Flash Briefing: Repo rate held, May’s round three, profits over patients, Andile Ramaphosa fall-out

By Linda van Tilburg

Today’s global business news headlines:

• The UK Parliament may see another vote on Brexit today after a flurry of London-Belfast talks yesterday in an effort to win over Northern Ireland’s DUP to Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal with the European Union. This was after no alternative could be found by the House of Commons this week and May offered to resign to get hard Brexiteers in her party on board. Meanwhile, the British Chamber of Commerce has asked MPs to stop chasing rainbows and end the corrosive damage of uncertainty and do everything to avoid crashing out of the EU without a deal.
• A second Barclays ex-trader has been convicted of Euribor rigging. Colin Bermingham joins Carlo Palombo who has also been found guilty; they will be sentenced next week and face a possible ten years in jail. The verdicts are a boost for the UK Serious Fraud Office, which has been criticised for mishandling high-profile cases.
• New York state in the US has sued Purdue Pharma and the Sackler billionaire family behind the drug OxyContin, joining a growing list of state and local governments in the US alleging that the drug maker sparked the nation’s opioid crisis by putting hunger for profits over patient safety. The state averages nine opioid deaths per day. The announcement of the expanded New York state lawsuit, which includes the family, five other drug companies and distributors comes after the Sacklers agreed to pay $270m to the state of Oklahoma.
• From South Africa comes news that the Reserve bank has held the country’s key repo rate at 6.75%, while the economic growth forecast for 2019 was revised down from 1.7% to 1.3%. The bank held its inflation rate forecast to 4.8% for the year, even after electricity-tariff increases were granted to Eskom.
• Staying in South Africa, the fall-out from the revelation by Andile Ramaphosa, the President’s son continue to dominate with speculation that Andile could be charged with corruption. Legal expert Pierre de Vos says if you are a close family member of an influential politician and received large amounts of money from a dodgy entity without rendering services, you may be in serious legal trouble. More on this on Biznews.