Markets braced themselves for a "Trump tantrum" on Thursday if the US House of Representatives votes down President Donald Trump’s healthcare bill, as is widely expected. Although the Republican party has 237 votes, more than the 216 needed to pass the bill, the New York Times expects only 149 Republican congressmen openly support Trump’s bill and 29 are openly against it. Given the poor odds, it is likely Republican party bosses will play for time by calling for a postponement. Trump’s healthcare bill is seen as a litmus test. If he cannot persuade his party to support it, his other campaign promises such as tax cuts for business are also seen as unlikely to pass muster. Political jitters in the US saw the rand stronger at about R12.56/$ ahead of the JSE’s opening on Thursday morning. Thursday marks the return of Sea Harvest to the JSE. Its holding company Brimstone said on Friday that its private placement ahead of the initial public offering (IPO) raised R1.3bn, with 106-million ...
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