News 11:00

BULLETIN 28 January 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa signs the Housing Consumer Protection Bill into law
# The Board of Healthcare Funders fights the Council for Medical Schemes
# And Trump says China’s DeepSeek should be a wake-up call for American industries

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says greater protection for housing consumers and support for new entrants in the home-building industry is important. He has signed into law the Housing Consumer Protection Bill, which seeks to address challenges identified by the Department of Human Settlements and the National Home Builders Registration Council. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the law also seeks to address the economic transformation of the building industry, through the introduction of provisions relating to the warranty fund surplus:

# South Africa’s Board of Healthcare Funders is heading to court today to compel the Council for Medical Schemes to allow low-cost benefit options. These affordable medical aid plans provide essential healthcare services but have faced delays due to government focus on the National Health Insurance. According to Business Tech, the board argues the low-cost benefit options can be implemented immediately, benefiting millions of South Africans. However, the council maintains the delays align with long-term NHI goals.

# Mpumalanga police have heightened visibility following the torching of 51 Putco buses in the Nkangala District last night. According to a report, approximately 15 suspects stormed into a bus depot at Moloto and held the employees at gunpoint. The suspects shot and wounded a security guard. Police spokesperson Donald Mdhluli says they are investigating various charges, including attempted murder and malicious damage to property:

# US president Donald Trump says the Chinese startup DeepSeek is a wake-up call for America’s technology industry. Artificial intelligence-related stocks took a hit yesterday, with chipmaker Nvidia’s shares tumbling 17-percent, after DeepSeek’s new app became the most downloaded free app in the US. The app has all the familiar capabilities of its rivals like OpenAI and ChatGPT, but was developed for a fraction of the cost. Trump says American industries need to be laser-focused on competing to win:

# Cricket: The International Cricket Council has named Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah as men’s Test cricketer for 2024. The 31-year-old feared his playing days were over after a lengthy back injury, but returned to the longest format late in 2023 and was the leading wicket-taker last year. He claimed 71 scalps with an average of 14.92. Bumrah says Test cricket has always been a format he holds close to his heart. Allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai of Afghanistan was named the ICC’s best one-day player for 2024.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-83-cents and the euro at 19-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-43-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-964-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-740-dollars-9-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-62-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….