Business

NEFTA, Tunisia — Najet unravels an old pair of jeans, raw material for a designer carpet: Traditional, eco-friendly crafts are being adapted for new markets thanks to a project born in the Tunisian desert.

"I learned to weave at a young age, from my mother," said the 52-year-old from the oasis town of Nefta, 500 kilometres south of Tunis.

Now, she is making a living from it.

She is selling her Turkish-style kilim rugs via Shanti, a social enterprise that helps artisans from across the North African country reach buyers and bring vital revenue into some of its most marginalised communities.

Shanti is the brainchild of Najet's Franco-Tunisian nephew Mehdi Baccouche.

"Unstitching old jumpers, tearing up old cotton garments, making rugs out of them, it's a folk art found in all Tunisian homes," he said.

While the skill "has been around forever", reaching buyers is a challenge, he added. 

Back in 2014, he had asked his aunt to weave carpets for his friends, soon moving to selling them via Facebook.

Seeing the potential, two years later he created Shanti, which buys carpets and takes charge of getting them to consumers.

It also employs designers who work with artisans to improve their design skills and make their products more marketable.

"These are my creations, they come out of my imagination and Shanti approved them," Najet said.

'Recycle clothes' 

Najet uses an eclectic array of old pullovers, socks and assorted pass-me-downs from the local flea market, giving them a new life as rugs.

She has little fear of running out of raw materials. 

Despite a lean patch, the Tunisian clothes industry still keeps 1,600 firms in business, providing 100 times that many jobs.

In Nefta, a town of some 22,000 people, Shanti has also set up a haberdashery where weavers have free access to balls of wool recycled from second-hand clothes.

The association's local coordinator Fatima Alhamal, Najet's daughter, says the store makes "a huge difference".

Previously, "craftswomen had to go and find materials, which they had to pay for, then earned 12-15 euros for a kilim".

Now Shanti pays them 40 euros ($43) apiece, up to a maximum of four a month each to avoid pressuring them into overwork.

It then sells them in Tunisia and abroad.

The association also helps the workers improve their work spaces, for example with air conditioning — a necessity in southern Tunisia's blistering summer heat.

The work has changed the social standing of the women involved.

"People see them completely differently now," Fatma said.

Najet says she is happy to be making a living from home.

"I don't have to go out for anything, I can cook and eat here, I can work comfortably."

Eco-friendly 

Baccouche said at first people teased him for getting involved in "an old ladies' craft".

But the project fills a valuable niche in an area where women are disproportionately underemployed, and which has faced an ever-worsening economic crisis since before the revolt that sparked the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.

"It was important to show that you can be an old woman who never went to school and doesn't know how to use the Internet, but you can still do something and earn a living from it," he said.

Yet, the association also tries to avoid creating conflicts within families.

It pays the women not in cash but in post office accounts where their husbands can't see how much they are making — or use it to pay household bills.

Using its system of ordering in advance, Shanti runs a boutique in the capital Tunis.

"L'Artisanerie" also acts as a space for coordinators who train artisans from other rural areas, making bamboo furniture, poetry and embroidery.

In four years, more than 200 producers have been able to find a market for their work. Sixty work every day for L'Artisanerie.

"We're trying to show that you can make something 100 per cent Tunisian, with Tunisian materials and skills, but with a design that fits current tastes," Baccouche said.

Some products, joint creations by artisans and Shanti designers, are sold to design-conscious Tunisians.

Others are exported or sold to bigger firms — such as Indigo, a manufacturer for Zara, or Mango, which recently bought 164 rugs made from recycled jeans.

For now, the system still relies on some support from non-profits such as Oxfam or on Danish development aid.

But Baccouche has big ambitions, with Shanti expanding into sustainable agriculture and eco-tourism.

"We're trying to set up an entire, eco-friendly production and logistics chain," he said.

WASHINGTON — Twitter moved on Friday to defend itself against Elon Musk's $43 billion "hostile" takeover bid, announcing a "poison pill" plan that would make it harder for the billionaire to get a controlling stake.

Musk's proposed buyout faces several hazards, including possible rejection and the challenge of assembling the money, but could have significant impacts on the key social media service if consummated.

