Human rights activist, anti-apartheid icon, justice seeker, peace maker, spreader of joy and love, Nobel Peace Prize award-winner, renowned cleric… an all-round living legend! Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has given us many unforgettable moments in his 90 years on Earth and we wish him many more as he starts a new decade. Among the stream of well wishes pouring in for the “skyscraper of moral conscience” is a heart-warming tribute from Piyushi Kotecha, chief executive officer of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.
In the markets, Bitcoin has defied all logic, unshackling from stocks to gain almost 30% in the past seven days to trade in the mid-$50,000s as the crypto is seemingly increasingly seen as a flight to safety. According to Bloomberg the decoupling could revive one of the longstanding promises of cryptocurrencies heralded by their proponents – that they can serve as a hedge to protect investment portfolios when equities sell off during times or turmoil.
Backing this notion are JPMorgan Chase & Co strategists who in a note yesterday speculated that institutional investors could be returning to Bitcoin, perhaps seeing it as a better inflation hedge than gold.
Of course, says Bloomberg, there are potential reasons for crypto’s recent bust and boom that have nothing to do with its theoretical or real role in investment portfolios. The selloff last month on China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency transactions has been “overshadowed by a Bank of America deep-dive research report calling the asset class too big for investors to ignore, US Bancorp’s launch of custody services to institutional investors, and reports that Brazil is considering legislation making Bitcoin legal tender”.
And then there’s Elon Musk and his tweets impacting the moves in cryptocurrencies. His latest, a picture of his puppy Floki, has caused Shiba Inu, a cryptocurrency started just last year, to soar more than 70% in just the past 24 hours, making it the 12th-biggest cryptocurrency by market value.
Back at home, the rand held steady in a 10 cent range of R14.95 – R15.05 this morning with the dollar remaining on the front foot. The dollar is expected to dominate currency markets in the near term for at least a year before ceding ground to its peers, a Reuters poll of forex strategists found.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Ramaphosa declares woman-owned business the big ticket for govt procurement – Fin24
South Africa’s average wage is rising – here’s why that might not be a good thing – BusinessTech
Massmart adds OneCart to its checkout – TechCentral
Global Business
Twitter is selling its mobile ad network MoPub to AppLovin for $1.05 billion – Forbes
Only eight of UK’s top 100 companies headed by women, report says – The Guardian
Netflix will edit phone numbers out of Squid Game following prank calls – The Verge
Markets
Higher rates set to protect emerging market currencies from Fed taper – Reuters
Citi says banks are in, tech is out ahead of rates lift-off – Bloomberg
Asian markets track Wall St rally as US default averted, for now – AFP
Opinion/In-depth
The unfinished business of the Nkandla debacle and Parliament – Daily Maverick
Debt ceiling: Is the US about to overshoot its debt limit? – BBC
South Africa’s stock exchange for smaller firms: some benefits, but not a magic wand – The Conversation
Video
Trump is knocked off ‘Forbes 400’ list – Cover Media
‘Profits before people’: Ex-Facebook manager urges Congress to regulate tech giant – Euronews
Analyst sees strong quarter ahead for markets – AP
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