News 18:00

BULLETIN 23 September 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The SA Reserve Bank raises the repo rate to 7.25-percent as inflation risks grow
# TLU SA backs the Agricultural Research Council’s vaccine licensing
# And, ProNutro will disappear from South African shelves

# The South African Reserve Bank has raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25-percent, citing higher fuel prices and growing inflation risks. The decision was unanimous, pushing the lending rate up to 10.75-percent. Governor Lesetja Kganyago told the media inflation is expected to rise above five-percent later this year and early next year before easing as fuel prices come down:

# Agricultural organisation TLU SA welcomes Agriculture minister Willie Aucamp’s announcement that qualifying local and international entities may manufacture foot-and-mouth disease vaccine at scale, through conditional licensing agreements with the Agricultural Research Council. General Manager Bennie van Zyl says the ARC vaccine is well suited to South African strains and may provide immunity for up to a year. He says private-sector involvement could improve availability and lower costs:

# Food and beverage company PepsiCo has confirmed it’s discontinuing ProNutro in South Africa, ending the iconic cereal’s 64-year run. The decision follows a bruising backlash earlier this year, when the company replaced the original with a new-generation version that many consumers rejected over its taste, texture and smell. PepsiCo says despite months of effort, it couldn’t recreate the original product using new manufacturing technology and the old roller-drying equipment. The last batch made with the old recipe reaches its best-before date next month.

# French President Emmanuel Macron has criticised US President Donald Trump’s claims of securing peace in Gaza, saying the situation remains a “spectacle” that should shame the world. Speaking at the United Nations, Macron said not a single humanitarian corridor had reopened in Gaza despite Trump’s declaration of peace. Trump earlier told the General Assembly his Gaza peace plan was a diplomatic triumph. Macron also warned continued violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank was undermining the prospects of Palestinian statehood. It was Macron’s final UN address before leaving office.

# Soccer: Italy hopes for a new era when Roberto Mancini’s second spell as head coach starts on Friday with the UEFA Nations League match against Belgium in Rome. This will be the Azzurri’s first competitive match since losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their final World Cup qualifier in March, keeping the four-time champion out of the tournament for the third consecutive time. That lead to a raft of changes to the managerial team. Mancini left the Italian team in 2023 after leading them to Euro 2020 triumph.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-737-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-288-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 101-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….