Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 February 2024
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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 February 2024
ü Senegal: Internet Mobile Data Temporarily Suspended, Says Minister
ü Sudan Communications Blackout Widens Amid Accusations
ü Nigeria: CBN Uncovers $2.4 Billion False Forex Claim Pressuring Naira -
Cardoso
ü Nigeria Fails to Meet Oil Production Targets in 10yrs
ü Tanzania: Dar Port - No Sugar Stranded
ü Nigeria: Protest in Minna Over High Cost of Living
ü South Africa: Work Seekers Warned Not to Fall for Jobs Scam
ü Namibia: Drought Relief Assistance in Full Swing
ü Snap to lay off 'approximately' 10% of its staff
ü McDonald's sales dented by Israel-Gaza boycotts
ü Arrival: Electric van maker's UK arm enters administration
ü Boeing in ‘last chance saloon’, warns Emirates boss
ü China can now monitor government-funded projects 24/7
ü One million electric cars sold in the UK since 2002
<https://www.cloverleaf.co.zw/> Senegal: Internet Mobile Data Temporarily
Suspended, Says Minister
The Senegalese authorities announce that they have “temporarily” suspended
mobile data internet from Sunday February 4 at 10 p.m.
“The Minister of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Affairs
informs the public that due to the dissemination of several hateful and
subversive messages relayed on social networks in a context of threats of
disturbances to public order, the internet mobile data is temporarily
suspended from Sunday February 4 at 10 p.m.,” reads a press release from the
supervisory authority made public the same day.
“Telephone operators are required to comply with notified requisitions.”
Sudan Communications Blackout Widens Amid Accusations
Port Sudan — The El Sudani and MTN telecommunication and Internet networks
continued to be cut off across the country for the second day yesterday.
Nearly two thirds of the country's population is currently unreachable. Zain
network went out of service in Port Sudan, Red Sea state. Supporters of the
warring Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are
exchanging accusations over who is behind the cuts.
The management of El Sudani telecom company (Sudatel) apologised for "the
current network outage" on Saturday, and said its team is working hard to
restore services as soon as possible.
The telecommunication and Internet blackout in Sudan has rendered about 65
per cent of the country's population unreachable. This morning, Radio
Dabanga received WhatsApp messages via Zain from parts of White Nile State
and from Omdurman, amid rumours about this provider also to be blocked soon.
People in Port Sudan are still entirely unreachable.
Large parts of Darfur have been experiencing months-long blackouts, forcing
citizens to use Starlink satellite communication network.
The Sudanese Fikra for Studies and Development organisation confirmed
"reports of complete mobile and internet blackout in multiple areas in
Sudan" in a post on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday. "They're a lifeline for
millions of Sudanese civilians both in and out of the country who depend on
it for humanitarian relief and money transfers as a means of survival.
"We call on regional powers and stakeholders to demand and pressure both the
SAF and RSF to reverse this decision and not inflict any further pain and
terror on civilians. This war is between SAF and the RSF, civilians should
not pay the price nor be the collateral for their warring actions."
The Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA) also pointed to the
impact on humanitarian aid operations in a statement on X yesterday. "The
situation has drastically worsened recently. This blackout directly impacts
our humanitarian aid programs, limiting our reach and ability to assist
those in need within the areas of our operations."
Accused
Sudanese are accusing members of the ousted Al Bashir regime, the army, or
the RSF of being behind the blackout.
Journalist Mohamed Mustafa stated that the "Communication and internet
access in the majority of Sudan's states were blocked by the Janjaweed (aka
RSF). Sudanese rely on online banking applications to access their bank
accounts after RSF soldiers robbed them of their money and valuables".
Amjad Farid, director of Fikra organisation, fellow of the European Council
on Foreign Relations, and former adviser to the Prime Minister's Office,
accused the RSF of "directly assaulting the main hubs of telecoms companies
in Khartoum and ordering engineers to shut off Internet access in various
regions of the country at gunpoint.
"There is no justification for the militia's crimes, and anyone who tries to
justify them should keep in mind, if that bothers them, that the
communications network is linked to the online banking transfer services on
which all Sudanese currently live and receive support from their families,
not to mention checking on and communicating with them.
"The fascist Rapid Support Forces militia seems to be perpetrating this
crime as a prelude to larger crimes that it plans to commit and conceal
behind the veil of a media blackout that uncovered the atrocities it
committed in El Geneina and the rest of West and South Darfur."
According to well-known columnist El Nour Hamed, affiliates of the former Al
Bashir regime are behind the blackout. "The communications war, now
represented in an Internet blackout, serves criminal purposes". He stated on
X that "we know the kezan* approach" since the blackout following the
violent dispersal of the sit-in in front of the SAF General Command in
central Khartoum on June 3, 2019.
"The victims of this war are civilians. However, have the kezan, since
1989,cared about how their criminality and greed affect civilians?
Pro-RSF accounts on X attributed the communications outages to the Sudanese
Air Force's air strikes targeting the main telecommunications tower and
server sites in Khartoum.
