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<p>South African construction firm Group Five has appointed eight new non-executive directors, at an extraordinary general meeting, following pressure from its largest shareholder Allan Gray.</p>


Group five appoints eight new non-executive directors

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<p>Shareholder activism and High drama played out at the extraordinary general meeting of Construction company, Group Five. The extraordinary general meeting was called by 25 per cent shareholder, Allan Gray which demanded the entire board resign.</p>


Group Five’s EGM & battle of shareholders

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<p>Strong, black and bitter sweet; BWD is ruffling feathers in the advertising space by highlighting the lack of transformation in the sector. Founded in 2006 by Bongani Gosa, the company is attracting blue chip clients and already paying its way forward through the Each One Teach One Foundation. CNBC Africa’s Gugulethu Cele spoke with Bongani on how disruption can be a change agent.</p>


Disruption in the advertising space

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<p>One hundred and fifty civic organisations from around the country met at the Rhema Bible College today to attend the Future of South Africa conference, which aims to unite and mobilise the country against state capture.</p>


Vavi speaks out on SA’s battle with looters & state capture

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<p>SAP has initiated an independent investigation into allegations that it agreed to pay a 10 per cent &#8220;sales commission&#8221; to a company controlled by the Guptas to clinch business from Transnet.</p>


SAP to probe South Africa kickback allegations

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<p>CNBC spoke with IMF Chief Executive, Christine Lagarde on the state of the global economy, European interest rate regime as well as the US Federal Reserve Bank&#8217;s investments policy, and also touched on the possibility of another financial crisis.</p>


