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GDP growth slows, but factory output up
May 29, 2012--South Africa's economic growth slowed in the first quarter of 2012, hit by a sharp contraction in mining, but manufacturing showed surprising resilience, suggesting the Reserve Bank might not need to cut interest rates to stimulate output.
The economy grew by 2.7% quarter-on-quarter on a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis in Q1, surpassing analysts’ forecasts of 2.4% and compared with a 3.2% rise in the fourth quarter of last year, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.
On an unadjusted year-on-year basis, economic growth was at 2.1% in Q1 from 2.9% in the fourth quarter.
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Source: FIN24
JSE tracks global stocks firmer
May 28, 2012--The JSE opened firmer on Monday tracking positive global investor sentiment.
On the corporate data front Ceramic Industries (CRM) stock surged over 9% in early trade after the manufacturer of wall and floor tiles announced that Italtile [JSE:ITL] had submitted a conditional offer to acquire between 15% and 20% of its equity at R130 a share in cash.
At 09:24 local time the JSE all-share index was up 0.84% to 33?268.33 points with resources adding 1.34% platinum shares gaining 1.21% and gold counters firming 0.97%.
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Source: FIN24
Nigeria's Fiscal Challenge
May 27, 2012--The Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been at pains to allay fears over the state of country's finances, dismissing reports that Nigeria could face a fiscal crisis.
But for the second month running, the meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee, where the federal and state governments meet to share monthly allocations to the three tiers of government, has been delayed owing to late remittances into the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. This, coupled with rising crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, is causing serious concern over Nigeria’s capacity to promptly meet its funding obligations, writes Festus Akanbi.
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Source: This Day Live
JSE slips after positive start
May 25, 2012--The JSE slipped into negative territory at noon on Friday, giving up earlier gains as the retreat in general mining shares weighed on the all-share index.
At 12:02 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.33% to 32 938.71 points, with the gold index losing 1.79%, platinum shares giving up 1.39% and resource counters retreating 0.93%.
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Source: FIN 24
Greek euro worries pressures rand
May 25, 2012--Uncertainty over the future of the euro zone returned to push the South African rand down against the dollar on Friday, a day after a widely expected central bank decision to keep domestic rates on hold.
Government bonds closed little changed from previous levels, following Thursday's rally after the Reserve Bank sounded a dovish tone on inflation, raising the prospect of interest rate cuts later this year.
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Source: FIN 24
Gold shares prop up JSE at noon
May 24, 2012--The JSE remained higher at noon on Thursday lifted by a rally in gold shares although investor sentiment remained fragile due to developments in the euro area.
At 12:03 local time the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.39% at 33 014.79 points with the gold index adding 4.15% resources gaining 0.86% and platinum counters up 0.41%.
Financials garnered 0.32% banking stocks edged up 0.23% while industrials were flat (0.06%).
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Source: FIN 24
Rand firm ahead of MPC decision
May 24, 2012--The rand was firm in midday trade on Thursday ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on the repo rate.
A survey of ten economists showed that none expected any change in the repo rate. The repo rate was last cut by 50 basis points to 5.5% in November 2010.
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Source: FIN 24
JSE weaker, euro uncertainty lingers
May 23, 2012-The JSE was down in midday trade on Wednesday, with the negative sentiment on the EU debt crisis affecting global markets.
Traders were not expecting the bourse to improve unless some positive news comes out of Europe.
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Source: FIN 24
Rand hits fresh low against dollar
May 23, 2012--The rand fell 1.5% to hit a fresh 2012 low against the dollar in the afternoon session on Wednesday as the euro currency plunged below $1.26.
The local unit often tracks moves on the euro as the region is a major trading partner for South Africa.
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Source: FIN 24
JSE firmer as euro sentiment improves
May 22, 2012--The JSE rose in midday trade on Tuesday following a strong performance by European and Asian markets and on hopes that an amicable agreement will be reached when EU leaders meet on Wednesday to discuss the crippling eurozone debt crisis.
Adding to the consolidation of the JSE was the increased infrastructure spend announced in China, which boosted the local bourse as the Asian giant said it would accelerate infrastructure investments to combat slowing growth.
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Source: FIN 24
