While you were asleep: From royal babies and techie tax to Gupta grabs and Bitcoin’s wildest investors

From royal babies and a deal that could help countries collect more taxes from big firms to the wings of Gupta highflyers being clipped and the world’s wildest Bitcoin investors, there’s never a dull moment in the news.

For market-watchers, the rand is holding firm under R13.50/$, gold is trading under $1,900/oz and so far the reaction has been muted to the G-7 landmark deal that could enable governments to impose levies on US tech giants such as Amazon.com and Facebook.

In Asian markets, shares turned lower as relief over the benign US jobs report was chilled by caution ahead of key inflation data later this week, while a coronavirus outbreak in Taiwan took a toll on chip manufacturers.

Meanwhile, Miami went wild this weekend at the largest Bitcoin conference in the world, with Paris Hilton rubbing shoulders with billionaires who barely looked like they’d hit puberty this year, alongside women in furry bikinis drinking copious amounts of booze, reports news.com.au.

Here’s a round-up of the world’s top and most interesting business headlines:

SA Business

Key Gupta-lieutenant Iqbal Sharma seeks bail – News24

Meet the proudly South African saviour of Starbucks – The Citizen

Law firm Dentons in tangle over Gupta payment on Eskom and Denel contracts – Daily Maverick

US Business

Melinda Gates’s divorce lawyer advises on how he handles bitter splits between billionaire clients – Business Insider

Employment shortages, spiking wages and the new (toilet paper) hoarding syndrome – Forbes

Gold Is Good But Bitcoin Better for $7.5 Billion Hedge Fund – Bloomberg

In-depth

Floyd Shivambu’s brother quietly pays back R4.55m, admits he received the VBS money gratuitously – Daily Maverick

How much is a CEO worth and how many friends do they have? – Bloomberg

Burger King: SA’s mad adventures in Competition Commission Wonderland – Daily Maverick

*Download the news aggregator app SAccess, available on Google Play and the App Store, to stay on top of financial and markets news from around the world.

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