News 15:00

BULLETIN 14 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Solidarity says the proposed bailout of three-billion-rand for ArcelorMittal isn’t enough
# Cricket: Axar Patel will captain the Delhi Capitals in this year’s IPL
# And the gold price soars to a record high of over three-thousand-dollar per fine ounce

# Trade union Solidarity says the proposed three-billion-rand government bailout for steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa is not enough, unless it includes a clear long-term plan. The union demands greater transparency from the company and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition as retrenchments and plant closures continue. Solidarity’s Willie Venter says consultations on the retrenchment process are set to continue today:

# Statistics South Africa says manufacturing production decreased by 3.3-percent in January this year compared to January last year, with the largest declines in petroleum, food and beverages, and motor vehicles. However, the wood products sector showed positive growth. Stats SA’s Nicolai Claassen says over the past three months, manufacturing faced negative growth, with several sectors reporting losses:

# The Eastern Cape Department of Transport have deployed officials and engineers to affected areas, as heavy and persistent rains continue to batter most parts of the province. Inclement weather condition has caused massive damage to road infrastructure. The department’s spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, says some of the worst affected areas are the flood-prone districts of Chris Hani, OR Tambo, Amathole and Alfred Ndzo, with washed-away roads and bridges, making it hard for people to move around:

# Cricket: Indian allrounder Axar Patel had been appointed captain of Delhi Capitals for this year’s Indian Premier League. The 31-year-old will represent the team for the sixth year after joining in 2019. He scored a total of 967 runs and claimed 62 wickets in 82 matches. Axar also played a key role in his country’s recent Champions Trophy triumph, taking five wickets and contributing hugely at number five in the batting order. He takes over Delhi’s captaincy from Rishabh Pant, who moved to Lucknow Super Giants.

# And the gold price soared above three-thousand-dollars a fine ounce for the first time ever today. Investors flocked to the asset, seen as a safe-haven, amid uncertainty over the fallout of US tariffs. In morning deals, gold rose 2.94-percent, a day after it surpassed its late February record.

Gold has dropped slightly since and is now trading at two-thousand-998-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce. The dollar trades at 18-rand-21-cents and the euro at 19-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-56-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-999-dollars. Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….