According to Credit Suisse research, more than five million people became millionaires across the world in 2020 despite economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic. "While many poor people became poorer, the number of millionaires increased by 5.2 million to 56.1 million globally. In 2020, more than 1% of adults worldwide are millionaires for the first time." Wealth creation appeared to be "completely detached" from the economic woes of the pandemic, the researchers said, with "lower interest rates and government support programs leading to a huge transfer of wealth from the public sector to the household sector." The number of ultra-high net worth individuals, usually defined as those having investable assets of more than $30m, grew by 24% worldwide in 2020, the fastest rate of increase
since 2003.
BRP Inc. has announced the launch of a substantial "issuer bid" to purchase for cancelation of up to CAN$350m of its shares. Proceeding by way of a combination of a "modified Dutch auction," BRP says it will buy back shares at between CAN$94.00 and CAN$113.00 per share in increments of CAN$0.25 per share. The offer is open to holders of multiple voting shares.
Currently enjoying its third significant revival since foundation in 1911 (by six eponymous brothers), Benelli is to mark its 110th anniversary with a new logo and a series of events. These will be concentrated around the Benelli Museum in Pesaro, Italy, where the (now Chinese owned) brand is based. A subsidiary of Qianjiang - Harley's partner in China - its museum features a collection of more than 200 historic Benelli and MotoBì motorcycles, housed in part of the original factory. Benelli Week 2021 will be held in Pesaro on 13-19 September.
The Economist magazine has highlighted serious concerns about the inflationary pressures in USA and Europe that are being exerted by Chinese export goods on Western markets. Business surveys carried out in China have revealed that domestic factory-gate prices climbed at an average annualized rate of 9% during May, the biggest increase in more than a decade. A principal driver was the soaring cost of raw materials, led by steel and copper. To make matters worse, the Chinese yuan has grown in value by nearly 10% against the US dollar over the past year, reaching a three-year high in May. It has also strengthened considerably versus the euro and sterling.
Plans for the return of Isle of Man TT racing in 2022 major on encouraging competitive involvement from a wider range of manufacturers. Although an at-a-glance program for the 2022 event spanning 29 May to 10 June contains the usual roster of eight races, significant content changes to promote industry relevance have been made to two of them. The Lightweight TT, which has been dominated by Kawasaki and Kawasaki-engined Patons in recent years, gets a new name - the Bennetts Supertwin TT - and a new rulebook. Regulations will now permit twin-cylinder machines up to 700 cc, such as the Aprilia RS660, Yamaha MT-07 and Yamaha YZF-R7. Sidecar TT contenders will be permitted to use 900 cc parallel-twin engines such as those currently found in the KTM 890 Duke and BMW's F900R.
New motorcycle registrations in Italy (ANCMA data) were +0.38% for June (16,951 units) and +54.95% (74,541 units) for the first six months of 2021 as industry data lapped the worst of the year-ago Covid impact numbers. Total new PTW sales were +55.70% (166,551 units) YTD. The top-selling motorcycles were the Benelli TRK 502/X, followed by the BMW R 1250 GS, the Honda 'Africa Twin' and the BMW R 1250 'Adventure' as dual sport models continue their inexorable rise in popularity.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
