Rand gets a boost from China reform plans
November 18, 2013--The rand firmed against the dollar on Monday as global markets were lifted by the prospect of ambitious economic reforms in China and continued US monetary stimulus.
The rand was at R10.1000/$ at 14:32 GMT, up 0.6% from Friday's New York close.
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Source: FIN24
Botswana: Exposing Botswana's Fracking Plans
November 18, 2013--Botswana has been quietly handing out licences for natural gas production covering vast tracts of land including half of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Botswana has been accused of sacrificing the Kalahari, one of the world's most precious wildlife reserves, to commercial fracking while ignoring the environmental risks and local communities who could lose access to scarce water.
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Source: AllAfrica.com
Adcock leads JSE higher
November 15, 2013--South African shares put in a second straight day of gains on Friday with drugs maker Adcock in focus after Chile's CFR Pharmaceuticals formally bid $1.2bn to acquire it.
Adcock ended 2.45% higher at R71.00 a share. In September the Chilean group's offer equated to R73.51 a share, based on the fixed value of R2.334 per new CFR share.
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Source: FIN24
Rand gains ground on data revision
November 15, 2013--The rand recovered to two week highs against the dollar on Friday, lifted by an official revision of trade data which has left the country with a much narrower deficit than previously stated.
The revision points to a narrower current account shortfall for Africa's biggest economy, but the market relief could be fleeting as the country relies heavily on capital flows which are prone to volatility, to plug the gap.
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Source: FIN24
Safeguarding investments-custody banks spur growth of African capital markets
November 15, 2013--Fast-rising inflows of investment capital to the African markets are spurring an increase in the banks offering custody services. But global players are held back by differences in infrastructure and legal structure in the different markets and the need to reach economies of scale in a low-margin business.
Custodians are responsible for safe-keeping assets. For instance, if a global fund manager wants to invest in different African markets, it might appoint a bank to keep its local holdings of equities or bonds registered in the name of the bank's local nominee company and to ensure that all is correctly registered and administered including purchases and sales, dividends, voting rights and other actions. They are essential to the progress of institutional investors into Africa.
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Source: Africanmarketsnews.com
Naspers leads SA stocks in rebound
November 14, 2013--South African stocks rebounded on Thursday from their biggest fall in four months in the previous session, led by media group Naspers [JSE:NPN] which was lifted by gaming revenue growth by its Chinese money spinner Tencent Holdings.
Naspers ended the session 4.35% higher, the biggest blue chip advancer of the day, after Tencent jumped 5 percent in Hong Kong as investors cheered its 35% gain in online gaming revenue in the third quarter.
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Source: FIN24
SA stocks sink on emerging markets sell-off
November 13, 2013--South African stocks sank on Wednesday in line with a wider emerging market sell-off on uncertainty about US Federal Reserve's stimulus plans, but retailer Spar bucked the trend, gaining smartly on solid results.
Spar, which is focused on the grocery sector, reported a rise in full-year earnings of almost 14%, lifting its share price 2.64% to R122.25.
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Source: FIN24
Rand, government bonds firmer
November 13, 2013--The rand edged up against the dollar on Wednesday as investors took a breather before a hearing for incoming US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Thursday.
The rand was at R10.3450/$ at 1508 GMT, up 0.2% from Tuesday's New York close.
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Source: FIN24
Tapering fears spook rand
November 12, 2013--The rand was trading near its lowest level in more than two months on Tuesday amid fears that the US Federal Reserve could begin tapering its stimulus sooner than thought.
The rand was at R10.4010/$ at 07:54, down nearly 0.2% from Monday's New York close
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Source: FIN24
SA stocks end flat
November 11, 2013--South African stocks ended flat on Monday but platinum producer Lonmin shone as it returned to profit with forecast-beating results.
Johannesburg shares of Lonmin, the world number 3 platinum producer which is also listed in London, ended 5.5% higher at R56.55 after earlier hitting R59.09, its highest level in 18 months, according to Thomson Reuters data.
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Source: FIN24