V-day for UK – and SA

Britain's health secretary Matt Hancock was overcome with emotion as one of the first men, named William Shakespeare and incredibly from the same area as the 16th century playwright, received a Covid-19 vaccine. Tuesday has been dubbed V-day, a play on D-day – the Normandy landings that started the liberation of German-occupied France at the end of WWII. The vaccination programme is believed to mark a turning point in the battle against the pandemic.

Back home in SA, we had our own type of V-day, with the release of Gross Domestic Product statistics showing a sharp bounce back in the economy. GDP jumped by more than 66%, after plunging more than 50% in the second quarter. There's still much work to do, notes Stanlib chief economist Kevin Lings, though every sector recorded strong growth and responded far better-than-expected to the lifting of restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19. For more on that, see: SA GDP starts to recover after Covid-19 lockdown.

PS: Best of #2020. If you are looking for leadership inspiration as you plan changes for next year, watch this one-hour BizNews webinar featuring FirstRand founders Laurie Dippenaar, GT Ferreira and Paul Harris – and with guest appearances by business luminaries including Richemont chairman Johann Rupert.

Chaired by BizNews founder Alec Hogg, it received rave reviews from attendees. For good reason, as the guests shared rare insights into their decision-making and friendships in a relaxed, highly interactive session.

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