Radio Dabanga has not been able to obtain confirmed testimony about the
accusations or access to representatives of the army or the RSF.
* The word kezan, or kizan, is a pejorative nickname used by many Sudanese
for Islamist loyalists to the regime of Omar Al Bashir (1989-2019) and who
enjoyed far-fetching privileges during his rule. Kezan is the plural of koz
which means 'wooden or iron mug'. The nickname is based on a description the
Islamic Brotherhood called themselves when the founder of the group, the
Egyptian Hasan El Banna, said: "Religion is a sea, and we are the mugs that
draw from it".
-Dabanga.
Nigeria: CBN Uncovers $2.4 Billion False Forex Claim Pressuring Naira -
Cardoso
The CBN hired Deloitte to investigate the forex claims in order to get a
true picture things, Cardoso said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) uncovered invalid foreign overdue claims
totalling $2.4 billion, which have pressured the naira for long and spooked
the currency market, Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso said on Monday.
Mr Cardoso said the discovery was made after an audit by the consultant that
the Central Bank engaged brought several shady deals to light.
After seven years of being concealed from public knowledge, the audited
accounts of the CBN became public last year during which auditors revealed a
$7 billion backlog of unmet dollar demand from investors and currency users.
That has created an overhang in the market which, unless cleared, could keep
the naira pressured, leaving the currency on a continued free fall against
the dollar.
The CBN hired Deloitte to investigate the forex claims to get a true picture
of things, Mr Cardoso said during an interview with local TV Arise,
broadcast Monday morning.
The Deloitte report found that as much as $2.4 billion of the said backlog
are false claims, with claimers unable to present import documents in some
instances, he said.
"We had had reasons to believe we needed to take a harder look at these
obligations. So we contracted Deloitte management consultants to do
forensics of all these obligations and to actually tell us what was valid
and what was not," Mr Cardoso said.
"The result that came out of this was startling in a great respect. It was
startling. We discovered that of the roughly $7 billion, about $2.4 billion
had issues, which we believe had no business being there and the infractions
on that ranged from so many things, for example not having valid import
documents and in some cases, entities that do not exist.
"There were account parties who had asked for foreign exchange and got more
than they asked for. There were some who didn't even ask for any and got. So
there were whole loads of infractions there," he added.
Free Fall
Nigeria's naira has been on a much-prolonged retreat, dating back to the
pandemic days, against the dollar as a heap of unmet obligations to
investors and exporters continues to strain the currency, which has weakened
to a dross.
Naira finished 2023 as the world's worst-performing currency, weighed down
by illiquidity and commonplace speculative practices among market operators
and street traders.
Currency users are having to throng the parallel market, where the exchange
rate is higher but the dollar is in greater supply, to have their needs met.
President Bola Tinubu set out shortly after his inauguration last year to
liberalise the foreign exchange system, which has been bogged down by an
unorthodox regime that pegged the exchange rate rather than allowing the
naira to trade freely and find price discovery.
The CBN collapsed the multiple naira exchange rates, adopted under the
immediate past CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, into a single window as part
of a slew of currency reforms that followed. It went further to initiate its
first devaluation round under the current administration around mid-June.
Those market-friendly moves were aimed at courting international investors
but they are hurting Nigerians at home, considering that they are adding
fuel to an already elevated inflation by making imported goods and raw
materials much more expensive.
In the week that just went by, naira's official rate dived by over 36 per
cent, dropping to a lower level than the street rate, after the CBN
overhauled its approach to setting the rate in the official market and came
hard on traders involved in misguiding the public with distorted prices.
Between the point Mr Tinubu took office and now, the naira has depreciated
by approximately 68 per cent, 50 per cent in 2023 alone.
But banks also have been fingered in the speculative activities that are
pressuring the naira.
Mr Cardoso gave a tall order to banks at the end of January, ordering them
to increase dollar supply to the market by ensuring their foreign exchange
net open position does not exceed 20 per cent of shareholders' funds
unimpeded by losses.
Put differently, the gross amount of loans lenders can grant in foreign
currency must not exceed one-fifth of their shareholders' funds, which could
force banks to make the remaining cash available to the market, a push that
could boost liquidity in the system.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Mr Cardoso said at the interview that those making invalid claims of $2.4
billion would not get anything.
"As they were identified, we wrote to the authorised dealers to come in and
explain what the situation was. Sadly, quite frankly, much of those has not
been disputed to our satisfaction."
So far, the apex bank has settled requests in the neighbourhood of $2.3
billion including those from airlines operating in the country, he went
further to say. That leaves the balance of the genuine arrears of dollar
demand at $2.2 billion.
Mr Cardoso assured that the remainder will be cleared very shortly.
"I think we are at the end of this, to put it that way," he said.
Last month, Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of
the Economy, told Bloomberg the government had opened talks with the World
Bank with a view to securing a lifeline of between $1 billion and $1.5
billion from the World Bank to rescue the naira.
-Premium Times.
Nigeria Fails to Meet Oil Production Targets in 10yrs
Despite having crude oil in abundance, Nigeria has consistently failed to
meet oil production targets as stipulated in national budgets over the last
10 years, investigations by Daily Trust have shown.
