5 important things you need to know about today
·22 Jul 2016
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Eskom has made a decision to freeze further power purchase agreements with independent power producers, which will have a chilling effect on private investment in the sector, analysts have noted. The program has already drawn R193 billion in investment over the past five years, but now new bids are up in the air.
- SAA’s decision to cancel a R256 million deal with BnP Capital was its own decision, not affected by external factors, the group says. However, civil group Outa – who brought legal action against the airline over the deal – says the matter is far from over, as the group now targets the SAA board (headed up by Zuma friend, Dudu Myeni).
- South Africa’s rand firmed to its strongest in nearly three months against the dollar on Thursday, boosted by a search for higher yield after the central bank left its repo rate unchanged and analysts ruled out any imminent policy easing. On Friday the rand was trading at R14.20 to the dollar, R18.78 to the pound and R15.66 to the euro.
- In global news: Asian stocks dipped on Friday after weak corporate results halted Wall Street’s record run overnight, while the yen held to large gains made after the Bank of Japan governor downplayed the need for “helicopter money” stimulus.
- Crude oil futures rose in quiet Asian trading on Friday but gains were limited following big falls in the previous session as investors reassessed U.S. data underlining the glut in petroleum, while Iraqi crude exports are on the rise. Brent crude fell 13 cents to $46.07 a barrel, while U.S. crude dropped 25 cents to $44.50 a barrel.
In other news: The Oscar Pistorius saga continues as the state has applied to appeal his sentencing for murder, which it says is far too lenient. State prosecutor Gerrie Nel has listed 30 reasons why Judge Masipa erred in her sentencing. Legal experts are divided on the appeal’s chances of success.
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