News 09:00

BULLETIN 27 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Bureau for Economic Research says SA’s political and policy decisions will determine economic growth
# TLU SA welcomes the first exports of table grapes to the Philippines
# And, Donald Trump postpones his threat to attack Iranian energy plants by 10 days

# The Bureau for Economic Research says the political and policy decisions South Africa makes now will determine whether growth collapses back to 0.5-percent a year or soars to three-percent a year and more over the medium term. This is according to the bureau’s ‘Scenarios for the South African economy: 2026 – 2030’ report. The BER has identified ten catalytic interventions across five broad areas to boost confidence and growth. These are criminal justice reform, public sector reform, procurement reform, budget reform, and state-owned enterprise reform.

# Agricultural organisation, TLU SA, has welcomed the arrival of the first official shipment of South African table grapes to the Philippines. The Philippines is among the top 20 global importers of table grapes, with imports estimated at approximately 74-thousand tonnes in 2024. South Africa’s table grape industry continues to show steady growth, as in the current 2025/2026 season to date, exports have reached 76.6-million cartons. TLU SA’s Bennie van Zyl says expanding into new markets is a major positive for the agriculture sector:

# The DA in Tshwane has accused mayor Nasiphi Moya of enabling corruption following revelations at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. The party alleges deputy mayor Eugene Modise has links to the metro’s controversial tenders. DA’s Cilliers Brink claims Moya has failed to act, despite suspending Tshwane mayoral committee member for Corporate Services, Kholofelo Morodi. He adds that the party will challenge efforts to block a motion addressing the allegations in council:

# US president Donald Trump has extended the pause to his threat of bombing Iranian energy infrastructure for ten days, as talks are ongoing with Tehran. The pause was set to expire today. Trump first threatened to strike Iranian energy infrastructure last Saturday if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, he postponed the strikes on Monday by five days. On his Truth Social, Trump stated that despite erroneous statements by the fake news media, talks between the US and Iran about ending the war are ongoing.

# Soccer: Four-time champions Italy defeated Northern Ireland 2-0 to secure a spot in the World Cup play-off final, where they will face Bosnia and Herzegovina. Wales missed out on qualifying for back-to-back World Cups after suffering a 4-2 penalty shoot-out defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ireland’s dream of reaching the World Cup finals for the first time in 24 years was shattered by the Czech Republic, who won 4-3 on penalties. Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Turkey, and Kosovo have also moved one step closer to qualifying for the World Cup.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-4-cents and the euro at 19-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-73-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-414-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-434-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….