The country has, over time, maintained a mono-economy with crude oil sales
constituting about 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings.
However, experts have projected that non-oil exports should be the nation's
primary concern due to the volatility in the oil sector which Nigeria is
susceptible to.
Ambitious projections
Data obtained by this newspaper showed that the country consistently failed
to meet its oil production targets by an average of 300,000 to 600,000
barrels per day (bpd) recorded shortfalls from 2013 to 2023.
A breakdown of the data showed that in 2013, Nigeria produced between 2.1
million and 2.2 million barrels of crude oil.
The then Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy,
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had said that Nigeria was losing $1 billion revenue
monthly, following the drop in oil production and the falling prices of
crude oil at the international market.
"Total losses, which stemmed from shut-in due to force majeure declared by
oil companies, oil theft and illegal bunkering, was put at 300,000 barrels
per day. The current production ranged from 2.1 million bpd to 2.2 million
barrels per day, less than an estimated 2.5 million barrels per day for the
2013 budget," she had said.
In the 2014 budget, crude oil production was pegged at 2.3883 million
barrels per day. However, the figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum
Company Limited (NNPCL), then a public corporation, showed that 2.05 million
barrels per day (mbpd) of crude were produced that year, a shortfall of at
least 450,000 barrels.
In 2015, former President Goodluck Jonathan signed the budget with a
projection of 2.27 million bpd, and a crude oil price of $65. However,
Nigeria's oil production averaged 1.9 million bpd in 2015, representing a
shortfall of over 300,000 bpd.
Subsequently, the 2016 budget was prepared as Nigeria was on the verge of
exiting recession, and oil production was pegged at 2.2 million bpd.
By May 2016, Nigeria's oil production had fallen drastically to 1.4 million
bpd, nearly a 30-year low. After some government interventions, some of the
disrupted productions were restored, and crude oil output averaged 1.6
million bpd in June, and continued in that trajectory until the end of the
year.
Similarly, in the 2017 budget, oil production was pegged at 2.2 million bpd
and the oil price was $42.5 bpb. However, crude oil production has been far
below projections as the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework for 2018 showed
that the 2.2 million bpd was not met as average oil production fell to 2.04
million bpd.
A similar situation recurred in relation to the 2018 budget which had a
proposal of 2.3 million bpd but actual production was pegged at 1.84 million
bpd by the then NNPC.
Also, in 2019, oil production was projected at 2.3 million bpd with crude
oil price pegged at $60 per barrel. However, crude oil production by Nigeria
fell for the third month in a row in December 2019, to a new low of 1.5
million bpd as against a target production level of 2.18 million bpd at $57
per barrel.
In 2020, the assumption of oil production of 2.18 million bpd was presented
by the federal government with an oil price benchmark of $57 per barrel.
However, in the year under review, total crude oil production in Nigeria
dropped to about 900,000 barrels per day as a result of the effects of
COVID-19.
In the same vein, the 2021 budget was based on an oil price benchmark of
US$40 per barrel, and an oil production output of 1.86 million barrels per
day, although Nigeria had to shed off about 313,000 bpd for the first half
of 2021 in line with Organisation of Petroeleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)+
cut agreement to stabilise global oil prices. Nigeria produced an average of
1.4 million bpd of crude. At the end of the year, the country ended up
producing a maximum of 1.5 mbpd.
In 2022, the projected crude oil production was 1.88 million bpd. However,
reports from the NNPCL showed that Nigeria was barely able to produce 70 per
cent of the total production forecast, losing roughly the rest to oil theft
and sabotage, leading to incessant shut-in of planned output for the period.
Nigeria's production hovered around 1 million to 1.5 million bpd in 2022.
In the 2023 budget, the crude oil price benchmark was $75 per barrel with
crude oil production pegged at 1.69 million bpd.
However, in the middle of that year, the country produced 998,602 bpd of
crude oil, 66,317 bpd of blended condensates, and 180,110 bpd of unblended
condensates.
These figures made up 1.2 million bpd recorded, according to the NNPCL.
Consequently, with an average of N1 billion monthly loss, the country lost
N12 billion annually due to its inability to meet crude oil production
target, which translates to N120 billion in the last 10 years.
Crude theft, vandalism remain our nightmare
Although crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism are not peculiar to Nigeria,
the inability of the petrochemical refineries to become fully operational
has compounded Nigeria's woes.
In a recent report posted on its X account formerly Twitter, the NNPCL said
it recorded 127 crude oil theft incidents between December 2 and 8, 2023.
During the period, the NNPCL and its security partners said they discovered
several incidents, including 51 illegal refineries that were uncovered, 29
illegal connections were identified, vessels were found to have AIS
(Automatic Identification System) infractions and six acts of pipeline
vandalism were detected.
The report specified that crude oil theft incidents occurred across various
locations in Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Abia and Imo states, though some
arrests were said to have been made.
In a recent interview, the Group Managing Director of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari,
said pipeline vandalism was being tackled, adding that when "The Dangote
Refinery starts churning out products, they will be transported across the
country using trucks."
