BizNews Radio

Election year 2026 is turning deadly and dirty. In his latest interview with Chris Steyn, political commentator Solly Moeng slams the Speaker of Parliament for not opposing President Cyril Ramaphosa's urgent bid to stave off his impeachment inquiry. “I for one should not be surprised if the Speaker would have been called into some meeting somewhere with the political party leadership that deployed her…to say: listen, this is the way we want this thing to go.” He also laments the spate of political killings that has seen an African National Congress (ANC) councillor and two aspirant councillors, one from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and one from BOSA gunned down in one night. “... there are of course people who also see these as opportunities for a job to climb up and to access the feeding through as it were. Either way it's a very risky position because sometimes people are even killed by their own comrades, their own people from the same political party, wanting to occupy the position.” Lastly, Moeng reveals why he left ActionSA despite being brought back to South Africa by its leader Herman Mashaba after he had been forced out of the country by the ANC.

We explore a toughening economic climate as South African consumer confidence drops and central bank indicators flash red. Discover why the market is blindly punishing value, dragging down Sibanye Stillwater’s debt-free gold business despite solid restructuring plans. We also highlight Attacq’s resilient property portfolio and Steenkamp Kraal’s historic rare earth processing breakthrough. Finally, we head global to unpack Andy Burnham’s sudden political rise in the UK and SpaceX’s dramatic post-IPO market slide.

Today's BizNews Daybreak covers the US granting Iran a 60-day oil sale license following Switzerland peace talks. Tech stocks retreat as Alphabet slips 5% and Qualcomm eyes a $4 billion Modular acquisition.

In the UK, Keir Starmer resigns as PM, clearing the path for Andy Burnham.

Plus, the ISS warns of Mexican drug cartels in South Africa, Naspers reports surging core earnings, and Nouriel Roubini turns bullish on US productivity.

Following the recent R1-billion drug bust at Beitbridge, there is renewed focus on the warning by KZN Provincial Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that South Africa could become another Mexico or El Salvador if politically- and police-connected drug cartels were not dealt with. In this interview with Chris Steyn, Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) shares the findings of the ISS' latest drug study. “On the operational level, we're sitting with severe challenges. We've got most of the senior commissioners of police that are being arrested or suspended or so on. So we've got a power vacuum there and so on… one of the biggest challenges is the severe disinvestment in your capability in the police, intelligence-wise, as well as operational. We do not have boots on the ground. We do not have sufficient equipment and infrastructure…. ” Els details the ISS’ recommendations, and expresses optimism that with the appointment of General Mkhwanazi as Head of the Organised Crime Desk, “there might be some improvement now”.

Good numbers, wrong catalyst. That's the Monday verdict on the JSE. Naspers flagged core earnings growth of up to 28% and still lost ground, sitting 37% off its 52-week high. Standard Bank reported resilient five-month earnings but moderated from a 12% first-quarter pace — sell-the-news into a stock already up 8% in a fortnight. Herriot acquired three Gauteng office blocks in a related-party deal worth R129 million. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer resigned as British prime minister two years after a landslide victory, gold held above $4,200, and US-Iran talks continued. The message: in a nervous market, strong performance is necessary — but not sufficient.