Company news in brief
Vedanta says pollution case belongs in Zambia
Lawyers for Vedanta Resources told England's Supreme Court on Tuesday that a case raised against the mining company by nearly 2 000 Zambian villagers should be heard in Zambia not London.
India-listed Vedanta, which delisted from London last year but maintains a legal base in Britain, is appealing a lower court ruling that a case in which villagers alleged their land was polluted by a Vedanta unit could be heard in England.
Vedanta's legal team argued that Zambia was the "natural forum" for the case and said the parent company did not control operations in Zambia, which were governed by Zambian law.
In 2017, London's Court of Appeal had found that 1 826 Zambian citizens living in Zambia's Copperbelt had the right to sue Vedanta in the English courts. Vedanta is challenging this.
The villagers allege their land and livelihood have been destroyed by water pollution caused by the Nchanga Copper Mine, owned by Vedanta through its subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines. – Nampa/Reuters
Ford, IBM in Congo cobalt blockchain project
Carmaker Ford, technology giant IBM, South Korean cathode maker LG Chem and China's Huayou Cobalt have joined forces in the first blockchain project to monitor cobalt supplies from Democratic Republic of Congo.
The pilot, overseen by responsible-sourcing group RCS Global, aims to help manufacturers ensure that cobalt used in lithium-ion batteries has not been mined by children or used to fuel conflict.
Companies are under pressure from consumers and investors to prove that minerals are sourced without human rights abuses, but tracking raw materials throughout their journey is challenging.
The project announced yesterday has been quietly under way since December. Starting with industrially mined cobalt in Congo, it is monitoring supplies all the way to lithium-ion batteries for Ford vehicles.
Supplies of cobalt, expected to be needed in huge quantities for electric vehicles and electronic devices, are concentrated in Congo, a sprawling, volatile nation that has been racked by civil war and political tension. – Nampa/Reuters
JPMorgan misses profit estimates
JPMorgan Chase & Co missed profit estimates for the fourth quarter as a slump in bond trading revenue overpowered strong consumer loan growth and record revenues.
It was the first time JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, has underperformed earnings-per-share expectations in 16 quarters, according to Barclays equity analyst Jason Goldberg.
JPMorgan was the second large US bank to point the finger at choppy markets in December for its bond revenue losses. Citigroup Inc on Monday posted a sharp drop in fixed income revenue, blaming widening credit spreads, or the premium investors demand for holding corporate bonds over safer US Treasury securities.
Well Fargo & Co, which relies less on trading, said on Tuesday that fourth-quarter revenue missed expectations as revenue across all its banking units declined, especially at community banking.
Despite an 18% drop in JPMorgan's quarterly fixed-income revenue, Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said one down quarter does not make a trend. – Nampa/Reuters
McDonald's loses ‘Big Mac’ trademark case
McDonald's Corp has lost its rights to the trademark "Big Mac" in a European Union case ruling in favour of Ireland-based fast-food chain Supermac's, a decision from the EU's Spain-based Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) showed.
The judgment revoked McDonald's registration of the trademark, saying that the world's largest fast-food chain had not proven genuine use of it over the five years prior to the case being lodged in 2017.
McDonald's was not immediately available to comment on the decision. The decision said the company can still appeal.
With the revocation, Supermac's said it can now expand in the United Kingdom and Europe. The ruling also allows the Irish chain to use the "Big Mac" name on any food items it will sell.
Supermac's said it had never had a product called "Big Mac" and that McDonald's had just used the similarity of the two names to block the Irish chain's expansion. – Nampa/Reuters
Airbnb profitable for two straight years
Home-renting company Airbnb Inc said on Tuesday it was profitable on an adjusted basis for the second year in a row, ahead of a widely anticipated initial public offering this year.
Airbnb's expected listing in 2019 would be among a string of public debuts by highly valued Silicon Valley companies, including ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc, rival Lyft Inc and workplace messaging firm Slack.
Uber and Lyft remain unprofitable.
San Francisco, California-based Airbnb, valued by private investors at US$31 billion, has in recent months turned to new services and offerings to fuel growth by adding luxury vacation homes and hotels to its platform.
