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SA's budget deficit widens in first half
October 28, 2011-- South Africa’s budget deficit widened to R103.759bn in the first six months of the 2011/12 financial year from R90.439bn the same period last year.
The Treasury said in a statement posted on its website on Friday revenue was at R325.539bn at the end of September, from R303.885bn in the same period last year. In its three-year fiscal framework, the National Treasury on Tuesday raised its forecast for the budget deficit for the 2011/12 financial year.
It said the budget shortfall would widen to 5.5% of gross domestic product from 5.0% last year, wider than the February estimate of 5.3%.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds firmer on PPI, rand, EU summit
October 27, 2011--South African bonds were up to 7 basis points firmer in midday trade on Thursday, which a trader said was as a result of a combination of the strong rand, producer price index (PPI) data and Wednesday's EU summit.
By 11:50, the benchmark R157 bond was at 6.600% from its previous close of 6.650%. The R207 was trading at 7.830% from a previous close of 7.900% and the R186 was trading at 8.290% from its close of 8.335%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand, JSE rally on eurozone deal optimism
October 27, 2011-- The rand extended its gains against the dollar on Thursday as investors flocked to higher-risk assets in a positive response to an overnight deal on the eurozone debt crisis.
Higher-than-expected domestic PPI data earlier in the day also added to the rand’s gains but the main driver was the news out of Europe, which brought a sigh of relief from investors.
Government bonds tracked the rand firmer, extending this week’s gains that were prompted by a National Treasury plan not to borrow further to plug a budget deficit.
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Source: FIN24
SA relaxes more exchange control rules
October 27, 2011--The government said on Thursday it would further relax foreign exchange control rules for individuals, making it easier for citizens to invest up to R5m abroad annually.
The National Treasury also said it would allow companies to top up capital in their offshore businesses, and relaxed rules for coporations that want to invest outside their current business lines.
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Source: FIN24
Eurozone unease infects rand, stocks
October 26, 2011--The rand lost over 1% to the dollar in the late afternoon session, tracking a vulnerable euro ahead of a European Union summit later on Wednesday.
The dollar gained momentum to push the rand past the R8-level and the local unit hit a session low of R8.0140/$. It was trading 0.96% weaker at R8.0038/$ by 1513 GMT, off a close of R7.9275.
South African stocks ended off their session highs on Wednesday, tracking global equities on waning hopes that European leaders would come up with a credible plan to resolve the region’s debt crisis.
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Source: FIN24
Economic woes depress most in SA - study
October 25, 2011--Economic instability is the leading cause behind an increase in anxiety and depression in South Africa, a new study has found.
"People are living in chronic fear of layoffs and/or lifelong unemployment," said the company which conducted the survey, released on Tuesday.
Pharma Dynamics, a distributor of central nervous system medication, polled 19 psychiatrists across the country to gauge to gauge South Africa's collective mental state.
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Source: FIN24
Sarb index shows dimmer economic outlook
October 25, 2011--The South African Reserve Bank’s leading business cycle indicator fell by 2.1% in August compared with July, the central bank said on Tuesday.
Ten of 11 components decreased, with the only positive contribution coming from the export commodity price index.
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Source: FIN24
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to set up Investor Protection Fund
October 25, 2011--The Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria is considering setting up an Investor Protection Trust Fund. This comes after news that no-one has ever claimed from a reported N500 million (US$3.2 million) fund for investor protection at the Nigerian Stock Exchange set up after a 1996 white paper on capital market reform.
Each stock-broking firm initially paid N1 million to the NSE fund as a contribution and all stock-broking firms have contributed. The fund has grown over more than 14 years to over N500 million in a fixed deposit at a bank, which in turn is backed by Fidelity Guarantee Bond. The fund is to compensate investors whose monies are trapped in cases of insolvency, bankruptcy or negligence of a stock-broking firm. An investor is entitled to a maximum claim of N14 million, depending on the amount deposited or sales proceeds unpaid at the time of the demise of the stock-broking company. NSE Head, Corporate Communications, Wole Tokede, was recently quoted in local newspaper The Daily Independent as admitting the existence of the fund, but he said there has never been a withdrawal from the NSE fund, possibly because of lack of knowledge among investors.
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Source: African Capital Markets
JSE flat as euro worries weigh
October 25, 2011--The JSE stayed largely flat on Tuesday, after news that European Union finance ministers cancelled a meeting increased concern about the euro zone debt crisis and soured sentiment late in the session.
Gold miners such as Harmony Gold surged, helped by a rise in the price of the precious metal. Traders said Johannesburg stocks remained resilient, helped by a bullish outlook for technicals.
“We just lost steam on that euro zone meeting being cancelled ... But there’s quite a bit of resilience,” said Mitchell Gannaway, a trader at Thebe Stockbroking.
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Source: FIN24
Forex reserves won't be used to help rand
October 25, 2011--The rand is expected to stabilise at stronger levels than seen at present and the government is not thinking about using reserves to manipulate its value, Treasury director general Lungisa Fuzile said on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said last month the Treasury would consider using reserves in an extreme crisis, but did not spell out how this would be done or to what end.
“The reserves are our kind of insurance against sudden stops or reversals in capital flows, not a means of trying to manipulate the currency,” Fuzile told reporters at a three-year budget briefing at parliament.
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Source: FIN24
