South32 lowers coal production forecast
◆ South32 lowers coal production forecast: Diversified miner South32 said that it lowered its 2020 production guidance at its soon-tobe-sold South African coal business, citing wet weather and subdued local demand.
◆ Property funds face risk if they choose to delist: Struggling property funds wanting to delist to preserve cash might need to think again because they will need to be guaranteed the support of South Africa’s private investment community, which is unlikely, say stockbrokers and fund managers.
OFFSHORE
◆ Microsoft pledges to be “carbon negative” by 2030: Microsoft has said it will become “carbon negative” by 2030 and offset all the carbon emissions it has made since it was founded, in the latest green pledge from the technology sector.
◆ Louis Vuitton snaps up world’s largest uncut diamond: In April last year, at the Karowe mine in Botswana, in an open pit, mining company Lucara recovered a 1 758carat rough diamond – the secondlargest found in a century.
◆ Germany strikes €44 billion (R706bn) deal to phase out coal use by 2038: The German government has struck a deal with the country’s coal-producing regions to phase out coal power by 2038 in return for compensation and benefits worth €40bn.
◆ Climate change will reshape markets, McKinsey warns: Financial markets could face upheaval if the risks of climate change are not taken more seriously, McKinsey warned in a report.
◆ Volkswagen chief warns “sacred
cows” need slaughtering: VW chief executive Herbert Diess has warned that the carmaker will have to “slaughter some sacred cows” and transform itself into a technology company to survive the upheaval in the auto industry.
◆ Nestlé vows to boost spending on recycled packaging: Nestlé has pledged to spend up to $2bn (R29bn) to increase the use of recycled plastics in its packaging, making the biggest public financial commitment among consumer goods giants to tackling plastic pollution.
◆ Toyota makes big bet on flying taxi company Joby: Toyota has thrown its financial weight behind a flying taxi start-up that aims to launch services by 2023, leading a $590m funding round for Californiabased Joby Aviation.
◆ Hyundai and Kia give UK car sector €100mn electric jolt: Hyundai and Kia have pumped €100m into UK electric vehicle start-up, one of the largest investments in Britain’s car industry since the country voted to leave the EU in 2016.
◆ Pearson warns of profit fall as leadership contender quits: Pearson warned of a fall in profits and revealed the departure of its chief financial officer, John Fallon, further complicating the struggling company’s turnaround plans.
◆ Gap scraps plans to spin off Old Navy: Gap has abandoned plans to break itself up and announced another senior executive departure, in another sign of how retailers are struggling.
◆ Apple, Microsoft and BMW urge EU to stop patent trolls: Apple, Microsoft and BMW, with other tech firms and carmakers, have urged the EU to take action against “patent trolls” who buy up patents, making a profit through licences or lawsuits.