IMF’s Largade warns of another financial crisis

<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>When I began to teach in 2012, I decided to start my course with an analysis of how money affects social order. What my students found particularly fascinating was the then-nascent world of cryptocurrencies, which I described at length as a crucial feature in the future of money.</p>
<p>Some colleagues criticised my approach. They accused me of indirectly encouraging students to invest in what they saw as a shady, crime-ridden financial underworld. But I was simply exposing young minds to a fast-evolving, complex phenomenon that in my view would have a major impact on power distribution in the global economy.</p>
<p>Behind most cryptocurrencies is a simple technology known as “<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Blockchain-technology">blockchain</a>”, a system residing in multiple computers that allows for peer-to-peer financial ledger recording of all transactions occurring in a network.</p>
<p>This results in a transparent open-access registry of monetary flows which makes the intermediation of banking authorities unnecessary. Thus it challenges the conventional belief that money can only work through central planning.</p>
<p>As I explain in my book, <a href="http://panmacmillan.co.za/catalogue/wellbeing-economy/">Wellbeing Economy: Success in a World Without Growth</a>, money systems are undergoing an unprecedented transition from centralised authority to decentralised networks.</p>
<p>Conventional money is managed by states and banks, with users on the receiving end of monetary policy decisions. By contrast, most alternative currencies are peer-to-peer. That means they are managed by users themselves and do not require intermediaries. Some of them have global outreach thanks to digital technology, while others are locally based.</p>
<p>Take BitCoin, the most popular peer-to-peer currency in the world, with a market capitalisation <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/">above 40 billion US dollars</a>. A person buying the equivalent of $1 in BitCoin in 2009 would now possess roughly $25 million. One BitCoin is currently equivalent in value to two ounces of gold. Other rising stars include Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple.</p>
<h2>Taking the world by storm</h2>
<p>Many of these currencies remain quite volatile in the short term. Their upward and downward swings reach over 10% of the value on a weekly basis. But the long-term trend is impressive. States are warming up to them.</p>
<p>In April 2017, Japan <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-spikes-as-japan-recognizes-it-as-a-legal-payment-method-2017-4">accepted BitCoin</a> as a legal payment method for retail markets. After threatening digital currencies last year, the Russian government took a U-turn. President Vladimir Putin <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-06-06/ethereum-could-change-russian-banking-and-government">met the developers of Ethereum</a> and committed to recognising cryptocurrencies in 2018.</p>
<p>Following an initial freeze, the People’s Bank of China <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-bitcoin-idUSKBN18S42X">readmitted withdrawals</a> in BitCoin in June 2017, catapulting the currency to new heights. In the US, cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/27/coinbase-bitcoin-irs-government-summons-data-cryptocurrency">accepted</a>as both a method of payment and store of value.</p>
<p>The Australian government will soon make it easier for new innovative digital currency businesses <a href="http://www.budget.gov.au/2017-18/content/glossies/factsheets/html/FS_innovation.htm">to operate</a>, exempting traders and investors from goods and services tax.</p>
<p>It’s clear that cryptocurrencies will in the near future become much more common as methods of payment for a wide range of purchases, from online shopping to the local supermarket.</p>
<h2>Developing countries are leapfrogging</h2>
<p>Developing economies, too, are opening up to cryptocurrencies. In <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/02/03/why-venezuelas-currency-crisis-is-a-case-study-for-bitcoin/#7f41f14819b2">Venezuela</a>, BitCoin has become the leading parallel currency. It provides millions of citizens with an opportunity to perform transactions and generate livelihoods, including buying food and other basic necessities in a country where official money is worth almost zero. It also allows them to purchase goods from overseas, overcoming ever-stricter capital controls.</p>
<p>In East Africa, local innovators have introduced cryptocurrency systems to support cross-border transactions, as exemplified by initiatives like <a href="https://www.bitpesa.co/">BitPesa</a>.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://mybroadband.co.za/news/banking/206590-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrency-on-the-rise-in-south-africa.html">South Africa</a>, cryptocurrencies are becoming particularly popular. In <a href="https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/africa-ripped-bitcoin/">Nigeria</a>, local traders and activists believe this new money presents an opportunity to democratise the economy. This is propelled by the fact that people in Nigeria have been failed by conventional money.</p>
<p>According to my colleague Verengai Mabika, founder of <a href="http://techloy.com/2016/12/27/zimbabwean-bitcoin-startup-bitfinance-raises-funds-from-angel-investor/">BitFinance</a> in Zimbabwe, the collapse of his country’s formal financial system has made BitCoin an attractive alternative. This is especially the case for online payments, which are restricted by banks, and for remittances, which constitute the backbone of the economy.</p>
<p>A growing number of Zimbabweans are also using cryptocurrencies as a saving mechanism (37% of all Bitfinance customers use it for that purpose), Verengai tells me. This is after the massive loss of personal savings during the hyperinflation period of 2008, which led to the collapse of the country’s banks.</p>
<h2>Decentralisation and local economic development</h2>
<p>The decentralisation of money is indeed at the core of this new trend, with potential repercussions in other fields. For instance, <a href="https://www.ethereum.org/">Ethereum</a> is designed as a smart contract platform, that is a trading system completely based on peer-to-peer property rights. <a href="https://fair-coin.org/">FairCoin</a> was developed as the preferential currency for cooperatives, social economies and fair trade networks around the world.</p>
<p>Cryptocurrencies are just the tip of an iceberg. According to <a href="https://payment21.com/blog/complementary-currencies-entering-digital-era">recent estimates</a>, there are over 6,000 complementary currencies in the world, over 50 times the number of conventional money systems. Most of these are user-controllled and are interest-free. One cannot make money by simply trading in them.</p>
<p>Hoarding makes no sense in this new world. This is because value is not in the accumulation but in the exchange.</p>
<p>The scope is often limited to certain territories or types of transactions (for example, personal care, sustainable mobility and local trade). This creates an incentive to support local economic development and forms of exchange that are valued by communities of users.</p>
<p><a href="http://regiogeld.com/">Regiogeld</a>, a network of local currencies which I studied when I was a researcher in Germany, has proliferated throughout the country. It has become the world’s largest system of local currencies, supporting small businesses and empowering communities.</p>
<p>In the near future, we will have a variety of money with different qualities and different purposes. This will make economies more resilient against shocks and will support more equitable and sustainable development, by putting users in the driver seat and reinforcing local economic development.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/lorenzo-fioramonti/how-complementary-currencies-can-save-europe">my research</a> demonstrates, a combination of regional, national and local currencies could also be the best way forward for the European Union, engulfed by its monolithic and unsustainable euro, and for any other process of regional integration, from Africa to other continents.</p>


