SA stocks book third consecutive record close
October 31, 2013--South African stocks booked their highest close on record for a third straight day on Wednesday, edging up nearly 0.4% and boosted by Adcock Ingram after the drug maker said nearly half of its shareholders support a takeover bid.
Sentiment was also lifted by market hopes the US Federal Reserve would announce plans to keep its bond-buying programme intact for a while longer. Continued stimulus is expected to boost riskier assets such as emerging market equities.
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Source: FIN24
Rand, bonds weaker on Fed statement
October 31, 2013--The rand was weaker on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve's latest policy statement, which maintained its economic stimulus measures but suggested it may taper sooner than previously expected.
The rand was at R9.9525/$ at 08:09, down slightly from Wednesday's New York close of R9.9420.
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Source: FIN24
IMF Sees Sub-Saharan Africa Keeping the Pace of Economic Growth
October 31, 2013--Sub-Saharan Africa's growth is expected to pick-up in 2014, despite the global headwinds that have moderately lowered the region’s performance in 2013, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today, noting that the softer outlook for 2013 reflects both a more adverse external environment and diverse domestic factors.
In its October 2013 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, Keeping the Pace, the IMF said that strong investment demand continues to support growth in most of the region, while output is projected to expand by 5 percent in 2013 and 6 percent in 2014.
"It is heartening to note that sub-Saharan Africa's economies have generally maintained a strong pace despite some tensions observed in the external environment, including somewhat slower growth in emerging market economies" said Ms. Antoinette Sayeh, Director of the IMF’s African Department. "This is a reflection of continued sound macroeconomic policies as well as robust domestic demand, in particular investment in infrastructure and productive capacity," she added.
View the IMF Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa-Keeping the Pace report
Source: IMF
Rand steady ahead of Fed decision
October 30, 2013--The rand steadied against the dollar early on Wednesday, trading at mid-October levels while investors waited for a Federal Reserve interest rate decision to set the tone for the rest of the week.
The local currency was at R9.8825/$ at 08:37, not far off a R9.8945 close in New York on Tuesday.
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Source: FIN24
Mauritian exchange GBOT eyes continent coverage
October 30, 2013--A pioneering pan-African focused trading venue, Bourse Africa aims to serve the needs of the growing African financial markets environment.
Mauritius's first international multi-asset class exchange, formerly known as Global Board of Trade Ltd (GBOT),, will now be called Bourse Africa. A pioneering pan-African focused trading venue, Bourse Africa aims to serve the needs of the growing African financial markets environment.
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Source: Africamoney.com
Rand weakens slightly, eyes data
October 29, 2013--The rand weakened against the dollar early on Tuesday but stayed within a recent range as investors waited for local data and looked towards the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision this week.
At 10:48, the rand was down 0.36% against the dollar at R9.8610, weakening within a range set last week
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Source: FIN24
South Africa: Renewables Drive Draws Investors
October 29, 2013--South Africa's renewable energy programme has the potential to power growth in the country as its innovative approach continues to catch the attention of investors at home and abroad.
The Department of Energy's plans to develop the renewable energy industry have seen investment leap from "a few hundred million dollars" to US$5.7-billion last year, according to the Renewables 2013 Global Status Report published in July by REN21, the global renewable energy policy multi-stakeholder network.
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Source: AllAfrica.com
JSE: What to watch this week
October 28, 2013--Local shares continued their gallop to new records at the beginning of last week, until Wednesday when it seems that investors decided to cash in a bit of their profits.
By Friday the main indices were all a few hundred points below the mid-week highs.
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Source: FIN24
Rand steady ahead of data-heavy week
October 28, 2013--The rand was steady against the dollar on Monday as the market looks ahead to a data-heavy week which sees the release of producer inflation, factory and trade figures.
The rand was at R9.8200/$ at 08:45, little changed from Friday's close in New York.
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Source: FIN24
SA stocks edge up
October 25, 2013--African Bank was among the biggest gainers on a firmer South African stock market on Friday despite flagging a 90-percent plunge in full-year earnings due in part to rising bad debts among its core market of low income borrowers.
The overall market has taken a cautiously upbeat tone once more after nine straight days of gains-which took it to record highs-were snapped on Wednesday, in part by technical factors which suggested it was due for a correction.
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Source: FIN24