Top 5 on Fin24: Eskom unions willing to negotiate before strike, Trump responds to viral G7 photo and Cryptocurrencies lose R552bn

Cape Town - A roundup of Tuesday's top economic and finance reads on Fin24.

Eskom unions willing to negotiate before strike

Unions representing Eskom workers on Tuesday said they had left room for further negotiations before embarking on a strike. They have also called for the President Cyril Ramaphosa and Energy Minister Jeff Radebe to intervene in the wage impasse.

Talks between the power utility and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) have deadlocked over the power producer’s offer of a 0% wage increase.

• READ: Eskom unions willing to negotiate before strike

Trump says he and Merkel were awaiting communique in viral G7 photo

President Donald Trump said he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were waiting for a final draft of a joint statement by G7 leaders when an iconic photograph was taken over the weekend showing the two leaders in what appeared to be a confrontation.

"We finished the meeting; really, everybody was happy, and I agreed to sign something," Trump told reporters at a news conference.

"I asked for changes. I demanded changes. And, in fact, those changes were made. That picture was - we were waiting for the document."

• READ: Trump says he and Merkel were awaiting communique in viral G7 photo

'I wouldn't characterise it as state capture' - CEO Jarana on SAA

A "bit more work" has to be done to clean up business at SAA – but CEO Vuyani Jarana will not go as far as to call the airline's problems state capture.

"It is early days to pronounce on anything in this regard, but there are reports that found there were things that did not go right."I would, however, not characterise it as state capture," he said.

• READ: 'I wouldn't characterise it as state capture' - CEO Jarana on SAA

Eskom to activate contingency measures after strike threat

While Eskom sympathises with workers who will not get salary increases, they are not allowed to participate in strikes, the state power utility has said.

Eskom said that, should the industrial action take place, it would activate contingency measures to ensure security of power supply. It did not say what these measures were.

• READ: Eskom to activate contingency measures after strike threat
  

Cryptocurrencies lose $42bn after hack

The 2018 selloff in cryptocurrencies deepened, wiping out about $42bn (about R552bn) of market value over the weekend and extending this year’s slump in Bitcoin to more than 50%.

• READ: Cryptocurrencies lose $42 billion after South Korean bourse hack