News 13:00

BULLETIN 7 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SAFTU condemns ArcelorMittal SA’s decision to close some operations
# Concerns over the BELA Act are heightened as schools are set to reopen
# And Tennis: Jannik Sinner prepares for the Australian Open with an exhibition match in Melbourne

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions has condemned ArcelorMittal South Africa’s decision to close its operations in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, and Vereeniging, Gauteng. This could result in the loss of three-thousand-500 jobs. Saftu’s, Mogoshadi Maserumule, says beyond direct job losses, the closure will severely impact value chains reliant on local steel production:

# Dear South Africa has expressed heightened concerns over the BELA Act as schools are set to reopen next Wednesday. The organisation maintains that the signing of the Act into law infringed on the democratic rights of the public. Dear South Africa’s spokesperson, Nolu Maki has questioned how public feedback was incorporated into the decision-making process:

# Shares in Naspers and its Amsterdam-listed subsidiary Prosus slumped around eight-percent this morning after the US Defence Department added tech giant Tencent to a list of companies it says are affiliated with Beijing’s military. The list does not have direct legal implications for the companies in question, but can affect their reputations. China accused Washington of unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises. Tencent is one of the top players in China’s expansive technology sector, operating the WeChat “super-app” with other offerings across gaming, content streaming and cloud services.

# McDonald’s in the US says it will roll back some of its diversity practices, becoming the latest organisation to rethink its policies following a Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action in university admissions. The changes include no longer asking suppliers to commit to certain diversity, equity and inclusion targets and withdrawing from external surveys that gauge corporate diversity. McDonald’s announcement comes in the wake of similar moves by major brands, including Ford, John Deere, Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniel’s, reflecting a backlash against so-called political correctness in American public life.

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner says his “amazing” 2024 was history as he warmed up for the defence of his Australian Open title with a tough exhibition match victory on Melbourne’s centre court. The Italian is coming off a breakthrough year in which he backed up his maiden Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park by winning the US Open and ATP Finals. He faced a testing battle against Australian world number 25 Alexei Popyrin, eventually prevailing 6-4, 7-6.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-55-cents and the euro at 19-rand-34-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-31-cents and Bitcoin trades at 101-thousand-824-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-640-dollars-38-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-91-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….