Flash Briefing: JSE food producers perk up, mining stocks take a hit; Boeing drifts on safety deactivation

By Jackie Cameron

In today’s business news headlines:

  • First a look at the major moves on the Johannesburg stock exchange. Leading stocks upwards were major food producers RCL Foods, which owns brands like Rainbow Chicken and Yum Yum, and the Pioneer Foods group, which produces Liquifruit, Weetbix and a whole host of popular household food products. The share prices of both companies rose about 2.5%.
  • Mining stocks took a knock on Monday, with the Amplats price dropping by nearly 6% and the Implats share price not far behind. Mining analysts are concerned that a move by the government to deregister trade union AMCU could create chaos in the mining sector. AMCU has been at loggerheads with the Nation Union of Mineworkers, with the Economic Freedom Fighters suggesting that the government is trying to deregister AMCU to bolster NUM. NUM, is the union started by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the early 1980s and AMCU criticised NUM for being too close to the ANC and big business. The AMCU battle with the government is one to watch closely.
  • In other business news getting South Africa talking, President Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption strategy has claimed fresh scalps – this time by hitting graft-tainted politicians and officials where it hurts most – in the pocket. The South African Revenue Service is poised to fine about 90 people in connection with tax evasion. It is investigating criminal charges for tax-related offences against Dudu Myeni, who you will recall is the former SAA chairperson responsible for running the national airline into the ground. she is a personal friend of former president Jacob Zuma, and allegedly took huge cash sums in exchange for doing favours for Bosasa. Also on the SARS hit list are Environmental Affairs minister Nomvula Mokonyane and two South African prosecutors, also implicated in that scandal.
  • The global news story that has everybody talking in the US is the ongoing investigation into the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes. Boeing allegedly deactivated a safety feature found on earlier models that warns pilots about malfunctioning sensors, according to government and industry officials. New York-listed Boeing shares drifted down on Monday. The stock has declined by about 10% since the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines Crash.
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