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Rand weakens on farmworker strikes
January 18, 2013--The rand weakened against the dollar in early trade on Friday, undermined by negative sentiment from persistent labour unrest.
Thousands of farm workers in the country's fruit growing belt took to the street on Thursday despite calls by unions to freeze the labour action for a week.
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Source: FIN24
JSE flat, miners weigh on labour woes
January 17, 2013--The JSE opened flat on Thursday morning, with retailers making gains, while all the mining indices were in the red due to investor concerns that the shaft closure announcement by Amplats and subsequent job losses could lead to further pressure on the industry.
Amplats miners went on strike after the restructuring news‚ but returned to work on Wednesday night‚ the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Thursday
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Source: FIN24
Rand strengthens on stronger euro
January 17, 2013--The rand marked time during midday trade on Thursday, after strengthening slightly off Wednesday's weaker levels.
Tony van Dyk‚ a currency dealer at the Iquad Group‚ said a couple of factors influenced the move‚ “Amplats miners have gone back to work and the euro has recovered against the dollar. On the back of those two things we’ve seen the rand recover.”
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Source: FIN24
Platinum sector weighs on JSE
January 16, 2014--The platinum sector dragged the JSE down on Wednesday as foreign investors feared that the shaft closures and consequent job losses announced by Amplats would lead to continued stained industrial relations in the mining sector.
At 17:00‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.08% to 39 879.99‚ with the platinum index dropping by 3.70%‚ while industrials were up 0.42%.
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Source: FIN24
Mines keep pressure on rand
January 16, 2013--The rand continued its slide against the dollar on Wednesday morning, as a result of negative sentiment primarily driven by the decision of Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS] to suspend some of its operations.
Kuziva Muganiwa‚ a global markets analyst from Vunani Capital‚ said the rand could weaken to R8.90/$ within the day.
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Source: FIN24
How JSE-listed ETFs performed in 2012-Different Questions
The two leading ETF's outperformed every local managed unit trust over last year.
January 15, 2013--As the exchange traded fund (ETF) market in South Africa continues to grow, the number of choices facing investors is becoming more diverse and more complicated.
The number of different indices being tracked means that investors should regularly update themselves on how these different funds are performing and whether the index they have chosen is the right one for their needs.
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Source: MoneyWeb
Poor Macroeconomic Outlook Dampens Single Currency Prospect for W' Africa
Janaury 15, 2013--Prospects for the proposed take-off of a single currency regime by 2015 remained blurred as none of the six member countries of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) including Nigeria, satisfied the required macroeconomic convergence criteria last year.
The drive towards the adoption of a single currency regime in the West African sub-region was originally fixed for 2003 but this had been postponed three times largely because of “mixed” progress among member countries in attaining the set criteria.
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Source: This Day Live
South Africa's gold output fell by 32.2% in November
Data released by Statistics South Africa shows that gold output fell by 32.2% in volume terms in November 2012, highlighting the impact of illegal strikes.
January 15, 2013--South Africa's gold output fell by 32.2% in volume terms in November, highlighting the impact of illegal strikes, while total mineral production rose 1.1% compared with the same month last year, data showed on Tuesday.
Production of non-gold minerals was 4.5% lower, Statistics South Africa said. Production of platinum group metals climbed 3% in November.
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Source: MineWeb
Retailers weigh on JSE
January 15, 2013--The JSE closed Tuesday's session in the red with platinums making gains due to potential supply constraints, while retailers took a beating on market expectations that retail earnings could be lower than previously expected.
At 17:00‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.58% to 40 144.07 points‚ with the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index dropping 0.46% to 35 508.01 points‚ while the platinum index lifted 1.33% and retailers shed 3.79%. Banks were also hard hit with the index giving up 1.59%.
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Source: FIN24
Negative sentiment keeps rand weaker
January 15, 2013--The rand experienced losses across the board at midday on Tuesday, with political factors still having an effect on market sentiment.
“The weakness continues to be driven by two main things: failure to resolve the farm strikes in the Western Cape and overhang from the downgrade last week‚” said Mark Kalkwarf a senior portfolio manager at the Iquad Group
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Source: FIN24
