(Gemma Ritchie/MG)
What’s making the news in local headlines
Business Day
- Glencore takes R100bn knock on US subpoena
Commodities behemoth Glencore had more than R100-billion of its market value wiped out on news that the US department of justice had subpoenaed it for documents under that country’s money laundering and anti-corruption laws.
- Moody’s cautions SA against debt trap
Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has cautioned that if the rand continues to weaken, SA may struggle to raise funds and service its foreign debt, although its vulnerability to tightening global financial conditions remains low.
- Steinhoff rallies on buoyed sentiment
Embattled retailer Steinhoff’s share price rallied nearly 50% on the JSE on Tuesday as investor sentiment was buoyed by the declaration of a preference dividend, further reprieve from creditors, and some clarity emerged around the extent to which the value of assets will be written down.
The Star
- Social grants under threat
Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu has entered the looming legal battle between the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) amid technical glitches and industrial action threatening social grant payments.
- Brace for more steep fuel price increases
More steep petrol prices could be in store for motorists next month, while road users woke up to the record-breaking fuel prices today.
The Citizen
Grant beneficiaries have been left without cards — and money — despite assurances from Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu that payments were good to go.
- Millions down the borehole
Two district municipality officials in Limpopo have been suspended for allegedly siphoning off R100-million by fabricating the drilling of boreholes.
Sowetan
- Turmoil at social welfare
Dlamini loyalists cry foul as successor Shabangu strips DG of her powers and the minister takes Sassa staff to court to stop strike; glitches mar switch-over to Post Office.
Daily Sun
Government asks for three days. Since Monday, they have braved the coldest weather of the year to get their Sassa money.
What’s making the global headlines
Glencore tumbled the most in two years as its African troubles escalated dramatically after US authorities demanded documents relating to possible corruption and money laundering. (Mining Weekly)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is in Europe to meet the leaders of Austria and Switzerland in a bid to save the international nuclear deal that has been abandoned by the U.S.
However, trying to do so could cause a “very messy dispute” between the U.S. and Europe, according to one expert.(CNBC)
Leading stock exchange BSE will delist as many as 222 companies from tomorrow as trading in their shares has remained suspended for over six months.
The move comes at a time when authorities are clamping down on shell companies — listed as well as unlisted — for being allegedly used as conduits for illicit fund flows. (The Times of India)
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal on Wednesday issued a historic ruling that paves the way for immigration authorities to issue dependent visas to legally recognised gay couples the same way they do for married heterosexual couples.
The ruling found that a British woman, known only as QT, faced “irrational” discrimination by immigration authorities in not being awarded a dependent visa to accompany her female partner, with whom she was in a legally recognised civil union, to Hong Kong. (Quartz)