Company News in Brief
Murray & Roberts shares suspended from tradingEmbattled construction and engineering group Murray & Roberts (M&R), whose shares are suspended on the JSE amid a business rescue process for one of its units, said late on Tuesday that Clifford Raphiri resigned with effect from Friday, becoming the latest board departure. Raphiri had been serving as interim chair since the end of November, when then-chair Suresh Kana resigned. Former Coca Cola SA and East Africa legal director Alex Maditsi has been appointed as interim chair of the board with immediate effect. Maditsi joined the group as independent non-executive director in August 2017.
-FIN24
Cartrack owner's share soar
JSE and Nasdaq listed Cartrack owner Karooooo reported on Wednesday that earnings climbed about a fifth in its third quarter to end-November, helping deliver another set of record earnings as its business continues to scale. Vehicle tracking and recovery business Cartrack delivered revenue of R1 billion, up 14%, while its logistics business, trading as Picup in SA, grew its business-to-business delivery service revenue 20% to R109 million. Quarterly adjusted earnings per share increased 21% to a record R7.67, with this measure excluding certain non-recurring operational expenses.
-FIN24
Musk faces legal suit
Elon Musk is being sued by the securities regulator in the United States for allegedly not disclosing his stake in Twitter on time before he bought the social media platform. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Tuesday that Musk failed to disclose within the required 10-day period that he acquired more than 5% of Twitter's stock in March 2022. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO's failure to notify regulators allowed him to keep buying shares at "artificially low prices", the SEC said in a filing with the US District Court in the district of Columbia. Musk's actions ultimately allowed him to "underpay by at least $150 million (R2.8 billion) for shares he purchased after his beneficial ownership report was due", the SEC said. Musk finally informed regulators that he had acquired more than 9% of Twitter's stock on 4 April, 2022, 11 days after the disclosure was due, the SEC said. Twitter's stock price on that day was up 27% from the previous day's close, according to the regulator. — Al Jazeera America.
Vehicles barring Chinese tech bared from US
The United States finalised a rule Tuesday effectively barring Chinese technology from cars in the American market, taking aim at software and hardware from the world's second-biggest economy over national security risks. The announcement, which also pertains to Russian technology, comes as outgoing President Joe Biden wraps up efforts to step up curbs on China and after a months-long regulatory process. The rule follows an announcement this month that Washington is mulling new restrictions to address risks posed by drones with tech from adversaries like China and Russia. "Cars today aren't just steel on wheels – they're computers," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. She noted that modern vehicles contain cameras, microphones, GPS tracking and other technologies connected to the internet. — AFP.