Fake job interview leads to $6.3 billion hack, and South African private school giant eyes global expansion
The rand entered municipal election day trading at R16.56 per US dollar after strengthening at the beginning of the week.
While the JSE is closed for the public holiday, global stock markets remain open, and currencies and commodities will fluctuate.
The rand has strengthened further on the back of a “Blue Wave” in the US mid-term elections on Tuesday, 3 November.
US Democrats have taken back the House and the Senate, although with tentative majorities that may make passing legislation difficult even before it gets to US President Trump’s desk.
The Blue Wave has resulted in a sharp sell-off of US tech stocks as fears of a halt to data centre construction in key states such as Texas and Kentucky rise.
Oracle has reportedly cancelled a $7 billion chip licensing deal with Tencent as Democrats took control of Texas for the first time in three decades.
The election has coincided with a fall in oil prices as Iran proposed an accelerated ceasefire deal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz fully.
Tehran has come under increasing economic pressure as oil from its neighbours is able to flow out of the region while its tankers remain blockaded by the US Navy.
It has also run out of floating storage that it managed to get out before the conflict and send to the Far East. Now, the regime has no more oil to sell and no cash coming into its economy.
Closer to home, investors don’t seem to be expecting major changes from the municipal election, with local stock markets being flat for the week.
Local markets are also being largely driven by global events, such as the US midterms, potential peace in Iran, and South Africa losing access to AGOA.
Of these, developments in the United States, the world’s financial and economic powerhouse, tend to be far more impactful for financial markets.
Nevertheless, these local municipal elections are perhaps the most important in recent times, as local services are the only touchpoint with the state for millions of South Africans.
Local government is vital for the provision of water, electricity, and sanitation – broadly, quality of life.
These services have collapsed in most parts of the country in recent years, as mismanagement and corruption have ravaged municipalities.
Important finance and investment news
Private school giant taking over Africa: South Africa private education network AdvTech, which owns Crawford and Emeris among others, plans to expand its international schools across Africa. It already operates in Kenya, Botswana, Ghana, and Ethiopia. [BusinessDay]
Fake job interview led to $6.3 billion Binance hack: Hackers behind the attack on Binance spent weeks masquerading as recruiters and fake executives to convince an engineer to download malicious software onto a work computer. This ultimately led to the largest crypto theft in history, with $6.3 billion being taken. [Yahoo Finance]
AGOA blame game: The DA and FF Plus have blamed South Africa’s exclusion from the United States’ preferential trade agreement under AGOA on the ANC. The ANC, meanwhile, has blamed other parties and Afrikaner lobby groups for South Africa’s exclusion. [EWN]
US dollar and stocks plunge on Blue Wave: US equities and the dollar have weakened as a Blue Wave unfolds in the US midterm elections. Asian technology stocks have also weakened as investors expect a crackdown on data centre construction and increased regulation on AI development. There are also fears of higher taxes. [Wall Street Journal]
Americans bet $1.4 billion on elections: More than $1.4 billion has been wagered on election outcomes via prediction markets. This is coupled with billions more being invested in stocks and bonds in anticipation of winners and losers from the US midterms. [Reuters]
