BusinessLIVE - For Your Ear

Potential issues with Ad5 Covid-19 vaccines from Russia and China

Toronto/Chicago — High-profile Covid-19 vaccines developed in Russia and China share a potential shortcoming: they are based on a common cold virus that many people have been exposed to, potentially limiting their effectiveness, some experts say. CanSino Biologics’ vaccine, approved for military use in China, is a modified form of…

31 Aug 2020 10AM 4 min

LETTER: Don’t sweep UIF fraud under the carpet

At a portfolio meeting of the department of employment & labour in parliament, the minister tried to make light of the auditor-general suspending all the structures in the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) while it was investigating fraud (“Ters payments resume after another delay (”, August 26). This is an unprecedented…

31 Aug 2020 10AM 1 min

LETTER: Black lives in Africa matter too

While millions of people, not only in the US but much further afield, know of George Floyd, barely a handful know the name Collins Khoza. Floyd and Khoza were brutally murdered within a few weeks of each other, both by police action. The startling difference between the two murders was…

31 Aug 2020 10AM 2 min

LETTER: We will not be taken for granted

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has gained much attention, but while it has resonance, particularly in the US, it is a manifestation of a broader issue that is more global. From China, through Russia, the US and into our own country, SA, the issue needs to be restated and…

31 Aug 2020 10AM 1 min

LETTER: A lot is riding on Hermione Cronje

It is now emerging that the newly amended regulation of the Zondo commission will expedite the day of judgment for some high-profile miscreants in the ANC. Hermione Cronje, head of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) investigating directorate, said recently that the first high-profile arrests would be made in September 2020…

31 Aug 2020 9AM 1 min

SA is geared towards international visitors, so domestic market cannot compensate

Lisa Krohn’s Ashanti Lodge in Cape Town — normally abuzz with backpackers from around the world — today sits largely empty, a sign of how the pandemic has crushed SA's tourist industry. “This place is like a morgue,” she said, contemplating the Victorian-era building's deserted foyer. Following a five-month lockdown,…

31 Aug 2020 8AM 4 min

What the experts say about Abenomics

Tokyo/London — Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s decision to step down on Friday because of worsening health will formally put an end to his Abenomics strategy, which tried to revive the world’s third-largest economy after decades of stagnation. So how does Abenomics stack up? Reuters surveyed 18 experts to gauge…

31 Aug 2020 7AM 8 min

Physical damage from Beirut blast could rocket to $4.6bn

The blast that devastated parts of Beirut early in August caused between $3.8bn and $4.6bn in physical damage and the country will need international aid and private investment to recover, according to an initial assessment led by the World Bank. More than 180 people were killed and thousands injured when…

31 Aug 2020 7AM 2 min

Corruption accused Bongani Bongo to step aside as MP and NEC member

ANC MP Bongani Bongo will take a leave of absence from his position in parliament and the ANC national executive committee (NEC) ahead of his corruption trial. The decision is part of the outcomes of the special ANC NEC meeting to be announced by the party’s top officials on Monday…

31 Aug 2020 7AM 1 min

DEMOCRAT GAZETTE: Soap opera for digital age

Over the last few weeks President Donald Trump has let his frustration fly loose, with a number of targets, as usual. One of those targets is the popular video-sharing app TikTok. The kids love it. The Red Chinese love that the kids love it. The president hates that communist China…

31 Aug 2020 6AM 1 min

Brent rises to highest level in five months

London — Oil rose on Monday, with Brent touching the highest in five months, underpinned by a 30% cut in Abu Dhabi crude supplies and encouraging Chinese data even as global demand struggles to return to pre-Covid levels in a well supplied market. Brent crude futures for November advanced to…

31 Aug 2020 6AM 2 min

Global stocks flirt with record highs

London — World stocks hovered near record highs on Monday and were set to end August with five consecutive months of gains, as investors bet on central banks keeping up the policy punchbowl for years to come. An upbeat reading on China’s service sector added to the positive mood, with…

31 Aug 2020 5AM 4 min

US expats renounce citizenship in droves, but it’s because of tax, not Trump

The swearing in of new citizens often makes news in the US, especially if it happens in unusual circumstances such as one party’s national convention. Much less reported are the many citizenship renunciations by Americans, and the travails leading up to these life decisions. Almost all those giving up their…

31 Aug 2020 4AM 5 min

Tender corruption allegations are untrue, says Zamani Saul

Northern Cape premier Zamani Saul has denied links to tender corruption related to personal protective equipment (PPE), saying the allegations were part of a pushback against his attempt to clean up the province. Saul is among President Cyril Ramaphosa’s close allies and has been particularly vocal against corruption and largesse…

31 Aug 2020 4AM 3 min

Worst famine yet stalks millions as pandemic disrupts supply chains

New York/London/São Paulo — The world is hurtling towards an unprecedented hunger crisis. As many as 132-million more people than previously projected could go hungry in 2020, and this year’s gain may be more than triple any increase this century. The pandemic is upending food supply chains, crippling economies and…

31 Aug 2020 4AM 9 min

Gold rises to near 2-week high as dollar sags amid hopes of continuing low interest rates

Bengaluru — Gold prices climbed to their highest level in nearly two weeks on Monday, as the dollar weakened and the US Federal Reserve’s new policy framework suggested that interest rates would remain low for some time. Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,969.98 per ounce by 5.04am, after hitting…

31 Aug 2020 3AM 2 min

Oil inches higher on global stimulus

Singapore — Oil prices nudged up on Monday, with Brent futures set to post a fifth consecutive monthly gain, as global stimulus measures underpin prices even as demand struggles to return to pre-Covid levels in a well-supplied market. Brent crude futures for November climbed 27c, or 0.6%, to $46.08 a…

31 Aug 2020 2AM 2 min

Pandemic’s epicentre is shifting to India as deaths eclipse that of Mexico

India is fast becoming the world’s new virus epicentre, setting a record for the biggest single-day rise in cases as experts predict that it will soon pass Brazil — and ultimately the US — as the worst outbreak globally. As many as 78,761 new cases were added on Sunday, the…

31 Aug 2020 2AM 4 min

Dishonesty does not always merit dismissal

Dishonesty has traditionally been seen as a serious offence and one that could render an employment relationship intolerable. This is because dishonesty damages the ability of the employer to trust the employee. The Code of Good Practice: Dismissal imposes a number of requirements on an employer who is contemplating dismissing…

31 Aug 2020 2AM 3 min

ROB ROSE: Of WMC and conspiracies: Zuma’s postcard from the edge

If, understandably, you’ve cooled on the idea of Cyril Ramaphosa as the messiah delivering SA from evil, you’ll still hardly be heartened by the looterati now lining up with a guillotine calling for his head. There is, at least, pleasing symmetry in the identity of those first to respond to…

31 Aug 2020 2AM 6 min