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Bonds firmer in late trade
June 30, 2011--South African bonds were up to 5 basis points firmer during late trade on Thursday, on the back of the stronger rand and a better than expected PPI figure, released earlier in the day.
By 15:50, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 7.460% from its previous close of 7.500%. The R207 was bid at 8.365% and offered at 8.355% from 8.390%, and the R186 was trading at 8.550% from 8.600%.
The rand was bid at 6.7714 against the dollar from its previous close of 6.7928.
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Source: FIN24
Strong rand limits JSE gains
June 30, 2011--- The JSE ended higher on Thursday even though it lagged its international counterparts, with upbeat US economic data helping bolster sentiments.
The strong rand kept the gains in check, hitting gold counters in particular, said Andrew Todd, an equity derivatives trader at Imara SP Reid. A survey of Chicago-area manufacturing activity and US initial jobless claims proved to be a catalyst for buying on the local equities, he said.
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Source: FIN24
Greek optimism lifts JSE
June 29, 2011--The JSE opened stronger on Wednesday as optimism over the possible solution to Greece's debt woes continued to bolster market sentiment.
By 09:17 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.36%, with gold miners rising 0.87%, resources adding 0.55% and platinum miners gaining 0.68%. Banks were flat, while financials were 0.21% higher and industrials inched up 0.26%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand firms on hope for Greek vote
June 29, 2011--The rand firmed to the dollar on Wednesday and stock futures pointed to a positive start on the bourse as hopes that Greece's parliament would approve spending cuts boosted sentiment.
Greece's debt crisis and worries of contagion have dogged world markets and if the country approves the austerity measures it would pave a way for further loans and avert a debt default.
In the absence of market moving developments locally, the rand and stocks will look offshore for direction.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds stay weak in late trade
June 29, 2011--South African bonds remained in weaker territory during late trade on Wednesday, mainly in line with the softer local currency and a sell-off in US Treasuries on Tuesday night.
A local trader said: "We're weaker and the rand isn't helping much, but we're holding at these levels. Everyone was waiting for the Greek vote, and it's gone through now so we'll probably settle down a bit and drift lower - the market does feel as though it's better bid up here and we have seen quite good demand today. If anything we should close toward the mid-end of the range to try to close that gap down to R7.43 - R7.44 on the R157s."
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Source: FIN24
Post-conflict Recovery: Institutions, Aid, or Luck? IMF Working paper
June 28, 2011--Summary: This paper identifies the factors linked to cross-country differentials in growth performance in the aftermath of social conflict for 30 sub-Saharan African countries using panel data techniques. Our results show that changes in the terms of trade are the most important correlate of economic performance in post-conflict environments.
This variable is typically associated with an increase in the marginal probability of positive economic performance by about 30 percent. Institutional quality emerges as the second most important factor. Foreign aid is shown to have very limited ability to explain differentials in growth performance, and other policy variables such as trade openness are not found to have a statistically significant effect. The results suggest that exogenous factors ("luck") are an important factor in post-conflict recovery. They also highlight the importance in post-conflict settings of policies to mitigate the macroeconomic impact of terms of trade volatility (including countercyclical macroeconomic policies and innovative financing instruments) and of policies to promote export diversification.
view IMF Working paper-Post-conflict Recovery: Institutions, Aid, or Luck?
Source: IMF
JSE, rand rally on renewed Greek hopes
June 28, 2011--South Africa's stocks hit two-week highs and the rand firmed versus the dollar on Tuesday on hopes that Greece could approve spending cuts that are needed for the country to secure more loans.
Greece's debt problems have dominated world markets, with investors worried about contagion if the country defaults on its loans. Lawmakers are due to vote on whether they will approve austerity measures on Wednesday and Thursday.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds mixed in late trade
June 28, 2011-- South African bonds were mixed in late trade on Tuesday. A local trader said today's auction did not go well at all.
"Today's auction was bad. Prior to it, the curve was relatively well-bid, but that changed afterwards especially in the ultra-long end. The R213s cleared 5 points higher in the auction, and that sent the market gaping," he said.
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Source: FIN24
JSE closes up on bargain-hunting
June 27, 2011-- The JSE started the day with a bit of a whimper and ended with some bang on Monday, as bargain-hunting lifting industrial, retail and mining stocks.
An upbeat start on Wall Street also gave the local market a boost, while commodity prices remained stable, said Andrew Todd, an equity derivatives trader at Imara SP Reid. But the market kept a close eye on the developments in Greece, Todd said.
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Source: AME Info
Rand under pressure as commodities sag
June 27, 2011--The rand fell to a near-month low against the dollar on Monday, weighed down by weaker commodity prices and also feeling the pressure from falling global equity markets.
The currency dropped to R6.9225 to the greenback, its weakest since May 31, before coming back to R6.9139 by 06:41 GMT, compared with Friday's close at R6.91.
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Source: FIN24
