AngloGold warning over continued unrest in South Africa
The world's top platinum miner, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), today ordered 26,000 striking workers in South Africa to report for disciplinary hearings or face dismissal. The move comes after weeks of unrest for the mining sector in South Africa. AngloGold Ashanti, a major gold producer, has also warned strikers that continued action may lead to a scaling down of operations, shaft closures and job losses. The chief executive of AngloGold, Mark Cutifani, said that their patience was wearing thin after more than a week of illegal strikes over pay. (Bangkok Post, Financial Times*)
Corporate Reputation
Ikea airbrushes women from its Saudi catalogue
Ikea faces controversy about its foreign operations after it emerged that the group removed images of women from its annual furniture catalogue in Saudi Arabia. The news has prompted questions over the company’s ability to keep its culture intact as it expands globally. Ikea currently has three stores in Saudi Arabia, run as a franchise operation, and is looking to expand operations worldwide by up to 50 percent in the next eight years. The company said that it regretted the airbrushing and that it did not “accept any kind of discrimination”. (Financial Times*, Independent, The Daily Telegraph)
Four men charged with £3m insider-trading conspiracy
Four men have been charged by the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) with taking part in a £3m insider dealing conspiracy. Those charged with involvement in the conspiracy, which took place between November 2006 and March 2010, include Martyn Dodgson, a managing director of Deutsche Bank. The four are alleged to have made a profit of £3m from their trading, according to the FSA, which has been conducting investigations for more than two years under the codename of ‘Operation Tabernula’. (Independent, Guardian, The Times*, The Wall Street Journal)
JPMorgan sued over alleged Bear Stearns securities fraud
JPMorgan Chase has been sued for allegedly defrauding investors who lost more than $20bn on mortgage-backed securities (MBS) written by Bear Stearns. The move is part of a push by US authorities to punish banks for bad behaviour in the run-up to the financial crisis. Threatening similar claims against other banks, the office of New York’s attorney-general, said Bear Stearns, which JPMorgan acquired in 2008, had “committed multiple fraudulent and deceptive acts in promoting and selling” MBS. JPMorgan has said that it will contest the allegations. (Financial Times*, BBC)
Environment
Cargill to ditch fuel-inefficient vessels
Cargill, the world’s biggest agricultural trading house, and two other heavy users of international shipping, Huntsman Corporation (chemicals manufacturer) and Unipec (oil trader), are to stop using the industry’s least fuel-efficient vessels. The move is an effort to lower overall greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs, but could adversely affect an estimated 10 percent of the merchant shipping fleet. The three companies, which account for eight percent of global cargo per year, have announced that they will use only the “greenest” ships as ranked by RightShip, the ship vetting specialist. (Financial Times*)
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