Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 November 2022
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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 November 2022
<https://wwww.nedbank.co.zw/>
ü Ukraine war: Billionaire Andrew Forrest launches $25bn fund for
reconstruction
ü Chinese buyout of Newport microchip plant a 'security risk'
ü Autumn Statement: Jeremy Hunt to unveil spending cuts and tax rises
ü Elon Musk tells Twitter staff to work long hours or leave
ü Elon Musk tells Twitter staff to work long hours or leave
ü What is behind the big tech companies' job cuts?
ü Taylor Swift Ticketmaster crash draws ire on Capitol Hill
ü Deliveroo: UK-based food delivery firm quits Australia
ü Milk and cheese drive food price inflation to 45-year high
ü Retailer Joules collapses risking 1,600 jobs
ü Royal Mail asks to stop Saturday letter deliveries
ü Autumn Statement: Jeremy Hunt set to extend energy help but bills will go
up
ü South Africa: Mine Blasting Damaging Homes Across the Country
ü South Africa: Get-Rich-Quick Solar Energy Scheme Looks Way Too Good to Be
True
ü South Africa: More Dark Days Ahead As Eskom's Diesel Budget Runs Dry
ü Kenya: KQ to Start Direct Mombasa-Dubai Flight in December
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw>
Ukraine war: Billionaire Andrew Forrest launches $25bn fund for
reconstruction
Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has launched an investment fund
that is hoped will be worth at least $25bn (£21bn) to help rebuild war-torn
Ukraine.
Mr Forrest and his wife have committed $500m to the fund, which its
organisers say could eventually grow to $100bn.
The Ukraine Green Growth Initiative plans to invest in primary
infrastructure such as energy and telecoms networks.
President Zelensky welcomed the move.
"We will take advantage of the fact that what the Russians have destroyed
can readily be replaced with the latest, most modern green and digital
infrastructure," Mr Zelensky said.
The fund said it had been working with Larry Fink, the chairman of
investment giant BlackRock, and hopes to gain the support of sovereign
wealth funds and other professional investors.
Since starting work on the investment fund in early March, Mr Forrest said
he had discussed the plan with a number of world leaders including US
President Joe Biden, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
"The president [Zelensky] sees that as an opportunity to completely replace
old coal-fired [and] nuclear power stations with brand new green energy," Mr
Forrest told the BBC.
"That capital would be available the instant that the Russian forces have
been removed from the homelands of Ukraine," he added.
Mr Forrest made his fortune from Australia's mining boom. He is the founder
and executive chairman of iron ore giant Fortescue Metals.
In recent years he has turned his attention to sustainable technology, with
initiatives to decarbonise his mining operations and become a major producer
of green hydrogen.
Rebuilding Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen large parts of the country's
infrastructure destroyed or damaged.
Recent Russian missile attacks have targeted Ukraine's energy network
including its electricity generation plants.
In July Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said it would cost $750bn for
the country to recover from the war, which had caused $100bn of direct
damage to infrastructure.
This week Russia angrily rejected international calls for it to pay for war
damage it has inflicted in Ukraine.
It came after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution saying Russia
should face the consequences of its actions, including paying reparations.
General Assembly resolutions carry symbolic weight but do not have the power
to enforce compliance.
The Kremlin said it would work to stop the West seizing its international
reserves to pay for reparations.-BBC
Chinese buyout of Newport microchip plant a 'security risk'
The takeover of Britain's largest microchip plant by a Chinese-owned company
must be reversed, the UK government has said.
Newport Wafer Fab was acquired by Dutch-based technology company Nexperia, a
subsidiary of Shanghai listed Wingtech, in July 2021.
However, Nexperia must now sell 86% of its stake "to mitigate the risk
national security" following a review.
The firm said it was "shocked" and would appeal against the decision.
Semiconductors allow electricity to flow through devices and are the
fundamental components of everything from smart phones to the vast data
centres powering the internet and are found in millions of products.
The Wafer Fab deal came under scrutiny amid an ongoing global shortage of
computer chips which has been exacerbated by the pandemic and severely hit a
wide range of industries.
At the time of the takeover, the Newport plant was producing about 35,000
wafers a year.
The UK government had faced pressure to intervene, not least from the
Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, which said that Nexperia's takeover
represents the sale of "one of the UK's prized assets" to a strategic
competitor and potentially compromised national security.
In its decision, the UK government said the takeover of Newport Wafer Fab
created two risks to national security.
The first related to Nexperia's development of the Newport site, which the
government said could "undermine UK capabilities" in producing compound
semiconductors.
The second, the plant's location as part of a semiconductor cluster on the
Duffryn industrial estate, could "facilitate access to technological
expertise and know-how".
It said the close links that existed in Newport "may prevent the cluster
being engaged in future projects relevant to national security".
A report in April said an investigation pledged by then-Prime Minister Boris
Johnson by the National Security Advisor had not happened.
However, the decision was called in by the then-Business Secretary Kwasi
Kwarteng in May on national security grounds.
It was left to his successor Grant Shapps to make the decision following
delays due to the changes in prime minister and the cabinet.
Nexperia said it did not accept the national security concerns and
criticised the UK government for not entering "meaningful dialogue".
Toni Versluijs, head of its UK operations, said: "We are genuinely shocked.
The decision is wrong, and we will appeal to overturn this divestment order
to protect the over 500 jobs at Newport.
"The decision is disproportionate given the remedies Nexperia has proposed.
It is wrong for the employees, for the UK semiconductor industry, for the UK
economy and for the UK taxpayer - who could now be faced with a bill of over
£100m for the fallout from this decision.
"We rescued an investment-starved company from collapse. We have repaid
taxpayer loans, secured jobs, wages, bonuses and pensions and agreed to
spend more than £80m on equipment upgrades. The deal was publicly welcomed
by the Welsh government."
A government spokesman said: "The UK has a number of strengths within the
semiconductor sector, including in south Wales, and through our forthcoming
semiconductor strategy we will enable this technology to continue to support
the UK and global economy."
The Welsh government said the UK government's decision had provided some
"welcome clarity".
"Our immediate priority now is to safeguard the future of the hundreds of
highly skilled jobs in Newport," it added.-BBC
Autumn Statement: Jeremy Hunt to unveil spending cuts and tax rises
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will pledge to face into the economic "storm", as he
is expected to confirm widespread spending cuts and tax rises.
He will say "difficult decisions" are needed to tackle soaring prices and
limit mortgage costs.
But he faces a potential backlash from some Tory MPs who oppose big tax
hikes.
The BBC understands the state pension and benefits will rise with prices.
Energy support is likely to continue beyond April but will be less generous.
Labour said the country was "being held back by 12 years of Tory economic
failure and wasted opportunities", with working people "paying the price".
The BBC has spoken to people in Whitehall and Parliament about what is
likely to be in Mr Hunt's Autumn Statement.
The final figures will be published as the statement is delivered but it is
expected that around 55% of the measures will be spending cuts and 45% will
be tax rises. This is likely to equate to around £30bn in spending cuts and
£24bn in tax rises.
The chancellor is likely to argue that this is not a return to the 2010
Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's policy of austerity,
with the balance of spending cuts to tax rises 80% to 20% under
then-Chancellor George Osborne.
The government argues the measures are needed to fill a so-called fiscal
black hole - the gap between what the government raises and spends.
However, some have questioned how reliable the forecasts are and the
political decisions ministers are making.
