Growing up in a small town brought many advantages. One I never appreciated, however, was being down the pecking order on new stuff. Movies in the local bug-house came months after hitting SA’s circuit. Music and magazines also arrived a long time after city-folk had access.
Living in South Africa has a similar feel relative to the rest of the world, although in this networked age, we’re only days behind. This, however, can be an obvious advantage for astute investors. More broadly, too, where opinion-poll-driven politicians in the First World often act first, think later.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s red listing of SA over Omicron revealed his penchant for knee-jerking. He was at it again yesterday when reimposing new curbs to slow down the spread of the new variant. British data on Omicron will be available next week. Johnson’s critics say he should have waited.
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The story below from the FT unpacks consequences for the UK’s economy. SA’s battered hospitality sector will be hoping Cyril Ramaphosa learns from Johnson (above) and instead of following, continues with his mature approach of waiting for evidence before jumping to conclusions.
More for you to read today:
- SA Judge rules jailed former Mozam finmin must be extradited to the USA, not his homeland. The full judgement by Mr Justice Victor on Manuel Chang, central figure in Mozam’s $2bn Tuna Bond scandal whom his former cabinet colleagues wanted back in Maputo.
- Pfizer says booster neutralized Omicron but variant may elude two doses. Two jabs were significantly less effective against the variant but could still protect against severe disease, Pfizer and BioNTech say.
- Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: Photos Emerge of Socialite With Jeffrey Epstein. Here’s the photos entered into evidence at Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial include a foot rub on a private jet.
- How the world sees SA economy. The International Monetary Fund’s concluding statement on its team’s investigation conducted between November 17 and December 7.
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