End of the road for SAA, and insiders dump Elon Musk’s SpaceX
The rand was trading at R16.62 against the US dollar on the morning of Thursday, 29 October 2026, slightly stronger than where it opened the day before.
South African equities eased slightly from yesterday, with the JSE All Share Index easing 0.06% and the Top 40 Index easing 0.04%.
The International Monetary Fund has said faster reforms and increased public spending were necessary to stimulate economic growth.
Debt is projected to decline after peaking in 2025/26, supported by stronger revenue and moderate spending increases.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was up 0.28%, while the Nasdaq and Dow Jones also rose by 0.27% and 0.19%, respectively.
Investors have priced in an 85% probability for a December rate hike from the Federal Reserve, up from 78.3%.
In Europe, the STOXX 600 finished 0.07% higher yesterday as strong banking results weighed against elevated energy prices.
The European Central Bank is expected to announce its interest rate decision later today, with widespread expectations for a hold.
Asian markets were up on gains in technology shares, with the Nikkei 225 rising 1.08%, the Shanghai Composite rising 0.91%, and the Hang Seng rising 0.23%.
Hong Kong maintained its base interest rate at 4.25%, while New Zealand governor Anna Breman said a December rate increase was highly likely.
In commodities, oil eased slightly to around $114 per barrel as diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East offered some relief. Gold dropped to $4,039 per ounce.
On Thursday morning, the rand was trading at R16.62 to the US dollar, R18.52 to the euro, and R22.13 to the British pound.
Important finance and investing news
Iconic law firm shuts its doors: Leaders at Weil, Gotshal and Manges plan to dissolve the law firm after a series of high-profile defections and failed merger talks left it with no other options. The announcement is unprecedented for a firm of its size, with 1,200 lawyers around the world. [Wall Street Journal]
Bidvest puts acquisitions on hold: Bidvest is putting major acquisitions on hold in the 2027 financial year to focus on growing its existing businesses, reducing its debts, and improving returns on its investments. The group is moving forward with its sale of Bidvest Bank, while an agreement for the sale of Bidvest Life is pending final regulatory approval. [BusinessDay]
SpaceX left in the dust: SpaceX shares fell 9% last Thursday after its biggest share unlock yet freed up 1.3 billion shares to trade. Now, the shares have slid again closer to $140 as smaller names in the space industry have left it behind. Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, and AST SpaceMobile all gained roughly 8% to 14% between last Thursday and now. [Yahoo Finance]
Alphabet takes a tumble: Alphabet’s stock fell 7% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company missed profit projections and increased AI spending past $50 billion in the third quarter. Microsoft shares jumped after the company’s cloud revenue beat estimates. [Semafor]
End of the road for SAA: South African Airways has been given until February to find a strategic equity partner, as a condition of the R1 billion guarantee given to the airline by the National Treasury. SAA has been warned that once the loan runs out, there will be no more state support for the company. [The Citizen]
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2 comments“End of the road for SAA”
-So sell it to Harith Partners as well… hurry up wont you?