The freezing of levels at which people pay various taxes will be a big theme
of the statement. As a result of inflation and pay increases, people will
end up paying more tax.
The threshold when the highest earners start paying the top rate of tax will
be lowered to £125,000 from £150,000.
With inflation - the rate at which prices rise - now running at a 41-year
high, many departments will see their budgets squeezed with below-inflation
increases.
But it is expected the health budget will be protected and increase in real
terms - even when price rises are taken into account.
Graph showing inflation hit 11.1% in October
The government will also save cash by making energy bill support less
generous from April.
The Treasury is likely to say an Energy Price Guarantee will remain in place
- but be set at a higher level. That means millions of households will see
their bills go up by hundreds of pounds a year from April.
Under the current scheme a household using a typical amount of gas and
electricity is expected to pay £2,500 annually. This figure is likely to
rise to just over £3,000 but without the intervention the typical household
bill would have hit £4,000.
Universal support payments will end but there will be targeted support for
those on low incomes and pensioners.
The energy industry - including energy generators - will also be hit with a
significantly expanded windfall tax to help pay for the support.
The BBC understands the state pension and benefits will rise with inflation
- although this has not been officially confirmed.
An increased National Living Wage, from the current level of £9.50 an hour
for over-23s, will also be confirmed.
After unexpected announcements in Mr Hunt's predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng's
ill-fated mini-budget, no big surprises are expected from the chancellor.
Mr Hunt has already reversed almost all the tax rises announced in the
mini-budget in a bid to stabilise financial markets.
Unlike Mr Kwarteng, Mr Hunt will publish independent forecasts from the
Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) alongside his statement.
The forecasts are expected to paint a grim picture, after the Bank of
England warned the country is set for its longest recession since records
began.
Media caption,
Rishi Sunak: UK's 'reputation took a bit of a knock'
In his Autumn Statement, Mr Hunt is expected to say: "We are taking
difficult decisions to deliver strong public finances and help keep mortgage
rates low, but our plan also protects our long-term economic growth.
"At the same time, we protect the vulnerable, because to be British is to be
compassionate."
He is set to add that the UK is not "immune" to the global economic crisis
"but with this plan for stability, growth and public services - we will face
into the storm".
However, some Tory MPs on the right of the party have already expressed
concern about the prospect of tax rises.
Former cabinet minister Esther McVey has said putting up taxes is the "last
thing" a Conservative government should be doing.
On Wednesday, she warned she would not support tax rises unless the
"unnecessary vanity project" of HS2 was scrapped.
Simon Clarke, who was in Ms Truss's cabinet, warned Mr Hunt not to "throw
the baby out with the bathwater and overcorrect" by imposing too many tax
hikes.
"I hope they will strike a balance which leans much more to spending
reductions than tax rises to balance the books," he told BBC Radio 4's PM
programme.
But former work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb said he feared spending
cuts could lead to "real risks to the quality of public services".
He told the BBC the state pension and benefits "absolutely" need to rise
with inflation and that the Energy Price Guarantee needed to be broader than
just helping pensioners and people on benefits.
He added that he was confident Mr Hunt would make "the right decisions".
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK needed "fairer choices for
working people and a proper plan for growth".
"Britain has so much potential but we are falling behind on the global
stage, while mortgages, food and energy costs all go up and up," she
said.-BBC
Elon Musk tells Twitter staff to work long hours or leave
Elon Musk has told Twitter staff that they must commit to working "long
hours at high intensity" or else leave the company, according to reports.
In an email to staff, the social media firm's new owner said workers should
agree to the pledge if they wanted to stay, the Washington Post reported.
Those who do not sign up by Thursday will be given three months' severance
pay, Mr Musk said.
The BBC has contacted Twitter for comment.
In his email to staff, also seen by The Guardian, Mr Musk said that Twitter
"will need to be extremely hardcore" in order to succeed.
"This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional
performance will constitute a passing grade," he said.
Workers were told that they needed to click on a link by 17:00 EST on
Thursday, if they want to be "part of the new Twitter".
He added: "Whatever decision you make, thank you for your efforts to make
Twitter successful."
The world's richest man has already announced half of Twitter's staff are
being let go, after he bought the company in a $44bn (£38.7bn) deal.
Mr Musk said he had "no choice" over the cuts, as the company was losing $4m
(£3.51m) a day. He has blamed "activist groups pressuring advertisers" for a
"massive drop in revenue".
A host of top Twitter executives have also stepped down following his
purchase of the firm.
Last week, the entrepreneur told Twitter staff that remote working would end
and "difficult times" lay ahead, according to reports.
In an email to staff, the owner of the social media firm said workers would
be expected in the office for at least 40 hours a week, Bloomberg reported.
Mr Musk added that there was "no way to sugar-coat the message" that the
slowing global economy was going to hit Twitter's advertising revenues.
But tech investor Sarah Kunst said the real reason Twitter is facing
difficulties is because Mr Musk's takeover has saddled the company with
debt.
His behaviour since the takeover has also led some advertisers to pause
their spending, she said.
"He's now trying to inflict that pain and uncertainty on the employees," she
said.
She added that there was a question mark over how enforceable Mr Musk's
email about hours to staff really was.
"Can you just send an email to staff who already work for you and just
unilaterally change their working contract? That remains to be seen."
Elon Musk likes to think of himself as "hardcore".
He says he works 100+ hour weeks. He sometimes sleeps at the office.
And he wants that for his staff too.
His management philosophy is about putting together small collections of
highly motivated and capable employees.
He says he'd much rather have a small number of exceptional people than many
who are "pretty good and moderately motivated".
With this email, he appears to applying that philosophy.
He wants just true believers at Twitter, people who are fully aligned with
what he's doing.
There are plenty of staff who do believe in Twitter's mission. There are
also staff working for Twitter who will relish working closely with Mr Musk.
But his directives to staff feel at times autocratic. The danger is he loses
top staff by appearing cavalier and arrogant.
And of course, if everyone at Twitter decided to take Elon Musk's offer of
severance at once, it's hard to see how Twitter could function in the short
term.
line
Mr Musk himself has been sleeping at Twitter in recent weeks, even while
leading electric carmaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX.
He described his work habits in a US court on Wednesday, where he appeared
to defend the eye-popping $56bn pay package he received from electric
carmaker Tesla in 2018.
"I pretty much work all the time, with rare exceptions." he said.
In response to questioning, he later added that the "fundamental
organisational restructuring" at Twitter would be complete by the end of
this week.
One way Mr Musk could lighten his workload is by sharing the leadership of
his other companies.
At the hearing, James Murdoch, a Tesla director and the son of media tycoon
Rupert Murdoch, said that Mr Musk had identified a potential successor to
head the car maker.
Asked to confirm that Mr Musk had never identified a potential new Tesla
chief executive, Mr Murdoch said "he actually has", adding that it had
happened in the "last few months". He didn't identify who the potential
successor was.
Dan Ives, a senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that Twitter's
culture had "dramatically changed" with Mr Musk at the helm.
"Elon Musk is not going to be doing candlelight dinners and playing ping
pong in Twitter's cafeteria and this is a shock to the system," he said.
"But he also needs to play nice in the sandbox because if key Twitter
engineers and developers leave, this will be a major void in the Twitter
ecosystem," he warned. "There's a careful balance ahead for him, in this
tightrope act."-BBC
Elon Musk tells Twitter staff to work long hours or leave
Elon Musk has told Twitter staff that they must commit to working "long
hours at high intensity" or else leave the company, according to reports.
