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Rand slides after retail sales data
March 14, 2012--The rand slid against the dollar in late afternoon trade on Wednesday after worse than expected local retail sales data as well as strong support for the greenback against the euro following remarks made yesterday by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
"The weaker euro and the bad retail sales data are the culprits when it comes to the rand," Anton Grobbelaar, managing director of Peritus Forex Solutions, said.
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Source: FIN24
South African gold production continues to plunge
March 13, 2012--Once the world's biggest gold producer by a huge margin, South Africa's gold production is continuing to dive with an 11.3% fall year on year in January, following an 8.2% drop in December.
South Africa, only a couple of decades ago the world's largest producer of gold by a huge margin, but recently overtaken by China, Australia and the U.S., and in danger of being overtaken by Russia, has seen the decline continuing according to Statistics SA.
The state statistical body's report on South Africa's mine production in January this year sees an overall decline year on year for all metals and minerals of 2.5%, but in the gold sector the decline was a massive 11.3%, more than even that in December when gold output fell by 8.2%
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Source: Mineweb
Platinum gives SA stocks a boost
March 13, 2012--South African stocks bounced back on Tuesday led by resource stocks such as Lonmin and African Rainbow Minerals as platinum rallied for a fifth day in a row and following encouraging confidence data from Germany.
German analyst and investor sentiment jumped in March to its highest level since June 2010, confirming hopes that Europe’s largest economy has recovered from a weak patch.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds remain strong after auction
March 13, 2012-- South African bonds retained their firm stance in midday play on Tuesday, after a well-bid government auction.
At its weekly auction, the National Treasury received bids totalling R1.88bn rand for R700m worth of R203 bonds at a clearing yield of 7.190%, and bids totalling R2.04bn rand for R700m worth of R208 bonds at a clearing yield of 7.780% and bids totalling R2.42bn for R700m worth of R209 bonds at a clearing yield of 8.700%.
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Source: FIN24
Cape wind optimal for electricity
March 13, 2012--The Cape region of South Africa is a potential hot-spot for wind farms as the country explores alternatives to coal-based energy, the energy department said on Tuesday.
Deputy Minister for Energy, Barbara Thompson said: "Wind is one of many resources our country is endowed with... It's our quest to ensure energy security for this country."
The Western Cape and parts of the Northern and Eastern Cape, had ideal wind speeds of 4m/s or more, according to the just-launched verified numerical wind atlas.
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Source: News24
Nigeria Q4 growth quickens
March 13, 2012--Nigeria’s economy grew 7.68% in the fourth quarter last year, faster than the 7.40% in the previous quarter, the national bureau of statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday.
Nigeria’s oil production fell to an average of 2.4 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter 2011, compared with 2.6 million bpd in the same period the previous year, NBS said in a report.
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Source: FIN24
SA stocks down, China worries hit resources
March 12, 2012--South African stocks edged lower on Monday, snapping three straight days of gains as worries about softer demand in commodity-consuming giant China hit resource firms such as Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO]
Chinese officials have suggested 2012 could be one of the worst years ever for the domestic steel sector, with overcapacity and slow demand continuing to erode margins, and some say iron ore import volumes could fall this year.
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Source: FIN24
Rand steadies against dollar
March 12, 2012--The rand was largely flat against the dollar in early Monday trade but government bonds weakened, with investors opting for US Treasuries as data pointed to a better outlook for the world’s largest economy.
By 07:12 GMT the local currency was at R7.5745 to the greenback, barely changed from Friday’s closing level of R7.5735.
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Source: FIN24
Kenya licences first ethical Islamic finance fund
March 10, 2012--Kenya has licensed its first ethical fund, an Islamic fund issued by FCB Capital, a sharia-compliant investment bank. It is a fully-owned subsidiary of First Community Bank and the first to offer a Collective Investment Scheme geared towards ethical investing under Islamic capital markets product range.
"Kenya has ambitions of becoming the Islamic finance hub of East Africa as part of our wider aspiration to become an international financial centre,” said Stella Kilonzo, Chief Executive Officer of the Capital Markets Authority, at the licencing of First Ethical Opportunities Fund on 7 March, according to press reports in Xinhua and Coastweek. She said the CMA will continue to encourage stakeholders in Islamic finance to explore opportunities available for structuring, issuance and investment shariah-compliant products such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and bonds.
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Source: African Capital Market News
Nigerian Equities Soar Further
March 9, 2012--Nigerian equities closed on a positive note for the sixth day running Thursday as investors swooped on shares considered to be trading at heavy discounts.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index rose by 0.53 per cent to close at 21,181.42 as 25 equities appreciated in value. In the same vein, market capitalisation added N46 billion to close at N6.685 trillion.
The market has remained on the upbeat since last week Thursday following renewed activities of bargain hunters and high expectation for improved 2011 full year financial results.
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Source: This Day Live
