News 15:00

BULLETIN 9 September 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Oil breaks through 100-dollars a barrel as the Middle East conflict escalates
# Johann Rupert’s son is appointed in a leadership role at Richemont
# And cricket: Bavuma says the Proteas are ready for the ODI series against Australia

# Brent crude oil rose ‌past 100-dollars a barrel today, hitting a more than six-week high and breaching the symbolic threshold for the first time since July 24 as intensifying conflict in the Middle East heightened concerns about oil flows from the region. Brent crude prices ​have risen by 25-percent since early last month as hopes fade for a permanent ⁠resolution to the six-month-old US-Iranian conflict. Brent has since the start of the war surged as high as 126.41-dollar a ​barrel, a peak reached on April 30.

# The son of Richemont chairperson Johann Rupert, Anton, has been appointed as the company’s non-executive co-deputy chairperson. Rupert senior, South Africa’s richest person with a net worth estimated at over 262-billion-rand, founded the Swiss-based luxury goods holding company in 1988. It owns brands such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Thirty-nine-year-old Anton Rupert will serve alongside Bram Schot, who was appointed Richemont’s deputy chairperson in 2024. Johann Rupert says his son’s appointment is an important step in the board’s long-term succession planning.

# The Western Cape Education Department is investing 44-million-rand in its Matric School Holiday Programme ahead of the National Senior Certificate exams. The funds are split across autumn, winter and spring schools. The DA’s Peter Johnson welcomed the move, saying a further 25-million-rand a year goes to maths and science support:

# Cricket: Proteas captain Temba Bavuma says the upcoming one-day series against Australia is a great opportunity for the squad to find its rhythm. Fast bowler Gerald Coetzee returns after last playing an ODI at the 2023 World Cup in India. Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller and Quinton de Kock return after being rested for the Namibian series. Bavuma says they are ready to compete against one of the world’s best:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-4-cents and the euro at 18-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-861-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-405-dollars-39-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 102-dollars-37-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Fire response company Fire Ops SA is warning of a sharp rise in structural fires linked to solar power installations. CEO and deputy fire chief De Wet Engelbrecht says data by Fire Force indicates one in four structural fires in South Africa is related to malfunctioning solar power systems. He emphasises batteries, inverters and related equipment account for about a quarter of the structural fires. Engelbrecht urges homeowners to use qualified installers, maintain systems annually, install smoke detectors and never tackle lithium-ion battery fires themselves.

Stay tuned for more news………….