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South Africa launches state mining company
February 25, 2011--The launch of state-owned mining company is renewing questions about whether South Africa has long-term plans to nationalize the lucrative industry.
President Jacob Zuma officially launches the company this weekend at a coal mine in eastern South Africa. The mining ministry says the company, known as the African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation, will initially focus on ensuring the state-owned electricity utility has enough coal.
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Source: Times Live
Bonds firm in quiet trade
February 25, 2011--After an eventful week in terms of local data, South African bonds were firm in quiet late trade on Friday, following a stronger rand.
By 15:50, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 7.550% from its previous close of 7.790%, while the R207 was bid at 8.620% from its previous close of 8.665%. The R186 was trading at 8.910 from 8.940%.
The rand was bid at 6.9657 to the dollar from its previous close of 7.0404.read more
Source: FIN24
JSE rebounds on 'bottom fishing'
February 25, 2011--The JSE bounced back in afternoon trade on Friday, snapping a three-day losing streak in a week that was dominated by the Libyan crisis, which put selling pressure on riskier assets like equities.
The market experienced a good rebound in the afternoon session on the back of a combination of bottom fishing, short-covering and quietness regarding the tension in Libya, said Mpho Mojalefa, trader at BJM Private Client Services.
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Source: FIN24
Libyan turmoil weighs on JSE
February 24, 2011--The JSE ended sharply lower on Thursday, still reeling from heightened uncertainty about the political tensions in north Africa and the Middle East.
At the close, the JSE all-share index was down 0.71%, with platinum miners sliding 2.65% and gold counters falling 1.12%. But resources eked out a 0.11% gain. Banks lost 1.15%, financials shed 1.10% and industrials slid 1.37%.
The rand was bid at 7.06 to the dollar from 7.08 at the JSE's close on Wednesday.
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Source: FIN24
Mines back nationalisation investigators
February 24, 2011-- The Chamber of Mines of SA on Thursday welcomed the appointment of independent researchers to investigate the nationalisation of South African mines.
"The approach by the ANC to appoint independent researchers is lauded, as this will not only increase the credibility of the findings but will also ensure a wider support of those findings once the investigation has been completed," Chamber CEO Bheki Sibiya said in a statement.
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Source: miningMX
Bonds 'unhappy' with issuance numbers
February 23, 2011--South African bonds were up to 11 basis points weaker in late trade on Wednesday, on the back of "disappointing" issuance numbers revealed in Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's budget speech.
By 16:10, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 7.800% from its previous close of 7.765%, while the R207 was bid at 8.590% from its previous close of 8.515%. The R186 was trading at 8.870% from 8.760%.
The rand was bid at 7.0894 to the dollar from its previous close of 7.1482.
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Source: FIN24
Risk-aversion, Middle East hits JSE
February 23, 2011--The JSE closed sharply lower on Wednesday in line with global equities, as political tensions in the Middle East prompted investors to shift into risk-aversion gear.
Banking shares dropped after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said he had met with bank chief executives and believed it was time to put in place measures to ensure banking changes were fairly set, transparent and did not create undue hardship.
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Source: FIN24
Growth in Africa Under Peace and Market Reforms-IMF Working Paper
February 23, 2011-- Economic stagnation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has led several economists to question the region’s ability to attain sustained economic growth, some of them arguing for the need to shift away from natural resource - based exports.
Yet, we find that low growth has not been common to all SSA countries and that those that achieved political stability and significantly liberalized their economies experienced high growth in income per capita, as high as ASEAN-5 countries. This group of SSA countries attained high growth while maintaining their specialization in natural resource exports. Our analysis also rejects the hypothesis of reverse causality: that good growth performance allowed countries to attain political stability or liberalize their economies.
view Growth in Africa Under Peace and Market Reforms-IMF Working paper
Source: IMF
Bonds weaker on geopolitical tensions
February 22, 2011--South African bonds were weaker in late trade on Tuesday amid ongoing political tensions in the Middle East and north Africa which have caused oil prices to soar.
A recovery in the rand however saw the local gilts off the session's worst levels.
By 15:46, the benchmark R157 bond was bid at 7.750% from its previous close of 7.675%, while the R207 was bid at 8.490% from its previous close of 8.430%.
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Source: FIN24
JSE falls on profit taking, oil
February 22, 2011--The JSE shaved off in excess of 360 points at its close on Tuesday amid profit taking, while political unrest in north Africa continues to plague the oil price.
At the close, the JSE all share index was 1.10% lower, with platinum miners falling 1.45%, gold counters eased 1.64% and resources declined 0.63%. Banks lost 1.24%, financials were down 1.23% and industrials dropped 1.53%.
The rand was bid at 7.13 to the dollar from 7.15 at the JSE's close on Monday.
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Source: FIN24
