Price of Oil drop amid COVID-19 Concerns

New York/Hong Kong (CNN Business)Oil prices are still crashing after a stunning collapse Monday that saw US crude futures plunge below zero for the first time in history.

The pain in oil markets is carrying over to stocks, with Asian and European indexes, and US stock futures, all in the red on Tuesday.

US oil futures for May delivery were last trading below $0 again after briefly popping above $1 a barrel. The May contract, which expires Tuesday, finished regular trading Monday at -$37.63 a barrel.

The West Texas Intermediate June contract, which is now being traded more actively, crashed more than 11% to $18.14 a barrel. Brent, the global benchmark, also plummeted nearly 22%, last trading at $19.92 a barrel.

Oil prices turned negative. Hundreds of US oil companies could go bankrupt

Oil prices turned negative. Hundreds of US oil companies could go bankrupt

The coronavirus pandemic has caused oil demand to evaporate so rapidly that the world is running out of room to store barrels that nobody wants. A new agreement a little over a week ago by Saudi Arabia and Russia — with other producers — to cut supply by a record amount has failed to convince traders that the supply glut will ease any time soon.

The market will likely continue to be pressured in the coming weeks, wrote Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy, in a research note Tuesday. He noted that the OPEC+ cuts only go into effect in May. And while the group has agreed to cut oil production by historic amounts, Tonhaugen said the market needs to see a lot of additional cuts to account for a massive decline in demand for oil.

Global stocks also recorded big declines Tuesday. The FTSE 100 (UKX) is trading 1.4% lower in London. Germany's DAX (DAX) and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) are both down 1.8%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng (HSI) tumbled 2.2%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 (N225) fell nearly 2%. China's Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) lost 0.9%.

South Korea's Kospi (KOSPI) tumbled nearly 3% and the won slipped as much as 1.7% against the US dollar as CNN reported — citing a US official with direct knowledge — that the United States is monitoring intelligence that suggests North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in grave danger after undergoing a previous surgery.

South Korea's Presidential Blue House said in a statement provided to reporters that they have nothing to confirm on reports about Kim's health and that "no unusual signs" have been detected inside North Korea.

The Kospi pared losses to close down 1%. The won also recovered somewhat, though was still weaker against the dollar compared to Monday.

Regional markets have only priced in "a small-ish reaction to the [North Korean] news," wrote Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at Oanda, in a Tuesday research note. But he added that if it proves to be correct "the region is set for a period of uncertainty."

US stock futures reversed early gains. Dow futures were last down 264 points, or about 1.1%. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.7% and Nasdaq futures were down about 0.2%.

The Dow (INDU) closed 592 points lower, or 2.4%, on Monday, marking the worst day for the index since April 1. The S&P 500 (SPX) finished down 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) closed 1% lower.

— Jill Disis, Julia Horowitz, Anneken Tappe and Matt Egan contributed to this report.

Donald Trump Suspends Immigration into the US

(CNN)President Donald Trump said late Monday night he will sign an executive order temporarily suspending immigration to the United States as the nation battles the health and economic effects of the corona-virus pandemic.

"In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!" he tweeted.
It's unclear what mechanism he will use to suspend immigration, how long such a suspension could last or what effect this will have on the operation of US border crossings and on those who already hold green cards.
Trump administration looks to triple fees for some immigration court filings
Trump administration looks to triple fees for some immigration court filings
The White House declined to provide further information on the executive order Monday evening. The Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
As a result of coronavirus and attempts to curtail its spread, immigration to the United States has been largely cut off: Refugee resettlement has been put on hold, visa offices are largely closed and citizenship ceremonies aren't happening. Trump didn't offer details Monday on what he intends to do to further restrict immigration in the face of coronavirus.
Immigrant advocates immediately pushed back against the tweet.
"This is not about the policy. It is about the message the president wants to send. He wants people to turn against 'the other.' And, regardless of the valuable contributions immigrants are making to the response and recovery, he sees immigrants as the easiest to blame," Ali Noorani, the executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said on Twitter.
Trump's tweet comes as the administration seeks to reopen parts of the country from the coronavirus shutdown through a phased approach, but it's also a continuation of the President's 2016 campaign promise to slow immigration.
Trump has repeatedly touted his decision to halt travel from China and Europe as a means of blunting the spread of coronavirus in the United States.
Against the backdrop of the pandemic, the Trump administration has tried to move forward with some of its most restrictionist policies that have struggled to be put into practice, including blocking entry to asylum seekers.
Citing the "unscreened" and "unvetted" people who come into the US across the southern border, Trump said late last month that the border would be sealed off "mostly, and even beyond, but mostly during this global pandemic." Restrictions on nonessential travel remain in effect and on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security announced they'd be extended with Mexico and Canada.
The administration has also put in place an order allowing the US to swiftly remove migrants arrested at the border, including children.
This story has been updated with additional immigration reporting.

