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Hart: State infrastructure unaffordable
September 22, 2011--South Africa is building an infrastructure that is unaffordable, an economist said during a Black Management Forum debate in Cape Town on Thursday.
Chris Hart, an economist at Investment Solutions, said during the debate with Public Enterprise Minister Malusi Gigaba, that the government's enormous spending on infrastructure is leading the country towards an "infrastructure recession".
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Source: FIN24
Marcus warns of risks as rates kept flat
September 22, 2011--Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus said SA economic growth is disappointing as the monetary policy committee (MPC) kept interest rates steady at 5.5%.
The MPC is, however, "concerned at the potential impact of the current global turmoil on domestic prospects and stands ready to act appropriately", she said.
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Source: FIN24
JSE hit hard in global selloff
September 22, 2011--South African stocks extended losses on Thursday, tumbling more than 3% as investors sold everything from luxury goods maker Richemont [JSE:CFR] to paper manufacturer Mondi [JSE:MND] on concerns over a global slowdown, after the US Federal Reserve warned of a grim outlook for the world's top economy.
The Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index of blue chips was down 2.9% at 27 190.54 at 09:18 GMT, having earlier fallen more than 3%.
The broad JSE All-share [JSE:J203] index was down 2.7%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand in red as rates held steady
September 22, 2011--The Reserve Bank left its repo rate unchanged on Thursday and struck a dovish note as it balanced its concerns for domestic economic growth with an expected increase in inflation stemming from a sharply weaker rand.
Governor Gill Marcus said the bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) discussed a cut in the benchmark lending rate from its current 30-year low of 5.5%, although the final decision to keep it on hold was unanimous.
The rand hit fresh 26-month lows to the dollar and bonds trimmed losses after the MPC statement.
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Source: FIN24
Consumer inflation stays flat
September 21, 2011--South Africa's targeted consumer inflation was unchanged at 5.3% year-on-year (y/y) in August compared with July, below market consensus, Statistics South Africa data showed on Wednesday.
Stats SA said inflation slowed more than expected to 0.2% month-on-month (m/m) from 0.9% in July.
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Source: FIN24
JSE inches lower with eye on US Fed
September 21, 2011--South African stocks ended a choppy session little changed on Wednesday as investors refrained from making large moves ahead of the outcome of a US Federal Reserve meeting.
But major gold miners climbed between 3% and 4% as a tumbling domestic currency provided support.
The rand fell three percent during the session, a boost to gold miners whose product brings in dollars but whose domestic costs are mainly in rand.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds gain after soft CPI data
September 21, 2011--Government bonds gained on Wednesday after softer-than-expected inflation data that boosted the chances of an interest rate cut.
The yield on the 2015 bond fell to 6.83% from 6.89% prior to the inflation release at 08:00 GMT. The yield on the 2026 note was at 8.385% from 8.415% beforehand.
The rand softened slightly to R7.81 against the dollar at 08:33 GMT, from R7.7805 before the inflation release.
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Source: FIN24
Battered rand tipped to hit R8.00/$ soon
September 21, 2011--The rand tumbled nearly 3% to hit 16-month lows against the dollar on Wednesday as importers piled into the greenback, spooked by a recent trend of sharp declines that dealers said would continue.
In the early evening, the rand was trading at R7.8720/$, 1.7% weaker than Tuesday’s New York close of R7.74 and having hit R7.9650, its weakest since May 2010.
With over 5% of losses so far this week, the rand was on track to register its biggest weekly decline since May 2009.
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Source: FIN24
JSE rebounds, helped by miners
September 20, 2011--South African stocks rose to their highest level in more than six weeks on Tuesday, bouncing back from the previous session’s decline, with gold miners among the top gainers as the domestic currency falters and bullion prices cruise higher.
Grindrod also featured on the gainers’ list after Africa’s top shipping company said it would sell a stake to Remgro in exchange for a R2bn capital injection.
The JSE Top-40 Tradeable [JSE: J200] blue-chip index was up 1.41% at 28 043.66, a level last seen on August 1. The broader All-share [JSE:J203] index added 1.24% to 31 343.9.
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Source: FIN24
Rand gets boost from bond buying
September 20, 2011--The rand pared earlier losses against the dollar on Tuesday, bouncing from a 14-month low as investors bought bonds in a corrective move after a sharp sell-off last week.
Foreigners sold a net R6bn of local bonds last week as worries about the eurozone debt crisis deepened and expectations for a domestic interest rate cut were curbed by a sharp depreciation of the rand .
"After the sell-off last week, local bonds are looking quite attractive from a foreign perspective," said Chris Becker, market analyst at ETM.
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Source: FIN24
