Some days you’re the pigeon, some days you’re the statue. The recording of an interview I had this week with Discovery’s Adrian Gore presenting the case FOR mandatory vaccines (click here or above) has been viewed half as many times as one with Sakeliga’s Piet le Roux and Russell Lamberti AGAINST the idea.
Equally passionate has been outrage from my countrymen as the Western World moved at warp speed to isolate the country after SA scientists uncovered the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. This self-righteous anger, however, might have been premature.
Although the variant may well have initially been imported into SA, there is now little question the country has become Omicron’s global hotspot. That dubious honour enables local scientists to take advantage of abundant data. Unfortunately, this is a double edged sword.
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As the WSJ article below explains, SA researchers have discovered Omicron can get past natural immunity acquired by previously infected Covid patients. So SA’s borders are unlikely to be re-opened anytime soon. The good news, though, is although more easily transmissible, this variant appears to be less dangerous. That helped Mr Market regain some composure with Wall Street rebounding strongly last night. Small blessings.
More for you to read today…
* Turkey’s Erdogan Names Loyalist as Finance Minister Amid Lira Rout. Appointment of Nureddin Nebati, a former deputy finance minister, puts presidential loyalist atop finance ministry. Implications for ZAR.
* Didi Global Plans to Delist From New York Stock Exchange. Five months after its $4.4bn IPO Chinese ride-hailing giant says it plans to pursue a listing in Hong Kong, nudged by Beijing.
* US Federal Trade Commission launches court action to block Nvidia’s $40bn acquisition of Arm Holdings. The agency alleges the semiconductor deal is anticompetitive.
* In Ghislaine Maxwell Trial, Jeffrey Epstein’s Former House Manager Gives Glimpse Into Life Inside His Estate. Prosecutors alleged that Ms. Maxwell created a culture of silence as she helped Epstein traffic and abuse young girls
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