5 things you need to know about in South Africa today
·15 Jul 2016
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- President Jacob Zuma is reportedly blocking attempts by finance minister Pravin Gordhan to have SAA chair, Dudu Myeni axed. Gordhan applied for yet another extension for the release of SAA’s financials, which cannot be published until the group’s insolvency is sorted out. Treasury will not give SAA guarantees until there is a new board, a move Zuma is blocking, apparently to protect Myeni.
- A company partly owned by state arms firm Denel has been forced to enter business rescue, claiming that the government firm had diverted its contracts to the Gupta-owned VR Laser. Denel has denied the claims, accusing an unnamed politician of fabricating the story to hijack the company. It said it would oppose the business rescue application.
- South Africa’s rand raced to a new two and half month high on Thursday, riding a fresh wave of global demand for high-yielding assets as investors looked to move out of low yield positions in developed economies, while stock remained mostly unchanged. On Friday the rand was trading at R14.31 to the dollar, R19.21 to the pound and R15.91 to the euro.
- In global news: Asian shares extended gains to eight-month highs on Friday, on track for a solid weekly rise, as better-than-expected economic data from China lifted risk sentiment that was already buoyant after record highs on Wall Street. Financial stocks led the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials to record highs on Thursday.
- Crude futures dipped in Asian trading on Friday on renewed concerns about a global oil glut, but losses were capped by slightly better than expected Chinese economic data reflecting government efforts to stabilise growth. Brent crude futures were down 41 cents at $46.96 a barrel; U.S. crude was down 40 cents at $45.28 a barrel.
In other news: 84 people have been confirmed killed in a Bastille Day terror attack in Nice, France. The attack happened when a truck ploughed through a crowd out on the streets celebrating the national holiday. The driver reportedly opened fire from the truck before being shot by police.
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