Op-Ed: Alternative currencies are the future: why it matters for development

<p>On Tuesday the South African Reserve Bank filed an urgent application at the North Gauteng High Court to have an instruction by the Public Protector reversed. The central bank seeks to reverse the anti-graft regulator’s instruction to have the bank&#8217;s mandate of protecting the value of currency changed. On Wednesday the Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago spoke to CNBC from Portugal about South Africa&#8217;s economy and the central bank&#8217;s mandate.</p>

SARB Governor Kganyago on SA’s recession & its mandate

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<p>The euro traded lower after a previous high against the US dollar, after media reports suggested that markets misinterpreted comments from the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi.</p>


Euro rallies following Draghi speech

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<p>The Public Protector says it acknowledges receipt of the judicial review application brought by the South African Reserve Bank. The central bank seeks to reverse the anti-graft regulator&#8217;s instruction to have the bank&#8217;s mandate.</p>


Why SARB is heading to the court over the Public Protector’s instruction

<p>Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Sujata Rao<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>A row over central bank independence could worsen South Africa&#8217;s bond sell-off after foreign investors last week dumped the biggest amount of the country&#8217;s securities in nearly five months over new ownership rules for mining companies.</p>
<p>Any erosion of central bank independence is likely to spook investors even more.</p>
<p>Foreigners were net sellers of local bonds last week, dumping 2.2 billion rand ($169 million) worth of debt, the biggest weekly sell-off since early February, Johannesburg Stock Exchange data showed.</p>
<p>Offshore investors then sold 1.1 billion rand in bonds on Monday, after the idea of changing the central bank&#8217;s mandate was floated, buying back 1.5 billion rand worth on Tuesday when the Reserve Bank said it would fight the proposal in court.</p>
<p>South African pension funds have already cut their holdings in local government bonds to the lowest level in nearly 4-1/2 years because of political turbulence in the country.</p>
<p>But yield-hungry foreign investors &#8212; who are the largest holders of South African government bonds &#8212; have been more resilient so far.</p>
<div class="teads-inread"> This is partly because South Africa is in the Citi WGBI index, followed by many funds, and local debt is rated investment grade by two major agencies. If it lost that rating over central bank independence, up to $10 billion could flow out, analysts have estimated .</div>
<p>S&amp;P Global Ratings has already warned South Africa that its rating could be cut deeper if the government meddles with the central bank.</p>
<p>The dispute &#8212; triggered by Public Protector Busi Mkhwebane recommending that the Reserve Bank&#8217;s mandate of maintaining currency and price stability be changed so that it can focus on economic growth &#8212; could hardly have come at a worse time.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>South Africa has just sunk into recession, had its credit rating downgraded, and is echoing to calls for President Jacob Zuma to resign, which he shows no sign of doing so.</p>
<p>John Peta, Old Mutual Global Investors head of emerging market debt, said his firm bought South African debt after a March cabinet shake-up that sent yields higher. But it had now cut back on the ongoing political noise and as yields fall.</p>
<p>&#8220;No previous government in South Africa has even hinted at (changing the central bank mandate) and Zuma&#8217;s people now doing it is pretty disconcerting,&#8221; Peta said. &#8220;So if they do make more noise in that direction certainly the market will take notice</p>
<p><strong>TOO OPTIMISTIC</strong></p>
<p>Morgan Stanley analysts said they believe investors are too optimistic about a resolution on the uncertainty.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are bearish on South Africa,&#8221; the analysts wrote in a note, adding: &#8220;We believe that the main factors supporting the currency and bonds – attractive real bond yields and a gradually improving terms of trade – will start to lose importance gradually as evidence grows that recent political changes continue to have negative macroeconomic consequences.&#8221;</p>
<p>Investors were already shaken in late March when Zuma dismissed respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan, triggering credit ratings downgrades to &#8220;junk&#8221; status.</p>
<p>The yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 rose to a 4-month high of 9.2 percent in the aftermath of Gordhan&#8217;s axing, but has since recovered to 8.55 percent.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>In another blow to investor confidence Moody&#8217;s and Fitch have warned that new rules, which raised the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent, could deter investment. The rules are meant to redress the exclusion black people experienced during apartheid, which ended in 1994.</p>
<p>The Chamber of Mines, which represents mining firms, plans to challenge the new rules in court.</p>
<p>&#8220;There is no light in the tunnel for growth,&#8221; Richard Segal, an emerging debt strategist at Manulife Asset Management. If inflation comes down, you could see some interest rate cuts which could help a bit, but the overall picture for the South African markets is still uninspiring.&#8221;</p>
<p>($1 = 13.0258 rand)</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker and Claire Milhench in London; Editing by James Macharia/Jeremy Gaunt)</p>


