News 09:00

BULLETIN 5 October 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# TLU SA welcomes the intervention to restore the Blended Finance Scheme
# Brazil’s presidential election is heading to a runoff
# Tennis: Djokovic sets up a semifinal clash with Medvedev in the China Open

# Agricultural organisation TLU SA welcomes government’s commitment to resolve the temporary pause implemented by the Land Bank on new applications under the Blended Finance Scheme. The scheme has supported over 14-thousand jobs, including about seven-thousand-869 through the Industrial Development Corporation, and more than six-thousand-480 via the Land Bank. TLU SA’s Bennie van Zyl says the Agriculture Department has committed additional funding of 150-million-rand; in addition to the 325-million-rand grant allocation already transferred to the Land Bank for the 2026/2027 financial year:

# A News24/SABI poll shows that if the local government elections were tomorrow, the ANC would still be the largest party at 31.6-percent. The party is, however, down 14 percentage points since the 2021 local government elections. The DA is now within five points of the ANC nationally with 25.2-percent, followed by the MK Party at 14.7-percent. The poll also shows the DA leading in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Tshwane, while the MK Party is leading in eThekwini with 43.4-percent. The poll was conducted among five-thousand-and-one registered voters.

# The City of Tshwane says the Energy and Electricity Business Unit has made significant progress in restoring power supply to Waltloo Industrial, with approximately 90-percent of the affected areas now restored. This follows a fire at the Waltloo Substation last week, which caused widespread power outages. The metro’s spokesperson, Lindela Mshigo, says all major technical work, including equipment and cable installations, testing and commissioning, has been completed. He adds that power supply is being restored in phases:

# Brazil’s presidential election is heading to a runoff after right-wing Flávio Bolsonaro, an ally of US president Donald Trump, won the first round. The 45-year-old received 47.24-percent of the votes, with incumbent left-wing president Lula da Silva getting 44.91-percent, with neither securing more than 50-percent to win outright. Key issues for voters have been sovereignty, crime, the economy, and corruption. Lula, who is seeking a fourth term, told voters the choice was between democracy and “barbarism”. The run-off vote between the two candidates will be on October 25th.

# Tennis: Twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending seventh China Open title is still intact after defeating top seed Germany’s Alexander Zverev, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the semifinals. The Serb is 32-0 in Beijing, the best start in men’s singles at a tour-level event in the Open Era. He will face Russia’s Daniil Medvedev next. Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz will contest the other semifinal. Djokovic says these are the kind of moments that he still plays for:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-73-cents and the euro at 18-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-8-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-722-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-127-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 104-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….