Twitter said its board unanimously adopted a so-called shareholder rights plan, also known as a "poison pill", which kicks in if an investor buys more than 15 per cent in shares without the directors' agreement. Musk holds 9 per cent.

The maneuver makes it harder for a buyer to build too big of a stake without board approval, by triggering an option that allows other investors to buy more of a company's shares at a discount.

Twitter said the plan, which experts consider a potent tool against corporate raiders, does not prevent discussing or even agreeing to an acquisition.

Musk sent shockwaves through the tech world on Thursday with an unsolicited bid to buy the company, stating the promotion of freedom of speech on Twitter as a key motive for what he called his "best and final offer".

The world's richest person offered $54.20 a share, which values the social media firm at some $43 billion, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He has not directly addressed the poison pill, but tweeted after his bid was announced that the board would face "titanic" legal liability if it goes against the interests of shareholders in rejecting his offer.

Analyst Dan Ives predicted that the board's move would "not be viewed positively by shareholders" given both the potential dilution of stock and the signal it sends of hostility towards being bought. He foresaw a "likely" court challenge.

Musk has already acknowledged he was "not sure" he would succeed and refused to elaborate on a "plan B", though in the filing he noted a rejection would make him consider selling his existing shares.

He also said he "could technically afford" the buyout while offering no information on financing, though he would likely need to borrow money or part with some of his mountain of Tesla or SpaceX shares. 

Some investors had already spoken against the proposal, including businessman and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

Morningstar Research analysts echoed that perspective, saying, "While the board will take the Tesla CEO's offer into consideration, we believe the probability of Twitter accepting it is likely below 50 per cent."

Twitter stock closed down nearly 2 per cent Thursday.

Musk's move throws another curve into the roller-coaster ride of his volatile relationship with the global social media service, and raises many questions about what comes next.

He was offered a seat on the board but turned it down over the weekend.

Musk's shock offer to buy Twitter drew worries — and some cheers — over putting the platform in the hands of a mercurial billionaire who advocates generally for few limits on what users can post.

He provided some detail on Thursday on his vision, saying he would like to lift the veil on the algorithm that runs on the platform, even allowing people to look through it and suggest changes.

He also reiterated his support for a more hands-off approach to policing the platform, a thorny matter particularly in high-profile cases such as Donald Trump who was banned after the assault on the US Capitol last year.

Critics argued that free speech absolutism on social media can be very messy in the real world.

"I am frightened by the impact on society and politics if Elon Musk acquires Twitter," tweeted Max Boot, a Washington Post columnist, on Thursday.

"He seems to believe that on social media anything goes. For democracy to survive, we need more content moderation, not less," Boot added.

Still Musk was rallying support on Twitter, where he has over 81 million followers, for the fight ahead.

"Thanks for the support!" he tweeted in reply to a poll that overwhelming backed his bid.

FRANKFURT — German auto giant Volkswagen (VW) said on Thursday its first quarter operating profit increased significantly in 2022, while warning that the "first effects" of the war in Ukraine were beginning to be felt. 

The group's operating profit, a measure of profitability closely watched by investors, rose to 8.5 billion euros ($9.3 billion) over the first three months of the year from 4.8 billion euros in the same period last year, according to preliminary figures.

The boost was down to strong "operating performance" and a positive effect of 3.5 billion euros thanks to hedges against the changing price of raw materials.

The turbulence on commodities markets could be traced back to the "ongoing war in Ukraine", which has pushed up prices, Volkswagen said in a statement.

Supply chain impacts could also be seen, with deliveries from suppliers in Ukraine being limited.

The lack of critical car parts has already forced Volkswagen, along with other German carmakers, to curtail production at some plants, while exports to Russia have been halted.

The course of the war and the impact on Volkswagen "cannot be predicted with sufficient certainty" but risked having a "negative impact" on the Wolfsburg-based group.

Volkswagen also said it delivered some 500,000 fewer cars in the first quarter of 2022 than in the previous year, a 22-per cent drop. 

The continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has recently led to widespread lockdowns in China, a key market, also loomed over the auto manufacturer's future performance.

