Neither a 200 basis-point hike in interest rates nor the rand weakening to R8 per dollar will affect South African clothing retailer Edgars Consolidated Stores Limited’s (Edcon) growth, Tessa Christelis, executive manager of investor relations at Edcon, told reporters on Tuesday.
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was firm in noon trade on Friday on the back of futures buying despite a stronger rand. At 12.11pm, the all-share index was up 0,59%. Both the resources and gold mining indices climbed 1,22%. The all share industrial index edged up 0,15%.
Although the economic powerhouse of Gauteng has only 1,4% of South Africa’s land area of 1,219-million square kilometres, it has 24% of the population aged between 25 and 59 years, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday. It also announced that the life expectancy at birth in South Africa is forecast to be only 50,7 years next year.
The South African rand was firm against the major currencies in quiet early trade on Monday. On Friday the rand reached its best level since January 1999 when it touched 5,8850 rand per US dollar in late after-hours trade. At 9am, the rand was quoted at 5,9413 per dollar from an overnight close of 5,9496 on Friday, 6,1001 on Thursday and 6,0651 on Wednesday.
South African bonds ended weaker on Thursday despite United States data that should have resulted in bonds rallying. The benchmark six-year R153 bond was at 9,710% from 9,650% at Wednesday’s close, 9,700% at Tuesday’s close, 9,580% at Monday’s close and a recent worst level of 10,29% on June 15.
The rand held steady against the major currencies in quiet midday trade on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened following the release of United States trade data. Gold was quoted at $403,60 an ounce compared to the previous close of $402,38 an ounce.
April’s wholesale sale statistics may be the first sign that the recent strong increase in consumer demand is slowing down, according to Efficient Group economist Nico Kelder. Real wholesale trade sales, excluding diamonds, in South Africa plunged by 9,2% in April from March after seasonal adjustment.
The trade-weighted rand on Thursday jumped 2,1% from Wednesday and moved to its best level since October 16 2000, when it was R62,72 and was 24,4% stronger than this year’s worst level of R50,11 reached on January 16. Its level on Thursday at 10.30am was R62,35, beating last year’s best level.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services said on Wednesday it has assigned its B long-term and B short-term sovereign credit ratings to Mozambique. The outlook is positive. The ratings on Mozambique are supported by high export-led GDP growth — albeit from a low base — and strong donor support.
The trade-weighted rand reached its best level this year on Wednesday contrary to the expectations of most economists. Its trade-weighted level on Wednesday was 60,96, a 5,7% gain on the June 9 level of 57,6 and 21,6% above this year’s worst level of 50,11 touched on January 16.
South Africa’s CPIX inflation (headline inflation excluding mortgage costs) was up 4,4% year-on-year (y/y) for metro and other areas in May compared with 4,4% y/y in both April and March, 4,8% y/y in February, 4,2% y/y in January and 4% y/y in December, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.
The Merrill Lynch survey of South African fund managers in June saw fund managers forecasting a stronger rand in 12 months time than they did in the May survey. The 12-month consensus forecast on the rand is now R7,10 to the dollar compared with R7,64 in the May survey, while the range was from R6,20 to R7,50 compared with May’s range of R7,30 to R8.
The South African Cabinet has approved a programme to develop human capital and improve research and innovation in relation to the pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) project, which has been called the world’s sexiest baby nuclear reactor by its proponents.
There is a growing danger that Aids is dropping off the South African media screen, an analysis by Media Tenor, the Institute for Media Analysis in Pretoria, showed. In terms of coverage of major topics, Aids receives only 0,1% more airtime or column inches than environmental issues, showing that South African media have lost their focus on this issue.
The South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) started at 9am on Wednesday, with a decision on interest rates expected at 3pm on Thursday. The unanimous forecast of economists is that this will be the third consecutive MPC meeting where no change in interest rates is announced.
One week after the South African government announced a change in its fuel-price policy by capping fuel-price increases for June, numerous requests to find out what the fuel-price policy will be after June have been unsuccessful, which begs the question as to whether there is in fact a fuel-price policy.
