BN Daybreak Wed 4 Feb: US Navy engages Iran; SaaS Apocalypse on Wall St; SAA’s new wingman; Tax nightmare for expats

In this episode of BizNews Daybreak, Alec Hogg unpacks a volatile morning on the global stage as the US Navy shoots down an Iranian drone, sending oil and defence stocks climbing. On Wall Street, Anthropic’s latest release triggers a "SaaS apocalypse" sell-off, raising questions about the survival of legacy software firms. Back home, private airline CemAir celebrates its 20th anniversary by inking a strategic code-share with SAA, while tax expert William Louw exposes the bureaucratic maze that traps South Africans looking to emigrate. Plus, a heartbreaking look at Zimbabwe’s economic collapse and the widening gap between the elite and the impoverished..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here.Listen here.BizNews Reporter.Market wrap and tech turmoilOn the markets, it's a story we’re becoming accustomed to. The gold price edged back slightly, sitting above $5,000 last night, and the rand gained ground to just under 16 against the US dollar. It was a mostly red day on Wall Street, though, with the Nasdaq taking a 1.5% hit and the S&P 500 down almost 1%. In our US dollar portfolio, strong quarterly results saw Palantir gaining 7% against the slump for software companies generally. Defense stock Teledyne also bucked the trend, gaining 4.5% last night, aided by growing tension in the Persian Gulf. Geopolitical tensions and OilThe US Navy shot down an Iranian drone headed toward a US aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. US Central Command said the unmanned aircraft aggressively approached the USS Abraham Lincoln with unclear intent. Even so, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says talks with Iran are still scheduled for later this week. She noted that President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but "it takes two to tango". This incident spooked the oil market, with WTI crude oil finishing up 1.7% at $63.21. The "SAAS Apocalypse"Shares in software companies tumbled today on fears over how AI will impact their core businesses. The release of a new AI tool from Anthropic added to those worries. Selling first hit stocks associated with legal software and publishing, then spread to media and financial data shares. The iShares expanded tech software sector ETF was down 4.6%. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reported fourth-quarter earnings above Wall Street estimates, but the company gave a disappointing forecast for the current period. Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research, noted that while AMD is the main challenger to Nvidia, the market is still waiting for a credible alternative to Nvidia's GPU dominance. Shares in AMD were down by more than 6% in late US trading. Tomorrow, we will hear from Alphabet. Google’s parent company is expected to post solid growth, with its cloud computing division boosted by the release of its latest Gemini AI models. Local aviation and Zimbabwe's crisisBack on the local news front, private airline CemAir recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. The big story, however, is its new strategic alliance with the state-owned national carrier, SAA. CemAir CEO Miles van der Molen explained that this new codeshare agreement allows the private sector to cooperate with, rather than compete against, the government. Meanwhile, our neighbour Zimbabwe is a country on the brink. Unemployment is sitting at 90%, and the nation is now onto its sixth currency in just 20 years. Zimbabwean journalist Tendai Ruben Mafana described the state of the nation as "worrying," noting that government ministers drive supercars while nurses and teachers can barely afford bread. The Bureaucratic maze for ExpatsFinally, South Africans trying to work or settle abroad are increasingly caught in a bureaucratic maze created by SARS, the Reserve Bank, and National Treasury. Immigration tax specialist William Louw of Sable International warns that overlapping mandates and clashing definitions of residency leave ordinary people confused and exposed. Louw suggests that the Reserve Bank’s treatment of non-tax residents might even be unconstitutional, as foreign passport holders living in South Africa currently seem to have more rights than South African ID holders living abroad. Now you have the edge. For the full interviews and details behind these stories, head over to BizNews.com. I’m Alec Hogg. Thanks for starting your morning with us. Now go and seize the day.

BN Daybreak Wed 4 Feb: US Navy engages Iran; SaaS Apocalypse on Wall St; SAA’s new wingman; Tax nightmare for expats

Related Stories