What Eskom needs now, US/China trade deal closer, markets rising

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [FIRST THING With John Stupart]( Friday, 5 April 2019 “Somehow, in less than a lifetime, modern work has become indistinguishable from sabotage.” Aaron Dignan Story of the Day [Bring urgently needed skills and new capacity, enable independent power generation – Anton Eberhard]( By Ruan Jooste Eskom chairman Jabu Mabuza told journalists on Wednesday that Eskom would have a R250bn shortfall over the next three years and even the thumping R69bn capital injection announced in the February 2019 Budget speech wouldn’t be enough to cover it. ON THE MONEY Currencies R/$ = 14.13 0.06%▼ R/€ = 15.86 -0.08%▼ R/£ = 18.85 -0.05%▼ BTC$ = 4926 0.32%▲ * At 5am or latest close Markets JSE All Share = 57711 -0.37%▼ DJIA = 26384 0.64%▲ Oil = $69.73 -0.11%▼ Gold=$1290 -0.20%▼ WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [China Hails `New Consensus' on Trade, Though Deal Not Ready Yet]( Close but no cigar. China and the US claimed progress in talks to end their trade war, with President Xi Jinping pushing for a rapid conclusion and President Donald Trump talking up prospects for a “monumental” agreement that may still be some weeks away. [Stocks Post Longest Rally of Year; Dollar Gains: Markets Wrap]( Stock markets around the world are floating the sceptics away. US stocks rose for a sixth consecutive day and the dollar strengthened as investors remained bullish about US-China trade negotiations and key jobs data on Friday in Washington. [Ghosn's Prospects Darken as Prosecutors Throw Him Back in Jail]( Carlos Ghosn’s prospects for a legal comeback dimmed after Japanese prosecutors arrested him on fresh allegations that the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co used millions of dollars from the company for his own purposes. [Friday, April 5: Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day]( Some small progress on Brexit, and more bad news for German manufacturing. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today. [Maverick Insider membership pays for our investigations.]( Those ministers that resigned? That President that resigned? Those commissions into State Capture and SARS? That Tom Moyane who was fired? Those #GuptaLeaks? Maverick Insiders helped fund the investigations that helped make all of that happen. We can’t do our jobs without your support. If you want to see what we can do next, [consider signing up]( and becoming a Maverick Insider. For R150pm you’ll get all the member benefits plus R100 back in UBER vouchers every month until October 2019. In Numbers $6bn The amount of debt Tencent Holdings added on Thursday to a wave of borrowers locking in low interest rates. It was Asia’s biggest sale of dollar debt in over a year. Fact of the Day In 2050 the ocean will contain more plastic by weight than fish. Brexit Jenga BY Rico Featured Articles [The four Brexit scenarios for South African exports]( BY Karen Bosman [Why poor housing prices are a blessing in disguise]( BY Reg Rumney [‘There must be jail time’ following revelations at commissions, Ramaphosa tells Sandton audience]( BY Greg Nicolson [Toyota Corolla 1.2T XR CVT: Bang on target]( [Toyota Corolla 1.2T XR CVT: Bang on target]( By Deon Schoeman Opinionistas [For a proper rebuild, South Africa needs a total overhaul of how political power is managed and executed]( A column by Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar [The ANC today: Messy, complex and drawn out – an ending that can’t be predicted]( A column by Judith February Weather BFN: min: 13° max: 24°, rainy CPT: min: 13° max: 18°, rainy DBN: min: 19° max: 30°, cloudy EL: min: 18° max: 26°, cloudy JHB: min: 13° max: 23°, cloudy MHK: min: 16° max: 28°, cloudy NLP: min: 16° max: 32°, cloudy PE: min: 16° max: 23°, cloudy PMB:min: 16° max: 32°, cloudy [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? [Click here to sign the pact.](mailto:advertising@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20First%20Thing%20Mailers) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( [Unsubscribe](