021 since records started in 1950. read more

 

The outsized role that net exports played in last year's GDP growth also
underscored the relative weakness in other drivers. By contrast, net exports
were a drag on overall growth in 2018, when the economy relied more on
consumption and investment.

 

However, the support from export growth may not last. It has been slowing as
an overseas surge in demand for goods eases and high costs pressure
exporters.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


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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
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