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Rand firms on Sarb inflation concerns
November 10, 2011--The rand gained against the dollar on Thursday after the central bank said the inflation outlook had deteriorated, diminishing some market players’ hopes there could be another rate cut to support a weak recovery.
The Reserve Bank left the repo rate unchanged at 5.5% and said it was concerned about inflation.
Central Bank Governor Gill Marcus said while the Monetary Policy Committee considered a cut, the decision to leave rates unchanged was unanimous and none of its seven members advocated for further monetary loosening.
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Source: FIN24
Rand, JSE hammered by EU woes, Moody's
November 9, 2011--South African stocks posted their biggest one-day loss in five weeks on Wednesday, dropping 2.3% as fears about the outlook for Italy’s debt crisis pushed investors to sell off recent gainers such as miners and banks.
That, coupled with a ratings outlook downgrade of the domestic economy, added to market fears over the euro zone debt crisis, pushing the rand down 2.8%.
Yields on government debt ended 11 basis points higher on the 2015 issue and jumped 12 points on the 2026 bond partly as the most liquid government bonds reacted to Moody’ s rating agency cutting South Africa’s A3 rating outlook to negative from stable.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds edge up on rate cut speculation
November 9, 2011-- The rand was steady on Wednesday after closing firmer against the dollar overnight, boosted in part by speculative inflows into the bond market as some players bet on the slight chance the Reserve Bank might cut interest rates on Thursday.
An overwhelming majority of economic analysts polled by Reuters last Friday expect the repo rate to stay on hold at 5.5%, after the last cut in November last year, as the Reserve Bank eyes rising inflation.
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Source: FIN24
Treasury downplays Moody's downgrade
November 9, 2011--South Africa played down suggestions from Moody's on Wednesday that political pressure could lead to a further deterioration in public finances, saying Pretoria is committed to a sustainable fiscal path.
"Our debt metrics have not deteriorated compared to our counterparts and also if you look at how we are managing our debt, we've made it clear that although the deficit is widening we are not borrowing more," Treasury spokesperson Bulelwa Boqwana said.
Ratings agency Moody's cut South Africa's A3 rating outlook to negative from stable, voicing concern that pressure from unions and black voters wanting greater economic redress for the ills of apartheid could erode the country's finances.
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Source: FIN24
Pan-African exchange Bourse Africa to commence operations in mid-2012
Financial Technologies-promoted exchange is based on a pan-African operating model
November 9th, 2011--Bourse Africa Limited (BAL), the first pan-African commodity spot and multi-asset class exchange, will commence operations in mid-2012. BAL is establishing a pan-African exchange platform in Botswana and a network of linked exchanges, fully localized in national and regional markets across the continent.
A formal launch announcement to this effect was made by Mr. Shreekant Javalgekar, Director (Finance), Financial Technologies (India) Limited (FTIL), at the International Convening on Commodity Exchanges in Africa, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 8th-9th November, 2011. Mr. Javalgekar was accompanied by Mr. Chris Goromonzi, MD & CEO, BAL; Mr. Denys Denya, Executive Vice President, African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank); and Mr. Lamon Rutten, Director of BAL and MD & CEO of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX).
BAL is promoted by Financial Technologies (India) Limited (FTIL), the flagship company of India-based Financial Technologies Group (FT Group), a global leader in offering technology solutions and domain expertise to create and operate financial markets in multi-asset classes across Africa, the Middle-East, India and the Far East. The FT Group operates a network of nine exchanges including MCX, the world’s fifth largest commodity futures derivatives market in terms of contracts traded (January to June 2011, based on Futures Industry Association (FIA) statistics). BAL will leverage FTIL’s ‘best-in-breed’ technologies across the exchange and clearing space. It will also be supported by the Group’s ecosystem ventures engaged in providing solutions such as warehouse receipt financing, market information and capacity-building, among others.
“BAL, based on its network of linked exchange strategy, will integrate Africa by facilitating trading, hedging and investment opportunities in national, regional and continental assets for African and international users. FTIL is extremely pleased to be working with its African partners in turning this strategy into a ground reality. BAL endeavours to be a world class venue for regulated investment in the African continent, alongside the increasingly dominant venues seen today across Asia and the Middle East,” said Mr. Javalgekar.
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Source: Bourse Africa Limited
SA stocks inch up on eurozone hopes
November 8, 2011-- South African stocks inched to their highest close in seven sessions on Tuesday, rising 0.5 percent as banks and retailers rose on hopes a budget vote in Italy could help move the eurozone closer to resolution of its debt crisis.
Shares of exchange operator JSE Ltd fell after the bourse sacked its head of equities derivatives for irregular trading on his own account.
Investors were optimistic as Italy’s budget vote hinted that Prime Mininster Silvio Berlusconi had lost his parliamentary majority, piling further pressure on him to resign.
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Source: FIN24
Rand reverses losses against dollar
November 8, 2011--The rand reversed earlier losses against the dollar on Tuesday and looked set to close stronger in New York for the first time in three days as optimism that countries in the eurozone are dealing with their debt problems boosted overall risk sentiment.
Government bonds also latched on to the gains, pushing yields sharply lower as foreigners ventured back into local debt which still offers relatively higher returns than those in more developed countries.
The rand came off a session low of 7.98 to the greenback and was trading at 7.8675 by 1543 GMT, up 0.82 percent from Monday’s close.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds firmer after auction
November 8, 2011--South African bonds were firmer in midday trade on Tuesday, after a well-bid government auction.
At its weekly auction, the National Treasury received bids totalling R4.24bn for R1.1bn worth of R207 bonds at a clearing yield of 7.790%, and bids totalling R3.02bn for R1bn worth of R186 bonds at a clearing yield of 8.280%.
By 11:50, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 6.420% from its previous close of 6.450%. The R207 was trading at 7.830% from a previous close of 7.820% and the R186 was at 8.250% from its close of 8.290%.
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Source: FIN24
SA 'unlikely to meet development goals'
November 8, 2011--South Africa is unlikely to meet its development goals on its current path, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) said on Monday.
"The DBSA’s analysis suggests that, on our current path and capacity, many of our country’s development goals are unlikely to be met," the DBSA said in a statement on its Development Report 2011, Prospects for SA's Future.
Those goals related to employment, reindustrialisation, skills development and climate change
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Source: FIN24
JSE bucks global trend to end higher
November 7, 2011--South African stocks surged more than 2% on Monday, buoyed by a last-minute short covering on mixed news out of Europe, while gold miners such as Harmony Gold were lifted by stronger bullion.
Shares of Vodacom, the South African unit of Vodafone,, bucked the trend, ending down 0.8 percent after it cautioned second-half growth was likely to slow.
Talk that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could resign, which was subsequently denied, helped lift European shares and sent Johannesburg investors scurrying to close out short positions at the end-of-trade auction.
“It was a big short squeeze here,” said Devin Shutte, a trader at Newstrading.
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Source: FIN24