News 09:00

BULLETIN 9 July 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Eskom CEO says debt write-offs for municipalities are not possible
# Gauteng police rescue two kidnapped victims in Benoni
# And, the White House dismisses claims that Biden is being treated for Parkinson’s disease

# Eskom CEO Dan Marokane says they cannot afford to do debt write-offs for municipalities that owe the power utility. Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has warned that municipal debt owed to Eskom is projected to increase to 3.1-trillion-rand by 2050. Municipalities currently owe the power utility 78-billion-rand. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Marokane says despite the National Treasury introducing a municipal debt relief package last year, arrears continued to increase:

# AutoZone, South Africa’s largest privately owned automotive parts retailer, has entered business rescue due to insurmountable debt. A 2014 private equity deal failed to meet performance expectations, leading lender Absa to refuse a debt extension in June. Business rescue practitioners Piers Marsden and Jenna Osbourne have been appointed. AutoZone, launched in 1999, operates from 190 locations with over one-thousand-450 employees, facing setbacks from Covid-19, civil unrest, and stagflation.

# Gauteng police’s elite special task force unit rescued two kidnapped victims at an informal settlement in Crystal Park, Benoni, Ekurhuleni yesterday. The men aged 64 and 34 were both kidnapped while driving along Putfontein Road in Crystal Park on Sunday. Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, says the kidnappers immediately began making ransom demands to the victims’ families:

# The White House has rejected speculation that president Joe Biden is being treated for Parkinson’s disease. Questions about the president’s mental alertness have intensified since a poor debate performance against former president Donald Trump last month. White House visitor logs show that doctor Kevin Cannard, an expert on Parkinson’s disease, visited the White House eight times over the last year. Biden’s doctor Kevin O’Connor says the president has been screened for several neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s, with negative results.

# Golf: Keegan Bradley has been named the captain of the US Team for the 2025 Ryder Cup against Europe at the Bethpage Black course in New York. Fifteen-time major winner Tiger Woods reportedly turned down the role having been the favourite to lead America. Bradley, who won his solitary major at the 2011 US PGA Championship, was on the losing Ryder Cup teams in 2012 and 2014. PGA of America president John Lindert says Bradley’s past Ryder Cup experience will prove invaluable for the team.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-12-cents and the euro at 19-rand-63-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-21-cents and Bitcoin trades at 57-thousand-308-dollars-16-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-366-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-48-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….