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Show us the money, SAA unions tell the government

The majority trade union alliance at SAA has called on members not to sign voluntary severance agreements until the department of public enterprises can show them it has the money. The department negotiated generous voluntary severance packages for which 3,110 out of 4,661 employees applied. But there has always been…

27 Aug 2020 11AM 2 min

EDITORIAL: Right now, it’s sensible to be bearish on cash

The latest survey of local fund managers by Bank of America Securities certainly gives a mixed picture. Bank of America Securities is better known in SA as as Merrill Lynch, its name before the corporate dealing that emerged from the debris of the global financial crisis. The survey revealed that…

27 Aug 2020 11AM 3 min

Study rates chances of reaching Everest summit

Kathmandu — Climbers tackling Mount Everest are twice as likely to make it to the summit and slightly less likely to die than two decades ago, despite a sharp increase in crowding in the “death zone”, a study released on Wednesday shows. From 2006 to 2019, about two-thirds of climbers…

27 Aug 2020 11AM 2 min

Reserve Bank could lighten an efficient government’s load

The severe economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic will cause an already bad fiscal situation to become even worse, with the government’s main budget deficit sure to reach more than double last year’s 6.7% of GDP. Equally, it should surprise no-one if the gross debt load races past 80% of…

27 Aug 2020 10AM 6 min

Trump says he saved 51-million jobs in pandemic but economists disagree

Boston/Washington — Standing before six US flags during a press conference at his country club in Bedminster, New Jersey, President Donald Trump heralded what has become a central plank of his argument for re-election in November: his administration’s handling of the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic “Through the historic…

27 Aug 2020 9AM 6 min

Saudi Arabia reforms death sentences for minors

Riyadh — Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor referred for review death sentences given to three young men whose alleged crimes occurred when they were minors, reflecting a royal order halting the use of capital punishment in such cases. The sentencing of Ali al-Nimr, Dawoud al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher — which caused…

27 Aug 2020 9AM 2 min

Give Competition Commission powers to fine tampering with tenders

Reports of inflated bids to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to the government during the national lockdown raise concerns that competition in a wide range of critical markets in SA is being disrupted by fraud, nepotism and corruption. Tenders are among the most powerful means to foster efficient markets and…

27 Aug 2020 8AM 5 min

Russia succumbs to pressure to investigate Alexei Navalny illness

Moscow — Russian authorities have announced a preliminary probe into the sudden illness last week of opposition leader Alexei Navalny after Western leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, called for an investigation of the high-profile case. The Russian interior ministry called the probe a “pre-investigation check” and repeated the Kremlin’s…

27 Aug 2020 8AM 2 min

Japan’s Abe completing his term in question amid health queries

Tokyo — Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo should be able to serve out the remainder of his term as party leader ending about a year from now, his right-hand man said, after recent hospital visits raised questions about the premier’s health. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said in an interview…

27 Aug 2020 8AM 3 min

CHINA DAILY: Unacceptable for US to spy on China’s military drills

The entry of a US Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane into a no-fly zone China announced for live-fire military drills being conducted by the Northern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Tuesday is anything but acceptable rule-based behaviour. China has more than enough reason to lodge stern…

27 Aug 2020 8AM 2 min

Rolls-Royce, a UK icon that may become a UK tragedy

When the employees of Rolls-Royce Holdings read that coronavirus lockdowns and home-working have ignited a technology boom, they could be forgiven for weeping. The company makes the jet engines that power large passenger jets, which is one of the most technically complex engineering tasks known to man. And yet, most…

27 Aug 2020 7AM 3 min

Oil prices stable despite Hurricane Laura lockdown

London — Oil prices were broadly stable on Thursday as a huge hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico made landfall in the heart of the US oil industry, forcing oil rigs and refineries to shut down. Brent crude futures for October, which expire on Friday, rose 6c, or, 0.1% to…

27 Aug 2020 6AM 1 min

Golfgate — how an Irish resignation and a formal dinner rocked the EU Commission

Playing a round of golf in the middle of a pandemic is hardly a good look for a politician. But playing two games and attending a formal dinner with about 80 guests, as swathes of the Irish political establishment did earlier this month, is bound to provoke outrage — not…

27 Aug 2020 6AM 3 min

City of Minneapolis under state of emergency after death of black man

Bengaluru — The governor of Minnesota, US declared a state of peacetime emergency in the city of Minneapolis, after violent protests erupted on Wednesday night following the death of a black homicide suspect who police say shot himself. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey imposed a curfew following what he described as…

27 Aug 2020 6AM 2 min

California’s wildfires pose major threat to wine industry

New York — Vineyard owners in California’s Napa and Sonoma regions and the Santa Cruz Mountains had planned to harvest grapes over the next few weeks. But with flames threatening wineries and homes, thousands of people have had to evacuate, although some winemakers and winery workers stayed to help fight…

27 Aug 2020 6AM 10 min

Conte meddling from Rome will not help Italy’s economy

The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a serious blow to Italy’s economy, which was already struggling with high public debt and low growth. The government now risks making matters worse: A string of high-profile interventions, the latest in Telecom Italia, has the potential to scare off investors just when the economy…

27 Aug 2020 5AM 3 min

Vladimir Putin is up to his old tricks and the world is playing along

Let no-one say that Angela Merkel isn’t onto Vladimir Putin’s dirty tricks and cynicism. As a former East German, the chancellor speaks Russian just as the Russian president, a former KGB offer stationed in Dresden, is fluent in German. They’ve known each other for decades. She still vividly recalls his…

27 Aug 2020 5AM 4 min

Hurricane Laura hits Louisiana, bringing 240km/h winds and threat of flooding

Port Arthur, Texas — Hurricane Laura made landfall early on Thursday in southwestern Louisiana as one of the most powerful storms to hit the state, with forecasters warning it could push a massive wall of water 64km inland from the sea. Laura made landfall packing winds of 240km/h in the…

27 Aug 2020 5AM 3 min

European stocks slip and dollar firms as markets await Fed chair’s address

London — European shares opened lower on Thursday and the dollar was slightly higher, as investors focused on the US Federal Reserve chair’s speech at the virtual Jackson Hole conference later in the session. Wall Street hit new record highs on Wednesday and the MSCI world share index also rose…

27 Aug 2020 4AM 3 min

New Zealand mosque shooter sentenced to life without parole

Wellington — A New Zealand judge sentenced white supremacist Brenton Tarrant to life in prison without parole on Thursday for killing 51 Muslim worshippers in the country’s deadliest shooting, saying the sentence was not enough punishment for the “wicked” crimes. It was the first time a court in New Zealand…

27 Aug 2020 3AM 4 min