Deploy AI in pipeline surveillance to curb theft - Expert
A development expert, Joseph Momoh, said it was high time the federal
government, through the NNPCL, commenced the deployment of Artificial
Intelligence (AI) in pipeline surveillance.
"We cannot succeed in tackling pipeline vandalism with only human beings
watching over it. We also require artificial intelligence to always alert
those in charge of imminent danger," he said.
Momoh further advised the NNPCL not to renege on its promise to resume full
operations at the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries as Nigeria not
only needed to meet the crude production target, but must also start
refining the crude it produces.
-Daily Trust.
Tanzania: Dar Port - No Sugar Stranded
DAR ES SALAAM: THE Dar es Salaam Port on Sunday came out strongly turning
down reports that consignments of sugar were stranded at the port amid
ongoing crisis.
The port management reacted to the media reports which have caused panic
among the members of the public.
"The reports caused public panic yesterday (Saturday) that sugar has been
stranded in the port. This is not true, sugar can't be stranded in the port,
anything that has public interest can't be stranded here," Mr Mrisho Mrisho,
Port Director, affirmed while speaking at a press conference in Dar es
Salaam.
Explaining, Mr Mrisho said last month they received a letter from the Sugar
Board of Tanzania (SBT), asking the port to facilitate activities of their
three vessels carrying sugar cargo.
The vessels are JPO AQUARIUS, MSC Alizee II ship and Okahama Star.
The SBT letter asked the port to give the ships a priority berthing as
emergency case.
"We (port management) knowing this matter has public interest, we have
facilitated access. The first vessel we served on January 29th and some
journalists observed. The sugar containers were all offloaded in one day and
the board thanked us," he explained.
The port then waited for the second ship (MSC Alizee II), which was expected
to arrive on January 26th.
"Since January 26th we kept the berth open waiting for it, but it arrived on
February 2. When it arrived, we served it on the same day and journalists
were also invited to witness offloading of the sugar consignmets," he said.
The third vessel (Yokohama) also arrived on February 2, noting that these
two vessels delayed, because they arrived first in neighbouring country's
port where they were delayed.
"Our work here is to load and offload and we ask other institutions also to
play their part in ensuring that the cargo reaches the clients, so if the
cargo delays to reach the client(s), we should then ask which institution
has caused the delay," he added.
He further assured that the activities were ongoing without any obstacles at
the port at all berths from berth number zero (Ro-Ro berth) up to number 11
as well as at the Kurasini Oil Jetty (KOJ).
"Vessels are continually being handled, as we talk in this month alone in
four days, we have handled over 10 vessels. In January we have handled 86
ships, despite the rain challenges, we have managed to go at good speed. We
expect that speed will further continue," he said.
He explained that the port receives a vessel carrying over 50,000 tonnes of
cargo, or three ships with over 3000 containers each that makes a total of
about 9000 or 10,000 containers.
"The question to ask here if you don't clear those containers, do you think
there could be any space here at the port. In fact, there could be no space
remaining," he argued.
"Therefore, let me say that it is not true that the cargos are not released.
The customers take their cargo and we receive other consignments, just go
and observe the port's gate and you would see a queue of trucks leaving the
port with cargos," he said.
Meanwhile, SBT Director General, Prof Kenneth Bengesi, told the Daily News
yesterday that MSC Alizee II and Yokohama vessels arrived on Friday with a
total of 4000 tonnes of sugar, expressing hopes that when distributed to the
market, the current shortage would have been lessened.
He added: "The port management has given priority to dock and offload
immediately due to high demand from consumers."
Elaborating, he noted that on January 29th, another ship docked at the port
with consignment and completed offloading sugar according to the customs.
Likewise, he directed that the imported sugar must be sold at the price of
2,700/- to 3,200/- as expected by the government, saying: "Hence, business
people who do not want to adhere to this order will risk facing legal
measures."
-Daily News.
Nigeria: Protest in Minna Over High Cost of Living
Minna — Scores of Women and youth on Monday protested the high cost of
living in Nigeria.
They also protested the epileptic power and water supply in Minna, the state
capital.
The protest started at about 7am, resulting in the protesters blocking the
ever busy Minna - Bida Road, thereby obstructing vehicular movements to and
from the Niger state capital.
The protesters carried placards, some of which had captions like 'No Food,'
'We are Dieing of Hunger,' 'Save Our families' etc
Several travelers and staff of the National Examination Council NECO and the
Federal University of Technology Minna, whose headquarters are located
outside the city centre, could not access their places of work, with
majority of them returning home.
It could not be confirmed under which platform the protest took place,
however some of the protesters who carried fresh leaves said the high cost
of living was making things difficult for their families.
The police tried to disperse the protesters but were chased away by the
protesters.
-This Day.
South Africa: Work Seekers Warned Not to Fall for Jobs Scam
The Department of Employment and Labour has warned work seekers not to pay
for employment opportunities.
The department has noted with concern a number of scams that keep popping up
periodically, where unemployed people are promised jobs at a fee.
