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Stocks unfazed after S&P warning
December 6, 2011--US and European stocks were little changed Tuesday after S&P’s downgrade warning to 15 euro nations, though analysts expressed a cautious hope the move would spur leaders into more decisive action.
Even so, such optimism was tenuous and measures of financial risk remained at elevated levels with banks increasingly reluctant to lend to each other. Standard & Poor’s warned late Monday it could cut credit ratings across the euro zone, underscoring just what is at stake ahead of a key summit this week. It could also help Germany and France force through proposed treaty changes.
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Source: FIN24
Rand, bonds hit by new wave of risk-off
December 6, 2011--The rand weakened against the dollar on Tuesday, pulling back from a week-long firming trend as headlines out of Europe hit sentiment towards risky assets.
The rand is a heavily traded emerging market currency and susceptible to risk-off, risk-on trade, making it volatile.
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Source: FIN24
JSE gains on eurozone optimism
December 5, 2011--Optimism that Europe could come up with a concrete plan to stem its sovereign debt crisis buoyed South African stocks on Monday, with firms sensitive to global growth, such as Anglo American Platinum , helping the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index close 0.75% higher.
Market sentiment was given an early boost when Italy revealed a 30-billion-euro package of austerity steps, which helped shares of financial institutions gain value.
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Source: FIN24
Rand firms against dollar
December 5, 2011--The rand gained for the sixth straight day to a three-week high against the dollar on Monday as optimism about a solution to the European debt crisis boosted risky assets. The winding down of the year was also supportive of rand gains.
Government bonds ignored the positive sentiment as some traders caught long on Friday covered those positions early on Monday, pushing yields to their day’s peak, with the market trading sideways for the rest of the session after that.
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Source: FIN24
SA casino market growing fast
December 5, 2011--SA had the fastest-growing casino market in 2010 with a 3.5% increase, PwC said in its Global Gaming Outlook to 2012 released on Monday.
"Going forward, casino upgrades and a new casino licence will enhance the South African casino market, but compared with the prior decade - when a number of new casinos opened - there will be relatively little growth from new casinos during the forecast period."
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Source: FIN24
Forget China, invest in Africa says Russia's Renaissance
December 2, 2011--Investors should forget China and park their money in sub-Saharan Africa if they wish to benefit from the growth in emerging markets, the chief investment officer at Russia's Renaissance Asset Managers said on Friday.
Africa reminds me of China back in 1999. If you missed China then, don't do that now," Plamen Monovski told Reuters in an interview. "It's the last place in the world that is due for that rapid change and advancement."
Africa, once shunned by most investors, is beginning to attract interest from some of the world's largest banks and corporates.
Singapore commodities firm Olam International Ltd this week announced plans to invest about $100 million in Nigeria, while Standard Chartered's private bank said in October it planned to set up an onshore presence in Kenya.
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Source: Reuters
SA stocks post best week since February
December 2, 2011--The JSE's Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index booked its biggest weekly gain in 10 months on Friday,
rising 5.1% during the week on investor optimism after global central banks announced a coordinated effort to inject liquidity into markets.
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Source: FIN24
Rand strengthens, breaks R8/$
December 2, 2011--The rand gained more than 1.1% against the dollar on Friday to its strongest level in nearly three weeks, tracking a firmer euro and on course for its biggest weekly gain since April.
The rand touched a session high of R7.9750/$, its firmest level since November. 14 and was at R7.9890/$ in late afternoon trade compared to Thursday's close at R8.0855/$.
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Source: FIN24
JSE pulls back, charts bearish
December 1, 2011--South African stocks pulled back on Thursday as investors booked profits after previous session’s surge, although the index still remained on course for its biggest weekly gain in more than 2 years.
While downbeat jobless claims data in the U.S. also dampened the mood, technical indicators showed that Johannesburg’s benchmark Top-40 index was due for some selling.
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Source: FIN24
Rand firms in line with euro
December 1, 2011--The rand firmed in afternoon trade on Thursday, in line with a stronger euro and targeting 8.05 against the buck following a strong Spanish government debt auction.
At 18:00 local time, the rand was bid at 8.0957 to the dollar from its previous close of 8.1177. It was bid at 10.8994 to the euro from 10.9181 before, and at 12.6996 against sterling from 12.7486 previously.
The euro was at $1.3468 from $1.3444 previously.
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Source: FIN24