The South African Chamber of Business has won a $20 000 award for its simple toolkit to assist small and medium enterprises address HIV/Aids in their workplaces. The chamber also won accolades for its strategy to monitor the implementation of this product through its chamber movement.
The National Treasury has over the past two weeks created space for the South African Reserve Bank to cut interest rates at the next monetary policy committee meeting on June 9 and 10. One of the reasons for not cutting interest rates at the February and April MPC meetings was concern about the future course of oil prices.
South African house prices increased by 24,3% year-on-year in May 2004 from a revised record 24,5% y/y in April 2004. This was the sixth consecutive month that house prices have risen by more than 20% y/y, according to South African commercial bank Absa’s monthly house price index released on Thursday.
South African petroleum product price rises will be capped at 30 cents a litre and this policy will be maintained for as long as possible, Minister of Minerals and Energy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka announced on Tuesday afternoon. The government in May expressed concern about current and future petrol-price increases.
South Africa’s seasonally adjusted purchasing managers index (PMI) rose slightly in May to 56,4 from 56,2 in April after surging to 57,9 points in March from 52,6 in February. The PMI is an index modelled on the Institute of Supply Management index of the United States, which measures manufacturing activity.
More than 600 leaders from all sectors of society and from 46 countries will take part in the World Economic Forum’s 14th Africa Economic Summit in Maputo, Mozambique, from June 2 to 4. Its main purpose is to get business leaders and governments together to overcome the obstacles holding back many African economies.
Invented in 1986 as a light-hearted guide to whether currencies are at their "correct" level, <i>The Economist</i> magazine’s Big Mac index is used to gauge purchasing power between countries. South Africa’s Big Mac rate is R4,28 a dollar — when the rand touched a record worst level in 2001 a South African Big Mac cost less than a dollar.
The National Treasury and Nedbank have confirmed that Nedbank internet clients will only be able to buy the retail bonds launched on Monday by the Treasury from Tuesday onwards as "RSA Retail Bonds" needs to be loaded as an option on the approved beneficiary list.
In an ordinary society, Phillip Jabulani ("Be Happy") Moleketi would have become a medical doctor, but South Africa in the mid-1970s was not an ordinary society and did not cater for the aspirations of its young black elite. Now Moleketi has been appointed South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Finance.
"After more than four hours of trying to buy a retail bond from South Africa’s National Treasury on Monday, the only word that describes my experience is ‘frustration’." I-Net Bridge’s reporter Helmo Preuss has trouble buying a bond on its first day of availability.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=66794">Nedbank clients can buy from Tuesday</a>
The Department of Minerals and Energy anticipates that the South African retail petrol price will increase by 36c a litre on Wednesday June 2 — based on fuel price information at its disposal on Wednesday. The increases are as a result of higher international crude oil petroleum product prices and a stronger dollar.
South Africa’s economic future looks promising, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday. "The challenge is to further increase the growth performance of the domestic economy. The foundation has been provided over the past 10 years to make this achievable," he said.
The expected South African government foreign loan will help to build foreign reserves, South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday. He was speaking at the Euromoney conference on <i>South Africa Ten Years on: Empowerment, Finance, Trade and Investment</i> in Cape Town.
South African businesses have their heads buried in the sand and do not wish to acknowledge what the concept of "transformation" means for their operations, independent economist Nico Czypionka told a breakfast meeting of the Italian-South African Chamber of Trade and Industries on Tuesday.
South African businesses have their heads buried in the sand as they do not wish to acknowledge what the concept of ‘transformation’ means for their operations, independent economist Nico Czypionka told a breakfast meeting of the Italian-South African Chamber of Trade and Industries on Tuesday.
Hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup will add at least R21,4-billion to South Africa’s gross domestic product and create 159Â 000 jobs, according to accounting firm Grant Thornton. In addition to the direct benefits from hosting the World Cup, there are very many other indirect benefits such as increased optimism and therefore willingness to invest in the future.