But whoever wins faces a monumental challenge of reviving Investor Confidence in south africa and revitalising an economy which has been left in tatters by zuma. The current president inherited an economy in distress in 2009, but he also made it worse. Under his leadership, which has been defined by corruption and the weakening of the countrys institutions, south africa has endured two economic recessions in less than a decade. Unemployment stands at a whopping 27. 7 , the growth forecast for this year isjust 0. 7 , and Government Debt is more than two trillion rand. The dire state of the economy and its level of debt have led s p and fitch to cut sas Credit Rating to junk, while moodys is keeping it just above junk status, but on review. At the conference president zuma was bowing out gracefully. The fact that you gave me this responsibility, i would like to thank you and humble myself and say i tried my best. Standing here, thank you and humble myself and say itried my best. Standing
Overnight in asia, the nikkei was flat. The hang seng and the shanghai were slightly higher. In europe, in early trading right now, youll see there are mixed messages. For the most part the major averages are around the flat line. In italy things are down by 0. 9 . If you check out crude oil prices, right now it was up 1. 2 yesterday, giving back some of those gains this morning with wti at 54. 02. Lets get you updated on some big stories today. Earnings just out from Toll Brothers. The company earning 42 Cents Per Share in the first quarter. Revenue was better than expected. Home building deliveries about flat in dollar terms. Increased 12 in terms of units. The company says the average price of homes delivered declined due to changes in product mix. Carl icahn bought a large stake in bristolmyers squib. Its unclear how big his position is, but he sees the drugmaker as a potential takeover target. The report was released after they announced they would add three new Board Members and
They must do a lot more with less and we must stop the improper payments and the abuses, negotiate better prices, and look for every last there are a of saving. Vorts are working on the budget. Today Dow Jones Industrial average closed at its ninth Straight Record high. Rising 32 points to 20,775. In addition ago did went the other way. Off a scandal 5. And the s p basically flat. It lost 2. 5. The potential for lower taxes and increased spending was discussed at length by policy makers at the Federal Reserve last meeting. That is leading to speculation that President Trumps proposed policies could lead to an Interest Rate like sooner than many thought. The minutes from the first fed meeting of the year, they didnt bury the lead. Most Monetary Policy makers, according to them, it might be appropriate to raise the fed funds rate again fairly soon. If incoming information on the labor market and inflation was in line or stronger than expected. Some participant went on to say that they we
Tell you about outside the world of business. At least 8 people are dead and five more believed missing after severe flooding yesterday near the utah arizona border. Heavy rain swept away a roadway and these are floods that came up very suddenly. Three people at least have survived the incident. There are at least approximate 13 fires burning right now. Hundreds of homes destroyed. Well have more on both of these developing stories a bit later this morning. First andrew has todays business headlines. Lets get you caught up on the stories this hour. The bank of japan is holding off on expanding its Stimulus Program but warning that a slow down was putting further strains on the economy. Some economists say the boj could ease again next month. Well watch that. Take a look at whats going on with the nikkei closing today marginally up about. 34 . Also we have stocks closing down more than 3. 5 and at a 2. 5 week low, the Global Markets all waiting to hear from the fed on thursday. Thats th
Vonnie good morning david and stephanie. The city of brussels is under lockdown because of fear of an imminent terrorist attack. Schools, jobs, and the imminent subways schools, jobs, and the subway system remain close. They expect a peristyle attack with multiple attacks taking place at once. We will go to brussels for more in a moment. Francois hollande has the u. K. On board in his attempts to build a coalition to fight Islamic State he met with amy cameron today. That he met with David Cameron today. Tomorrow he meets with president obama in washington. Onn with Angela Merkel wednesday, and Vladimir Putin on thursday. Argentina has voted for a big change. Macrition leader mauricio has been elected president , setting the stage for improved relations with the u. S. He has promised to lift argentinas currency controls, cut inflation, and attract international investors. You can get these and other breaking stories 24 hours a day at the new bloomberg. Com. Matt lets look at futures. W