China announced that it will impose additional tariffs on some American goods in retaliation for the latest increase of U.S. duties on $200 billion of Chinese imports. The tariffs will take effect on June 1, according to a statement on the Ministry of Finance’s website. The year-long trade frictions between the world’s two biggest economies re-escalated last week when the Trump administration announced a 25% punitive tariff on thousands of Chinese products.
Warning Of Extreme Climate Events
More extreme weather events and a rise of 6°C in average temperatures across the country could be possible by the end of the century. That’s according to an official government report released this week, which has pulled no punches in summarising just how climate change has already ravaged South Africa, with the worst yet to come. Over the past few years, we have seen droughts cripple entire provinces. Then, when the rain does come in certain regions, the intensity of the storms often lead to displacements and deaths.
Uber IPO A Disaster
The ride-hailing giant, which went public on Friday, six weeks after its rival Lyft, sputtered to a 7.6% loss in its stock market debut, wiping out $655 billion of investor wealth. When the dust settled, it was the biggest first-day dollar loss in US IPO history, according to an analysis from Jay Ritter, a professor at the University of Florida. Prior to Uber’s loss, the largest first-day dollar loss was during the dot-com bubble of two decades ago. Genuity, an internet company spun out of Verizon, lost $277 million its first day.
Net1 Suffers 72% Profit Decline
Financial services group Net 1 UEPS Technologies has reported a 72% decline in their bottom line since their Sassa contact came to an end during the first quarter of 2019. The decrease in segment revenue and operating income was primarily due to the substantial decrease in the number of Sassa grant recipients paid under our Sassa contract as the contract ended at the end of Q1 2019,
MTN Share Price Up 36% In Two Months
Between March 6, the day before MTN announced its results for the year to December, and Thursday (May 9), when it published a first-quarter trading update, its share price has increased by 36% from R76.06 to R103.45. This performance, which should be viewed against MTN’s steady decline from a high of over R260 in September 2014, reflects the outcome of a clearly-communicated plan to deal with issues that have not sat well with investors for some years. In March the group defined its position and outlined its future direction, and a flurry of activity since then – including board changes, positive quarterly update, imminent Nigerian listing and asset disposal programme – has hit the right notes with investors as the price continues its upward trajectory.
Ethekwini Mayor To Appear On Corruption Charges
eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede is expected to hand herself over to the Hawks and appear in the Durban Commercial Crimes court on Tuesday on a raft of corruption charges. In May last year it emerged that Gumede, a strong ally of former president Jacob Zuma, was being investigated by the Hawks for facilitating money laundering‚ fraud and corruption, allegedly to pay back cronies who helped her political ambitions. In December a City Press article reported that a forensic report by Integrity Forensic Solutions named Gumede and Mondli Mthembu‚ a councillor who chairs the human-settlements committee in council‚ and three other officials who allegedly orchestrated a corruption and money laundering “scam” which saw eThekwini pay R25m to hire about 800 chemical toilets for six months.
Zimbabwe Starts Loadshedding
Zimbabwe has started rolling power cuts lasting up to eight hours that will also hit mines, a schedule from the State power utility showed on Monday, after reduced output at both the largest hydropower plant and ageing coal-fired generators. The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said power cuts, known locally as load-shedding, would start on Monday and will last up to eight hours during morning and evening peak periods.
The Turk Report : My Perspective 