The latest scam is one that uses the department's name for promises of
so-called admin worker jobs, where scammers request unsuspecting members of
the public to pay a refundable fee of R250 at PEP stores for background
checks.
"Work seekers are advised not to deposit any fees and share their contact
and personal information, thus compromising their security.
"No person may charge a fee to any work seeker for providing employment
services to that work seeker. This is according to the Employment Services
(ES) Act.
"The Employment Services Act further states that a private employment agency
must not deduct any amount from the remuneration of an employee or require
or permit an employee to pay any amount in respect of placing that employee
with an employer," the department said.
The department further highlighted that an unemployment rate of 31.9% has
presented a fertile ground for scammers to dupe the public with promises of
job offers in return for a fee.
The Department of Employment and Labour, through the Public Employment
Services (PES) branch, as a custodian of Employment Services Act, must
provide the following public employment services free of charge to members
of the public in a manner that is open and accessible:
· matching work seekers with available work opportunities;
· registering work seekers;
· registering job vacancies and other work opportunities;
· facilitating the placing of work seekers with employers or in other work
opportunities;
· advising work seekers on access to education and training;
· advising workers on access to social security benefits;
· providing specialised services to assist vulnerable work seekers;
· facilitating the exchange of information among labour market participants,
including employers, workers and work seekers, private employment agencies,
Sector Education and Training Authorities and training providers;
· facilitating the employment of foreign nationals in a manner that is
consistent with the object of this Act and the Immigration Act; and
· generally, performing any other function in terms of employment law or
prescribed in terms of this Act.
"As soon as you're asked to pay anything towards recruitment and related
employment services know that this is likely to be a scam. If someone or an
organisation requests you to pay fees, report them at Department of
Employment and Labour," the department said.
Namibia: Drought Relief Assistance in Full Swing
The Namibian government has embarked upon a comprehensive nationwide relief
food assistance programme in all the 14 regions from 1 October 2023 to 30
June 2024.
This is according to the recent Agricultural Inputs and Household Food
Security situation report released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and
Land Reform on drought humanitarian relief assistance.
The programme comprises foodrelief distribution, water provision and
livestock support, and is targetting at least 579 000 Namibians (22% of the
population) in both rural and urban areas, whose livelihoods have been
affected by the drought and who do not have enough food or money to buy
food, thereby faced with high levels of acute food insecurity.
The assessment report shows that most of the households' last harvest was
being supplemented with the market purchases depleted between September and
November 2023.
The said report further projects that a total of 695 000 people (26% of the
population) will experience high levels of acute food insecurity between
October 2023 and March 2024. The most affected regions are Kavango West,
Kavango East, Omaheke, Ohangwena, //Kharas, Zambezi, Otjozondjupa, Khomas,
Oshana, Omusati, Oshikoto and Kunene.
Furthermore, the grazing in these parts of the country is also reportedly
depleted and inadequate to sustain people's livestock.
In addition to food assistance, the government has already started
implementing the Livestock Support Programme in all the regions.
Most livestock conditions have been rated as poor in areas where prolonged
dry spells were experienced in the previous season that affected grazing.
It was noted that at the time of the assessment, some livestock in the
north-central and Zambezi areas were very weak and unable to stand, with
mortalities reported because of hunger.
Meanwhile, regional councils have acknowledged receiving the drought relief
food items, but complained that food allocated to the regions is limited,
compared to the people in need of assistance.
Other issues hindering timely delivery and distribution of drought relief
food to different constituencies includes issues related to transportation.
Meanwhile, the report has indicated that the level of
National Strategic Food Reserves (5NSFR) in various localities in the
country are low, as the current stock is only 21% of the total holding
capacity of 22 900 metric tonnes.
-New Era.
Snap to lay off 'approximately' 10% of its staff
Social media giant Snap, which operates Snapchat, has announced plans to cut
"approximately" 10% of its staff.
The firm said in November 2023 it had 5,000 employees, suggesting around 500
people are facing redundancy.
It comes a day before Snap reports its fourth-quarter results - having
reported a net loss of $368m (£294m) in the previous quarter in October
2023.
Snapchat said the move would "reduce hierarchy and promote in-person
collaboration".
"We are focused on supporting our departing team members and we are very
grateful for their hard work and many contributions to Snap," a spokesperson
told the BBC.
According to its most recent annual report, more than 500 people work for
the firm in the UK. It is unclear if any of the cuts will fall in the UK.
Jasmine Enberg, principle social media analyst at Insider Intelligence, told
the BBC the layoffs "don't bode well for the state of Snap's business" ahead
of its latest earnings announcement on Tuesday.
She pointed to rival Meta's latest results - which showed quarterly profits
tripling year-on-year, a surge in users, lower costs and higher ad sales -
as "a tough act for Snap to follow".
"Snap is likely trying to garner some goodwill with investors, who rewarded
its competitor for its cost-cutting measures and its continued 'do more with
less' mantra going into 2024," Ms Enberg said.
She added that Snap's advertising revenues have been "slow to recover from
the digital ad slowdown".