In an email to staff, the social media firm's new owner said workers should
agree to the pledge if they wanted to stay, the Washington Post reported.
Those who do not sign up by Thursday will be given three months' severance
pay, Mr Musk said.
The BBC has contacted Twitter for comment.
In his email to staff, also seen by The Guardian, Mr Musk said that Twitter
"will need to be extremely hardcore" in order to succeed.
"This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional
performance will constitute a passing grade," he said.
Workers were told that they needed to click on a link by 17:00 EST on
Thursday, if they want to be "part of the new Twitter".
He added: "Whatever decision you make, thank you for your efforts to make
Twitter successful."
The world's richest man has already announced half of Twitter's staff are
being let go, after he bought the company in a $44bn (£38.7bn) deal.
Mr Musk said he had "no choice" over the cuts, as the company was losing $4m
(£3.51m) a day. He has blamed "activist groups pressuring advertisers" for a
"massive drop in revenue".
A host of top Twitter executives have also stepped down following his
purchase of the firm.
Last week, the entrepreneur told Twitter staff that remote working would end
and "difficult times" lay ahead, according to reports.
In an email to staff, the owner of the social media firm said workers would
be expected in the office for at least 40 hours a week, Bloomberg reported.
Mr Musk added that there was "no way to sugar-coat the message" that the
slowing global economy was going to hit Twitter's advertising revenues.
But tech investor Sarah Kunst said the real reason Twitter is facing
difficulties is because Mr Musk's takeover has saddled the company with
debt.
His behaviour since the takeover has also led some advertisers to pause
their spending, she said.
"He's now trying to inflict that pain and uncertainty on the employees," she
said.
She added that there was a question mark over how enforceable Mr Musk's
email about hours to staff really was.
"Can you just send an email to staff who already work for you and just
unilaterally change their working contract? That remains to be seen."
Elon Musk likes to think of himself as "hardcore".
He says he works 100+ hour weeks. He sometimes sleeps at the office.
And he wants that for his staff too.
His management philosophy is about putting together small collections of
highly motivated and capable employees.
He says he'd much rather have a small number of exceptional people than many
who are "pretty good and moderately motivated".
With this email, he appears to applying that philosophy.
He wants just true believers at Twitter, people who are fully aligned with
what he's doing.
There are plenty of staff who do believe in Twitter's mission. There are
also staff working for Twitter who will relish working closely with Mr Musk.
But his directives to staff feel at times autocratic. The danger is he loses
top staff by appearing cavalier and arrogant.
And of course, if everyone at Twitter decided to take Elon Musk's offer of
severance at once, it's hard to see how Twitter could function in the short
term.
line
Mr Musk himself has been sleeping at Twitter in recent weeks, even while
leading electric carmaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX.
He described his work habits in a US court on Wednesday, where he appeared
to defend the eye-popping $56bn pay package he received from electric
carmaker Tesla in 2018.
"I pretty much work all the time, with rare exceptions." he said.
In response to questioning, he later added that the "fundamental
organisational restructuring" at Twitter would be complete by the end of
this week.
One way Mr Musk could lighten his workload is by sharing the leadership of
his other companies.
At the hearing, James Murdoch, a Tesla director and the son of media tycoon
Rupert Murdoch, said that Mr Musk had identified a potential successor to
head the car maker.
Asked to confirm that Mr Musk had never identified a potential new Tesla
chief executive, Mr Murdoch said "he actually has", adding that it had
happened in the "last few months". He didn't identify who the potential
successor was.
Dan Ives, a senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that Twitter's
culture had "dramatically changed" with Mr Musk at the helm.
"Elon Musk is not going to be doing candlelight dinners and playing ping
pong in Twitter's cafeteria and this is a shock to the system," he said.
"But he also needs to play nice in the sandbox because if key Twitter
engineers and developers leave, this will be a major void in the Twitter
ecosystem," he warned. "There's a careful balance ahead for him, in this
tightrope act."-BBC
What is behind the big tech companies' job cuts?
The first sign of job cuts at Amazon came from LinkedIn posts from laid-off
employees.
Then, Amazon's devices boss, Dave Limp, announced: "It pains me... We will
lose talented Amazonians from the devices & services org".
Across the tech industry, at firms like Twitter, Meta, Coinbase and Snap,
workers have announced they are "seeking new opportunities".
Worldwide, more than 120,000 jobs have been lost, according to the
Layoffs.fyi website, which tracks tech job cuts.
Different firms cut employees for different reasons but there are common
themes.
As our lives moved online during the pandemic, the tech giants' businesses
boomed, and executives believed the good times - for them - would continue
to roll.
Meta, for example, took on more than 15,000 people in the first nine months
of this year.
Now executives announcing cuts have said they miscalculated.
"I made the decision to significantly increase our investments," chief
executive Mark Zuckerberg told Meta employees, as he laid off 13% of them.
"Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected."
Market shifts
Online adverts are the chief source of income for many tech firms, but for
the advertising business, dark clouds have been gathering. Firms have faced
growing opposition to intrusive advertising practices. For example, Apple
made it harder to track people's online activity and sell that data to
advertisers.
In the financial technology sector, rising interest rates have also hit
companies.
"It's been a really a disappointing quarter of earnings for many of the big
tech companies," said technology analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight.
"No-one's immune."
Even Apple has signalled caution, with chief executive Tim Cook saying the
firm was "still hiring", but only on a "deliberate basis."
Amazon attributed its job cuts to an "unusual and uncertain macroeconomic
environment" forcing it to prioritize on what mattered most to customers.
"As part of our annual operating planning review process, we always look at
each of our businesses and what we believe we should change," spokeswoman
Kelly Nantel said.
"As we've gone through this, given the current macro-economic environment
(as well as several years of rapid hiring), some teams are making
adjustments, which in some cases means certain roles are no longer
necessary. We don't take these decisions lightly, and we are working to
support any employees who may be affected."
Cut the bloat
Investors have also piled on the pressure to cut costs, accusing firms of
being bloated and slow to respond to signs of slowdown.
In an open letter to Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube,
activist investor Sir Christopher Hohn urged the firm to slash jobs and pay.
Alphabet had to be more disciplined about costs, he wrote, and cut losses
from projects like its self-driving car company, Waymo.
Elon Musk is certainly of the view that there is room to cut costs at his
latest investment, Twitter, which has struggled to either turn a profit or
attract new users.
Added to that, many commentators argue Mr Musk paid over the odds for the
firm, and the pressure is on to make his investment worthwhile.
He laid off half the firm's employees; and for those who remain an "extreme"
work ethic is promised.
According to US media reports on Tuesday, Mr Musk told staff they needed to
commit to a "hardcore" culture of "long hours at high intensity" or leave.
Industry watcher Scott Kessler also says there is less tolerance for big
spending on high-tech gambles like virtual reality or driverless cars that
may not pay off in the short term.
Investors also see the high wages and cushy perks some enjoy in the industry
as unsustainable.
"Some companies have had to face harsh realities," he said.
Mike Morini, from WorkForce Software, which provides digital management
tools said it appeared to be a turning point.
"The tech industry is exiting a period of growth at all costs," he said.
But while the big tech firms may be buffeted by economic headwinds, they are
not broken.
Amazon's proposed 10,000 job cuts in corporate and technology roles - its
biggest such reduction to date - represents only 3% of its office staff.
