Sasol boost as CEOs jump ship; SA may escape downgrade; Palladium soars; Joburg water cuts; Brexit delay

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Sasol’s share price jumped when its CEOs jumped ship. The board decided a leadership reset was needed following a bad investment in the US. Sasol named a new chief executive officer to replace co-CEOs Bongani Nqwababa and Stephen Cornell as the company seeks to draw a line under the disastrous development of an almost-$13bn chemicals plant in the US, reports Bloomberg.
South Africa’s tenuous hold on the stable outlook on its sole investment-grade credit rating may slip with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni expected to show a marked deterioration in the state of the nation’s finances this week. Of the 17 economists in a Bloomberg survey, nine forecast that Moody’s Investors Service will change its outlook on the nation’s credit rating to negative before the end of the year.

Palladium surged to a record, topping $1,800 as stricter air-quality rules boost demand for the metal used in vehicle pollution-control devices. Spot prices climbed 2.1% to $1.802.24 an ounce at 11:09am in New York, says Bloomberg, adding that the metal is up more than 40% this year.

South Africa has been battling lengthy power cuts; now water cuts are on the cards. The country can avoid rolling cuts in water supply if citizens stick to restrictions in usage, Water Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted the European Union’s offer of a three-month Brexit delay to Jan. 31, removing the risk of a damaging no-deal split on Thursday as his government tries to end the impasse in Parliament. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
28 Oct 2019 2PM English South Africa Investing · Business News

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