It is the second wave of mass redundancies from the social media company,
which laid off about 20% of its workers in August 2022.
Snap has attempted to expand into products beyond Snapchat, including
experimenting with augmented reality (AR) glasses, dubbed Spectacles.
But the firm has been unable to find a mass market for its other products,
and it subsequently closed a division that offered AR services to business
customers in 2023.
The latest job cuts come as companies, including Meta and Google, have been
grappling with how to balance cost-cutting measures with the need to remain
competitive.
According to layoffs.fyi, which tracks job losses in the tech sector, there
were more than 232,000 job cuts in the industry in 2023.
Elsewhere, last week the firm's chief executive Evan Spiegel was grilled
alongside the bosses of X (formerly Twitter), Meta, Discord and TikTok at a
US Senate hearing about child safety online, where senators' attention
mostly fell on Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok boss Shou Zi
Chew.
Mr Spiegel said in his opening testimony at the hearing that he and
co-founder Bobby Murphy built Snapchat as an alternative to other social
media platforms, where images shared were "permanent, public, and subject to
popularity metrics".
Supporting growth
The redundancies were announced by the firm in a filing with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Snap said that the layoffs would affect staff globally, but did not specify
who would be affected further.
"In order to best position our business to execute on our highest
priorities, and to ensure we have the capacity to invest incrementally to
support our growth over time, we have made the difficult decision to
restructure our team," the firm said.
In its filing, it said the cuts would be "subject to local law and
consultation requirements" in each country, which could extend the process.
And it estimated the move could cost it between $55m (£44m) and $75m (£60m)
in severance payments "and other charges".-bbc
McDonald's sales dented by Israel-Gaza boycotts
McDonald's has missed a key sales target, partly due to customers boycotting
the firm for its perceived support of Israel.
The fast food chain reported its first quarterly sales miss in nearly four
years due to weak growth in its international business division.
Its boss previously acknowledged the impact of the conflict, blaming
"misinformation".
Shares in McDonald's fell about 4% after the announcement.
McDonalds is one of several Western corporations including Starbucks and
Coca Cola that have seen boycotts and protests against them by anti-Israeli
campaigners.
The firm said that the Israel-Gaza conflict had "meaningfully impacted"
performance in some overseas markets in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In the branch which includes sales in the Middle East, China and India,
sales growth stood at 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023 - far below market
expectations.
Its business in Malaysia, Indonesia and France have been affected, with the
biggest impact felt in the Middle East, chief executive Chris Kempczinski
said on Monday.
"So long as this war is going on... we're not expecting to see any
significant improvement [in these markets]," the McDonald's boss added.
McDonald's relies on a franchise system in which thousands of independent
businesses own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores around the
world. About 5% of its outlets are located in the Middle East.
The fast food retailer drew criticism after its Israel-based franchise said
it had given away thousands of free meals to members of the Israeli
military, sparking calls to boycott the brand by those angered by Israel's
military response in Gaza.
It prompted franchise owners in Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait,
Malaysia and Pakistan to put out statements distancing themselves from the
firm.
Mr Kempczinski called the backlash "disheartening and ill-founded," and
blamed it on "misinformation".
McDonald's hit by Israel-Gaza 'misinformation'
Starbucks blames 'misrepresentation' after boycotts
McDonald's global sales grew by just under 4% in the fourth quarter, down
from 8.8% in the previous quarter, and below its annual average.
The corporation benefitted from price inflation, recording its strongest
sales growth in the United States, while also growing sales in the UK,
Germany and Canada.
But its US business saw weaker sales growth than hoped, as customers on
lower incomes ordered less food and opted for cheaper items on the menu.
Last week, Starbucks also cut its annual sales forecast, partly due to fewer
customers visiting stores in the Middle East.
McDonald's said on Monday that its thoughts were with the families and
communities impacted by the conflict in the region.
It said it would "continue to stay focused on supporting our people and the
local communities in which we operate".-bbc
Arrival: Electric van maker's UK arm enters administration
The UK-based operations of the electric van maker Arrival - a firm once
championed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson - have been placed in
administration.
Arrival planned to build innovative electric vans for sale around the world.
The Banbury-based business was worth £9bn just three years ago
It had been described as the future of the UK automotive industry, but
struggled to get its designs produced.
Between them, Arrival UK Ltd and Arrival Automotive employed 172 people.
Nearly 40 have been made redundant, while others are being retained to
assist with the sale of the business and assets.
Arrival was founded in the UK by the Russian billionaire and former
government minister Denis Sverdlov in 2015.
It intended to use simple manufacturing processes to build electric vans,
buses and taxes cheaply. It planned to produce them in so-called
"micro-factories", which would be much smaller than traditional
manufacturing plants and could be set up relatively easily.
It was launched on the Nasdaq stock market in the United States in 2021, and
briefly had a valuation of $13bn (£9bn), making it the biggest ever initial
stock market listing for a UK tech company at the time.
However, despite already having received orders for 10,000 vehicles from the
US distribution giant UPS, and having investment from both UPS and Hyundai,
it struggled to get its designs into production.
