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JSE edges higher in cautious trade
July 23, 2010--South African stocks edged higher on Friday in cautious trade ahead of European stress test results while the rand hovered near three-month highs against the dollar after the central bank decided not to cut rates the previous day.
The JSE top-40 index of blue chips rose 0.56% to 25 333.32, its highest close since May 4 while the broader all-share index inched up 0.53% to 28 424.17.
"There's caution in the market ahead of these bank stress tests in Europe," said Martin Lentsoane, a trader at Johannesburg-based NEWS Trading.
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Source: FIN24
S Africa wakes up to reality after World Cup
July 21, 2010--Just 10 days ago, Mary Muthui was doing a roaring trade in football scarves, beanie hats and vuvuzelas at her stall in the Rosebank Mall crafts centre in northern Johannesburg. But – less than two weeks after the end of South Africa’s much acclaimed World Cup – the 28-year-old trader was struggling to unload anything at all and was offering the controversial plastic horn for a quarter of the R120 ($16, €12, £10) that football fans were paying last month. “It’s very, very slow,” she said. “I have sold less than 50 vuvuzelas since the final.”
The gloom at the mall seems to reflect a broader shift in mood since the end of South Africa’s football fiesta. Although it was entirely predictable that restaurants, hotels and craft businesses such as Ms Muthui’s would see a fall-off in business, there are other concerns too. The economy – boosted by World Cup fever – seems to have hit a bump, with signs that manufacturing has been hit by the downturn in Europe and fears that slower growth in China could reduce demand for South African iron, coal and precious metal exports.
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Source: FT.com
Nigeria moves to create ‘bad bank’
July 19, 2010--Nigeria took a step closer to resolving its financial crisis on Monday when Goodluck Jonathan, president, approved the creation of a “bad bank” to soak up some of the estimated $10bn of bad loans that brought the banking system to the brink of collapse last year.
Almost a year after Nigeria’s once-booming banking sector was rocked by revelations of reckless lending gone awry, Mr Jonathan backed a public asset management company similar to those employed by Ireland and other crisis-hit rich countries.
The creation of the bank marked “an important turning point for the return to strong economic growth and financial system stability”, Mr Jonathan said.
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Source: FT.com
Bonds tad firmer on short-covering
July 16, 2010-- South African bonds were slightly firmer in late trade on Friday, which dealers attributed to a bit of short-covering.
By 15:50 the short-term government R154 bond was bid at 6.590% after closing at 6.530% on Thursday and the medium-term R157 was at 7.730% from 7.755% at its previous close.
The long-term R186 was bid at 8.900% from 8.915% at its previous close.
The rand was bid at R7.5832 to the dollar from R7.5259 at its previous close.
"It's been very quiet today, but bonds have firmed slightly on some short covering going into the weekend," said a local trader.
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Source: FIN 24
Wall Street slump hurts JSE
July 16, 2010-- Much like Thursday, the JSE shed its earlier gains in the afternoon session on Friday, tracking a retreat on Wall Street amid poor US economic data and company earnings which came in below expectations.
The JSE was however ended relatively flat at its close having gained more than 350 points by lunch.
By 5pm the JSE all share index had gained 0.20%. Resources however, declined 0.41%, along with gold producers 0.98% lower, and Platinum miners lost 0.87%. Banks moved 1.02% higher, financials pocketed 0.54%, and industrials climbed 0.61%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand remains softer vs euro
July 16, 2010--The rand remained range-bound against the major currencies in late afternoon trade on Friday but was weaker against the euro which rose to a two-month high against the dollar.
Naeem Ebrahin, a currency dealer from Standard Bank, attributed the rand's weakness against the euro to reduced fears about the European fiscal deficits.
He added that the lingering concerns about the slow pace of the US economic recovery was weighing on the dollar.
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Source: FIN24
JSE surges ahead
July 9, 2010--The JSE ended on a strong note on Friday, bringing gains for the week to nearly 4% as Wall Street continued to cheer up local investors, who are turning attention to the kick-off of the earnings season in the US.
At its close, the JSE all share index gained 0.78%, with resources 1.30 firmer. Platinum miners rose 0.36%, and gold miners rallied 1.70%. Banks added 0.52%, financials profited 0.26% and industrials were up 0.54%.
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Source: Fin 24
Rand range-bound in light trade
July 9, 2010--The rand remained range-bound in late afternoon trade on Friday with a softer bias against the US dollar.
A local trader said the South African currency bounced off the near R7.50 rand vs the dollar level as the euro came off against the dollar.
However, he said that overall the market was quite and trade thin.
At 15:47 local time the rand was bid at R7.5662 to the dollar from R7.5461 at Thursday's close. It was bid at R9.5535 to the euro from R9.5900 before and at R11.4158 against sterling from R11.4567 at its previous close.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds flat in late trade
July 9, 2010--South African bonds were flat in late trade on Friday, pretty much unchanged from earlier levels.
By 15:55 the short-term government R154 bond was bid at 6.515% after closing at 6.500% on Thursday and the medium-term R157 was at 7.730% from 7.735% at its previous close.
The long-term R186 was bid at 8.850% from 8.810% at its previous close.
The rand was bid at 7.5456 to the dollar from 7.5461 at its previous close.
"It's been dead quiet today, with no data to take direction from. Bonds are flat and are trading around the same levels they were earlier on," said a local trader.
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Source: FIN24
Marcus gloomy on SA recovery
July 7, 2010-- The reality is the global economy probably never emerged from the crisis and this has significant implications for growth outlooks in South Africa, Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said on Wednesday.
Speaking on Wednesday at a Power Breakfast club function at the Johannesburg Country Club, she added the weak global backdrop and slow recovery by banks served up a "tough outlook" that South Africa needed to factor in.
"The recovery in South Africa is hesitant, fragile and uneven," she said.
She noted that there are limits to what can be done by monetary policy on its own, with fiscal policy, a more stable rand, closing the output gap, job creation and too high executive pay also important considerations. But she stopped short of saying there was a new policy to intervene on the rand.
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Source: FIN24