And the lay-offs may also be the start of new businesses as talented staff,
dumped by the big firms, join or create start-ups.
As veteran Silicon Valley watcher Mike Malone recently told the BBC: "I
won't write the Valley off yet. I still have a lot of hope."-BBC
Taylor Swift Ticketmaster crash draws ire on Capitol Hill
Tickets for Taylor Swift's next US concert tour have not even gone on sale
to the general public - but already many fans hoping to see her live have
been disappointed.
Mum Nancy Abulmagd spent hours in a virtual queue, behind thousands of other
people, trying to score seats for her 11-year-old daughter and friends, only
to have the website crash repeatedly and eventually turn her away
empty-handed.
And Nancy was one of the lucky ones - she had won a lottery that allowed
"verified fans" to participate in a pre-sale four days before the purchases
open to everyone.
"I got so close three or four times and the website broke. It was
agonising," the 41-year-old, who lives in New Jersey, said. "The experience
was really deflating. It messed with your emotions and sucked up your whole
day."
Ticketmaster, the company selling the tickets, has said the problems are
down to "historically unprecedented demand" for the singer, who first burst
on the scene in 2006 and has supplied a steady stream of hits exploring fame
and romantic entanglements.
Her latest album, Midnights, has topped charts around the world.
Millions of Swifties, as her fans are known, vied for tickets for her
52-city US tour in the pre-sale and hundreds of thousands secured seats,
Ticketmaster said.
The company says the pre-sale system is intended to help prevent ticket
touts - known as scalpers in the US - and bots from scooping up seats.
But the glitches in the process have reignited anger at the firm, which has
long faced complaints that it abuses its power over the industry.
In an episode of his HBO show Last Week Tonight earlier this year, British
comedian John Oliver described Ticketmaster as "one of the most hated
companies on earth" - blaming it for the high prices, exorbitant fees and
scarce availability that confront those hoping to attend concerts and other
events.
"You're kind of at their mercy," said Nancy, adding that the company could
have better organised the sales given that such high demand for Taylor Swift
tickets was foreseeable.
Pearl Jam aired concerns about Ticketmaster's role as the major ticket
seller back in the 1990s.
The company's power has only grown since then. In 2010, it purchased Live
Nation, which runs many of the country's event venues and has an artist
management business.
US Democratic lawmakers, who have called for that merger to be reversed,
chimed in again amid the chaos of the Taylor Swift pre-sale.
"Ticketmaster's excessive wait times and fees are completely unacceptable,
as seen with today's @taylorswift13 tickets, and are a symptom of a larger
problem," wrote congressman David Cicilline, who oversees the House
committee on competition and anti-trust. "It's no secret that Live
Nation-Ticketmaster is an unchecked monopoly."
"Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, its merger with LiveNation
should never have been approved, and they need to be reigned [sic] in,"
wrote left-wing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Break them up."
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment on the
Taylor Swift affair on Wednesday.
Ticketmaster is already subject to government monitoring, oversight that was
imposed when the LiveNation purchase was approved.
The oversight was extended a few years ago after regulators found the firm
had violated the terms of the agreement.
And last month, US President Joe Biden - who has expressed concern that
monopolies have become more common across the economy - said his
administration would look into fees on concert tickets.
Krista Brown, senior policy analyst at the American Economic Liberties
Project, is part of a coalition of artists and others who launched a
campaign last month calling on the government to break up Ticketmaster.
She said she was hopeful that the outrage from Taylor Swift's massive fan
base would raise pressure on the administration to act.
"If there was healthy competition in this space, [these problems] just
wouldn't be present and customers or fans would have other services to turn
to," she said. "You probably wouldn't have sites crashing... When you have
one supplier this is what happens."
But whether that will be any consolation to fans hoping for a glimpse of
Taylor Swift in concert is another question.
Before the general public can try again, the company is opening purchases up
to people who carry credit cards from the sponsor of the Taylor Swift tour,
Capital One.
Ticketmaster did not respond to a request for comment from the BBC, asking
how many tickets were expected to be available.
Swift, who has added 25 shows to her tour in response to the huge demand and
has sometimes picked fights with corporate behemoths, has so far been quiet
on the matter.
As for Nancy, she said she plans to try again as part of the general public
on Friday. But she's not holding out much hope.-BBC
Deliveroo: UK-based food delivery firm quits Australia
UK-based food delivery app Deliveroo says it is quitting Australia, citing
tough economic conditions.
The company's Australian operation, which launched in 2015, is being placed
into voluntary administration.
Deliveroo has come under increasing pressure to treat its 15,000 riders as
employees, with the country's new government pledging to improve gig
workers' conditions.
It has also faced competition from rivals such as Uber Eats and Menulog.
Deliveroo said it had stopped accepting orders through its app, with
customers receiving an error message if they tried to place an order.
"This was a difficult decision and not one we have taken lightly. We want to
thank all our employees, consumers, riders and restaurant and grocery
partners who have been involved with the Australian operations over the past
seven years," Deliveroo's chief operating officer Eric French said in a
statement to investors.
"Our focus is now on making sure our employees, riders and partners are
supported throughout this process," he added.
In the statement the company pledged "guaranteed enhanced severance payments
for employees as well as compensation for riders and for certain restaurant
partners."
Food delivery apps saw demand surge during the pandemic but have since faced
challenges including customers reining in their spending and the tightening
of regulations in several countries.
During Australia's election campaign this year Anthony Albanese, who is now
the country's prime minister, said he would work to improve the rights of
workers if his party came to power.
Members of his government have called gig work a "cancer" on the economy
with accusations that it drives down the wages of a million workers.
Last month, Deliveroo also announced that it planned to quit the Netherlands
market at the end of November.
Deliveroo's London-listed shares have lost around half of their value since
the start of this year.-BBC
Milk and cheese drive food price inflation to 45-year high
Food prices are rising at their fastest rate for 45 years, with the cost of
basics such as milk, cheese and eggs surging.
Food price inflation hit 16.2% in the year to October, up from 14.5% in
September, latest figures show.
Energy and fuel costs also rose sharply, pushing the overall inflation rate
to its highest level since 1981.
The surging cost of living is squeezing household budgets, leaving many
people facing hardship.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it was hitting poorer
households hardest, as they spent around half of their income on food and
energy, compared to about a third for those on middle incomes.
October's overall inflation rate, of 11.1%, is the highest for 41 years and
up from 10.1% in September.
The latest figures come ahead of Thursday's Autumn Statement, in which
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce billions of pounds worth of
public spending cuts and tax rises.
Mr Hunt said his plans would aim to bring spiralling price rises under
control, adding that he would take "tough but necessary decisions" to get
the economy back on track.
But Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the surging inflation rate
would "strike more fear in the heart of families across Britain" and blamed
"12 years of Tory economic failure".
Inflation is a measure of the cost of living and to calculate it, the Office
for National Statistics (ONS) keeps track of the prices of hundreds of
everyday items, known as a "basket of goods".
The ONS said that food prices had risen sharply in October with milk, pasta,
margarine, eggs and cereals all going up.
I've been conducting a very unscientific experiment by buying the same 10
basic items in Aldi almost every month since May, and yesterday's bill was
another increase.
My shopping list of exactly the same bread, pizza, chips, loo roll, eggs,
potatoes, sugar, oats, cornflakes, and nappies has gone up from £14.20 in
May to £16.29 yesterday. That's a 14.7% rise in just six months.
