Putting all the processes aside, it does look as though Boris Johnson is going to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. At least we are in for better speeches than President Trump but a similar boisterous attitude and hairstyle.
Global News
- Boris Johnson is the front runner in leading the Conservative Party’s nomination in the race to replace Theresa May as Prime Minister. Johnson is ahead with 114 votes while Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is coming in second with 43 votes.
- Iran-US negotiations have hit an impasse after two oil tankers were attacked. Details remain unconfirmed, but the US has said that they have a video of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) removing an unexploded mine from the side of a Japanese-owned oil tanker, thus blaming Iran for the attacks.
- President of China, Xi Jinping, has had a challenging week. Trump has been threatening him with more tariffs should he refuse an invitation on trade talks at the G-20 summit. If Xi agrees, he may look vulnerable to the Chinese and if he calls Trump’s bluff, it could mean a longer war.
- Protests in Hong Kong against a proposed bill allowing extradition to China turned violent.
- More than 600 US companies have written a letter to President Trump urging him to end the trade dispute with China, saying that it is hurting American businesses and consumers. Walmart Inc and Target Corp are among the companies involved.
- Sarah Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, has quit, ending an embattled tenure marked by her dissemination of false information, infrequent daily press briefings, and regular attacks on journalists.
- Global equity markets were slightly positive this week, which comes on the back of a very strong rebound last week, following on from the sharp correction we saw in May.
Local News
- Ace Magashule has landed in a spot of trouble with the ANC after News24 revealed that he was involved in the formation of a new political party to rival the ANC, giving the ANC grounds for a disciplinary hearing.
- Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has given President Cyril Ramaphosa until 21 June to answer to allegations that he violated the constitution by accepting a donation of R500 000 from Bosasa for his internal party election campaign.
- Stats SA reported that manufacturing output had increased in April by 4.6% year-on-year, additionally, output has increased continuously over a three-month cycle, it increased 0.7% in February, 1.3% in March, and then 4.6% in April.
- Give Ramaphosa a chance – that is the title of an article written by Theuns Eloff published in Biznews. After all the depressing news coming out since the end of Zuma’s presidency: the troubles with Eskom, the downward spiral of SAA, the deep-rooted corruption – here is a balanced article to ponder this long weekend.
- The rand recovered slightly this week to R14.75/$ after selling off to over R15/$ during the course of last week on the back of the weak GDP figure and the ANC’s public arm wrestle over the Reserve Bank.
Source: Dynasty, Daily Maverick, Moneyweb, Reuters, RMB, Aljazeera, and Bloomberg Markets, etc
