Donald Trump is on a mission and nameless rich people are not shy to back him in his fight against the “tyranny of Big Tech”. And if he can’t be on Twitter, Facebook or Youtube, he’ll just start his own social media platform. With Truth Social he aims to help an overwhelming number of Americans see the truth and scarily convince them that the essential workings of democracy are corrupt and that the current administration cheated their way to the top. Oh, and not forgetting that xenophobia and violence are legitimate responses to the tyranny that has seized their government.
Truth be told, Trump faces a tough mission and his worst enemy is probably himself. On the weekend he shot himself in the foot, inadvertently insulting those who believe his 2020 election-fraud claims with a grammatically confusing statement. And in remarks to diners at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday night, he called the American media “crooked bastards” and Gen Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, a “f@**ing idiot”.
Truth’s parent Trump Media and Technology Group has also drawn the attention of the authorities. While TMTG announced Congressman Devin G Nunes, a staunch supporter and defender of Trump, as incoming CEO, a filing just revealed an SEC investigation into the plans for a special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp to merge with TMTG and start trading on the Nasdaq.
Separately, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is seeking details about a review of trading that happened prior to the October 20th announcement that DWAC was merging with TMTG. The merger announcement sent DWAC’s stock surging from $9.96 to $94.20 in just two days as Trump supporters and investors looking to make a fast buck piled in. The shares have since pulled back to roughly $44. On Monday, the shares closed down 2.6% at $43.81, reports AP.
Would be interesting to see how the truth unfolds.
In other news, Elon Musk said that he doesn’t think the United States needs the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill — or any government subsidies, for that matter. “Just delete them all,” he said at at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO summit.
Meanwhile, the mild omicron symptoms and the relatively low hospitalisation rate have seen some optimism and some risk uptake return to markets. “EM currencies have firmed, and we have the rand trading at R15.88 this morning. The unit had strengthened by 1.2% yesterday as risk sentiment improved, and we also saw fairly good exporter dollars flowing into the market. The local currency’s medium-term target is R15.50, but we need a sustained break of the R15.75-level before we see further strength,” comments TreasuryONE.
At last count, the local currency was changing hands at R15.86/$.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Donations to political party candidates must now see the light of day after successful court challenge by amaBhungane – Daily Maverick
The hidden cost of getting Covid-19 in South Africa: medical aid boss – BusinessTech
Coal comfort: Cash-flush Thungela puts R6bn away for darker days – Fin24
Global Business
China’s November coal imports at highest in 2021 – Reuters
US boss fires 900 employees over Zoom – BBC
The world’s relentless demand for chips turns deadly in Malaysia – Bloomberg
Markets
Asia markets up as Omicron fears ease – AFP
Oil extends gains on easing Omicron fears, Iran delay – Reuters
Alibaba jumps as much as 9.1% in Hong Kong in broad tech rebound – Bloomberg
Opinion/In-depth
Diabetes pandemic: SA predicted to register 96,000 deaths and an estimated $7.2bn rise in diabetes-related health expenditure – The Conversation
A homeless persons’ view of the Constitution: ‘We don’t eat the national anthem — we need services’ – Daily Maverick
Clear or confused? Central banks’ communication skills set for ultimate test – Reuters
Video
Social relief grant | What can you do with R350? – eNCA
BizNews share shootout – Shapiro goes big on Naspers and Prosus – Biznews
Facebook hack results in lost business for musician – CBC