It gives a real sense of what we're all facing at the tills, wherever you
shop, and also gives a little glimpse into what the November figures will
show us when they are published next month.
If anyone was hoping for a reduction in food inflation then it doesn't seem
like it's happening just yet.
However, gas and electricity prices were still the main drivers of inflation
after bills climbed again last month.
The government's Energy Price Guarantee scheme did mitigate those rises,
limiting the average household bill to around £2,500 a year.
But the ONS said gas and electricity prices were still up by nearly 130% and
66% respectively compared with a year ago.
Without the government's support, however, it said overall inflation would
have risen to as high as 13.8%.
Greg Pilley is the founder of the Stroud Brewery & Taproom in
Gloucestershire, which supplies beer to pubs and shops. He told the BBC his
business has been hit by a 10% rise in costs.
"Electricity has doubled over the last year," he said. "We're paying £70,000
a year compared to £30,000 in the previous year, but also raw materials are
going up by between 10-15%."
Greg Pilley
He said he'd had to put his prices up, while he was also paying much more in
wages.
"The future is fairly unpredictable," Mr Pilley said. "We've got to sell
three times as much beer... just to stay in the same place."
Energy and food prices have been rising since last year because of the war
in Ukraine and the impact of the Covid pandemic.
Rising prices have led to workers across a number of sectors calling for pay
increases in line with the higher cost of living, with some industries such
as the railways, staging strikes.
How are you being affected by the rising cost of living? Do you have any
questions you'd like our experts to answer? Share your experiences by
emailing haveyoursay at bbc.co.uk.
line
However, some economists suggest October's 11.1% inflation rate could be the
peak.
Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said prices could begin
to slow down "if the government continues to freeze [energy] prices in some
way".
"There is growing evidence that the upward pressure on core inflation from
global factors is now fading," he added.
Dame Deanne Julius, former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy
Committee which sets interest rates, also said some of the elements driving
inflation - aside from energy bills and food prices - were stabilising.
If inflation falls, it won't mean prices will come down, it means prices
will rise at a slower rate.
How much are prices rising for you? Try our calculator
The Bank of England has put up interest rates to 3% in a bid to cool
inflation. It hopes that by making borrowing money more expensive, people
will spend less, demand will decrease and the pace of price rises will be
curbed.
But higher rates are driving up the cost of mortgages and other loans.
The squeeze on spending is dragging on the UK economy which is likely to
enter a recession at the end of the year.
Latest figures showed the economy contracted by 0.2% between July and
September and the Bank of England has warned the UK is facing a tough
two-year downturn.
A recession is defined as when an economy shrinks for two three-month
periods in a row. It's a sign an economy is performing badly, with companies
often making less money and unemployment rising.
Countries around the world are experiencing higher inflation. The rate in
Germany is higher than in the UK, at 11.6%, while prices rose by 7.7% in the
year to October in the US.
However, the UK is performing worse economically than other major nations,
with its economy smaller than it was before the Covid pandemic.-BBC
Retailer Joules collapses risking 1,600 jobs
Clothing group Joules has collapsed into administration, putting 1,600 jobs
at risk.
The Leicestershire-based company, which has 132 shops, took the step after
failing to secure emergency investment.
The firm will be run as a going concern over Christmas while the
administrators look for a buyer.
Many retailers have been struggling as consumers cut spending amid rising
prices. Inflation rose to 11.1% in October, latest figures show.
Will Wright, one of the administrators from Interpath Advisory, said: "Over
the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a
going concern during this vitally important Christmas trading period while
we assess options for the group, including a possible sale."
Mr Wright added that there had been "an overwhelming amount of interest from
interested parties" in Joules.
"At this stage we are optimistic that we will be able to secure a future for
this great British brand," he said.
Joules said last week that recent sales had been weaker than expected.
It said this was largely due to "the challenging UK economic environment
which has negatively impacted consumer confidence and disposable income".
Last week, furniture retailer Made.com fell into administration, leading to
hundreds of job losses, with High Street giant Next buying Made's brand
name, website and intellectual property.
Next had been in talks with Joules during the summer over taking a stake in
the company, but these discussions ended in September.
Why are prices rising so much?
Joules was founded by Tom Joule, and started out selling clothes at country
shows in 1989.
Mr Joule said he had started the firm with "one man, one tent and a lot of
enthusiasm", finding a niche in the market when he realised there was a
demand for colourful clothing amid the standard tweeds worn to such events.
On Monday, Mr Joule said the business "has become too complex and our model
today is not aligned to succeed in the current, tough trading environment".
As well as the Joules stores and online business, the Joules Group also runs
the online-only Garden Trading Company.
The squeeze on consumer spending, with households facing prices rising at
the fastest pace for 40 years, has led to problems across the retail sector.
Last week, Marks and Spencer warned of a "gathering storm" of higher costs
for retailers and pressure on household budgets, adding that "all parts" of
retail would be affected.-BBC
Royal Mail asks to stop Saturday letter deliveries
Royal Mail has asked the government if it can stop its letter deliveries on
Saturdays, as it seeks to turn its fortunes around after slumping to a loss
in the first half of the year.
The business said it wanted to move from a six-days-a-week letter delivery
to five, from Monday to Friday only.
However, parcel services would continue to run all days of the week.
It came as Royal Mail reported a £219m underlying operating loss for the six
months to 25 September.
Keith Williams, non-executive chair of Royal Mail's owner International
Distributions Services, said "urgent reform" was needed, to ensure a
sustainable future.
"[The] government has now been approached to seek an early move to five day
letter delivery, whilst we continue to improve parcel services," he
said.-BBC
Autumn Statement: Jeremy Hunt set to extend energy help but bills will go up
Help with energy bills is likely to be extended beyond April but at a less
generous level in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Autumn Statement.
Benefits and the state pensions will also rise with in line with prices, the
BBC understands.
In his statement, at about 11.30 GMT, Mr Hunt will unveil tax rises and
spending cuts aimed at mending the nation's finances.
Labour says working people are paying the price for 12 years of Tory
failure.
But Mr Hunt will pledge to face into the economic "storm", claiming his
plans will put the UK on a "balanced path to stability" as he tackles the
"enemy" of inflation, which has soared to a 41-year high.
He is likely to announce that the energy price guarantee introduced during
Liz Truss's ill-fated premiership will remain in place beyond April, but the
cap will rise.
This will mean a rise in typical energy bills for a typical household, from
£2,500 a year now to just over £3,000.
Without this intervention such bills could have hit £4,000. Allowing the cap
to rise will help fund targeted support for some 8 million low income
households.
Universal support payments will end but there will be targeted support for
those on low incomes and pensioners.
The energy industry - including energy generators - will also be hit with a
significantly expanded windfall tax to help pay for the support.
Mr Hunt will use his speech to set out plans to repair the UK's battered
public finances, which need about £54bn over two years, but will claim to be
taking a "compassionate" and "balanced" approach.
He will claim the UK is not "immune" to the global economic crisis "but with
this plan for stability, growth and public services - we will face into the
storm".
The final figures will be published as his statement is delivered but it is
expected that around 55% of the measures will be spending cuts and 45% will
be tax rises. This is likely to equate to around £30bn in spending cuts and
£24bn in tax rises.
The chancellor is likely to argue that this is not a return to the 2010
Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's policy of austerity,
with the balance of spending cuts to tax rises 80% to 20% under
then-Chancellor George Osborne.
But he is coming under pressure from some Conservative MPs, who argue tax
rises are unnecessary and risk tipping the UK into a deep recession.
