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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
788 – 808

Mario Draghi, millennials’ unlikely financial hero

Europe’s youth have found an unlikely hero. Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has used his first major speech since his departure from that role to underline the plight of Europe’s youngest generations. At a time of deep uncertainty about the future, and facing accusations of…
19 Aug 2020 7AM 4 min

Herewith please find my perfectly sound bid to buy TikTok

Dear investors readers In response to recent rumours, started by me, that I’m in talks to purchase the US operations of TikTok, I’d like to clarify. I am indeed interested in buying the hip, viral, short-video service. I’d also like to fly to Mars, cure cancer, or climb Mount Everest…
19 Aug 2020 5AM 3 min

Belarus’s Svetlana Tikhanovskaya asks EU to reject Alexander Lukashenko’s victory

Minsk — Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya appealed to EU leaders meeting to discuss the crisis in her country to reject the presidential election victory claimed by longtime ruler Alexander Lukashenko. “Honourable leaders of Europe, I call on you to support the awakening of Belarus,” Tikhanovskaya said on Wednesday, speaking…
19 Aug 2020 5AM 2 min

SA wildlife reserve sells game meat to stay afloat during pandemic

SA’s luxury game lodges are empty and game vehicles gather dust, with borders closed and airlines struggling due to the coronavirus crisis. For Somkhanda, a community-owned Big Five game reserve, selling game meat has thrown it a lifeline as Africa’s multi-billion-dollar safari industry unravels. The reserve normally gives away, or…
19 Aug 2020 5AM 2 min

US stocks climb to record high despite virus concern

London — European stocks edged up on Wednesday as a record high for US stocks outweighed simmering worries over a resurgence in coronavirus cases that could undermine a nascent recovery. The broad euro Stoxx 600 gained 0.1% in choppy trading, with indices from Frankfurt to London making slim gains. Among…
19 Aug 2020 5AM 3 min

Australia agrees to buy Covid-19 vaccine to be given free to citizens

Sydney/Melbourne — A new outbreak of infections in Australia's coronavirus hot zone of Victoria eased further on Wednesday, while the country agreed on a deal to secure a potential Covid-19 vaccine that it plans to roll out cost-free to citizens. Australia has signed a deal with British drugmaker AstraZeneca to…
19 Aug 2020 5AM 3 min

Gold falls below $2,000 as dollar steadies

Bengaluru — Gold fell below $2,000/oz on Wednesday after rising sharply in the previous session as the dollar steadied, while investors awaited minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,993.68/oz by 2.53am GMT, after hitting a one-week high of $2,014.97 on Tuesday…
19 Aug 2020 2AM 2 min

Oil slips as traders fret about demand

Tokyo — Oil prices eased on Wednesday on the concern that US fuel demand may not recover as quickly as expected amid stalled talks on an economic stimulus package, overshadowing a bigger-than-expected drawdown in US crude stocks. With investors keeping one eye on a key producer countries’ ministerial meeting later…
19 Aug 2020 2AM 2 min

BRUCE WHITFIELD: Eight lessons Covid-19 taught SA

It’s hardly surprising that after nearly 150 days of lockdown, give or take half a year, our analysis of the government’s response to the pandemic is highly critical. The state hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory. Much of its communication has been poor, enforcement petty and application patchy. How the…
19 Aug 2020 2AM 9 min

Asian shares scale seven-month peak

Sydney — Asian shares climbed to a seven-month peak on Wednesday tracking the S&P 500, which scaled record highs driven by ever-expanding policy stimulus aimed at cushioning the blow to economies from the coronavirus pandemic. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, up for a third consecutive…
19 Aug 2020 1AM 3 min

JSE faces subdued Asian markets amid more load-shedding

The JSE faces subdued Asian markets on Wednesday morning, with load-shedding reinstated, while Tyhpoon Higos has delayed trade in Hong Kong. The US S&P 500 pushed higher overnight, as did the tech-heavy Nasdaq, led by tech giants and large retailers. “When all was said and done though, the gains were…
19 Aug 2020 1AM 1 min

S&P 500 hits record close in dramatic recovery

New York — The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Tuesday, rebounding from huge losses triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and crowning one of the most dramatic recoveries in the index's history. The record confirms, according to a widely accepted definition, that Wall Street's most closely followed index…
18 Aug 2020 5PM 3 min

SARAH BUITENDACH: Ray of light in a cesspool

In this article ( for last week’s Financial Mail, Toby Shapshak described YouTube as “the cesspool of the internet”. His commentary of the behemoth went on to say: “People who still believe the Earth is flat have a platform on the video-sharing site, given the number of conspiracy videos there…
18 Aug 2020 4PM 3 min

US postmaster general suspends changes until after election

Washington — US Postmaster general Louis DeJoy said he is suspending changes to mail service that raised concerns over slow delivery of ballots in the fall election after Democrats accused President Donald Trump of hampering the mail-in process. “To avoid even the appearance of any affect on election mail, I…
18 Aug 2020 4PM 3 min

Gold reclaims $2,000/oz level on weaker dollar

Bengaluru — Gold rose over 1% to reclaim the key $2,000/oz level again on Tuesday as the dollar plunged to two-year low. Spot gold rose 0.9% at $2,004.21/oz in New York, after hitting a one-week peak of $2,014.97. US gold futures settled up 0.7% at $2,013.1. "People are watching the…
18 Aug 2020 3PM 2 min

EDITORIAL: Take stock of hazy days ahead

Well, hindsight is a perfect science. That will be the plausible explanation of any investor who has been caught out by the surge in stock markets in the second quarter of 2020. Faced with unprecedented declines in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak and the resulting lockdowns, taking the safety…
18 Aug 2020 2PM 3 min

David Mabuza calls in sick, again

For the second time in as many months, Deputy President David Mabuza, who has hardly been visible during the lockdown, has asked parliament to postpone his question and answer session which was scheduled to take place Thursday — because he is ill. “The speaker of the National Assembly, Thandi Modise,…
18 Aug 2020 2PM 2 min

Long-distance taxi operators want to go back to full loads

The taxi industry, which transports 16.5-million passengers a day in SA, says it is negotiating with the government for interprovincial operators to be permitted to carry full passenger loads to help them make up for losses incurred during the lockdown. Local travel restrictions were lifted a month ago allowing taxis…
18 Aug 2020 2PM 3 min

Malian leader Keïta arrested by mutinying soldiers, say sources

London/Bamako — Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was arrested on Tuesday by mutinying soldiers in the capital Bamako, two security sources said. A spokesperson for Keita could not be reached for comment. The arrest came after soldiers mutinied at the Kati army base outside Bamako and rounded up a number…
18 Aug 2020 2PM 4 min
788 – 808