Shareholders in Naspers/Prosus witnessed a 6% sympathy knock in the price of their shares after Beijing attacked Didi Global, which IPO’d in the US last Wednesday. There is little respite on the horizon for the Tencent-reliant SA-listed stocks. Our partners at The Wall Street Journal report this morning that China will get even tougher on companies with foreign shareholdings. There’s also a powerful commentary on the subject from the WSJ’s Editorial Board.
Beijing’s attacks on Chinese capitalists had been telegraphed for some weeks, starting with the silencing of entrepreneur Jack Ma and pulling the listing of his AliPay. There are similar warnings on cryptocurrencies for those prepared to listen. Regulators worldwide are accelerating their efforts to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptos. Here’s the latest.
Additional trustworthy data on the Delta variant of Covid-19 comes from Israel which, like the UK, has a virtually fully vaccinated population. The Israeli health ministry reported yesterday Pfizer’s vaccine only protects 64% of those jabbed from contracting the Delta variant (vs 94% for other variants). It is also slightly less effective (94% v 97%) against preventing severe illness.
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Put differently, the Israeli data the odds of getting the Delta variant remains high, despite the Pfizer jab but those who do not have co-morbidities, the infection is very likely to be mild. On the other side, highly contagious Delta raises mortality risks for those with other health issues. Witness Coronation Fund Managers which reported yesterday that its long-time chairman Shams Pather passed away from Covid-related complications on Monday. He had been fighting pancreatic cancer for some time.
While the Left and its cheerleading scribblers say growing concerns around Critical Race Theory are exaggerated, opposition from those who describe themselves as believers in meritocracy, liberty, effort and tradition is growing. In the WSJ this morning author Joseph Epstein offers his perspectives on what he says is battle lost and columnist James Freeman unpacks how the US teacher’s union has made implementing CRT in the education system its top priority.
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