Nigeria, Others Plan Record Bond Sales As Yields Sink
December 21, 2012--Nigeria, Angola and Ghana are preparing to sell as much as $3.75 billion in international bonds in 2013, the most from the continent ever, after yields sank below Italy and Spain and investors set aside concerns sparked by the Cote D'Ivoire's default almost two years ago.
According to Bloomberg, Nigeria planned to borrow $1 billion on overseas markets, twice as much as it sold in 2011, while Angola is seeking $2 billion of debt. Also, Ghana, which issued the first Eurobonds in sub- Saharan Africa outside of South Africa in 2007, may sell a further $750 million, the country's Deputy Finance Minister, Seth Terkper
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Source: All Africa.com
Banks nudge JSE to another record
December 20, 2012--Banks pushed the JSE to yet another record at midday on Thursday, as December futures closeout ended.
Closeouts are the dates when futures contracts are settled‚ with players placing their bets on the market's future direction.
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Source: FIN24
Rand steady as Mangaung calms fears
December 20, 2012--The rand was largely steady against the dollar on Thursday, with sentiment largely positive after a leadership conference of the ruling ANC allayed investor fears of any radical policy shifts.
The currency was at R8.5060 to the greenback by 08:05 GMT, little changed from Wednesday's close at R8.4850.
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Source: FIN24
JSE all-share passes 39 000 point mark
December 19, 2012--Resources and banks helped push the JSE above the 39 000 point mark for the first time on record, as the SA share market continued its strong run amid positive global market sentiment.
At 12:37‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.62% to 39 120.33 points‚ with the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index gaining 0.66% to 34 692.68. Resources and banks gained 1.12% and 1% respectively.
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Source: FIN24
Rand weaker after gaining on Ramaphosa
December 19, 2012--The rand was slightly weaker before noon on Wednesday after it had strengthened on Tuesday on Cyril Ramaphosa's election as deputy president of the ANC at Mangaung.
“No surprises from Mangaung. Ramaphosa’s election as deputy president is good news for business because he has been on both sides; this is also good for investors‚” said Mark Kalkwarf‚ a senior portfolio manager from the Iquad Group.
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Source: FIN24
ANC rejects nationalisation
December 19, 2012--The ANC has rejected calls to nationalise the country's mines, but supports a windfall "resource rent" tax on mining firms, according to a draft policy document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
"The state must capture an equitable share of mineral resource rents and deploy them in the interests of long-term economic growth, development and transformation," the draft of party's economic policies said.
The "resource rental tax" is effectively a windfall levy of 50% that will kick in after investors have made a "reasonable return".
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Source: FIN24
JSE closes at record high
December 18, 2012--The JSE closed at a record high on Tuesday, supported by platinums and resources, amidst positive global market sentiment due to expectations of a compromise budget deal being struck in the US.
President Barack Obama and the Republicans are apparently closer to agreeing on a fiscal cliff deal‚ that will put off the $600bn US fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax hikes.
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Source: FIN24
Coal set to overtake oil as top fuel
December 18, 2012--Oil prices rose on Tuesday as hopes grew of a US deal to avert a "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts in the United States, the world's biggest consumer of crude, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, increased by 49 cents to $87.69 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for February advanced 58 cents to $108.22 per barrel in London midday deals.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds tad stronger on rand
December 18, 2012--The South African bond market gained a few points during the morning session on Tuesday after the holiday on Monday on the stronger rand over the weekend.
At 12:46‚ the benchmark R186 was trading at 7.320%‚ from a close of 7.330% on Friday. The R157 was trading at 5.395% from a close of 5.415% previously. The R207 was bid at 6.360% and offered at 6.330% from a close of 6.370% before.
"If you look at the purchasing power parity, at $1 trillion, the capital market capitalisation will boom. It is not impossible to achieve, though it sounds big, "he said. read more
Source: All Africa.com