News 11:00

BULLETIN 4 December 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Moody’s affirms South Africa’s Ba2 rating with a stable outlook
# The Institute of Race Relations warns about rural property rights
# And golf: Tiger Woods says he is not tournament-sharp yet

# Ratings agency Moody’s has affirmed South Africa’s Ba2 rating and maintained a stable outlook. It says this reflects the country’s credit strengths from effective, core institutions such as the judiciary and the central bank, and a solid external position. Moody’s has however acknowledged chronic challenges posed by the country’s inequalities, which it says hampers reform progress and fuel social risk, as well as persistent structural constraints on economic growth. This comes after S&P Global upped its outlook on South Africa from stable to positive last month.

# The Institute of Race Relations has raised concerns over the deprivation of rural landowners’ property rights under the newly amended Communal Property Association Act. Gabriel Crouse of the IRR says 470-thousand rural landowners are now required to obtain state approval to lease or sell their land, which undermines economic freedom. He says this precedent jeopardises all property rights in South Africa, and calls for legislative repeal or legal action to safeguard rural communities and their economic opportunities:

# The DA in Gauteng is demanding an urgent investigation into the latest case of food poisoning, that claimed the life of a learner from Wilhelmina Hoskins Primary School in Riverlea, Johannesburg, this week. Over 20 children have died from suspected food poisoning linked to spaza shops in the province. The DA’s Sergio Isa dos Santos says the City of Johannesburg’s health officials are not doing enough to ensure compliance of spaza shops:

# South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol is facing mounting calls from his party and opposition parties to resign after he declared martial law. The president said martial law was needed to safeguard the country’s liberal democracy from anti-state forces and protect it from North Korea’s communist forces. Members of Parliament voted to block the declaration. The ruling People Power Party says Yoon and his entire cabinet must resign. The main opposition, the Democratic Party, says it will start impeachment proceedings against Yoon if he does not step down immediately.

# Golf: Fifteen-time major champion Tiger Woods says he is unsure if he will return to action anytime soon. The former world number one has only made eleven competitive starts since his car crash in February 2021 and missed the cut in three of the four majors this season. He underwent surgery in September to alleviate back spasms and pain. Forty-eight-year-old Woods, who is hosting the Hero World Challenge event in the Bahamas this week, says he is not tournament-sharp yet:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-10-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-652-dollars-8-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-649-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….