Notable earnings/guidance movers: MXL +10.4%, EQC +4.3%, CMG +3.6% on upside; AMP -13%, SKX -10.9%, SPOT -7.1%, TXN -6%, GOOG -5.7%, FFIV -3.6%, MSFT -2.3% on downside
- Earnings/guidance gainers: MXL +10.4%, EQC +4.3%, CMG +3.6%, CC +2.4%, TENB +2.2%, CSGP +2.1%, WIRE +2%, BYD +1.6%
- Earnings/guidance losers: AMP -13%, SKX -10.9%, SPOT -7.1%, TXN -6%, GOOG -5.7%, HA -5.6%, NEX -5.4%, VICR -5%, MAT -4.4%, FFIV -3.6%, CNI -3.5%, MSFT -2.3%, TER -2.1%
Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Alexey Mordashov Finds Safe Harbor for Yacht in South Africa
The country’s government will allow the steel magnate’s superyacht Nord to call in Cape Town, despite outcry from city’s mayor
South Africa will allow sanctioned Russian steel magnate Alexey Mordashov to pull his superyacht into Cape Town, making it the latest port stop on a controversy-laden voyage that shows the limits of Western sanctions.
The journey of the 465-foot Nord—from the Seychelles to Vladivostok in Russia, Hong Kong and now en route to Cape Town—has become a closely watched barometer for the effectiveness of U.S. and European sanctions on its owner, Mr. Mordashov, one of Russia’s richest men and the largest shareholder of Severstal PAO, among the world’s biggest steelmakers.
Mr. Mordashov is under U.S. and European Union sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine. Western capitals have accused a coterie of rich Russian business people of being close to President Vladimir Putin and being complicit in the invasion.
Mr. Mordashov has said he has never been close to politics and didn’t see how sanctioning him would help end the conflict.
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, the Nord, which features two helicopter pads, a swimming pool and a cinema, set sail from the Seychelles to the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok, where it arrived in March. The move protected the yacht from the fate of Mr. Mordashov’s smaller boat, the 213-foot Lady M, which was seized by Italian authorities that same month.
In early October, the Nord left Vladivostok and anchored in the waters of Hong Kong, prompting a rebuke from the U.S. State Department. A State Department spokesman warned that allowing Mr. Mordashov’s yacht to moor near Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour called into question the Chinese-administered territory’s reputation as a financial center.
China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong in return accused the U.S. State Department of smearing Hong Kong’s business environment.
The Nord set sail again last week, crossing the Strait of Malacca on Monday. It is set to arrive in Cape Town on Nov. 9, according to publicly available maritime-tracking data.
Reports on the yacht’s destination prompted the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, to appeal to South Africa’s government on Monday to block the Nord from docking at the port. “South Africa has a moral duty to do what it can to protest unjust war, state terrorism, and the gross violation of human rights,” said Mr. Hill-Lewis, a member of the Democratic Alliance, the largest opposition party to the ruling African National Congress.
Cape Town, famed for its sandy beaches, Table Mountain and nearby vineyards, is home to several marinas and harbors that regularly host luxury yachts.
In written comments to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Hill-Lewis said Tuesday that he had received conflicting reports over whether Mr. Mordashov was on board the vessel.
“I believe Mr. Mordashov…is seeking safe harbor for his assets and potentially himself,” Mr. Hill-Lewis said. He said he was concerned his city could become “a new favorite destination for Russians fleeing sanctions in the rest of the world.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Mordashov said he isn’t on the ship and remains in Moscow. She declined to comment on whether he plans to visit South Africa in the near future.
The government of South Africa, whose ruling party has fostered close ties with Russia dating back to the Soviet Union’s support of the ANC’s struggle against apartheid, said the vessel would be allowed to dock in South African waters. Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said there was no reason to block the yacht or Mr. Mordashov from entering South Africa.
“South Africa has no legal obligation to abide by the sanctions that the U.S. and the EU have decided to impose within specific jurisdictions,” Mr. Magwenya said. “For as long as individuals abide by our immigration laws we have no reason to prevent their entry into South Africa.”
Mr. Ramaphosa has tried hard not to get caught up in the intensifying confrontation between Russia and the West over the war in Ukraine. South Africa isn’t participating in Western sanctions and has abstained in United Nations votes on the invasion. It has called for U.N.-led peace talks to end the fighting.
Luxury-yacht experts say the Nord’s ocean-spanning travels highlight another dilemma faced by their sanctioned owners: The world has few ports able to maintain yachts of the Nord’s size, and those are mostly in Europe, where they would quickly be seized.
“As soon as you stop maintaining them, they fall into disrepair, and the cost of getting it out of disrepair is astronomical,” said James Jaffa, a partner at a U.K.-based law firm that advises clients on superyachts.
Lithium miner to create US-listed company as shortages hit electric cars
Australia-listed European Lithium will merge with Sizzle Acquisition
A lithium mining start-up is to create a US-listed company in a blank-cheque merger as a severe shortage of the metal has become the most serious supply chain bottleneck in the rollout of electric vehicles.
European Lithium, which claims to have the region’s first fully licensed lithium mine with deposits in Austria, is to merge with Sizzle Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, to create Critical Metal.
European Lithium, which is already listed in Australia and will continue to trade there, will become the largest shareholder in Critical Metals, which will have a market capitalisation of $972mn.
Other companies have struggled to get permits to mine the metal in Europe, partly because of environmental concerns.
Europe’s setbacks in developing lithium supplies have left it largely reliant on China, which could pose problems for the region’s carmakers as they rush to secure local battery materials. China controls 60 per cent of global lithium processing.