South Africa’s credibility on the line with foreign bond investors

<p><span class="articleLocation">JOHANNESBURG</span> (Reuters) &#8211; The South African Reserve Bank&#8217;s mandate to keep inflation low and protect the value of the currency is supportive of economic growth, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Monday.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>&#8220;If we can keep inflation lower, anchoring inflation expectations, that should in turn generate a lower rate of interest to support the economy,&#8221; Kganyago told a business gathering.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will continue to honour our constitutional mandate and the trust placed in us by the South African society.&#8221;</p>
<p>His comments came after the Public Protector, an anti-graft agency, recommended constitutional changes to make the central bank promote economic growth rather than currency and price stability.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Toby Chopra)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


S.Africa’s cenbank governor: currency, price stability aims are supportive of growth

<p>South Africa&#8217;s rand fell more than 1.5 percent on Monday after Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane recommended changes to the constitution to force the central bank to promote economic growth rather than currency and price stability.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>By 1222 GMT, the rand was trading 1.44 percent weaker to the dollar at 12.9900, having hit 13.0075.</p>
<p>Mkhwebane said at a news conference that the primary objective of the South African Reserve Bank should be to promote balanced and sustainable economic growth, rather than to target inflation, as it is now.</p>
<p>It is unclear why Mkhwebane, a constitutionally mandated anti-corruption watchdog, should have made the comments, which alarmed currency traders.</p>
<p>&#8220;They want to initiate changes to alter the primary objective of the Reserve Bank. Some of the suggestions being to remove the reference to protect the value of the currency and all this has caused a knee-jerk reaction,&#8221; said Andre Botha, Treasury One currency dealer.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg and Olwethu Boso; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Ed Cropley)</p>


S.Africa’s rand weakens 1.5 pct after watchdog comments over cenbank

<p><span class="articleLocation">JOHANNESBURG</span> (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s rand steadied early on Monday after selling in the previous session as rising interest rates in the United States weakened demand for emerging market currencies.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>At 0637 GMT, the rand traded at 12.7925 per dollar, compared with its New York close of 12.8050 on Friday.</p>
<p>&#8220;The strong dollar, combined with continued media headlines related to the Mining Charter, makes us believe the rand is biased for weakness,&#8221; Rand Merchant Bank analyst Isaah Mhlanga said in a note.</p>
<p>The revised Mining Charter issued by the government on Thursday raised the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent and gave companies 12 months to meet the target, hitting mining stocks and the rand.</p>
<p>Focus this week on first-quarter current account data due out on Tuesday and May consumer price inflation numbers to be released on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Stocks were set to open higher at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange&#8217;s Top-40 futures index up 0.51 percent.</p>
<p>In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 dipped 1 basis point to 8.475 percent.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; editing by John Stonestreet)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


