News 16:00

BULLETIN 22 October 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government guarantees a one-billion-rand loan to South African Airways amid rising fuel prices
# South African retail sales rise by 3.3-percent in August
# And South Korea’s celebrity shark refuses to leave a canal

# Government has provided a loan guarantee of up to one-billion-rand to SA Airways to help fund its day-to-day operations in the face of rising fuel prices. Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse says it is not an allocation, meaning government guarantees to pay back loans of up to one-billion-rand should the airline default. He adds government is working with SAA to acquire a long-term strategic equity partner to mitigate against any further bailouts. Aviation expert Guy Leitch warns the guarantee is a sign the airline is far from being profitable.

# Statistics South Africa says retail trade sales increased by 3.3-percent in August. Retailers selling clothing, footwear and leather goods were among the biggest contributors to the growth, alongside general dealers and other retailers. However, seasonally adjusted sales declined by 0.3-percent compared with July. Stats SA’s Raquel Floris says over the three months to August, retail sales increased by 2.6-percent compared with the same period last year, indicating continued growth in consumer spending:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says companies must view youth training and skills development as an investment in their businesses. He was speaking at a youth employment conference in Sandton, Johannesburg. Ramaphosa says young people bring fresh perspectives, as industries embrace artificial intelligence. He says existing youth employment programmes must lead to sustainable livelihoods, not just temporary work. Ramaphosa urges government to help the youth to secure real jobs, beyond training certificates:

# Cricket: Australian Women’s star fast bowler, Megan Schutt, has received a two-match suspension for breaching prescription medication rules. The 33-year-old excelled in the recent one-day series against Bangladesh. Cricket Australia says the sanction relates to a single incident occurring outside competition and wasn’t for performance-enhancing purposes. Schutt apologised for failing to meet the expected standards. She will miss the third and final T20 against New Zealand and the first match for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-51-cents and the euro at 18-rand-50-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-8-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-764-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-71-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 113-dollars-19-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Korean rescuers are preparing another attempt to guide a celebrity shark back to the open sea after it returned to a canal hours after being led out. The female dusky shark, nicknamed Bukang-i, has spent more than a month in an artificial waterway in the port city of Busan. Officials successfully guided it past the canal exit yesterday, but it swam back through a gap beneath a floating barrier overnight. Authorities are considering stronger barriers and further measures to protect the endangered animal.

Stay tuned for more news………….