The freezing of levels at which people pay various taxes will be a big theme
of the statement. As a result of inflation and pay increases, people will
end up paying more tax.
The threshold when the highest earners start paying the top rate of tax will
be lowered to £125,000 from £150,000.
With inflation - the rate at which prices rise - now running at a 41-year
high, many departments will see their budgets squeezed with below-inflation
increases.
But it is expected the health budget will be protected and increase in real
terms - even when price rises are taken into account.
Graph showing inflation hit 11.1% in October
An increased National Living Wage, from the current level of £9.50 an hour
for over-23s, will also be confirmed.
After unexpected announcements in Mr Hunt's predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng's
ill-fated mini-budget, no big surprises are expected from the chancellor.
Mr Hunt has already reversed almost all the tax cuts announced in the
mini-budget in a bid to stabilise financial markets.
Unlike Mr Kwarteng, Mr Hunt will publish independent forecasts from the
Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) alongside his statement.
The forecasts are expected to paint a grim picture, after the Bank of
England warned the country is set for its longest recession since records
began.
Former work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb said he feared spending
cuts could lead to "real risks to the quality of public services".
The Tory MP told the BBC the state pension and benefits "absolutely" need to
rise with inflation and that the Energy Price Guarantee needed to be broader
than just helping pensioners and people on benefits.
He added that he was confident Mr Hunt would make "the right decisions".
Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK needed "fairer choices
for working people and a proper plan for growth".
"Britain has so much potential but we are falling behind on the global
stage, while mortgages, food and energy costs all go up and up," she
said.-BBC
South Africa: Mine Blasting Damaging Homes Across the Country
In communities across three provinces, the walls of homes are being cracked
and their floors are collapsing as houses are being damaged by unabated mine
blasting.
This is the situation according to communities in the Northern Cape,
Mpumalanga Highveld and Limpopo.
Community leader Olefile Mabuya from Postmasburg in Northern Cape told
Scrolla.Africa most of the houses in the community have been damaged by
blasting conducted by Anglo American-owned Kolomela Iron Ore Mine.
"Many houses within the community are being damaged by blasting. We have
written many letters to the mine but they don't take responsibility. They
don't even respond to the letters," said Mabuya.
"Some houses are seriously damaged and the floors are collapsing. This
problem started about a decade ago and until today it is still continuing.
Sinah Phochana from the Anglo Platinum media unit says they are
investigating the allegations.
"Investigators were sent to check if this is true," says Phochana.
In Limpopo, Anglo American has started to renovate the houses damaged when
Mogalakwena Platinum Mine conducted its blasting sessions between 2016 and
2019.
Community leader David Moselakgomo from Mogalakwena said they had to
confront them many times but they are relieved that some houses have been
repaired.
"They have already repaired about 400 houses," said Moselakgomo.
Themba Mahlangu from Middelburg is facing a similar situation as his family
houses are always being demolished when Mafube Coal Mine conducts
operations.
"Other people were assisted to relocate a year before the mine started
operating but they don't want to offer the same assistance to my family,"
says Mahlangu.
Bontle Mfolo, Regional Manager of Thungela Resource Limited which owns the
mine, denied the allegation.
"After a structural engineer inspected the house we found that the blasting
activities have no impact on the Mahlangu home or its immediate
surroundings," says Mfolo.
-Scrolla.
South Africa: Get-Rich-Quick Solar Energy Scheme Looks Way Too Good to Be
True
"Do you think it will last until December?" This is Edward's* main concern.
Two months ago he invested R500 in a new get-rich-quick scheme, Gollong
Investment.
It was all the money he had, but he was desperate to try something to make
some extra cash.
After just 40 days, Edward, from Thohoyandou in Limpopo, received a
notification that his balance with Gollong was now R800, showing a welcome
R300 profit. The investment generated a 60% return, not bad going for just
over a month.
Edward was so impressed with how his "investment" had performed, that
instead of cashing in he decided to re-invest the full amount, along with a
further R1,500 he borrowed from a family member. Now he must wait 50 days
for what he expects will be a payout of R5,250, a staggering R3,250 profit
on the R2,000 invested.
"Some say it's a Ponzi scheme, but I don't know," Edward says. A Ponzi
scheme, according to Investopedia, is a "fraudulent scheme that involves
paying early investors in a non-existent enterprise with the funds invested
from new investors".
But Edward wants to believe that Gollong is legitimate.
"Gollong says it's a legit company and that it is registered with SARS. I am
just hoping that nothing happens before December, because I really need the
money."
Edward heard about the investment scheme from his sister, who lives in
Johannesburg. She was one of the early investors. A week ago she received
another pay-out, says Edward, showing a WhatsApp screenshot indicating that
R15,393 was paid into his sister's Capitec account.
"She invested R82,300 last week, but she now earns more than R3,000 a day."
He admits that Gollong's claimed returns on investment are extravagant, but
he wants to believe that it is possible. "I just hope I don't lose my
money," he says.
One big red flag is that Gollong, in one of its promotional videos, shows a
picture of an "Authorization Certificate" claiming that the company has full
authority to promote its "photovoltaic series products" to South African
citizens for a ten-year-period, from February 2020 to February 2030.
The certificate was awarded by the non-existent "Cape Town People's
Government of South Africa".
It's a Ponzi
People around the world have been fleeced of billions of dollars after
falling for Ponzi schemes, which rely on the greed or desperation of
investors. Characteristics of all schemes are unrealistically high or
consistent returns, and vague or unclear business models underpinning them.
The lucrative returns on offer often persuade investors to turn a blind eye
to the way the returns are generated.
South Africans have seen many such schemes take off and then collapse after
the people behind them disappeared with their cash.The most famous was
probably Adrian Nieuwoudt and his kubus Ponzi scheme that took the country
by storm in the 1980s. This involved the cultivation of milk yeast cultures
and a wonder beauty cream. The pyramid collapsed and Nieuwoudt was
sequestrated.
A clever Ponzi scheme will try to link to a fairly credible product, but
preferably not one where the return on investment is easy to calculate.
Until recently, crypto currencies were popular choices for Ponzi scheme
operators, because few people understood how these currencies worked.
"We are the chosen ones"
With loadshedding predicted for the next few years, South Africa is fertile
ground for Ponzis offering power solutions. Gollong Investments, which
claims to originate in the United Kingdom, apparently entered the South
African market in 2021, inviting people to invest in its products.
"GOLLONG is a company focusing on new energy research and development. Due
to the current electricity shortage in South Africa, our company was invited
by the South African government ... ", an introduction to a Gollong YouTube
marketing video claims. It describes Gollong's business model as the
"promotion of mobile charging equipment and solar generators in South
Africa".
>From what we could gather from the company's various websites, its
presentation video on Youtube, and other sources we discovered, the scheme
invites investors to "rent" different types of solar equipment including
battery packs, solar panels and charging stations that can be used during
load-shedding. Once the investor "rents" the equipment, the equipment is
then on-rented to end users who pay to use them. Does that make sense? Not
really! You are probably asking the same question we are: well then, why
doesn't the company just rent the equipment to consumers itself?
What's also unclear is whether Gollong actually makes the equipment or buys
it from another manufacturer. And also very mysterious is who exactly are
the end users? Who are the people or businesses prepared to pay such huge
sums to use the equipment that generates such incredible returns for
investors?
In short, it's a very mysterious business model for one that generates such
incredible returns.
