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IMF Working paper-Rising BRICs and Changes in Sub-Saharan Africa's Business Cycle Patterns
February 14, 2014-- Summary: This paper assesses the extent to which Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)'s business cycle is synchronized with that of the rest of the world (RoW). Findings suggest that SSA's business cycle has not only moved in the same direction as that of the RoW, but has also gradually drifted away from the G7 in favour of the BRICs.
Trade with the BRICs turns out to be the strongest driver of this shift. Much of this impact unfolds through aggregate demand impulse from trade. As fiscal policy stances in SSA and the BRICs are not synchronized, they have not caused cyclical output correlation between these two groups of countries. Also, financial openness, which is at a very early stage across most SSA countries, has acted as a neutral force.
IMF Working paper-Rising BRICs and Changes in Sub-Saharan Africa's Business Cycle Patterns
Source: IMF
Resources rally, boost JSE
February 14, 2014--Share prices on the JSE regained their upward momentum of earlier the week on Friday, with resources stocks particularly strong.
The all share index closed slightly lower on Thursday when markets worldwide took a breather after strong gains earlier in the week, but by midday the index was again 0.74% higher at 46 595 points.
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Source: FIN24
Rand surges on dollar weakness
February 14, 2014--The rand was trading at three-week highs on Friday as dollar weakness helped the currency firm beyond the key R11 to the dollar level.
The rand was at R10.8700/$ at 15:22 GMT, nearly 1% stronger than Thursday's New York close, its best performance since the end of January.
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Source: FIN24
West Africa: Integration of West African Capital Markets Excites Operators
February 13, 2014--Capital market operators from Nigeria and Ghana Wednesday expressed enthusiasm and excitement over the efforts to integrate the West African capital markets, saying it will bring many benefits to all stakeholders.
The brokers spoke to THISDAY in Lagos during the sensitisation workshop organised by the West Africa Capital Market Integration Council (WACMIC), the body saddled with the task of facilitating the integration process.
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Source: allAfrica.com
JSE eases as Gold Fields sinks
February 13, 2014--South African stocks ended in the red on Thursday, giving up some of the previous session's strong gains, with Gold Fields blazing the downhill trail as it took a $672m write-down because of the steep fall in the bullion price.
Gold Fields' shares fell 5.2% to R40.93 after it posted a slight quarterly rise in normalised earnings as production rose but investors focused on the impairment.
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Source: FIN24
Rand gives up gains, stays above R11/$
February 13, 2014--The rand has slipped against the dollar after failing to sustain gains made the previous day.
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Source: FIN24
JSE ticks up, Discovery shines
February 12, 2014--South African stocks ended higher on Wednesday as shares of Discovery climbed after the health insurer said it expected higher half-year earnings while resource companies surged on higher gold prices.
Shares of Discovery climbed 4.2% to R77.93, its biggest daily percentage jump in seven months.
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Source: FIN24
Rand stable vs dollar
February 12, 2014--The rand held steady against the dollar on Wednesday after closing above the key R11.000/$ level the previous day, but struggled to make significant gains.
The rand was at R10.9725/$ at 15:08 GMT, little changed from Tuesday's New York close, though it had earlier hit a session high of R10.9300/$.
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Source: FIN24
JSE falls slightly as retailers weigh
January 11, 2013--South African stocks ended slightly weaker on Tuesday, snapping a three-day winning streak, with retailers among the worst performers on worries about consumer spending and high personal debt levels.
JD Group fell the most on the bourse after the credit-based furniture retailer warned that it was likely to report profit loss due to bad debts. Its shares fell 6.3% to R25.40.
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Source: FIN24
Rand fails to consolidate data-driven gains
February 11, 2014--The rand strengthened on Tuesday on upbeat economic data, breaching 11 to the dollar, but it could not hold on to the gains.
The rand was trading at R11.0080/$ at 15:36 GMT, 1% firmer than Monday's New York close. It had lost some ground after reaching R10.9700/$ earlier in the session.
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Source: FIN24