CAPE TOWN – Good morning. This is all the latest business news that you need to know today.
1. Rand rallies on EM breather ahead of Fed, stocks fall
South Africa’s rand powered to its firmest since late August on Wednesday as risk assets rallied despite expectations the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates and draw a line under a decade of accommodative monetary policy.
2. Heat is on as Steinhoff faces legal action in The Netherlands
Steinhoff is in more trouble after investors in The Netherlands got the green light to take legal action against the company for losses stemming from the accounting fraud that sent the global retailer's shares into a tailspin.
3. SA sheds 69 000 jobs in second quarter of 2018
South Africa's troubled economy continues to bleed jobs, with the battered manufacturing sector letting go of 13 000 workers in the second quarter of the year.
4. Fast-expanding Capitec targets Mercantile
After years of success in retail banking, Capitec is now positioning itself as a fully fledged bank and sees the acquisition of Mercantile Bank Holdings (MBH) as key to its diversification plans.
5. Users mourn end of free Twitter
Users are mourning the end of MTN South Africa’s free Twitter service after the company pulled the plug at midnight on Tuesday amid mounting costs on the network.
6. Sars spent a whopping R3m in trying to ditch anti-corruption head
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) spent R3 million to prosecute its anti-corruption head, Yousuf Denath, for allegedly favouring big tobacco companies at the expense of small players such as former president Jacob Zuma’s son, Edward.
7. Bonang Matheba to appear in court for tax fraud
Television personality Bonang Matheba was expected to appear in the Commercial Crimes Court in Johannesburg on Thursday for alleged tax fraud.