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Image: AFP
Wake up to the shifts shaping the future.
From boardroom shakeups and billion-dollar bets to the latest tech breakthroughs rewriting the rules, The Company Brief is your front-row seat to the stories moving markets and mindsets.
We cut through the noise so you can stay ahead of the curve, one bold business move at a time.
Tech stocks slip in jittery Asia trade
Asian markets were wobbly on Tuesday as relief at the impending end of a U.S. government shutdown began to recede and nagging worries about valuations in the technology sector resurfaced. While gold and the Nasdaq basked in the afterglow of their sharpest gains for months, U.S. futures and Asia's major bourses struggled to hold on to gains. S&P 500 futures were last about 0.1% lower. European futures were off highs but about 0.3% stronger. Japan's Nikkei gave up a morning rally to fall 0.5%, with the drag coming from big drops in semiconductor shares. Traders were also unsettled by a sharp fall in South Korea's won, which has been facing heavy selling as both Korean and foreign investors have been cutting positions in the semiconductor-heavy equity market in favour of foreign assets. The benchmark Kospi retraced morning gains to trade nearly flat. Markets in Hong Kong and China were down around 0.5% by mid-afternoon.
Positive trends emerge in South Africa's property sector
The third quarter of this year shows promising signs of renewed growth and stability in the property sector. This follows a series of interest rate cuts that have brought much-needed relief to consumers, stimulating buyer confidence. At the same time, the sector was seeing shifts in regional dynamics, with the Western Cape no longer dominating search trends. Much of this positive movement is attributed to the interest rate cuts that occurred earlier in the year. “With interest rates slowly declining over the course of the year, we’re now seeing real signs of renewed buyer activity, particularly as more affordable lending conditions make homeownership more accessible to a larger part of the population," says Adrian Goslett, the regional director and CEO of REMAX Southern Africa.
South Africa tells world powers: Stop punishing poor nations on climate
South Africa has used COP30 to push back against unilateral climate actions by developed nations, warning that such measures could stall global efforts to address climate change. Speaking at the Leader’s Summit in Belém, Brazil, on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment, Minister Dion George said, “climate change is the defining crisis of our time. No nation can face it alone.” George stressed that while global ambition on climate action is essential, it must be balanced with fairness and respect for developing countries’ development needs. "Climate change response measures by developed countries should not impact developing countries’ industrial, trade and socio-economic development goals, in line with international law,” George noted.
Over R1 trillion lost to wasteful spending in South African Mmunicipalities, Finance Minister Reveals
Municipalities and their entities have squandered over R1.08 trillion in fruitless, wasteful, irregular, and unauthorised spending from the 2019/20 to 2023/24 financial years. This staggering figure was revealed by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in a recent parliamentary reply to ActionSA MP Alan Beesley.