Flash Briefing: Blame Eskom - SA just got poorer; Ramaphosa pays tribute to journalists, media freedom; investors queue for Khula Sizwe

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In today's headlines:
South Africans are reeling from the news that the economy shrunk in the first quarter of this year. Analysts have blamed Eskom power cuts for hammering manufacturing, mining and agricultural output.
Eskom has more than $30bn in debt and is believed to be the biggest threat to the economy, according to Goldman Sachs, but it isn’t the only state-owned enterprise dragging down the South African economy. At least seven state companies are, as public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan put it in February, “either on their knees or touching carpet”.
Former Rand Daily Mail editor Raymond Louw has died, shortly after his wife Jean. Louw was 91. President Cyril Ramaphosa was among the first to offer his condolences.
Barloworld’s Khula Sizwe public offer closed on Tuesday after being oversubscribed. The funding target of R16m for the black economic empowerment scheme was reached, with more than 50,000 applications received
The big movers on the JSE on Tuesday were Goldfields, which jumped more than 6%, and Massmart, which dropped more than 4%.
Making global headlines: US President Donald Trump stirred up controversy in the UK, where he indicated that Britain’s National Health Service would be fair game in trade negotiations with the US after Brexit - but he later backtracked.
Grabbing as many headlines in the UK as Trump was Neil Woodford, an asset manager described as Britain’s answer to Warren Buffett. The UK’s rock star fund manager has found himself at the centre of a crisis.
Late on Tuesday, the rand was trading at around R14.85 to the US dollar, and R18.85 to the British pound, while R16.70 was buying one euro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
5 Jun 2019 12PM English South Africa Investing · Business News

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