Very Possible This Iranian Regime Could Collapse, NUFDI's Khansarinia Says
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News24
6 minutes ago
- News24
‘Ill-discipline must end': Zibi urges Ramaphosa to sack Maphwanya, Motshekga over Iran row
Rise Mzansi/X Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi calls for the dismissal of SANDF General Rudzani Maphwanya over political remarks made in Iran and Defence Minister Angie Motshekga for defending him. Zibi criticised the general's statements, lack of strategic awareness, and defence forces' mismanagement, citing years of poor audit outcomes. The remarks have sparked tension amid strained Pretoria-Washington relations, with the Presidency distancing itself from Maphwanya's comments. Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi has called for the axe to fall on South African National Defence Force (SANDF) general Rudzani Maphwanya for his political statements during a visit to Tehran last week. Zibi, the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), also believes that Defence Minister Angie Motshekga should be fired for coming out to defend Maphwanya. In his capacity as Rise Mzansi president, the watchdog committee chair told journalists at a press briefing in Rosebank on Monday that the entire saga had irritated him, mostly because he is privy to the department's abysmal audit outcomes over the years. Rise Mzansi is the latest party to call for action after the DA proposed that Maphwanya be court-martialed. 'The general was out of line. If my name were Cyril Ramaphosa and I were the president, I would tell him he's retiring on the 31st of December and somebody is taking over on the 1st of January and name that person,' Zibi said. He said generals or army officers are not supposed to make political statements. What the general said in Iran can be said by Angie Motshekga, not him. That Angie is spineless and does not want to deal with the issue does not mean she is correct. She herself is wrong, and if I were a president, I would also dismiss her as defence minister due to unsuitability and having zero strategic awareness, like the general who has zero strategic awareness, who has zero diplomatic maturity, who thinks he is a politician when he is not. Maphwanya's visit to Iran last week caused a stir after Iranian state media reported that the general has pledged political allegiance to Iran, a known adversary of the United States. This comes amid heightened tensions between Pretoria and Washington. The Presidency and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) have distanced themselves from Maphwanya's statements. Zibi also questioned the urgency of the trip, which Motshekga claimed had been approved in 2024. There was nothing urgent that required the general to go to Iran. READ | 'There is nothing rogue': Motshekga defends Maphwanya's Iran visit and comments 'Why is that interaction important? We have $3.2 billion of trade with the United States annually. With Iran, I think it's about $160 million. 'There is a feeling by South Africans that he's a general, so he should be able to say anything. Nonsense, that's ill-discipline; he must be fired. And it's not the first time the defence forces have gone rogue,' Zibi said. I can give you chapter and verse about how those people have run the army to the ground, those people who buy obsolete equipment, who are fixing an old ship so that it can sail to Cuba for diplomatic relations. Diplomacy is not their job. He added that he had received confidential and non-confidential briefings from the Auditor-General on the defence department's state of affairs. 'They've got the worst audit outcome record of any government department for years by a long stretch. They refuse to accept civilian oversight, and they use the term civilian in derogatory tones within the defence force. 'These are the people who are taking those stupid decisions in the army, and we must mollycoddle them when they waste taxpayers' money and go and say stupid things overseas. 'The army is a mess; those people have destroyed it, and this guy is going to make political statements overseas. 'It is a fact of how much the president has allowed people to act with impunity under his watch that we have a situation like this. That's the problem,' Zibi said.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump tariffs backfiring on US textile exporters — what it could mean to America's manufacturing 'bounceback'
In January, President Donald Trump declared 'tariffs' to be 'the most beautiful word,' adding that his sweeping tariff plan would 'bring our country's businesses back.' But Jeff Bowman, CEO of Colorado-based Cocona Labs, doesn't see that happening in his own industry — textiles — or manufacturing in the U.S. more generally. Don't miss Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 6 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Like Trump, he attended the Wharton School of Business, but told Bloomberg he suspects the president skipped the tariff class. 'The empirical history shows that when you impose tariffs, the net effect is that you reduce the amount of business that takes place,' he said. 'And we're seeing that happen already. Costs go up, consumers pay the price eventually.' Bowman is already experiencing it. Textiles in turmoil Cocona Labs produces a compound used in sustainable thermoregulation fabrics, but doesn't manufacture the fabrics themselves. Instead, the company ships batches of the compound to manufacturers around the world that produce the finished fabrics and products — from high-performance sports apparel to bedding. In turn, those countries export the textiles and fabrics back to the U.S. or sell them to their own domestic consumers. The problem is, the manufacturers are all in countries like China that Trump has hit with tariffs. In turn, those countries have imposed reciprocal tariffs on U.S. products — like Cocona Labs' compound. Stay in the know. Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise sent straight to your inbox every week for free. Trump's tariffs and other countries' counter-tariffs are eating into Bowman's bottom line — making it tougher to keep costs down. In July, his company shipped a batch of the compound to China and absorbed 10% of the 16.5% tariff imposed on the product by China. 'That's not sustainable for us,' he said. 'Long term, we'd have to raise our prices. When we raise our prices, it will ultimately affect the amount of volume that's being sold. So it's not good.' Research suggests it's not good for consumers in the U.S. or abroad, raising prices for everyone and reducing sales. A 2024 Federal Reserve Board study found that the tariffs Trump imposed on other countries in his first term led to retaliatory taxes on U.S exports, 'hitting demand for the goods in many cases.' No bounceback yet Meanwhile, Trump's promised domestic manufacturing boom has yet to materialize. Certainly it hasn't boomed in Bowman's line of work. As the New York Times reports, the U.S. textile sector only employs a third of the 1.5 million Americans it once did. More generally, the manufacturing sector has actually shrunk in Trump's second term. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reports that U.S. manufacturing 'contracted in July for the fifth consecutive month,' along with employment in the industry, down for the sixth straight month. The Wall Street Journal notes while some companies are investing in U.S-based production — like Apple, which has committed $600 billion over the next four years — most companies won't make a capital commitment to set up a factory in the U.S. amid an ever-changing tariff landscape. With only 8% of the American workforce employed in manufacturing, economist and Harvard professor Robert Lawrence told CNN that the the sector will not be returning to the glory days of the late 1970s. 'These industrial and trade policies look like they were designed by an 80-year-old man who has nostalgia for the past when manufacturing was a real driver of employment opportunities,' he said of Trump's tariffs. What to read next Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Here are 5 simple ways to grow rich with real estate if you don't want to play landlord. And you can even start with as little as $10 Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
36 minutes ago
- CNBC
10 things to watch in the stock market Monday including Nvidia and geopolitics
The Club's 10 things to watch Monday, Aug. 18 — Today's newsletter was written by Zev Fima, the Club's portfolio analyst. 1. Stocks are poised to start the week a bit lower. Crypto is continuing to sell off, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note is down slightly to 4.295%. Oil and gold slightly higher. The Fed's Jackson Hole retreat and retail earnings are big events this week . 2. Geopolitics are also front and center. Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is headed back to the White House today to discuss ending the war with Russia. Leaders from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Finland and the EU are also expected to be in attendance. President Donald Trump met with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday. 3. Cantor Fitzgerald upped its price target on Club name Nvidia to $240 a share from $200 and reiterated its overweight buy rating. Analysts said with Blackwell fully ramping and demand for AI not letting up, estimates will need to go higher. China is potential upside too. Morgan Stanley was also positive on Nvidia this morning. 4. Club stock Home Depot's price target at Stifel was raised to $432 from $425, and analysts reiterated their buy rating ahead of earnings tomorrow morning. While analysts said business trends in the second quarter were mixed, expectations for lower rates helped support the stock. 5. Roth Capital cut its price target on Coterra Energy to $27 from $32. It kept its buy rating on the stock, while downgrading a number of names in the energy complex, citing excess supply hurting natural gas prices. We exited Coterra last week, arguing you can't outrun your commodities. 6. Club name Meta is expected to debut its "Hypernova" device next month, Bloomberg News reported. The device will feature smart-glasses capabilities, similar to the existing Meta Ray-Ban line, and a small display. Hypernova will start at less than $1,000 and is "a precursor to full-blown augmented reality glasses," Bloomberg reported. 7. Lackluster sales of Apple's Vision Pro due to its high price tag and a lack of compelling features were highlighted in the same Bloomberg story. Apple's premium strategy works for iPhones because the smartphone market is much more mature than the one for headsets. The Club holding is expected to deliver a cheaper, lighter Vision Pro in 2027, which could help grow the market. 8. Barclays lower its Salesforce price target to $316 from $347. While analysts' channel checks showed solid demand, AI remains a key source of concern among software investors. We recently discussed how AI adoption can reduce the need for individual software licenses. Activists may be looking at Club name Salesforce again. 9. Shares of beaten-up Novo Nordisk rose by 3% this morning on news that its GLP-1 obesity drug Wegovy received additional approval from U.S. regulators to treat a certain type of liver disease commonly called MASH. Club stock Eli Lilly is also studying its lead GLP-1 as a MASH treatment. 10. Another win for the nuclear cohort: Google and Kairos Power said today that the latter's advanced nuclear plant will be hooked into the Tennessee Valley Authority's electric grid by 2030. Plus, TVA has agreed to buy power from the reactor and the electricity will help power Google data centers in Tennessee and Alabama. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
