News 06:00

BULLETIN 29 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Presidency confirms the submission of evidence to the International Court of Justice
# Pick n Pay reports a bigger loss
# And most voters don’t think Trump will concede if he loses

# The  Presidency says South Africa has submitted evidence to the International Court of Justice at the Hague in the Netherlands, regarding alleged genocide by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. This submission includes a memorial with over 750 pages detailing claims that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says the evidence accuses Israel of harming Palestinians through military actions, denying them humanitarian aid, and creating conditions for their destruction: 

# National Treasury has praised the progress made by agencies, with South Africa now meeting 16 of the 22 requirements to exit the Financial Action Task Force grey list. Six action items remain, focusing on complex money laundering investigations, terror financing, and improving access to beneficial ownership information. Treasury aims to address these by February 2025 but warns challenges remain. If successful, an on-site Financial Action Task Force assessment in May 2025 could lead to delisting by June 2025.

# The corruption case against former Eskom contractor Michael Lomas has been moved to the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. Lomas was extradited from the UK and appeared frail at yesterday’s Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court hearing. He faces charges linked to the 1.4-billion-rand Kusile power station upgrade in Mpumalanga, alongside eleven co-accused. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Henry Mathomane says the accused will return to court on 3 December:

# Pick n Pay has reported worsening losses, citing high interest rates and challenges in its core supermarket business. Trading losses rose by 9.1-percent, driven by reduced profit margins as the retailer slashed food prices for competitiveness. Meanwhile, its Boxer chain performed well, with a 12-percent sales increase. CEO Sean Summers expressed optimism, stating that a game-changer announcement on a collaboration with First National Bank, is set for this week.

# According to a new CNN poll most voters think former president Donald Trump will not concede if he loses the 2024 presidential election, with a sizable minority of his backers saying losing candidates have no obligation to concede. Overall, just 30-percent of registered voters think Trump will accept an election loss, while 73-percent say vice president Kamala Harris would accept the outcome. With only a week until the elections, the race for the White House rests on a razor’s edge, with support for the two candidates split at 47-percent each.

# Tennis: The top two men’s players, Jannik Sinner of Italy and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz will continue their scintillating duel in the Paris Masters this week. Both had a bye in the round of 64 and will start playing in the round of 32 today. Sinner and Alcaraz had brilliant seasons, both clinching two Grand Slam titles, to announce their arrival on the big scene as successors to the Big Three, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic, who dominated the sport for the past two decades.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-70-cents and the euro at 19-rand-14-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-808-dollar-63-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-741-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-91-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….