Numbers don't add up
Gollong offers investments in a variety of "products". The
bottom-of-the-line product is a six-slot power bank, which can be "rented"
by the investor for R230 over a 40-day cycle. This, they claim, pays out
R320 at the end of the cycle.
The top-of-the-range investment is for the G-VIP8, described only as "solar
power", at R140,000. After 60 days the investor is promised R588,000, a
R448,000 profit.
"Of course, you won't get the actual device. You'll get the earnings hold on
it," Gollong says in its video marketing pitch. "The device is still in a
mall. In other words, the device works for you every day. Everyday people
use your device, they need to pay and those profits are yours."
Calculating the return on investment on an annual basis, it's clear that
percentage profits claimed are unrealistic. The supposed return on
investment on the lowest investment of R230 would yield an annual return of
357%, which is about 350 percentage points more than you'll get at a
commercial bank!
The top-of-the-range investment seems to generate returns that are truly
dazzling - and simply too good to be true. If you invested R140,000 in the
scheme, a year later you would be a millionaire after having received a
staggering R2.72-million, representing a return of some 1,946% in a year.
"Gollong's purpose [is to] insist on letting warmth enter thousands of
households and serve every member with heart," the company told investors in
a message last week.
The reality
To try to establish whether Gollong can deliver such astronomical returns,
we contacted a legitimate vendor who is active in this segment of the market
in South Africa.
Adoozy Power rents out power banks similar to the ones used in Gollong's
marketing material. "We give the end consumer an opportunity to rent a power
bank in one location and return it ... at any other Power Tower throughout
the Adoozy network which includes Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban," the
company says on its website.
The power bank rental concept is available in several countries where power
is an issue, and it is growing in popularity. People reliant on their cell
phones and other communication devices for their work and livelihoods are
drastically affected by the disruptions posed by load-shedding and power
outages. Being able to recharge or power portable devices is a fundamental
requirement and also presents a huge business opportunity.
Adoozy Power's power bank units cost R50 each for a three-hour rental, but
customers also have the option to rent them for longer periods at reduced
rates, including a monthly rate of R199. During the rental period the power
bank can be exchanged for a fully charged one at any of Adoozy's kiosks.
Adoozy Power CEO, Kegan Peffer, says he has not come across any Gollong
devices in South Africa.
"We cannot comment extensively on another business as we do not know the
exact nature of their offerings," he said. "But returns would be based on
frequency of rentals, which can be high at high usage areas such as events
or airports. Because consumers can rent [equipment] more than once-off, this
can give good returns, but ... 357% with the consideration of capital
expenditure, logistics, maintenance etc is difficult to attain."
Peffer said that capital expenditure included not just the power bank
itself, but also the actual kiosk and the tech and development involved. "On
the whole, power bank rental can be profitable. However, it is a
capital-intensive exercise to get off the ground. A critical component is
choosing the right locations to ensure that frequency of rentals is high.
That will dictate profit margins," he said.
Tracking down Gollong in South Africa
Though Gollong Investment claims to have been active in South Africa since
2021, the company was only registered on 21 September this year. Its listed
address is Office 26, Benvista Office complex, Edgar Road, Boksburg, on the
East Rand. There is only one director, 31-year-old Melikhaya Palafini.
Palafini has no social media presence and a Google search does not produce a
single result.
When a reporter visited Gollong's supposed Boksburg offices, there was no
sign of the company. This address is of a series of townhouses and some
offices. The security guard at the entrance pointed out a board listing all
businesses at the address. Gollong Investments is not one of them. "There
are one or two loan sharks operating from some of the offices, but I don't
know a Gollong," the guard said.
London just as dodgy
The "international" address of Gollong also proved to be false. The
company's website says it is based at 47/48 Piccadilly Street, London. This
venue, close to the posh financial district of Mayfair, with Buckingham
Palace just around the corner, is a popular tourist shopping destination.
But when a reporter visited this address he found that no such company
operates from the building. The concierge, who has been working at the
premises for eight years, confirmed that no such company had been based
there over that time.
Gollong's "team" in the UK are listed as Dilip Gupta (CEO and founder),
David Adams (Engineer) and Bill Caruso (Engineer).
But a reverse image search of photos of Gollong's supposed staff revealed
that the exact same "team" are also the driving force behind another
company, Solar E-tribe, with the descriptions and photos of the team members
identical to those on the Gollong website (See "Team"). Further searches
showed that the same photos and names of the directors are also used on
other websites, such as that of a company called Tiger Tooth Technologies.
Solar E-tribe did not respond to an email asking the company to confirm that
its directors are also active in Gollong Investments. Bill Caruso did not
respond to a similar inquiry sent to his Tiger Tooth Technologies profile
about his relationship with Gollong.
The www.gollong.org site is relatively new and first indexed by
webarchive.org on 17 July this year. This site, however, can only be
accessed by members who have logged in and contains no public information,
such as an address or telephone numbers.
The www.gollong.gq site contains some information, but the address of the
office is false. The site contains a "contact us" page, but once a message
is submitted via this page, it comes up with a "sorry, it seems that our
mail server is not responding. Please try again later!" message.
The www.solaretribe.com site has a history dating back to 2013, but
initially was a vendor referral site. When it started to focus on solar
energy and devices, it had two addresses, one in Texas in the USA and one in
Gurugram, India. In about 2018, the Gurugram address was dropped and
replaced with a New York address.
Make money the hush-hush way
Anyone wanting to join Gollong as an investor needs a referral from an
existing member. Once someone becomes a member, they can interact via an app
that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or by visiting the
website. Only members are privy to information and messages from Gollong.
Gollong makes extensive use of WhatsApp groups to communicate with
investors. Judging by the phone numbers, these groups appear to have
operators based in the United Kingdom, but the address provided in the group
details is in Camps Bay in Cape Town.
We sent a message via WhatsApp last week to one of the group administrators,
who goes by the name "Leseai", asking for names and contact numbers of the
scheme's managers or owners. The messages were simply ignored.
We also sent a WhatsApp message to the cell phone number of one of the South
African members, "Tsalelani", who seems to be actively advising other
members, and asked her to supply contact details of her manager. "Y asking
me?" she responded, and then refused to interact further.
Judging by WhatsApp screen grabs, participants in the investment scheme are
discouraged from talking about what is happening. One message sent to group
members warned against "discussing or slandering the company." Members are
even offered rewards of R200 if they report such conduct to the
administrator.
"Recently, some people doubt the authenticity of Gollong, and there are
rumours that Gollong will stop business in the near future," Alyssa, who has
a UK phone number, posted. "Gollong company will investigate its legal
responsibility for these false information and rumor makers".
Efforts to contact the administrators via these UK phone numbers were also
unsuccessful.
Feeding the beast
The messages to group members are focused on encouraging them to recruit
more investors. "Reward codes will be sent every day at 19:30. Invite
friends or family to join to get R50-R14,000," reads a message sent out on
Sunday night.
Any successful Ponzi scheme relies on a myriad of enticements. You have to
convince the existing members to actively recruit more investors and spend
more money, because if money doesn't flow into the pot, the fraudsters won't
be able to pay investors.
In the case of Gollong, it has all the bells and whistles, including a
lottery pool where people can "spin and win". "Every time you recruit 1 new
user (or spend R600), you get one lucky spin for free. 100% winning,"
according to Gollong's "7 Ways to Make Money in Gollong" instruction manual.
