Ray Faure

The JSE was firmer on Friday, held aloft by industrial stocks which received a shot in the arm from news that British American Tobacco will be listed.

With CPIX breaching the upper limit of the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) inflation target of 3% to 6% for the first time in 44 months in April, economists feel that an interest-rate hike next week is virtually unavoidable. In fact, many believe that one hike many not be sufficient to quell consumer spending.

The JSE was weaker in noon trade on Tuesday as weakness in Asian markets and lower commodity prices weighed on the market. At 11.55am, the all-share index was off 0,59%, with platinum counters down 2,76%. The gold index was only 0,03% weaker, however, but industrials were 0,75% in the red and resources 0,43% lower.

Peter Moyo, CEO of financial and risk services provider Alexander Forbes, says the group is now firmly focused on extracting growth and shareholder value from its businesses in South Africa and internationally. This follows the conclusion of an independent review of historical business practices across its South African operations.

Notwithstanding a slightly firmer rand, the JSE was marginally firmer in quiet, sideways trade at noon on Thursday ahead of the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) interest rates decision due shortly after 3pm. Dealers said that until the MPC announcement, there was likely to be little movement in the market.

Despite a slightly stronger rand, the JSE was up almost 100 points in midday trade on Monday, with resource stocks leading the charge. Dealers said resource stocks had received a boost from higher precious metals prices, which were being fuelled by concerns about claims by North Korea that it had conducted a nuclear test over the weekend.

A stronger rand and some profit-taking saw the JSE in the red in noon trade on Wednesday after two days of strong gains. Dealers said profit-taking on resources giant Anglo American, which went ex-dividend in London on Wednesday morning, and on BHP Billiton, which presented strong results during the morning session, was leading the market’s downside.

Nedbank is putting its money where its mouth is — delivering on the commitments it made to shareholders as part of its turnaround strategy two years ago. Monday saw the group report a massive 50,5% growth in headline earnings to R2,1-billion for the six months to the end of June.

With the base of demand for new cars growing substantially over the past five years and overall rates of economic growth expected to remain buoyant, the remaining months of 2006 are likely to yield further record-breaking months for new-vehicle sales, according to vehicle manufacturers.

First National Bank (FNB), which is heavily invested in South African soccer, announced on Thursday that it will sponsor the 2010 Fifa World Cup to the tune of $30-million (about R216-million). FNB is the first South African corporate to sign up officially as a national supporter of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Spiralling fuel costs, a strike and a later-than-planned introduction of new routes saw South African Airways’ (SAA) operating profit for the year ended March dwindle from R1-billion to just R300-million, it was revealed on Tuesday. Fuel costs rocketed by a whopping 51,5% over the 12-month period, resulting in a 17,7% spike in operating expenses.

Flamboyant United Kingdom businessman Sir Richard Branson on Monday launched the Virgin Money credit card in the South Africa, predicting that it would lead to the biggest shake-up ever in the South African credit-card market. Branson vowed to break what he called the country’s "banking beast", charging that South Africans were being "ripped off".

Latest forecasts show a marked deterioration in the inflation outlook, particularly in the short term, South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Tito Mboweni cautioned on Thursday. He was speaking after the SARB’s monetary policy committee announced it had decided to raise the repo rate by 50 basis points to 7,5%.

The South African Trade Activity Index declined to 52 in April from 56 in March, reflecting a pull-back in trade conditions which was attributed to the number of trading days lost in April because of public holidays. However, the figure is still higher than the 50 recorded in February, the 47 recorded in January and December’s figure of 49.

The JSE was at an all-time high in midday trade on Friday as commodity prices continued to firm, with gold rising to yet another 25-year-high and copper prices also rising strongly. A moderately weaker rand was also helping to support the market.

Telkom has made a firm offer of R9 per share for leading IT services provider Business Connexion (BCX). The Internet Service Providers’ Association of South Africa has already stated that it intends to lodge an objection with the Competition Commission if Telkom attempts to purchase a controlling stake in BCX.

South African health insurer Discovery says it has adopted "rigorous" measures to reverse the losses by its United States operation Destiny Health and is "cautiously optimistic’ about a turnaround in the medium term. Discovery CEO Adrian Gore said on Thursday that a "rigorous, disciplined approach" to the measurement and evaluation of Destiny’s progress was being applied on a quarterly basis.

It would take a lot to top the events of 2005 in South Africa’s banking sector. But indications are that 2006 could prove to be just as exciting. Speculation is still rife that a second international bank could be looking to take out one of South Africa’s "big four" banks.

The gold price broke through the key psychological ceiling of $500 an ounce on Tuesday to a fresh 18-year high, as platinum prices rose above $1 000 for the first time in more than a quarter of a century in a broad metals rally. Gold touched $505,40/oz in Asia — a level last seen in December 1987.

Reflecting a return to positive bottom-line profitability, IT group Dimension Data plc (Didata) on Wednesday reported basic earnings per share of 1,3 United States cents for the year to the end of September after a loss of 2,8 US cents the previous year. However, adjusted earnings per share amounted to 1,4 US cents compared with 0,9 US cents previously.

South Africa is ranked number 46 in the latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Although its score of 4,5 on a scale of 10 beat the global average of 4,11 and was way above the average of three for African countries, it only ranked third on the continent — being pipped by Botswana in 32nd place with a score of 5,9 and Tunisia in 43rd place with a score of 4,9.

Assisted by buoyant market conditions and the group’s diversified income streams, financial-services group FirstRand boosted headline earnings by 32% to R7,6-billion for the year to the end of June. This translated into headline earnings per share of 146,2 cents, which were 32% higher than last year’s earnings of 111 cents per share.

The JSE was firmer in noon trade on Tuesday on the back of generally stronger global markets and a decline in the international price of crude oil. However, traders said the market was off its earlier highs and that volumes were nothing to write home about.

Black clients stand to benefit from Nedbank’s black economic empowerment deal that will see approximately 11,5% of the banking group falling into the hands of a broad-based empowerment group. Black individuals who hold a primary account with Nedbank or its divisions stand to benefit from an innovative bonus-share scheme.