Without revealing other numbers such as revenue and profit, the company said it was profitable before accounting for interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). – Nampa/Reuters
Lawyers for Vedanta Resources told England's Supreme Court on Tuesday that a case raised against the mining company by nearly 2 000 Zambian villagers should be heard in Zambia not London.
India-listed Vedanta, which delisted from London last year but maintains a legal base in Britain, is appealing a lower court ruling that a case in which villagers alleged their land was polluted by a Vedanta unit could be heard in England.
Vedanta's legal team argued that Zambia was the "natural forum" for the case and said the parent company did not control operations in Zambia, which were governed by Zambian law.
In 2017, London's Court of Appeal had found that 1 826 Zambian citizens living in Zambia's Copperbelt had the right to sue Vedanta in the English courts. Vedanta is challenging this.
The villagers allege their land and livelihood have been destroyed by water pollution caused by the Nchanga Copper Mine, owned by Vedanta through its subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines. – Nampa/Reuters
Ford, IBM in Congo cobalt blockchain project
Carmaker Ford, technology giant IBM, South Korean cathode maker LG Chem and China's Huayou Cobalt have joined forces in the first blockchain project to monitor cobalt supplies from Democratic Republic of Congo.
The pilot, overseen by responsible-sourcing group RCS Global, aims to help manufacturers ensure that cobalt used in lithium-ion batteries has not been mined by children or used to fuel conflict.
Companies are under pressure from consumers and investors to prove that minerals are sourced without human rights abuses, but tracking raw materials throughout their journey is challenging.
The project announced yesterday has been quietly under way since December. Starting with industrially mined cobalt in Congo, it is monitoring supplies all the way to lithium-ion batteries for Ford vehicles.
Supplies of cobalt, expected to be needed in huge quantities for electric vehicles and electronic devices, are concentrated in Congo, a sprawling, volatile nation that has been racked by civil war and political tension. – Nampa/Reuters
JPMorgan misses profit estimates
JPMorgan Chase & Co missed profit estimates for the fourth quarter as a slump in bond trading revenue overpowered strong consumer loan growth and record revenues.
It was the first time JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, has underperformed earnings-per-share expectations in 16 quarters, according to Barclays equity analyst Jason Goldberg.
JPMorgan was the second large US bank to point the finger at choppy markets in December for its bond revenue losses. Citigroup Inc on Monday posted a sharp drop in fixed income revenue, blaming widening credit spreads, or the premium investors demand for holding corporate bonds over safer US Treasury securities.
Well Fargo & Co, which relies less on trading, said on Tuesday that fourth-quarter revenue missed expectations as revenue across all its banking units declined, especially at community banking.
Despite an 18% drop in JPMorgan's quarterly fixed-income revenue, Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said one down quarter does not make a trend. – Nampa/Reuters
McDonald's loses ‘Big Mac’ trademark case
McDonald's Corp has lost its rights to the trademark "Big Mac" in a European Union case ruling in favour of Ireland-based fast-food chain Supermac's, a decision from the EU's Spain-based Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) showed.
The judgment revoked McDonald's registration of the trademark, saying that the world's largest fast-food chain had not proven genuine use of it over the five years prior to the case being lodged in 2017.
McDonald's was not immediately available to comment on the decision. The decision said the company can still appeal.
With the revocation, Supermac's said it can now expand in the United Kingdom and Europe. The ruling also allows the Irish chain to use the "Big Mac" name on any food items it will sell.
Supermac's said it had never had a product called "Big Mac" and that McDonald's had just used the similarity of the two names to block the Irish chain's expansion. – Nampa/Reuters
Airbnb profitable for two straight years
Home-renting company Airbnb Inc said on Tuesday it was profitable on an adjusted basis for the second year in a row, ahead of a widely anticipated initial public offering this year.
Airbnb's expected listing in 2019 would be among a string of public debuts by highly valued Silicon Valley companies, including ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc, rival Lyft Inc and workplace messaging firm Slack.
Uber and Lyft remain unprofitable.
San Francisco, California-based Airbnb, valued by private investors at US$31 billion, has in recent months turned to new services and offerings to fuel growth by adding luxury vacation homes and hotels to its platform.
Without revealing other numbers such as revenue and profit, the company said it was profitable before accounting for interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). – Nampa/Reuters
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