Dynasty would like to wish you a happy festive season. This will be our last News Flash of 2018 and we will start up again on the 11 January 2019 with our quarterly newsletter. Although we will be open throughout this period the office will be closing at 12:00 on the 24th and 31st December 2018. We will still be able to be reached on the office phone line in case of an emergency – or if you just want a chat.
Global News
- This week, Theresa May survived a vote of no-confidence, but the Brexit deal is still in peril. A lot has happened in British politics this week – Theresa May had to return to an icy Brussels, after her no-confidence vote, to renegotiate the terms of Brexit. In response to Theresa May saying that the EU can “trust” her, Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium, said,” the signals we got are not especially reassuring on the capacity of the UK to honour the deal agreed”.
- The US Senate has rebuked President Trump by passing a resolution condemning Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump has refused to condemn the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in the death of the Washington Post Journalist. The Senate also passed a resolution to end US military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
- Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen has been sentenced to three years in prison. Cohen reported to the court that he did President Trump’s “Dirty Deeds.” Cohen will continue to contribute to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
- The evidence against Donald Trump is growing as Michael Cohen, in an interview with ABC, said that Trump knew the hush-money payments to at least two of the women, asked to not speak about alleged affairs that they had with him in the lead up to the 2016 election, were wrong.
- This week, US-China trade relations eased as China resumed imports of US soybeans.
- China may also cut tariffs on imported US made cars from 40% to 15%, which would make the tariffs in line with the rest of the world.
Local News
- In a conference call with investors, Eskom discussed the recent media reports that there is the potential to transfer R100bn of its debt to the government’s balance sheet. Eskom clarified that this was just one of the suggestions included in the strategic plan that has been approved by the company’s board, but has not yet been discussed with key government stakeholders – National Treasury and the Department of Energy.
- Inflation has ticked up slightly in November, to 5.2% from 5.1%, this was due to higher diesel and food prices.
- The North Gauteng High Court ruled that the State is not liable for Jacob Zuma’s legal fees.
- Looking forward to keeping you informed in 2019 and we wish you a safe and joyous festive season and a prosperous year together.
Source: Dynasty, Stanlib, Prescient, Daily Maverick, Moneyweb, Reuters, RMB, Aljazeera, and Bloomberg Markets, etc