Setbacks included a fire at its Banbury facility while one of its vans was
being demonstrated in November 2022.
Early last year, Arrival said it would cut its 800-strong workforce in half
and switch production from the UK to North Carolina in the United States. It
still employs some 400 people globally.
However, the company continued to struggle to raise the money it needed.
At the end of January, the company said its shares had been suspended from
trading on the Nasdaq, and it had been told they would be removed from the
index.
According to the administrator of the UK side of the business, EY, "the
group's liquidity position has been impacted by a challenging market and
macroeconomic conditions resulting in delays getting the group's products to
market.
"As such, the joint administrators are now exploring options for the sale of
the business and assets of the companies".
Those assets include Arrival's electric vehicle designs, which will now be
put up for sale.-bbc
Boeing in ‘last chance saloon’, warns Emirates boss
The boss of Emirates airline has warned Boeing is in the "last chance
saloon", saying he had seen a "progressive decline" in its performance.
Boeing has come under scrutiny after a panel on a 737 Max 9 passenger jet
blew off mid-air last month.
Emirates president Sir Tim Clark is a leading industry figure and the
airline is a major Boeing customer.
He also told the Financial Times that Emirates would send its engineers to
monitor Boeing's production lines.
In response to Sir Tim's remarks, Boeing pointed to comments its chief
executive, Dave Calhoun, made last week, when he said: "We understand why
[customers] are angry and we will work to earn their confidence."
Emirates told the BBC it had nothing to add to what Sir Tim said in the
interview.
"They have got to instil this safety culture which is second to none.
They've got to get their manufacturing processes under review so there are
no corners cut etc," Sir Tim said.
"I'm sure Dave Calhoun and [commercial head] Stan Deal are on that... this
is the last chance saloon," he added.
Sir Tim was preparing to send Emirates engineers to monitor Boeing's
production lines for the first time.
He said the engineers would observe the production process of the 777 at
Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems.
Boeing chief admits 'serious challenge' ahead
Boeing's mid-air blowout puts safety record in spotlight again
Emirates is one of Boeing's biggest customers.
In November, it placed an order for 95 wide-body Boeing 777 and 787 jets,
used for long-haul flights, valued at $52bn (£41.2bn) at list prices.
But Boeing hit the headlines in recent weeks despite the Mr Calhoun
insisting the company had changed since he took over after former boss
Dennis Muilenburg was fired.
On 5 January a door plug on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 blew off shortly
after take-off, terrifying passengers, and forcing an emergency return to
the Portland, Oregon airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched an investigation of
Boeing's manufacturing process and barred the firm from expanding production
of its popular 737 Max planes.
Some of the company's biggest airline customers have also expressed
concerns, noting that the issues may delay approval of new versions of the
737 Max plane, the Max 7 and Max 10, that are in the works.
In 2018, a similar incident to what happened last month occurred to an older
model of Boeing 737 being operated by Southwest Airlines. Debris from an
engine failure broke one of the cabin windows while the plane was travelling
at 32,000ft. It resulted in one passenger being partially sucked out of the
window and she died from her injuries.
The company's safety record has also been tarnished due to two crashes in
late 2018 off the coast of Indonesia and in early 2019 outside Ethiopia's
capital Addis Ababa.
A total of 346 people were killed in the crashes, which were caused by
flawed flight control software.-bbc
China can now monitor government-funded projects 24/7
Some Chinese developers must now install monitoring equipment at their
projects, under official measures which took affect this month.
The rules apply to firms that have received at least 30 million yuan ($4.2m;
£3.3m) of government funding.
It comes as authorities move to support China's crisis-hit property
industry.
In January, the country's housing ministry said it would offer more bailout
loans to developers struggling with debt and a slowdown in demand.
Announcing the new surveillance rules in January, the National Development
and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement that it was moving to
"regulate the implementation of projects and the use of funding".
"These measures are important to strengthen investment supervision... and
improve the effectiveness of government investment," it added.
The rules are part of the Chinese government's efforts to ensure that "funds
being used to prop up struggling property developers are being used for
their intended purposes," Ben Harburg from investment firm MSA Capital told
the BBC.
"Chinese developers have breached the trust of the Chinese government in the
past by taking funds earmarked for completion of a project to pay off a
coupon or even for personal use," he said.
Under the measures, security devices - including surveillance cameras,
drones or even satellite equipment - must be used to monitor projects, if
conditions allow.
The people of China are some of the most surveilled citizens in the world.
It has been estimated that half of the world's surveillance cameras are in
China, amounting to hundreds of millions of the devices.
All this is part of China's aim to build what it calls "the world's biggest
camera surveillance network".
Many of the cameras use artificial intelligence, including facial
recognition technology.
However, David Goodman, a professor of Chinese politics at The University of
Sydney, said that he does not see the new rules as "creepy, though there is
an element of desperation," from the authorities to oversee state-sponsored
projects.
"It is likely to have some results, and some of those may even be positive
towards ensuring performance and social achievement," he added.
