Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus believes that while adjustments to tapering will be trying, it is ultimately good news.
Speculation over whether the US Fed will begin tapering sees the rand drop ahead of a decision.
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Libyan rebels have decided to keep oil export terminals shut following the government’s rejection of their demands to share revenues.
The Reserve Bank seeks to diversify its currency exposure to help protect reserves from a potential rise in US Treasury yields.
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The Federal Reserve’s decision to hold on tapering plans will see happy days for emerging markets once again as JPMorgan upgrades its equities.
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Gold has risen to the highest weekly gain since October 2011 after US Federal Reserve chairperson Ben Bernanke called for maintaining stimulus.
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The United States Federal Reserve’s final policy meeting of the year and a European Union summit will dominate the economic week ahead.
If governments take on private-sector debt created during the subprime crisis, the poor will be hardest hit, economist Iraj Abedian said in Cape Town on Tuesday. ”Heaven help us if it happens in developing countries,” he told a discussion on the global economic meltdown.
Oil prices were steady on Thursday after retreating from levels just cents below the record trading high established in the previous session on an unexpected drop in United States crude inventories. By afternoon in Europe, the contract was up 25 cents, fetching ,12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The United States mortgage crisis has spiralled into ”the largest financial shock since the Great Depression” and there is a one-in-four chance that it will cause a full-blown global recession, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Wednesday.
Despite sagging global growth, soaring oil prices and the threat of renewed turmoil hanging over share markets, Europe appears to have managed so far to weather the storm unleashed by the upheaval in the United States housing market and fears of a major world economic slump.
Oil prices rose on Monday in Asia as prospects for further cuts in United States interest rates seemed more likely after poor US jobs data at the end of last week. The US Labour Department said on Friday that employers cut payrolls by 80 000 jobs last month, many more than analysts had expected.
Oil prices slipped more than a barrel on Monday as traders worried that the flagging United States economy would cause oil demand to soften. Oil’s sharp decline started last week. Crude futures started plunging after the US Federal Reserve-backed sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase created fears of deeper economic problems.
Heavyweight counters on the JSE’s resource and mining indices pulled back sharply on Thursday morning, as commodity prices started to lose ground, traders said. The slump in commodity prices forced the JSE’s broader all-share index to pull back 3,23% by noon.
Gold added $24,95, or 2,49%, to trade at $1 025,05 by 1.30pm on Monday — this after rising more than 3% to a record $1 032,60 a troy ounce in overnight trade. Oil prices have also rallied in response to the dollar’s weakness overnight with Nymex crude setting a fresh all-time high of $111,80.
An affiliate of United States-based buyout firm Carlyle Group has defaulted on about ,6-billion of debt and expects its lenders to seize remaining assets as the global credit crunch tightens around leveraged investors. A ”successful refinancing is not possible,” Carlyle Capital said.
Asian and European stock markets plunged on Thursday as investor sentiment was hammered by resurgent credit concerns, the plunging dollar and record high oil prices, dealers said. Global financial markets were also roiled after a troubled fund backed by United States private equity giant Carlyle said it expected its creditors to seize its remaining assets.
Asian and European equities surged higher on Wednesday, mirroring an overnight rebound on Wall Street after major central banks announced a massive cash injection for stressed financial markets. However, dealers voiced scepticism over whether the concerted central bank action would head off the global credit crunch and bring stability to choppy world stock markets.
A global equities sell-off gathered speed on Friday as nervous investors were hit by growing United States recession fears, a plunging dollar and record oil prices, dealers said. European markets fell after sharp losses earlier in Asia and overnight on Wall Street following more bad news on the US subprime home-loan crisis.
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/ 28 January 2008
Asian and European stock markets fell sharply again on Monday as investors worried about possible recession and a forthcoming interest-rate call in the United States, analysts said. The Paris market fell amid anxiety and tension after an alleged -billion fraud was unearthed last week at French bank Société Générale.
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/ 26 January 2008
Jérôme Kerviel, a shy and introverted young city trader, lived on a tree-lined street in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the wealthy Paris suburb dubbed Sarkozyland in honour of its famous political son. Its yuppies live by Nicolas Sarkozy’s mantra ”work more to earn more”.
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/ 24 January 2008
Global share prices rocketed on Thursday, though fears of an economic slowdown lingered as Société Générale revealed a massive €4,9-billion fraud-related loss it attributed to one of its traders. Europe’s leading share indices surged in morning deals, with gains of between 4% and more than 5% after a recovery on the Japanese market.
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/ 22 January 2008
Wall Street was expected to plunge at the opening of trading on Tuesday, extending its huge losses from last week and taking more cues from heavy selling that has spread throughout the world. Indicators showed the Dow Jones industrial average was set to fall by about 500 points when trading begins.
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/ 22 January 2008
The United States Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed benchmark US interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in an emergency bid to lend support to a US economy some fear is on the verge of recession. The Fed’s action took the key federal funds rate, which governs overnight lending between banks, down to 3,5%.
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/ 18 January 2008
South African stocks fell over 3% on Friday on increasing fears that the United States economy could be hit by a recession. By 8.55am GMT the top-40 index had crept back from a session and stood 2,76% weaker at 23 936,98 points, off the day’s worst level of 23 816,5.
Global economic growth is "robust" but inflation risks remain as markets absorb the impact of the United States subprime crisis and higher food prices, European Central Bank (ECB) chief Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday. "Food is a very big problem" stoking inflationary pressures, Trichet said.
World oil prices eased further from the historic $100-a-barrel level on Monday after weak US employment data fanned worries about recession and demand in the world’s biggest energy consumer, dealers said. In afternoon trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was 71 cents lower at $97,20 a barrel.
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/ 19 December 2007
Gold is on course to close 2007 at least $100 higher, setting the yellow metal up for its seventh consecutive year of gains in 2008. An ounce of gold cost $629,80 at the start of 2007 and was trading close to $800 an ounce by mid-December after touching $841,10 in November –- its highest level since 1980.
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/ 26 November 2007
Oil prices rose to near a barrel on Monday on signs of colder weather in the United States and Europe and the continued weakness of the dollar. The Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday marked the unofficial start of winter in the US. Among other areas, south-eastern New Mexico got up to 23cm of snow.
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/ 21 November 2007
Oil soared to record highs on Wednesday, drawing within a hair’s breadth of the milestone as the United States dollar plumbed new lows and the onset of cold weather stirred anxiety over winter supplies. US light crude for January delivery surged to a record of ,29 a barrel early in the session, but pared those gains to stand 61 cents higher at ,64.
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/ 14 November 2007
Chevron, the number-two United States oil company, has agreed to pay -million to resolve criminal and civil liabilities related to procurement of oil under the United Nations oil-for-food programme, US prosecutors said on Wednesday. Chevron will not be prosecuted and will continue to cooperate with investigators, they said.
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/ 9 November 2007
Oil prices rose on Friday to regain ground lost in a fall the previous session, as persistent supply concerns and a late rebound in United States stocks offset worries about US economic growth. Wall Street fell on Thursday but finished well off its lows after a late rebound in financial shares lifted other stock sectors.