South Africa’s rand steadies, stocks to open higher

<p><span class="articleLocation">JOHANNESBURG</span> (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s rand inched higher early on Tuesday, adding to the previous session&#8217;s gains, with focus on political uncertainty in Britain and the United States trumping local concerns in a search for yield.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>At 0640 GMT, the rand traded 0.16 percent firmer at 12.8000 per dollar compared to close of 12.8200 overnight in New York.</p>
<p>The rand has gained around 1.2 percent since Moody&#8217;s downgraded the country&#8217;s credit by one notch on Friday with a negative outlook, but leaving it the only major agency to rate South Africa as investment grade.</p>
<p>Last Thursday&#8217;s shock election result in Britain which left Prime Minister Theresa May short of a parliamentary majority has sent jitters through developed markets. A probe into firing of FBI head also stymieing dollar progress.</p>
<p>The focus shifts to the meeting of U.S. Federal Reserve. The bank is widely expected to raise interest rates, with investors looking for fresh hints on the pace of tightening in coming months.</p>
<p>South African bonds were flat, with the yield on benchmark 2026 government bond unchanged at 8.48 percent.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


South Africa’s rand inches ahead as political worries stall major currencies

<p><span class="articleLocation">Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo | JOHANNESBURG</span></p>
<p>South Africa&#8217;s rand steadied against the dollar early on Friday as the market awaited a credit rating decision from Moody&#8217;s expected late in the day.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>At 0649 GMT, the rand traded at 12.9425 per dollar, from its overnight close of 12.9200 on Thursday.</p>
<p>South Africa sank into recession in the first quarter and investors worry this will prompt further rating downgrades.</p>
<p>Moody&#8217;s &#8212; whose Baa2 rating is two notches above &#8220;junk&#8221; &#8212; placed South Africa on review for a downgrade in April after a controversial cabinet reshuffle saw respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan was sacked.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Moody’s will almost certainly downgrade South Africa late this afternoon. The big question is whether they also keep the outlook as negative: we do not think so but it is a close call,&#8221; Rand Merchant Bank currency strategist John Cairns wrote in a note.</p></blockquote>
<p>S&amp;P Global Ratings cut South Africa&#8217;s foreign currency debt to speculative grade, while Fitch downgraded the country to &#8220;junk&#8221; for both foreign and local currency debt after the cabinet shake-up.</p>
<p>Market focus also on Britain where Prime Minister Theresa May&#8217;s Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority in a general election.</p>
<p>Stocks were set to open slightly higher at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange&#8217;s Top-40 futures index up 0.23 percent.</p>
<p>In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 added 2 basis points to 8.52 percent.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Joe Brock)</p>