Ndabeni Abrahams 'maybe' in Hot waters over lock-down rules

As South Africans enter day 13 of the global pandemic lock down as a result of the spread of the Novel Corona Virus, some law makers  are not adhering to lock down rules.
Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has been pictured enjoying lunch with a friend, apparently during the period of lock down. This goes to show of the popular saying "Do as I say, not as I do".

How has Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams allegedly broke lock down rules?
Photos of her and her friend, none other than former deputy higher education minister, Mduduzi Manana, went viral Tuesday. In a photo uploaded to Instagram, he can be seen dining with Ndabeni-Abrahams and a few others. These two politicians do not live together, and it’s difficult to understand what legitimate reason they’d have to meet for this contentious lunch.
All efforts to contact the office of Ndabeni-Abrahams proved futile and were directed only to her communications team: Ironic, given her job title. This is the offending snap that could land her in some serious trouble.
The President as we learnt has said he will summon the Minister for question and possibly disciplinary actions.

Steve Hofmeyr mocks Charlize Theron over parenting revelation

Steve Hofmeyr has responded to comments by Charlize Theron about raising her child as a girl, seemingly mocking the star.

Charlize sparked debate recently when she revealed that her seven-year-old child, whom fans assumed was a boy, identifies as a girl.

Speaking to Daily Mail about the gender of Jackson, whom she adopted years ago, Charlize said: “I thought she was a boy, too, until she looked at me when she was three years’ old and said: I am not a boy!”


She said that it was not up to her to decide what gender her child identified as.

“My job as a parent is to celebrate them and to love them and to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be what they want to be,” she added.

Steve took to Twitter recently to respond to the news and in a seemingly mocking tweet asked Charlize’s “advice” on raising his daughter.

Steve Hofmeyr

✔@steve_hofmeyr

Liewe Charlize
My dogter dra soms broekies. Sy is 20 maande oud. Is dit dalk die regte tyd om haar te vra of sy 'n oorwig aan y-chromosoom aanvoel?

Zuma damaged South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – Former president FW de Klerk says there is an element of truth that life and public services were better under the apartheid government.


De Klerk, who was speaking on eNCA’s The First Citizen program says this assertion is solely based, not on race and colour, but on the nine years during the Jacob Zuma presidency.


The former president (1989 - 1994) described the Zuma administration

(2009 - 2018) as “nine lost years” which have damaged the country.


“... because of bad appointments made in the nine lost years, inter alia, of cadres, instead of people with the right experience, with the right training into management posts.


“People were appointed because of their connections instead of because of their knowledge and their experience. I think this has harmed service delivery tremendously.”


De Klerk said he believed the opportunity to build a truly non-racial and just society was wasted during the Zuma years.


He advised the current government to accept the challenges it faces, improve the quality of education and training, grow the economy, build investor confidence and rise above racism.


De Klerk, who was the last apartheid government president, maintains that his hands are clean and that he is wrongly blamed.


“My hands are clean and my conscience is clear,” he said. “I have never been part of a policy that says kill people.”

Jacob Zuma Good or Bad President?

No, he is not a good a president, neither does Donald Trump.

Barack Obama was the charismatic leader of last century who despite having no political or wealthy background broke the glass ceiling and stayed in the Presidency chair for two long-term.

Donald Trump is known for his mischievous nature, for that he has been criticised lot for his nasty remarks on women. Still, he holds the crown.

Jacob Zuma is straightforward hippie man, he belongs to the Zulu culture and he runs the country in a similar fashion.

Zodwa Wabantu's slams 'parasites' for using her name to score points

Zodwa Wabantu‚ who is known for her no-nonsense approach recently slammed people‚ who she has labelled “parasites” for using her name for their own benefit.

Socialite Zodwa Wabantu provoked onlookers

The dancer took to Instagram to address the issue which she sees as a desperate attempt to be relevant by some people.
“Guys‚ but some of you have a problem hey. You see these guys that are always surrounding rich guys...the ones that are usually sent around and get ice (for the bosses’ drink) and stuff? These guys pretend that they are good people but really they’re not. Theirs is to be sent for ice‚ have free drinks and food. They attempt to be relevant by trading gossip from one boss to the other‚ just so they remain relevant.”

" Culled from Sowetan"