News 14:00

BULLETIN 31 March 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Global shares slide as Donald Trump’s tariffs loom
# Cricket: Australia hails India’s box-office appeal with the announcement of two white-ball series
# And hot beverage prices are beginning to surge as the winter approaches

# Stock markets have fallen in Asia and Europe after US president Donald Trump suggested that new tariffs he is set to announce this week will hit all countries, not just those that have the biggest trade imbalances with his country. In Japan the Nikkei closed more than four-percent lower today. In the UK, the FTSE 100 index was down about 0.8-percent in morning trade, while Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac-40 were both down one-percent. The price of gold rose to another record high, hitting over three-thousand-124-dollars an ounce.

Meanwhile, Trump is not ruling out the possibility of serving a third term, saying there are methods that he could use. This is despite the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution stating that no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice. Trump says it is however far too early to think about trying to defy the two-presidential term limit in the Constitution, adding that he is focused on his current term:

Back home:

# The Inkatha Freedom Party’s Women’s Brigade has condemned the rape of a seven-year-old child in Bergview College in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape. Deputy chairperson Helen Makhuba questions the lack of arrests, teacher vetting, and social worker availability. While the college has been deregistered, Makhuba demands urgent answers from education, police, and social development authorities. She emphasised that gender-based violence remains a national crisis, and called for greater child protection and justice.

# Cricket: Australia has hailed India for its box-office appeal after announcing two white-ball series against the Asian giant before this year’s Ashes series against England. Australia and India’s men’s teams will meet in three one-day internationals and five T20s in October and November, while the women will also face off in three T20s, three ODIs and a one-off Test from February. Cricket Australia’s CEO, Todd Greenberg, says the matches will be spread over 11 cities in all parts of the country.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-70-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-717-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-115-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-82-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Hot beverage prices are beginning to surge as the winter season approaches. Inflation for hot beverages has risen to 14.8-percent year-on-year last month. Analysts have pointed towards coffee as a major contributor, with South Africa, a net importer of coffee, facing increased costs. The National Agricultural Marketing Council’s Thabile Nkunjana told the SABC the price hike is a reflection of broader trends in the hot beverage market, driven by global supply pressures:

Stay tuned for more news………….