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BusinessLIVE - For Your Ear

Listen to the latest BusinessLIVE articles from the news desk of Business Day, Financial Mail and the Business Times.

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Daily English South Africa Business News · News
12,931 Episodes
688 – 708

Hong Kong court upholds detention of first man charged under security law

Hong Kong — A Hong Kong court has upheld the detention of the first person charged under the new national security law, dealing an early blow to efforts to challenge the Beijing-drafted legislation. The high court dismissed an application by Tong Ying-kit to have his detention declared unlawful, local media…
21 Aug 2020 8AM 1 min

LETTER: It’s time to increase our vigilance

The nation has moved to lockdown level 2 — but we dare not lower our guard against a viral assassin whose reach seems limitless. The threat will continue to lurk across SA, and will probably come in a second wave to harvest what it could not gather in its first…
21 Aug 2020 8AM 1 min

LETTER: Energy users must switch attitude

While everyone in a constitutional democracy is entitled to express their views on issues we face as a country, the idea that Eskom had ample time to conduct all necessary maintenance is grossly mistaken (Letters, August 13-19). On a normal basis, we experience peak consumption during the times when we…
21 Aug 2020 8AM 1 min

LETTER: Let nonpayers suffer load-shedding

I have been a good customer, in good standing with Eskom since 1987, when I got an Eskom supply on my farm. I am now a prepaid customer in a small settlement on the coast, and this is still the case. Why then do I, along with a few other…
21 Aug 2020 8AM 1 min

About R40m frozen in bank accounts of firms linked to PPE scandal

A Special Investigating Unit (SIU) tribunal has granted an urgent order freezing nearly R40m in the bank accounts of 40 companies in Gauteng involved in supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic. The accounts include those belonging to Ledla Structural Development, Royal Bhaca Projects and Mediwaste. The SIU’s…
21 Aug 2020 6AM 2 min

Court summons Ugandan officials over LGBT+ youth torture

Kampala — A town mayor and senior prison official in Uganda have been summoned to appear before a criminal court over allegations of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment against a group of LGBT+ youth, the victims’ lawyers said on Friday. The court’s move is seen as a positive step in…
21 Aug 2020 6AM 3 min

Oil prices down on poor demand and Opec oversupply

London — Oil prices edged lower on Friday but held near a five-month high as easing coronavirus lockdowns aids a slow recovery in fuel demand while major crude producers seek to limit supply. Brent crude futures were down 27c, or 0.1%, at $44.63 a barrel by 8.50am GMT, heading for…
21 Aug 2020 5AM 2 min

Bridgestone to close Port Elizabeth plant

Tyremaker Bridgestone has confirmed that it plans to close its Port Elizabeth manufacturing plant. The Japanese-owned company said on Friday the decision would cost 252 jobs. Bridgestone Southern Africa CEO Jacques Fourie said the Port Elizabeth plant made old-fashioned bias tyres, for which demand is shrinking so rapidly that they…
21 Aug 2020 5AM 1 min

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: Consider Donald Trump unemployable

I’ve never been much for partisan politics. I’ve supported Democrats, Republicans and independents. Hell, I’ve actually been a Democrat, Republican and independent. To me, elections are about people. And the two people running for president couldn’t be more different. One believes in facts. One does not. One listens to experts…
21 Aug 2020 5AM 4 min

Global markets lift slightly

London — Global stock markets enjoyed cautious gains on Friday, taking their cue from Wall Street tech shares, but tepid economic data and lofty valuations reined in the advances in the wake of huge rally that has wiped out coronavirus losses. Global stocks advanced 0.2% while the pan-European Stoxx 600…
21 Aug 2020 4AM 3 min

How Covid-19 has changed UK real estate

London — On a building site about 32km east of London, workers are busy putting up the largest warehouse in Europe. Just leased to Amazon.com, it cannot go up fast enough. When it is done next summer, the four-story “mega-box” will encompass about 0.7-million square metres, the size of 40…
21 Aug 2020 3AM 6 min

Biden vows to work hard at uniting US

Wilmington — Joe Biden accepted the Democratic Party nomination for the White House on Thursday, vowing to heal a US battered by a deadly pandemic and divided by four years of Donald Trumps presidency. “The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too…
21 Aug 2020 3AM 4 min

Asian stocks falter on mixed data

Singapore/New York — Asia’s stock markets bounced on Friday after Wall Street’s lead, but were set for their softest week in about a month as investors grapple with tepid economic data and lofty valuations after a huge rally that has wiped out coronavirus losses. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares…
21 Aug 2020 2AM 3 min

Gold gains ground on fears of slower economic recovery

Gold prices rose on Friday after bleak US jobless claims data reinforced fears of a slower recovery from the coronavirus-induced economic crisis, denting the dollar and US Treasury yields. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,945.45/oz by 2.36am GMT. Gold is up 0.2% so far this week, having shed 4.5%…
21 Aug 2020 1AM 2 min

Oil climbs for third consecutive week

Melbourne — Oil prices rose in early trade on Friday, on track for a third straight week of gains, buoyed by major oil producers’ efforts to hold back output amid concerns about the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures inched up 8c, or…
21 Aug 2020 1AM 2 min

Eskom suspends load-shedding on Friday morning

Power utility Eskom has announced the suspension of load- shedding from Friday morning due to the return of additional capacity. Three generators were returned to service at the Lethabo, Medupi and Kusile power stations while another unit at Kusile was taken offline for repairs. Unplanned breakdowns stand at 8,750MW of…
21 Aug 2020 1AM 1 min

Canada extends emergency income support for another four weeks

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government plans to extend Canada’s emergency income support for another four weeks, beef up the country’s employment insurance plan and introduce new temporary programmes at a cost of C$37bn over the next year in an effort to keep stimulus flowing into the economy. Canadian…
20 Aug 2020 5PM 2 min

SHIRLEY DE VILLIERS: A Covid lightbulb moment

In the early 1920s, the average incandescent household lightbulb burned for about 1,500-2,000 hours. By 1925, it would burn for a markedly shorter 1,000 hours – the result of an astounding display of cross-continental corporate collusion. The Phoebus Cartel – including luminaries such as Osram, Philips and General Electric –…
20 Aug 2020 4PM 6 min
688 – 708