By Jackie Cameron
- South Africans are bracing for a tightening up of restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of a variant of Covid-19, which has pushed hospitals into crisis mode. Health minister Zweli Mkhize warned just before the Christmas weekend that the government will need to urgently review the current lockdown restrictions as Covid-19 infections spike. Hospitals in the Western Cape are struggling to keep up with a surge in patients, with public hospitals in Cape Town exceeding capacity and private hospitals in rural areas being forced to turn away more patients, reports MyBroadband.co.za. The rapid increase in cases is being blamed – in part – on a new Covid-19 variant recently observed by genomics scientists in South Africa.
- Global infections surpassed 80 million and the number of deaths worldwide heads towards 1,8m, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre. South Africa has reported just under 1m cases and more than 26,500 deaths. US cases rose by more than 226,000 after numbers were skewed by the Christmas Day holiday. Beijing city government is calling for stricter Covid-19 control and prevention as the Chinese capital reported five local cases on Saturday, says Bloomberg.
- The United Kingdom banned travel with South Africa last week after identifying the arrival of the South African variant in Britain. But the Health Minister Zweli Mkhize slammed the UK decision, arguing that there’s no evidence that 501.V2 causes more severe disease or increased mortality than any other variant that’s been sequenced around the world, he said, according to Bloomberg. The news agency says Mkhize’s comments come after UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that flights from South Africa will be banned and that anyone who’s been there in the past two weeks must quarantine immediately. Several other countries have also halted flights from South Africa. The new UK strain was identified about a month before the South African variant appeared to have developed, Mkhize said, citing ongoing research by the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa, launched in June. He described Hancock’s announcement as “unfortunate”, says Bloomberg. “It is the widely shared view of the scientific community that, given the current circumstantial evidence, the risks of travel bans may outweigh the benefits, and that it is possible to contain the variants while sustaining international travel,” Mkhize reportedly said. “We, therefore, maintain that non-pharmaceutical interventions and strict containment measures remain most important to reduce the risk of transmission.”
- Italy, Germany, France and the Nordics started inoculating their citizens as part of a massive Europe-wide vaccination campaign, says Bloomberg. This comes as a growing list of countries identified their first cases of the UK coronavirus variant – a different one from the one gaining traction in SA.
- After a protracted battle, SA Rugby Union boss Jurie Roux has been ordered to repay R37m to Stellenbosch University. An arbitrator found the funds had been misappropriated. For more details on corruption in rugby, and this latest development, read: Corruption in rugby: Jurie Roux ordered to pay Stellenbosch University – see Graeme Joffe letter.
- Chinese stocks have gained nearly $4.9 trillion in value this year, aided by the country’s rapid recovery from the new coronavirus, a string of initial public offerings, and a blistering rally in shares of consumer and technology companies, reports BizNews partner The Wall Street Journal. Chinese businesses listed on exchanges from New York to Shanghai have added 41% to $16.7 trillion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data for the year through Dec. 22. That outpaces a 21% run-up for American companies to $41.6 trillion. “It’s been a very strong year” for China, Brendan Ahern, the chief investment officer for KraneShares in New York, told The Wall Street Journal. He said the country’s economic rebound, global investors’ appetite for high-growth stocks, and a robust IPO market had all worked in China’s favor: “The end result is a pretty dramatic growth in the size of capital markets.” China accounts for nearly a third of world-wide increases in stock-market capitalisation in 2020, according to S&P data. Global stocks have gained 16% to $104 trillion. “The surge comes despite heightened friction with the U.S.over technology, trade and finance—and attempts by the U.S. government to discourage American pension funds and other institutions from holding Chinese stocks,” says the US-based media outlet. For full access to The Wall Street Journal, subscribe to BizNews premium here.
- Hedge funds have seen an improvement in performance this year, reports The Wall Street Journal. For the year through November, stock picking hedge funds posted their best performance relative to the total-return of the S&P 500 since 2010, according to data provider HFR, earning 11.9%, it says. The strong showing in 2020 partly reversed their underperformance relative to a portfolio of stocks and bonds over a one, three, five and 10-year period, Goldman Sachs Group is quoted as saying. “Hedge funds have come back with a vengeance,” Kieran Cavanna, whose New York-based Old Farm Partners invests $350 million largely in stock picking hedge funds for its clients, reportedly said. “The funds that did well in 2020 bet early on an acceleration to online as people lived and worked remotely—then quickly shifted into a recovery trade betting on restaurants, hotels and travel. Hedge funds also benefited from the increased trading of individual investors who created more volatility in stock prices and, thus, opportunities for profit. Low rates boosted the stock market overall, too.”
- South Africa’s rand was little changed on Thursday ahead of the public holidays, as global market sentiment boosted by the Brexit deal was offset by a quickly worsening fresh coronavirus wave at home, says Reuters. The rand has been trading below R15 to a greenback and has advanced around 10% against the US dollar, since November, reports the news agency. Recent trade has been choppy with fears of a second coronavirus wave.
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