As did the possibility of further disruption to supply chains "especially for semiconductors", a key component in both conventional and electric vehicles.

The two effects already conspired to make business difficult for Volkswagen in 2021. Despite net profits rising by 75 per cent to 15.4 billion euros, the 12-brand group delivered 600,000 fewer units last year, as lockdowns and shortages caused interruptions in production.

LONDON — Eurozone stock markets and the euro rose on Thursday awaiting the outcome of the European Central Bank (ECB) latest monetary policy meeting, as traders seek more information on when it will start to raise interest rates to fight the bloc's record-high inflation.

Oil prices, whose recent surge has contributed to inflation around the globe reaching the highest levels in decades, came off the boil on Thursday.

Investors were keeping a watch also on earnings updates due from more US banks, a day after JPMorgan Chase reported a sharp drop in profit and warned of downside risks from the Ukraine war and surging inflation.

Elsewhere on the corporate front, Tesla chief Elon Musk has launched a "hostile" takeover bid for Twitter, offering to buy 100 per cent of its stock and take it private, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.

"Several big US banks are due to report... while the latest brush strokes in the global interest rate picture will be painted by the ECB later as it meets to decide whether to follow the Bank of England and US Federal Reserve in hiking rates," noted Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell.

"The expectation is that ECB chief Christine Lagarde and her colleagues will sit on their hands but the runaway nature of inflation in the eurozone is bringing considerable pressure to bear on the central bank."

The ECB and investors at large remain cautious about the financial fallout caused by the war in Ukraine.

Prices were already soaring in major economies when Russia's invasion in late February sent shockwaves through the global energy, food and commodity markets.

Data this week from the United States — the world's biggest economy — showed inflation at a level not seen in 40 years.

Analysts said, however, that markets had welcomed an indication that US inflation may be approaching its peak.

Despite falling on Thursday, both main oil contracts stayed firmly above the $100 per barrel mark, with fears swirling about global supply constraints over the invasion of Ukraine by Russia — a major producer of oil and gas.

TOKYO — The yen hit its lowest level against the dollar in two decades on Wednesday, extending recent falls as the gap widens between Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy and US tightening.

Despite being traditionally considered a safe-haven currency, uncertainty fuelled by the war in Ukraine has not caused the yen to strengthen.

Instead, moves by the US Federal Reserve towards a more aggressive policy and the shock of rising oil prices in Japan — a major importer of fossil fuels — have pushed the currency lower, analysts say.

One dollar bought 126 yen on Wednesday afternoon, the lowest rate since 2002.

"The Japanese yen has been one of the weakest currencies anywhere in the world this year," Dutch banking group ING said in a recent commentary.

"Driving the rally has been the perfect storm of a hawkish Federal Reserve, a dovish Bank of Japan [BoJ], and Japan's negative terms of trade shock as a major fossil fuel importer."

Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said "the stability of exchange rates is important and we see rapid currency moves as undesirable".

"We will monitor trends in the foreign currency market and the impact on the Japanese economy with a sense of urgency," he added.

The yen had already lost 10 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2021 after four years of steady strengthening.

The US central bank has embarked on an aggressive tightening path, pushing up American treasury yields which have strengthened the dollar against the yen.

But its moves stand in contrast to the Bank of Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy, which will be maintained for now, bank governor Haruhiko Kuroda said earlier on Wednesday.

"Given the economy and price situation, the Bank of Japan will seek to realise its two-per cent inflation target... by resiliently continuing its current powerful monetary easing," he said.

Swiss Bank UBS said a weaker yen would likely hit Japanese households' purchasing power, and domestic-oriented small businesses who will face higher import costs.

"The government is offering fiscal supports and most likely will expand the supports. We think the [yen] purchase intervention is possible if the pace of depreciation is regarded as too fast," it said in a note.

Tohru Sasaki, head of Japan Market Research at JPMorgan Chase Bank, said that the Bank of Japan "has to do something to slow the pace of the yen's depreciation".

"The Japanese government can sell foreign reserve [USD] to intervene, but it is politically difficult," he said, adding that it would be "strange" if the finance ministry did so while the Bank of Japan keeps its current easing policies.