If people don't want to play Gollong's lottery, they can make money by
renting the equipment. There is, however, a slight catch. They have to visit
the app at least once a day and claim their income. If they don't, they lose
it.
Investors can also make money by inviting new members to join. Gollong's
"rules" in this regard are slightly confusing, because it can either cost an
additional R2 a day, or R100 per member for the R500 device. Maybe they make
it up as they go along.
Any clever Ponzi scheme relies on a hierarchy, which means people who have
been members for longer have new recruits "under" them. And, being on a
higher level, they also earn a percentage of what those under them earn.
They will collect 10% of whatever the recruit below them earns, and a
further 6% of the earnings of the person on the tier below that. And so it
continues.
But, there is one little snag - the equipment that the top tier rent must be
more valuable than the equipment of those "below" them.
But wait, there's more
If you are easily distracted and confused by the various levels, tiers and
VIP statuses, luckily there is an easier way to quadruple your money: you
can invest it in the "Energy Pool". This is way better than any bank,
because it offers 5.2% interest per day!
"If you put 10 shares (R1,000) in NO.3 energy pool, then it will
automatically add 1,000*5.2%=52 interest to your Gollong account every day
After 90 days you can get the total interest: 52*90=4,680," the manual
explains.
This return on investment beats some of the best Ponzi schemes around. In
real terms it works out as a rate of 1,898%. And, in the exact words of the
manual: "At the same time, you can also get your capital back R1000".
The manual ends this section with: "If you experience load-shedding a lot or
don't have time to manage your Gollong account, energy pool are (sic) the
perfect way to make money."
Is this legal?
Of course, none of this is legal, and for a variety of reasons. The Banks
Act prescribes that only registered banks can take such deposits and it is
illegal for unregistered institutions to take deposits from members of the
public.
Gollong is not listed as an authorised financial service provider, which
means that the company may not handle investments or offer financial advice
to clients. Gollong may argue that it doesn't have "investors", but merely
customers "renting" its equipment, but this will be hard to prove as there
is currently no evidence that any of its products are in operation in the
country.
Also, the running of an internal lottery without permission is illegal in
South Africa. The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) regulates all
lotteries and sport pools in the country.
NLC spokesperson Ndivhuho Mafela said that Gollong Investment "appear to be
an investment scheme/company and therefore by law not eligible to conduct a
lottery in terms of the provisions of the Lotteries Act 57 of 1997". He
added that no application had been received from the company to run a
lottery.
Where to from here?
For investors such as Edward, it's a nervous period of waiting. If he
"cashes in", he will lose all his potential winnings. If the Ponzi scheme
crashes before he bails out, he loses his R500 - and he still owes his
friend R1,500.
Without inside knowledge of the scheme, it's near impossible to judge how
many people have invested. One of the Gollong WhatsApp groups, Gol Long
exchange group 28, had 352 participants a week ago. It could mean that there
are at least 27 other similar groups, but it could simply be a name chosen
for the group.
Judging by Gollong's latest news postings, the bait is getting even tastier.
The lottery pool has increased in size. "As mentioned earlier, in order to
speed up the popularization in South Africa, Gollong will spend 200 million
rand to promote this event," a recent post claims.
Edward's sister has big plans for Christmas for her children and other
family members. She has invested a lot of money in Gollong and would be very
upset - and badly out-of-pocket - if the pyramid crumbles. She will also
have to answer to a lot of friends and relatives who she has recruited, and
who invested money based on her recommendation.
"Do you think it will last until Christmas?" Edward asks again.
* Edward is not his real name, but his story is based on his real situation.
He did not want to be identified for fear of being victimised by other
investors.
Disclosure: The reporters spent R500 investing in Gollong in order to get
information they needed for the story.
Anton van Zyl and Maanda Bele are from Limpopo Mirror. Assistance was
provided by Warren Thompson, a freelance journalist working with the
London-based investigative journalism outfit, Finance Uncovered. Zaid
Khumalo, editor of Kathorus Mail on the East Rand, assisted with research in
Boksburg. This article is co-published with the Limpopo Mirror.
-GroundUp.
South Africa: More Dark Days Ahead As Eskom's Diesel Budget Runs Dry
Eskom's finances paint a gloomy picture as the ailing power utility's budget
to buy diesel is running on empty.
Eskom needs billions more to keep the country's power on after spending R12
billion on diesel this year alone.
Initially, the budget to buy diesel was R6.1 billion but was later revised
to R11.1 billion.
It ended at just over R12 billion, leaving Eskom's financials in dire
straits.
This was revealed during a media briefing by Eskom chief operations officer
Jan Oberholzer on Tuesday as the country is plunged into more dark days of
load shedding.
"We will be forced to implement load shedding because we do not have the
money to burn diesel at the rate we have been doing up until now," said
Oberholzer.
Oberholzer told a press briefing in March that Eskom was burning through 9
million litres of diesel a day to keep the country's lights on.
Adding to Eskom's financial woes is a massive debt of R400 billion, said
Oberholzer on Tuesday.
He said they would know next year in February how the government plans to
deal with the debt when the finance minister delivers the budget speech.
The R52 billion of unpaid debt owed to Eskom by some municipalities is also
crippling the power utility.
Monde Bala, head of distribution at Eskom, said: "We are holding our breath
on whether the government would take over a portion of our debt."
President Cyril Ramaphosa handed his R1.5 trillion Just Energy Transition
(JET) to world leaders attending the Cop27 in Egypt. The plan aims to end
the energy crisis dogging the country.
-Scrolla.
Kenya: KQ to Start Direct Mombasa-Dubai Flight in December
Nairobi — Kenya Airways (KQ) will start non-stop flights from Mombasa to
Dubai on December 15 ahead of Christmas festivities when booking pick ups.
KQ says it will operate a Boeing 737-800 four times a week, starting
December 15 2022.
The route introduction is expected to boost Kenya's coastal region tourism
industry through direct access to and from the Middle East.
The Dubai - Mombasa corridor will give tourists from the Middle East,
Russia, Northern Europe and Australia direct access to the wonders of the
coastal region's tourism and hospitality industry.
"The introduction of this route is key and strategic as it will open up the
Kenya coastal region, boost the tourism and hospitality industry as well as
stimulate trade to the coastal city," KQ Chief Commercial and Customer
Officer Julius Thairu said.
"This launch is part of Kenya Airways network expansion strategy and
commitment towards supporting the recovery of the tourism and hospitality
industry in Kenya," he said.
The route also eyes those travelling to the Middle East for holiday or
religious trips.
The region's traders of electronics, clothes and other consumer goods will
also benefit from the belly cargo capacity that will be available on the
flight.
Additionally, the flights offer increased capacity for direct exports of
seafood and fresh produce directly to the Middle East.
The flight will originate from Nairobi and make a stop in Mombasa to pick up
passengers.
With this flight, KQ will increase its frequencies to Dubai to 14 times per
week. KQ currently operates ten weekly flights to Dubai from Nairobi using a
mix of B737-800 and the Dreamliner B787-800.
Flights are open for booking via KQ's website, travel agents and Online
Travel Agents (OTAs).
-Capital FM.
Invest Wisely!
Bulls n Bears
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INVESTORS DIARY 2022
Company
Event
Venue
Date & Time
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December 22
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December 25
Boxing Day
December 26
Companies under Cautionary
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Meikles
Fidelity
TSL
FMHL
Turnall
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GetBucks
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Lafarge
Zimre
<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw>
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