Trading Day – Stephen Koseff sells R155 million in Investec shares

Investec founder and former CEO Stephen Koseff has sold shares to the value of around R155 million.

The JSE has appointed Fawzia Suliman as CFO, while Sanlam has replaced former Company Secretary Sana-Ullah Bray with Adela Fortune.

US markets are up, with the S&P 500 closing 0.8% higher and the Nasdaq climbing by 1.1%.

The Nikkei 225 is up in early morning trade, increasing by 1.3%, while the Hang Seng index climbed 1.9%.

Oil prices briefly bounced as an accident led to the shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline.

Here is the biggest news of the day.

• Investec’s founder and former CEO Stephen Koseff has sold shares to the value of roughly R155 million.

• The JSE has appointed Ms Fawzia Suliman as Group CFO, with effect from 9 January.

• Sanlam Group Company Secretary resigns. Mr. Sana-Ullah Bray has resigned as Sanlam’s Group Company Secretary with effect from the end of December. He remains in the Group and has taken up the role of Group Executive: Human Capital and will become a member of the Group Executive Committee. Ms. Adela Fortune, who is currently Sanlam’s Deputy Company Secretary, has been appointed as his replacement.

• Oil briefly bounces on a shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline. The shutdown of the major Canada-to-US crude oil pipeline, operated by Canada’s TC Energy disrupted supply, but the oil price jump eased soon thereafter as the market took the view that the closure would be brief. An accident led to more than 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilling into a creek in Kansas, making it one of the largest crude spills in the United States in nearly a decade.

• Saudi Arabia signs Huawei deal on visit from Xi Jinping. Saudi Arabia and China showcased deepening ties with a series of strategic deals during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. King Salman signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership agreement” with Xi, who received a lavish welcome in stark contrast to the welcome extended in July to US President Joe Biden, with whom ties have been strained by Saudi energy policy. A memorandum was agreed upon with China’s Huawei Technologies on cloud computing and building high-tech complexes in Saudi cities. Huawei has participated in building 5G networks in most Gulf states.

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sues to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The FTC has filed an antitrust case against Microsoft to challenge the software maker’s attempt to acquire video game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. “With control of Activision’s content, Microsoft would have the ability and increased incentive to withhold or degrade Activision’s content in ways that substantially lessen competition — including competition on product quality, price, and innovation,” the FTC said in its complaint. “This loss of competition would likely result in significant harm to consumers in multiple markets at a pivotal time for the industry.”