The Senate voted to acquit President Trump to his great glee and to the Democrats’ disdain. The process is not over, and the Democrats are already talking of different avenues to take. If anything, it is displaying the pettiness of American, and in turn global, politics.
Global News
- As was widely anticipated, President Trump will remain in office for at least the rest of his first term. The Republican-controlled Senate voted to acquit him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The final vote was 52-48 on the abuse of power article and 53-47 on the obstruction of Congress charge.
- Pete Buttigieg pushed passed Bernie Sanders in a marginal, controversial, win in the Iowa caucuses. Historically, candidates who win the Iowa caucuses see a boost in New Hampshire, which advantage continues for the rest of the race.
- Tokyo is concerned that the Wuhan coronavirus will have ramifications for the Summer Olympic Games taking place there in a few months. The chief executive of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee said that they are worried the disease may impact preparations and enthusiasm leading up to the event.
- Tesla Inc. had a remarkable week, rallying by 60% over six days.
- Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, have recently discovered that the virus can be traced to pangolins, the world’s most trafficked and endangered mammal.
- Global equity markets have also enjoyed a strong week, downplaying the coronavirus risks. This comes after a reversal in late January of that month’s earlier gains on fears that the pandemic might impact global growth.
Local News
- President Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman, Khusela Diko, has told Reuters reporters that he is “favourably disposed” to Cosatu’s proposal to use funds from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to reduce Eskom’s debt. We as Dynasty believe that the proposal is deeply flawed on many fronts and hope that it is dismissed out of hand.
- Ex-president Jacob Zuma was issued an arrest warrant. This came after he failed to show up for his corruption trial and signals a more aggressive approach on corruption.
- Former President Kgalema Motlanthe has expressed his frustration that the country is not following the Al Capone method in catching people accused of corruption. He said that you can, “nail people on tax and the rest will follow“.
- Follow this link to an article written by Johann van Loggerenberg, who has co-authored books on what happened behind the scenes at SARS, and who was accused of operating the now infamous SARS rogue unit. In this article, he addresses the fifty-five lies he is concerned are still being circulated.
- The Johannesburg High Court ruled that SA Express must be placed under business rescue. This ruling means that the board will hand over the daily management of the airline to business rescue practitioners.
- Local equities are currently slightly down for the week, whilst the rand, having started February on a positive note, has reversed all its gains and is presently trading at R15.08/$. This level represents a weakness in excess of 7.7% for the year-to-date.