Mareike Ohlberg, a senior fellow at the think-tank German Marshall Fund of
the United States, said she "does not expect a move which is - at least in
theory - geared towards monitoring how public funds are spent to generate a
lot of backlash" given "widespread surveillance across the country".
Project developers should also use other technologies like big data to
detect problems quickly, according to the NDRC.
The BBC contacted several major Chinese developers - including Evergrande,
Country Garden, Sunac and Longfor - for comment. None have yet responded.
Couple's property ordeal captivates Chinese internet
The severe problems engulfing China's property market were highlighted this
week as a court in Hong Kong ordered the liquidation of debt-laden developer
Evergrande.
Evergrande, like many of its rivals, borrowed billions of dollars as it
expanded aggressively.
However, rules were introduced in 2020 to control the amount large real
estate firms could borrow. That helped trigger a crisis, which the industry
is still struggling to overcome.
This presents a major issue for the Chinese government as the property
sector accounts for roughly a quarter of the world's second largest economy.
"The property sector is the bellwether for the Chinese economy. Provincial
governments depended on the sector to drive employment and meet growth
targets. It is critical that the Chinese government shore up this sector to
diffuse some global fears," Mr Harburg said.
Earlier this year, China's housing ministry announced plans to offer more
bailout loans to developers "in view of the current financing difficulties
of some real estate projects".
At the same time local governments have been asked to provide a list of
projects that need support, the official newspaper of China's housing
ministry reported.
Chinese lawmakers have also urged banks, which provided nearly 10 trillion
yuan in loans to the property sector last year, to continue lending to
struggling developers.
In January, to help free up funds to support the economy, China's central
bank made the largest cut to mandatory reserves for banks in more than two
years.
A day after the move, a senior official said the financial industry had an
"unshirkable responsibility" to property developers.
"For projects that are in difficulty but whose funds can be balanced, we
should not blindly withdraw loans, suppress loans, or cut off loans," Xiao
Yuanqi from the National Financial Regulatory Administration told a news
conference in Beijing.
"We should provide greater support through extending existing loans,
adjusting repayment arrangements, and adding new loans."
Troubles in the property sector have also prevented developers from
completing projects, leaving millions of vacant units scattered across the
country.
The crisis has already left many home buyers waiting for their new
properties, in a country in which real estate accounts for around 70% of
personal wealth.
"That could affect economic growth and potentially the stability of the
financial system," said Ms Ohlberg.
Beijing has previously sought to temper public concerns as people have taken
to Chinese social media sites such as Weibo to share their frustrations
about developers.
"Housing affects social stability. If a lot of people buy properties that
aren't built, that's a lot of people who will be very upset," she added.-bbc
One million electric cars sold in the UK since 2002
The UK registered its one millionth electric car last month, despite a big
drop in sales, new figures suggest.
New EV registrations by private buyers fell by a quarter in January,
threatening to undermine the UK's net zero promises.
Overall new car sales to private customers fell by 16% in the same period,
the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
The figures have sparked more calls for tax cuts to boost uptake among
buyers.
More than 20,000 battery electric cars (BEVs) were registered in January, up
by a fifth year on year and helped by generous tax incentives for company
car users. It means that since 2002, one million of these cars have reached
the road.
Fleet buyers - companies purchasing more than 25 units in one go - have been
entirely behind the increase, with demand for BEVs growing by more than 40%.
Electric cars accounted for 14.7% of all new vehicles sold in the UK in
January. Although that was an increase over the same month the year before,
it was still well below the market share of 16.5% achieved for the whole of
2023.
The lack of sales to private buyers has prompted calls from the SMMT for the
government to halve VAT on electric vehicles, in order to boost demand.
"It's taken just over 20 years to reach our million EV milestone - but with
the right policies, we can double down on that success in just another two,"
SMMT boss Mike Hawes said.
"Manufacturers have been asked to supply the vehicles, we now ask government
to help consumers buy the vehicles on which net zero depends," he added.
Flat electric car sales lead to calls for tax cuts
Electric car sales to private buyers fall sharply
EVs have lower running costs than petrol and diesel vehicles, but the
upfront price is around 30-40% higher, according to the motoring
organisation.
Currently those buying an EV in the UK through a business, a company car or
salary sacrifice scheme can benefit from generous tax incentives. Grants for
individuals were phased out by the government in 2022.
Last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed a ban on new petrol and
diesel car sales was being pushed back five years from 2030 to 2035.
The announcement was met with a mixed response from carmakers, many of whom
have begun investing heavily in electric vehicle production.
Despite the delay in the ban, firms will still be forced to meet strict
quotas for selling electric cars from January, ensuring that more than one
in five cars sold are zero emission models. If not, they will face heavy
fines. The target will go up each year until 2030.
According to the latest SMMT figures, the overall new car market grew in
January, pushed by a large increase in fleet sales, which were up by a
third.
This was despite a fall in overall registrations of new private cars last
month, which fell by 16%.
Fleet sales accounted for more than six in 10 new cars registered in the
month, up from just over half last year.-bbc
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