While you were asleep: Dear South Africans and the World, faith in the rule of law has been restored

“Dear South Africans and the World. Please be advised that President Zuma has decided to comply with the incarceration order. He is on his way to hand himself into a Correctional Services Facility in KZN. A full statement will be issued in due course.”

With these words from the former president’s foundation just minutes before a midnight deadline for his imminent arrest, faith in the rule of law has been restored.

Daily Maverick reports Zuma’s motorcade sped out of his Nkandla homestead at about 11.20 pm on Wednesday, as he ostensibly rushed to meet the deadline to hand himself over to the Correctional Services.

Bloomberg reports confirmation of his detention came shortly after midnight from police spokesman Vish Naidoo, saying “I can confirm he is in police custody. I cannot say which prison he will go to because the Department of Correctional Services will do that.”

Across the waters, the Federal Reserve minutes indicated that a plan for tapering stimulus may be near. In response, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at all-time highs and the dollar added gains against a basket of major currencies, reports Bloomberg. The rand was last trading at 14.36/$.

The Fed minutes indicated officials weren’t ready to communicate a schedule for scaling back their bond-buying program, due to high uncertainty over the course of the recovery. They did, however, want to establish a plan in case a move is needed sooner.

According to Bloomberg central bank stimulus plans remain critical to the market outlook, especially the fate of the Fed’s $120 billion in monthly bond purchases.

On the Covid front, Gauteng recorded its deadliest week on record amid a third wave of infections driven by the Delta variant, reports News24. And worldwide, Covid deaths surpassed 4 million as cases climb amid widening disparity in access to vaccines. A warning for South Africa to speed up vaccinations among the most vulnerable.

Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:

SA Business

S&P sees South Africa’s wage bill and SOEs as challenges to economic recovery – Daily Maverick
‘This is our last stand: we’ve depleted all our resources’, say businesses battling latest lockdown restrictions – Business Tech
FNB Property Barometer: Price growth slows in June but market remains solid – Daily Maverick

Markets

Dollar near 3-month high after Fed minutes reaffirm taper timeline – Reuters
Gold down as investors continue to digest latest Fed minutes – Investing.com
Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi sued in US as shares slide – BBC

Global Business

China’s Tencent turns to facial recognition to snag late-night child gamers – AFP
Google sued over Play Store developer fees – MyBroadband
Nine members of the exclusive $100bn Club – Bloomberg

Opinion

Eleventh Hour: South Africa reacts with relief after Jacob Zuma taken into police custody, ANC calls for calm – Daily Maverick
Space billionaires, please read the room – The Atlantic
What did Didi bankers know before the IPO? – Financial Times

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

Close Bitnami banner
Bitnami