News 14:00

BULLETIN 14 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The gold price hits an all-time high
# KPMG welcomes the EU’s delisting of South Africa from high risk jurisdictions
# And soccer: CAF probes alleged misconduct at AFCON

# Major South African export, gold, climbed to a record high of over four-thousand-600-dollar per fine ounce this morning. This lifted the rand in early trade, while global markets continued to assess key US inflation indicators which could offer more clues on the Federal Reserve’s plans on interest rates. Research director at BullionVault, Adrian Ash, says the gold price has risen more than 68-percent since New Year’s Day – the highest increase since 1979. Investors also see gold as a safe haven in times of geo-political tensions.

# KPMG has welcomed the European Union’s decision to remove South Africa from its list of High-Risk Third Country Jurisdictions, effective January 29. The move follows South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October. KPMG’s Frank Blackmore told Newzroom Afrika the decision will ease trade, payment and investment flows. He stresses continued work is needed to strengthen systems against money laundering and terror financing:

# The South African Democratic Teachers Union has welcomed the steady improvement of no-fee-paying schools in the National Senior Certificate examination. The class of 2025 obtained a national pass rate of 88-percent, an 0.7-percent increase from 2024. Sadtu’s general-secretary, Mugwena Maluleke, says more than 66-percent of Bachelor’s passes were achieved by learners from no-fee-paying schools. He says government must increase support for learners and staff at those schools:

Meanwhile, Western Cape premier Alan Winde says the provincial government will focus on school safety as the academic year gets underway. He says the provincial Education Department’s Safer Schools Programme has shown progress, focusing on perimeter control, security systems and targeted law-enforcement deployments. Winde emphasises the use of technology and innovation, saying learners cannot thrive without safety. He adds the province will continue working with police to develop new safety models:

# Soccer: African governing body CAF has launched an investigation into alleged misconduct involving players and officials during the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. CAF says it has reviewed match reports and video footage from the quarter-finals between Morocco and Cameroon, as well as Nigeria and Algeria. The matters have been referred to its disciplinary board. CAF is also investigating alleged misconduct by members of the media in the mixed zone area during the tournament.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents and the euro at 19-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-2-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-198-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-634-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-32-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….