Update@Noon

ETF STrategist, Nerina Visser looks at Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington DC and the bailing out of SOE's.

Market analyst, Nadir Thokan of 27Four Investment Managers looks at Sasol abandoning plans to issue new shares to pay off Inzalo debt, the start of earnings in the U.S. and SA bond market has been coming under pressure recently...

The South African Local Government Association says national government needs to intervene urgently in the violent attacks against local councillors. SALGA released a report into the extent of violence and intimidation against local councillors. The report presents a staggering picture on the levels of political violence. Senior Reporter, Candice Nolan, has the details....

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein will on Friday Friday hand down judgment in the so-called spytapes saga. President Jacob Zuma and the NPA have challenged the high court ruling that hundreds of fraud and corruption charges against him must be reinstated. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to political analyst, Ralph Mathekga...

Gauteng Government has blamed former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu for the deaths of 118 mentally ill patients after they were transferred to unlicensed NGOs from Life Esidimeni. Testifying at the hearings in Parktown in Johannesburg onThursday, Director General in the Oiffice of the Premier, Phindile Baleni said even though governemnt did not invite Mahlangu as a witness, she must still be called to...

Investment Analyst, Lungile Malinga looks at Asian markets as the US Fed released its September minutes, Mondi released its trading statement which markets did not like one bit and what the key highlights in the statement were.

The South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) has strongly condemned a threat on SABC Lesotho correspondent Nthakoana Ngatane. She has fled to South Africa after she receiving rape and death threats through social media. SANEF has written to the UN Special Rapporteur and the Freedom of Expression to express concern at the deterioration of journalists' condition in the SADeC region, particularl...

Families of Esidimeni victims broke down in tears on Wednessday as Gauteng Health Department Chief Director for Planning, Molefi Mosenog apologised for their loss. Mosenogi, who was the project leader responsible for the transfer of mentally-ill patients to unlicensed NGOs, was delivering his closing remarks following two days of testimony and cross-examination at the Life Esidimeni Arbitration he...

Market analyst, Nadir Thokan of 27Four Investment Managers looks at the Mondi earnings update, the FOMC minutes and S&P citing Reserve Bank independence as a risk to SA sovereign rating...

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga has withdrawn from fresh presidential elections indicating that there is no prospect for free and fair elections as ordered by the Supreme Court after he filed a petition challenging President Uhuru Kenyatta's second term victory. Odinga says the electoral commission has not made any changes to avoid illegalities and irregularities pointed out by the court wh...

Former ANC MP Dr Makhosi Khoza says no credible leaders will emerge out of the ANC elective conference in December. She was addressing the annual Helen Joseph Memorial Lecture at the University of Johannesburg last night. Helen Joseph was a renowned ANC stalwart who was part of the 20 000 women march on the Union Buildings and 1955 and was one of the leaders who read out the Freedom Charter in Kli...

Investment Analyst, Lungile Malinga on Dischem releasing a trading statement which markets seemed to love yesterday and Manufacturing Production numbers released.

The South African Football Intermediaries Association (SAFIA) and its members are facing prosecution for price fixing. The Competition Commission has found that SAFIA has been contravening the Competition Act when charging a fee for negotiating and concluding contracts for players and coaches. Two years ago, SAFIA reported the South African Football Association (SAFA) to the commission for regulat...

The death toll from a storm that caused chaos in many parts of KwaZulu-Natal, has now risen to at least six. The province is expected to be taking stock today of the damage that was caused when strong winds and heavy rains lashed the coastline and adjacent inland areas. At least 9 hospitals in the eThekwini metro suffered storm damage while two people drowned when they tried to cross swollen strea...

Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has requested the support of the South African National Defence Force in combating organised crime in the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces. Spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga says Mbalula has noted that levels of crimes in recent months involved the use of weapons of war. He says gang violence in the Western Cape and Gauteng are a huge concern. We speak to the Police Ministry...

The Presidency has expressed surprise and concern over the statement by the "SABC 8", who have objected to a recent meeting that took place between the Acting Head of News at the SABC and the Presidency. In an open letter by the SABC 8, sent to Parliament YESTERDAY, the group calls on the presidency to make the minutes of that meeting public adding that editorial independence must not only be prac...

EMT Analytics head, Jana Van Deventer looks at StatsSA releasing the manufacturing production data for August, expectations for the IMF revised growth forecasts and SARB Deputy Gov. Kuben Naidoo warnsof probability for further credit rating downgrades is “quite significant”

Investment Analyst, Lungile Malinga looks at how Asian Markets are doing as third quarter earnings season approaches and what can we expected from the South African Manufacturing Output numbers today?

Nadir Thokan of 27FOUR Investments looks at understanding biases in passive investing, Chinese PMI numbers for September and the opportunity offered in global listed property.

Trending topics today: Lockdown returns for Season 2. The aftermath of the storm in Gauteng. Police Minister Fikile Mbalula in hot water over reports that sporting goods supplier, Sedgars Sports, paid for at least half of his 680-thousand rand family trip to Dubai over the last New Year.

The SABC 8 want parliament to look into what they call reckless abandon the SABC has descended to. The group has written a letter to the chairperson of the portfolio committee on communications, Humphrey Maxegwana. One of the concerns raised in their letter is lack of political will to remedy the governance crisis at the public broadcaster. The group has also accused the Presidency of delaying the...

Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula is the latest to be embroiled in allegations of corruption. According to media reports, the Minister allegedly took a trip to Dubai with his family, paid partly by a company that supplies uniforms to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc). At the time of the trip, the Mbalula was the Minister of Sports. We tried to contact the Minist...

The official figure of the mentally-ill patients who died in the Life Esidimeni tragedy now stands at 118. Health Ombudsman Prof Malegapuru Makgoba revealed this during his testimony in the Life Esidimeni Arbitration which got underway in Parktown, Johannesburg on Monday. When he released his report in February this year, Makgoba said 94 patients had died, and that he was still counting. He was th...

The Executive Director of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, Vasu Gounden, says South Africa is moving rapidly in the direction of civil war. He says failure to improve the lives of the majority of the country's people as well as the current political rhetoric threaten to plunge the country into the instability experienced by other countries, like Syria, South Sudan, S...

The Lady Frere woman who had charges of murder and attempted murder against her withdrawn by the local magistrate's court in the Eastern Cape, says she is delighted. The NPA announced on Monday that it had declined to prosecute. The women rescued her daughter from three rapists, fatally stabbing a man and wounding two others . There was jubilation inside and outside court when the decision to drop...