Africa ETF News Older Than 1 year-If your looking for specific news, using the search function will narrow down the results
Greater competitiveness and regional integration critical for South Africa's growth and opportunity
February 4, 2014--Greater export competitiveness and deeper regional integration could help propel South Africa towards faster-growing exports, allowing it to achieve higher, more inclusive, job-intensive growth as laid out in the country's National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, according to the South Africa Economic Update released today.
"Helping South Africa achieve its export potential is essential for rapid job creation, high growth, and more opportunity, especially for young people." said Asad Alam, World Bank Country Director for South Africa. "We hope this report provides concrete evidence to help shape the country's ongoing debate on its economic and development future."
view the World Bank South Africa Economic Update-Focus on Export Competitiveness report
Source: World Bank
JSE hit by global emerging markets sell-off
February 3, 2014--All the major indices on the JSE were lower at midday, after an early morning rally soon ran out of steam.
Analysts said the market is still hampered by the worldwide sell-off of emerging markets, which continued on Monday morning in the Far East. The American stock markets also ended the week lower last Friday.
view more
Source: FIN24
Rand remains under pressure
February 3, 2014--The rand was slightly weaker against the dollar on Monday and will probably remain under pressure from continuing nervousness about emerging markets.
The rand was at R11.1900 to the dollar at 06:35 GMT, down marginally from Friday's New York close.
view more
Source: FIN24
JSE slips, platinum producers down
January 31, 2014--South African stocks fell for a third session in a row on Friday as platinum producers such as Impala Platinum and Anglo American Platinum skidded lower, with no end in sight to a strike at their operations.
Shares of world No 1 platinum producer Anglo Platinum fell 3.75% to R442.71, coming off an almost 12-month high on Thursday, while Implats declined 3.8% to R115.44.
view more
Source: FIN24
Rand begins to recover
January 31, 2014--The rand was slightly weaker against the dollar on Friday, but showed signs of steadying after a volatile week in which it hit a new five-year low.
The rand was at R11.2600/$ at 14:49 GMT, down 0.5% from Thursday's New York close, though it firmed slightly earlier in the session after data showed South Africa recorded a wider R2.78bn trade surplus in December from R770m the previous month.
view more
Source: FIN24
JSE hit as sell-off continues
January 30, 2014--South African stocks fell 0.7% on Thursday, with investors dumping banks and retailers after a further cut in US monetary stimulus helped support the sell-off in emerging market assets.
Shares in Exxaro Resources fell 2.3% to R152.19 after the coal producer warned full-year profit was likely to have fallen more than 20%.
view more
Source: FIN24
Rand claws back ground
January 30, 2014--The rand clawed back ground against the dollar on Thursday after earlier skidding to fresh multi-year lows.
This followed a day after a domestic rate hike that the market said fell short of monetary tightening in other emerging economies.
view more
Source: FIN24
JSE slips, telecoms hit on fee cut
January 29, 2014--South African stocks edged lower on Wednesday as investors hit mobile operators MTN and Vodacom after the communications regulator said it would cut some fees they can charge their rivals.
Sentiment was also bruised after the central bank hiked its benchmark rate by half a percentage point, increasing concern that cash-strapped consumers would come under further pressure.
view more
Source: FIN24
Rand back on the rack
January 29, 2014--The rand came under pressure on Wednesday on expectations that the Federal Reserve will press on with stimulus cuts.
The rand reeled more than 3% to a five-year low of R11.3800/$ after the South Africa Reserve Bank announced it was raising its benchmark repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.50%. The currency was still down 2.2% by 14:16 GMT.
view more
Source: FIN24
Report: Investors Prefer Nigeria to Other African Countries
January 28, 2014--Investors in Africa have continued to choose Nigeria over most countries in the continent as the preferred investment destination because of the country's strong fundamentals.
In a report titled "Sub-saharan Africa in 2014-Erosion of Buffers Raises Risks," Renaissance Capital (RenCap), a research and investment advisory firm listed a Current Account (CA) surplus and smaller budget deficit as some of the factors attracting investors to Nigeria.
view more
Source: AllAfrica.com