Rand advances as confidence returns
April 11, 2016--The rand has reached a four-month high against the dollar, as a successful Eurobond sale and a corporate takeover offer boosted confidence.
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Source: FIN24
JSE treads water as rand gathers strength
April 11, 2016--Last week's rally on the JSE continued in early morning trade, but gains were modest and stocks have been losing momentum as the rand upheld its strong recovery.
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Source: FIN24
Nigerian stocks down after MSCI says could remove Nigeria from frontier index
April 11, 2016--Nigerian stocks fell on Monday after index provider MSCI said it could remove Nigeria from its frontier markets index following the central bank's introduction of currency controls last year.
MSCI said late on Thursday that it was seeking feedback from investors on the ease of access to the Nigerian stock market and would announce its decision on or before April 29.
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Source: Reuters
Africa: Low Commodity Prices Continue to Impede Growth
April 11, 2016--Economic activity in Sub-Saharan Africa slowed in 2015, with GDP growth averaging 3.0 percent, down from 4.5 percent in 2014. This means that the pace of expansion decelerated to the lows last seen in 2009.
These figures are outlined in Africa's Pulse, the World Bank's twice-yearly analysis of economic trends and latest data for the region. The 2016 growth forecast remains subdued at 3.3 percent, way below the robust 6.8 percent growth in GDP that the region sustained in the 2003-2008 period. Overall, growth is projected to pick up in 2017-2018 to 4.5 percent.
view the Africa's Pulse-April 2016 report
Source: World Bank
IMF-Nigeria-Selected Issues
April 8, 2016--OPTIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR A FISCAL RULE FOR
NIGERIA'S OIL WEALTH MANAGEMENT1
1. Despite a diversified economy, Nigeria's fiscal policy is heavily dependent on the oil
sector. With oil price falling, Nigeria's fiscal authorities are faced with significant challenges. Oil
revenues have declined, limiting fiscal spending and fiscal buffers have been almost depleted.
Setting Nigeria's fiscal policy on a more sustainable course is needed going forward. In the presence
of sizeable revenue derived from oil, the near-term priority should focus on better and effective
management of oil wealth. To that effect, a sound fiscal framework is needed.
view the IMF country paper-Nigeria-Selected Issues
Source: IMF
SA's credit rating at risk due to political tensions-S&P
April 6, 2016--Ratings agency S&P says a focus on political issues could divert the SA government's attention from issues around policy implementation, impacting on low growth levels.
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Source: FIN24
New bourse for African beef commodities
April 2, 2016--A new exchange will trade southern and eastern Africa's agricultural commodities.
African Beef Exchange, headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana, brings together trading of a wide range of cattle and cattle products.
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Source: African Capital Market News
JSE shrugs off market euphoria over Nkandla ruling
April 1, 2016--The rand has continued its strong surge, but the currency market's euphoria over the Constitutional Court's Nkandla ruling did not extend to the JSE.
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Source: FIN24
Saudi will only freeze oil output if Iran, others do
April 1, 2016--Saudi Arabia will only freeze output if other key producers, including Iran, take a similar measure, its deputy crown prince says.
JSE rally runs out of steam
March 31, 2016--The global run on financial markets did not last long and new worries about the oil price have put a damper on the strong recovery, with the JSE also losing ground.
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Source: FIN24