The deal comes during a severe shortage of the metal with prices plateauing close to record highs of $70,000 a tonne, eight times their level at the start of 2021.
This followed electric vehicle sales in China powering ahead this year with the supply of the metal struggling to keep pace.
The problems over winning permits have held back lithium mining in Europe.
Rio Tinto’s Jadar project in Serbia had its exploration licences revoked, while Savannah Resources has yet to get environmental approval for a lithium development from authorities in Portugal.
Lithium is a vital element in electric vehicle batteries because it is lightweight, with demand expected to multiply several times over the next decade as the EV industry takes off.
“The need for additional battery-grade lithium in Europe will only continue to accelerate as demand for EVs continues to outstrip supply,” said Critical Metals’ executive chair Tony Sage.
The Wolfsberg site, located 270km south of Vienna, is expected to produce about 10,500 tonnes of lithium concentrate a year starting in 2025 — enough for 200,000 EVs. Lithium concentrate has to then be refined into chemicals that can be used in EV batteries.
The high lithium prices have been spurring a wave of activity to raise capital to develop mines. On Monday, mining solutions group Imerys said it was launching a lithium project in France that aims to produce 34,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year from 2028.
European Lithium holds a memorandum of understanding with Germany’s BMW to pre-pay $15mn in return for lithium in the future. General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have taken the rare step of pre-financing mines and taking equity stakes in early stage mining groups.
How Zimmermann put Australian fashion on the map
With their bubbly, beach-bound aesthetic, sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann have created a fashion empire – and a template for Down Under-design
Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- CCK -10%, XRX -9.4%, HSII -7.7%, BRO -6.7%, HSBC -6.5%, CLF -6.1%, GLW -5.8%, MCO -5.7%, CR -5.2%, ZION -4.9%, ORAN -3.4%, CNC -3.4%, JBLU -3.4%, TBI -2.9%, PKG -2.7%, MMM -2.7%, AWI -2.4%, CADE -2%, DFS -1.9%, WRB -1.7%, RRC -1.7%, GPK -1.4%, ARE -1.3%, TRU -1.2%, PHM -1.2%, NWE -1%, VLO -0.9%
Other news:
- PEBO -2.7% (Peoples Bancorp and Limestone Bancorp (LMST) announce he signing of a definitive agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which Peoples will acquire in an all-stock merger Limestone and the parent company of Limestone Bank)
- TBPH -2.5% (to Present New Ampreloxetine Data in Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension at the 33rd International Symposium on the Autonomic Nervous System)
- CRON -2.4% (SEC charged CRON for improperly accounting for millions of dollars of revenue and for other accounting misconduct in multiple reporting periods)
- UEC -1.9% (stock offering by selling shareholders)
- BILL -0.9% (adds Google Cloud CMO to Board)
Analyst comments:
- ANET -2.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse)
- EQX -2.4% (downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts)
- FA -1.9% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies)
Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- MEDP +26.1%, AAN +12.2%, XM +9.6%, CLS +7.4%, CALX +7.3%, LOGI +6.9%, ARI +6%, SHW +5.7%, UBS +5.5%, GM +5.2%, GE +3.9%, ADTN +3.4%, UPS +3.3%, HUBB +3%, BNR +2.9%, SAP +2.8%, KO +2.8%, SSB +2.4%, BIIB +2.3%, AGNC +2%, ADM +1.9%, HAL +1.6%, HLX +1.5%, HXL +1.4%, ARCC +1.2%, NVS +0.9%, KMB +0.6%
Other news:
- WEBR +24.5% (BDT Capital offers to acquire WEBR at $6.25/share in cash)
- GRTS +5.3% (Phase 1 results from its ongoing CORAL-BOOST and CORAL-CEPI trials evaluating its self-amplifying mRNA vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2; also announces private placement of $45.0 mln)
- EEFT +5% (amends and extends its unsecured revolving credit facility)
- PRIM +3.9% (awarded $400 mln worth of projects)
- COOK +2.3% (trading higher in sympathy with WEBR)
- GHM +2.2% (achieves record $92 mln in orders in Q2)
- BCML +1.6% (authorizes up to 5% in repurchases)
- MIST +1.6% (Announces Late-Breaking Presentation of Data from Phase 3 RAPID Clinical Trial of Etripamil Nasal Spray in Patients with Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022)
- LAUR +1.4% (approves special cash dividend)
- AVDL +1.1% (presents new data)
Analyst comments:
- HIBB +5.3% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities)
- ASB +1.2% (upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA Securities)
- NFLX +0.8% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Daiwa Securities)
Early premarket gappers
- Gapping up:
- MEDP +24.8%, WEBR +23.5%, AAN +17.9%, XM +11.6%, CLS +7.4%, CALX +7.3%, ARI +6%, LOGI +5.7%, COOK +5.5%, EEFT +5%, UBS +4%, PRIM +3.9%, ADTN +3.5%, VLRS +3.2%, SAP +3.1%, BNR +2.9%, HLX +2.5%, SSB +2.4%, GHM +2.2%, LAUR +1.9%, TM +1.7%, AGNC +1.7%, HXL +1.4%, AVDL +1.1%, TRQ +0.8%
- Gapping down:
- CCK -9.4%, HSII -7.7%, HSBC -6.9%, CR -5.2%, ZION -4.9%, ORAN -3.6%, PII -3.2%, TBI -2.9%, CRON -2.7%, PKG -2.7%, TBPH -2.5%, BRO -2.5%, AWI -2.4%, CADE -2%, UEC -1.7%, ARE -1.7%, WRB -1.5%, RRC -1.4%, DFS -1.3%, PCVX -1.1%, NWE -1%, AMZN -0.7%
