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Treasury Department Statement on the U.S. Position on the World Bank’s Eskom Investment Support Project
April 8, 2010--Today, the United States abstained on the vote by the World Bank's Board of Directors on the Eskom Investment Support Project. This reflects concerns about the climate impact of the project and its incompatibility with the World Bank's commitment to be a leader in climate change mitigation and adaptation. At the same time, the United States recognizes South Africa's pressing energy needs and the lack of near-term feasible low-carbon alternatives.
South Africa and the region face urgent energy needs to promote economic growth and address critical challenges, such as poverty, education and health. This project would provide significant energy capacity to meet these essential needs. We recognize that South Africa faces limited options that could provide the required energy base for South Africa and the region in lieu of the project, and that there is a lack of alternative private financing options in the wake of the financial crisis. We also recognize that, if South Africa's base load power needs are not met, the country's economic recovery will suffer, adversely impacting electrification, job creation, and social indicators.
Despite these benefits, the United States is concerned about the project since it would produce significant greenhouse gas emissions, and uncertainty remains about future mitigation efforts. Without actions to offset the carbon emissions of the Medupi plant, the project is incompatible with the World Bank's strategy to help countries pursue economic growth and poverty reduction in ways that are environmentally sustainable. We also remain concerned about other facets of the project, including the inconsistency of Eskom's procurement process with the World Bank's Procurement Guidelines, deficiencies in the environmental impact assessment, and potentially inadequate efforts to mitigate local pollution. The project is also inconsistent with new guidelines on coal lending adopted by the United States in December 2009.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Bonds rally ahead of Easter
April 2, 2010-- Bonds rallied on Thursday on the back of a strong rand and short-covering, going into the Easter weekend between 10.5 and 12.5% basis points firmer.
By 16:10 the short-term government R154 bond was bid at 6.610% and offered at 6.640% after closing at 6.715% on Wednesday and the medium-term R157 was at 7.835% from 7.945% at its previous close. The long-term R186 was at 8.680% from 8.805% previously.
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Source: FIN24
Firm rand stuck in a range
April 2, 2010-The rand remained on the front foot in the afternoon session on Thursday ahead of the Easter weekend, but within a tight range having failed to break through R7.23 against the dollar.
At 15:35 the rand was bid at R7.2429 to the dollar from R7.2898 at its previous close. It was bid at R9.7682 to the euro from its previous close of R9.8343 and was at R11.0213 against the sterling from R11.0472.
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Source: FIN24
JSE up a tad in lacklustre trade
April 1, 2010--The JSE's all share index was around 100 points firmer by midday on Thursday, but traders said the market was very lacklustre ahead of the Easter long weekend.
Local traders were surprised that the JSE was not firmer after the very positive news from the Far Eastern markets this morning.
By noon, the all share index was up 0.34%, with resources up 0.67%, gold miners 0.46% higher, but platinum miners were virtually unchanged despite a surging platinum price. Banks were off 0.19%, financials eased 0.11% and the industrial index advanced 0.23%.
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Source: FIN 24
Rand in a range, tracks euro
March 26, 2010--The rand saw sideways movement in afternoon trade on Friday tracking the euro amid light volume.
At 15:35 the rand was bid at R7.4357 to the dollar from R7.4683 at its previous close. It was bid at R9.9517 to the euro from its previous close of R9.9404 and was at R11.0502 against the sterling from R11.0847.
The euro was bid at $1.3363 from $1.3303 previously.
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Source: FIN24
JSE flat amid light trade
March 26, 2010--The JSE ended flat on Friday amid hesitant global markets, seemingly unconvinced by news of a potential deal by European leaders to support Greece.
A local trader pointed to light volume traded on the day.
At 17:00, the JSE all share index had inched 0.10% higher, with resources up 0.49%, while platinum miners eked out 0.13%. Gold miners subsided 0.58%. Banks gave up 1.33%, financials declined 0.56%, but industrials were flat, up 0.03%.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds high on rate cut euphoria
March 26, 2010--Bonds ended the week firmer on Friday, extending a rally on the back of Thursday's decision by the South African Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut the repo rate by 50 basis points to 6.5%.
A strong rand was lending added support to the market.
By 15:45 the short-term government R154 bond was bid at 6.730% and offered at 6.710% after closing at 6.845% on Thursday and the medium-term R157 was at 7.930% from 8.060% at its previous close. The long-term R186 was bid at 8.675% and offered at 8.705% from 8.855% previously.
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Source: FIN24
ETFs outshine unit trusts - report
March 23, 2010-- Investors who have been diligently tucking money into an actively managed unit trust over the last five years will probably find they are worse off than those who bought into the Satrix Top 40 index tracking product.
According to Mike Brown, CEO of online transacting platform etfSA, only five out of 47 actively managed unit trust funds were able to outperform the Satrix Top 40 during this time.
Brown calculated that over the five-year period, funds had an average return of 16.15% per year, while Satrix 40 returned about 19.8%.
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Source: etfSA
Rand firm amid 'wobbly' euro
March 19, 2010--The rand firmed against the euro in the afternoon session on Friday blocking rand/dollar play, a local trader noted.
At 15:43 the rand was bid at R7.3031 to the dollar from R7.3065 at its previous close. It was bid at R9.8979 to the euro from its previous close of R9.9455 and was at R11.0391 against the sterling from R11.1285.
The euro was bid at $1.3549 from $1.3609 previously.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds firm ahead of data releases
March 19, 2010--Bonds remained firm on Friday afternoon ahead of the long weekend holiday and a busy data-filled period next week.
Traders said the strong rand, which was lingering just below the R7.30 per dollar level, was lending support to the market.
Conditions were quiet ahead of the long weekend - markets are closed Monday for the Human Rights Day public holiday.
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Source: FIN24