South Africa’s rand steadies, focus on Moody’s rating decision

<ul>
<li>The U.K. voted in a general election on Thursday and so far, PM May&#8217;s ruling Conservative party is in the lead.</li>
<li>An exit poll released on Thursday night indicated the Conservatives would win the most seats but lose its parliamentary majority.</li>
<li>Results for key seats continue to roll in.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/nyshka-chandran/" rel="author">Nyshka Chandran</a> | <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/david-reid/" rel="author">David Reid</a> | <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/gemma-acton/" rel="author">Gemma Acton</a></p>
<p>With the bulk of seats now declared in the general election, the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/united-kingdom/" target="_self">U.K.</a> now faces a hung parliament.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/08/live-final-minutes-of-voting-in-uk-general-election.html" target="_self">Among the announced seats so far</a>, Prime Minister <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/theresa-may/" target="_self">Theresa May</a>&#8216;s ruling Conservative party has won 309 while the opposition Labour Party, led by <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/08/jeremy-corbyn-labour-leader-uk-election-manifesto-policies.html" target="_self">Jeremy Corbyn</a>, has gained 258. Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party has won 34 seats, the Liberal Democrats are at 12 and the Democratic Unionist Party has secured 10. Voter turnout was at 68.6 percent, according to the BBC.</p>
<p>There are 650 seats in total — 326 are required for a party to secure a parliamentary majority.</p>
<p>Reuters calculations on Friday also indicated May could no longer win a parliamentary majority.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/08/uk-election-hung-parliament-2017-result-conservative-labour-may-corbyn.html" target="_self">hung parliament</a> — a situation in which multiple parties hammer out a coalition government — arises when neither party secures the 326 seats needed for a majority. Investors aren&#8217;t thrilled about that situation as passing legislation can be difficult with two parties that each hold strong political priorities.</p>
<p>Earlier, a BBC exit poll had indicated the Conservatives would win the greatest number of seats but lose its majority in Parliament — a scenario expected to hurt <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/08/uk-election-theresa-mays-future-tough-brexit-ahead.html" target="_self">upcoming Brexit negotiations as well as May&#8217;s political future</a>, according to strategists.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/08/british-pound-sterling-after-uk-election-exit-poll.html" target="_self">The British pound dropped sharply in Asian trade on Friday,</a> briefly falling below the $1.27 handle to a multi-month low. The currency has since recovered to linger around $1.2759.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-127887 size-large" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/JC-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360" /></p>
<h4 class="subtitle">&#8216;May should step down&#8217;</h4>
<div class="group">
<p>After winning his seat back in Islington, North London, early on Friday, 68 year-old Corbyn called for May to step down. &#8220;People have said they have quite enough of austerity politics,&#8221; he said in a speech. &#8220;The PM called this election because she wanted a mandate. Well, the mandate she&#8217;s got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.&#8221;</p>
<p>Betting exchange Betfair said that Corbyn was the favorite to become U.K. Prime Minister, Reuters reported.</p>
<p>In a speech on Friday, May said it will be incumbent on her party to offer stability if Conservatives win the most seats.</p>
<p>SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon called the early results &#8220;disastrous&#8221; for PM May and expressed disappointment over the SNP&#8217;s performance, Reuters said.</p>
<p>Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. London time Thursday and closed at 10:00 p.m, with the main flurry of results coming in after 2.00 a.m. London time Friday.</p>
</div>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="http://player.cnbc.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&amp;byGuid=3000625830&amp;size=530_298" width="530" height="298" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>&#8216;A big miscalculation&#8217;</strong></p>
<div class="group-container ">
<div class="group">
<p>On April 18, PM May surprised onlookers by calling a snap election— a decision aimed at strengthening her mandate to see the country through a hard Brexit. At that point, the Conservatives were polling ahead of Labour but as the campaign progressed, the polls narrowed sharply.</p>
<p>The Conservative campaign has attempted to focus on <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/brexit/" target="_self">withdrawal from the European Union</a>, repeating a mantra that only it can offer a &#8220;strong and stable&#8221; government as negotiations with Brussels heat up. This strategy has worked to an extent, with polls on leadership consistently backing May over Corbyn as a more trusted leader.</p>
<p>Corbyn has said he will honor the U.K.&#8217;s decision to leave but he&#8217;s widely expected to push for <a href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000625251" target="_self">a soft Brexit</a> and retain the benefits of the single market, a tariff free trading bloc for E.U. members.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have seen two dramatic political miscalculations by two conservative (U.K.) PMs in a short time span, it&#8217;s incredible,&#8221; said Heather Conley, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.</p>
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<div class="group-container last">
<h4 class="subtitle">Terror comes to the fore</h4>
<div class="group">
<p>The U.K. has suffered <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/05/civil-liberties-in-focus-after-uk-terror-attack.html" target="_self">three separate incidents of &#8220;terror attacks&#8221; in just three months</a>, pushing the issue of security to the fore of the election as both main parties accused each other of weakness.</p>
<p>Corbyn was criticized in the media for appearing weak on a &#8220;shoot to kill&#8221; policy and has apologized for statements made in the past describing Middle East factions Hamas and Hezbollah as &#8220;friends.&#8221;</p>
<p>Conservatives also felt a backlash. In her previous role as Home Secretary, May was responsible for cutting of the U.K.&#8217;s police force numbers — a decision that many believed put the nation at a greater risk of terror.</p>
</div>
</div>


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currency

Group five appoints eight new non-executive directors

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IMF’s Largade warns of another financial crisis

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