Sudan Coup
The tension is high in Sudan as the country has experienced a recent coup. The former prime minister Hamdok and his wife are currently under security at their home after being released from detainment. It is not known whether they are free to leave currently or even allowed to make calls, and there has been a continuation in the arrests of many military critics. This has started many nationwide protests as well as condemnation from the international community.
General Burhan who is responsible for this coup has made it clear that it was needed in order to avoid a civil war. Furthermore, he insists that Sudan is still on its way towards democracy and the elections will be held in 2023. However, many people reject this statement, using this recent and sudden takeover as evidence. There is also growing pressure from the African Union and the World Bank for the general to reinstate the previous government.
The US recently suspended around $700 million in aid to Sudan, and the World Bank has also put a halt to its own aid programme. This sudden stop of monetary inflow will perhaps have disastrous results for Sudan’s already damaged economy. The president of the World Bank. David Malpass, expressed his concerns in a statement saying, “I am greatly concerned by recent events in Sudan…” Furthermore, it was only in March that Sudan was allowed access to billions of dollars in grants from the World Bank.
The people in Sudan will likely experience a lot of pain during this dire time. Arrests of outspoken critics of the military’s takeover continue in the capital of Khartoum and many businesses have shut in protest. There were pockets of protesters seen and some have set up barricades on the main roads and called for strikes. Security forces were seen chasing the demonstrators and dismantling their barriers.
Sources: The Guardian, BBC
Tesla Hitting the Trillion Dollar Mark
The market value of Tesla has recently risen to above $1 Trillion for the very first time. This is not just a milestone for Tesla, but no other automaker company has ever even come close to this value. The value rose as soon as Hertz, a rental car company, ordered more than 100,000 of Tesla Model 3 vehicles. This puts the deal at an astonishing $4 billion and Tesla has become part of an exclusive set of companies which are worth at least $1 Trillion.
The decision for Hertz to acquire 100,000 Teslas shows how many are predicting that electric cars will be the norm for the future. Electric cars are becoming more and more popular by the day and the current CEO of Hertz, Mark Fields, says that “electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we’ve only just begun to see rising global demand and interest.” It is important to note that going above the trillion dollar mark has only been done by a handful of companies which includes, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet which is the parent company of Google.
However, not everyone is optimistic about the future of Tesla and top analysts divide into two camps. The first are those that say that Tesla is going to continue to grow and this is only the beginning. The second camp believe that Tesla’s stock is actually grossly overvalued and they point to the fact that Tesla is currently struggling with many supply chain backlogs. However this is the case with many companies, but investors are aware that this recent order doesn’t guarantee that the net value of Tesla will stay above $1 Trillion.
This recent accomplishment of Tesla put’s its CEO, Elon Musk, above Jeff Bezos as the richest person in the world currently. Just three years ago Tesla as a company was worth around $50 billion and the company’s board agreed that should the market value go beyond $650 billion, Mr Musk would receive a huge grant of stock. In total Mr Musk collected a grant of roughly $8 billion in Tesla stocks.
Sources: TheWeek, Ney York Times
Julian Assange and his possible extradition to the USA
Julian Assange is set to be heard by the High Court in London over a judge’s decision to not extradite him to the USA. Julian Assange who is currently in Belmarsh Prison in London, and has been there since his arrest in 2019. Assange is wanted in the USA on allegations of conspiracy and his disclosure of top secret national defence information. This information was published by WikiLeaks and it includes thousands of documents which relate to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Assange is an Australian journalist who founded the Wikileaks in 2006 and was the chief editor until his arrest in September of 2018. After his arrest, as the Ecuadorian government reached an agreement to expel him from their embassy and into the care of UK authorities. Mr Assange was subject to 50 weeks of imprisonment in Belmarsh prison London for violating his conditions of bail set in 2012. He is currently still in the same prison where he waits to find out if he will be extradited to the US to face espionage charges.
Lawyers for the US have told the High Court judge who made the decision to block Julian Assange’s extradition was misled by his psychiatrist. There was a serious concern over Mr Assange’s mental health over the decision to extradite and there was a risk that he could commit suicide. Mr Assange is wanted by the USA over the release of thousands of documents in 2010 and 2011 which reveal how the US military killed hundreds of civilians.
These were unreported incidents during the Afghanistan war and leaked files also show how 66,000 civilians had been killed in Iraq. The USA argues that the publication of all these sensitive files not only broke the law but also put many lives in danger. The High Court hearing is expected to end on Thursday 28th October and the decision will come at a later date. The USA is adamant to extradite Mr Assange and even promising that they wont impose solitary confinement before or after their trial, although they could do so if he was to commit any further offence.
Crocs share price keeps rising
The share price of Crocs continues to rise after they seemingly become the world’s foremost slippers brand. The retailer reported its yearly third quarter earnings and revenue and they have exceeded the expectations of many. This rise in revenue is mainly due to the huge demand for the shoes and how it continues to grow. This great result for the company is also down to how it has worked to minimise the impact from the global supply chain crisis.
The stock, being up by almost 8% recently, has increased by 145% to date with the earnings coming to $2.47 per share, whereas it was only expected to give $1.88 per share. Note how a year earlier the company was making $362 million a year whereas this year it made $626 million. This is due to its direct-to-customer sales along with the increase in its digital sales. The CEO, Andrew Rees, stated in an interview, “Globally, our teams are managing through the supply chain disruptions to mitigate the impact on our business.”
This success can also be attributed to the company’s strong e-commerce channel, and at the recent Investor Day event, the company put forward very ambitious goals for the future. The Crocs management team hopes to increase its sales to $5 billion by the end of 2026, they are currently at $2.25 billion for the 2021 fiscal year. One important way they hope to achieve this is through diversifying into sandals and increasing its presence in the Asian market. This is a smart move and Crocs knows that China is the second footwear market by demand.
Furthermore, the price of the stock has been on an unending increase since the pandemic, although there have been some set backs along the way. It may have been the pandemic which was a catalyst to force the company to strengthen its online presence. For now Crocs seems to be an extremely undervalued business based on how well they have been performing lately. The CEO also commented that, “Despite the temporary disruptions, we expect 2022 revenues to grow…fueled by the strength of our brand and consumer demand globally.