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Rand weak on euro breakup jitters
May 14, 2012--The rand was weaker in afternoon trade on Monday as tension between Germany and Greece raised the possibility of a breakup of the eurozone.
"The market is very jittery right now, so the flight is into safe havens such as the US dollar," a local trader said.
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Source: FIN24
SA economy recovering slowly -index
May 14, 2012--The South African economy is recovering, although at a very slow pace, according to the BankservAfrica Economic Transaction Index (Beti) released on Monday.
"Whilst the economy is not treading water, but actually moving ahead, the pace does seem pedestrian," said Brad Gillis, CEO regulated products at BankservAfrica, in a statement.
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Source: AME Info
Sustaining Growth amid Global Uncertainty-Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa region
May 14, 2012--Sub-Saharan Africa continues to record strong economic growth, despite the weaker global economic environment. Regional output rose by 5 percent in 2011, with growth set to increase slightly in 2012, helped by still-strong commodity prices, new resource exploitation, and the improved domestic conditions that have underpinned several years of solid trend growth in the region's low-income countries.
But there is variation in performance across the region, with output in middle-income countries tracking more closely the global slowdown and with some sub-regions adversely affected, at least temporarily, by drought. Threats to the outlook include the risk of intensified financial stresses in the euro area spilling over into a further slowing of the global economy and the possibility of an oil price surge triggered by rising geopolitical tensions.
view the IMF Regional Economic Outlook-Sub-Saharan Africa
Sustaining Growth amid Global Uncertainty
Source: IMF
Rand weakness limits JSE losses
May 11, 2012-- The JSE was off the session's lows at noon on Friday, with the weaker rand keeping losses on the local exchange in check, against global negative investor sentiment.
At 12:01 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.21% to 33 797.81 points, with resources losing 1.07%, platinum miners dropping 0.73% and gold counters shedding 0.65%.
Financials were flat (0.05%), while banking stocks were off 0.26% and industrials lifted 0.25%
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Source: FIN24
JSE ends 5-day losing streak
May 10, 2012--The JSE ended firmer on Thursday, snapping a five-day losing streak, as investors picked up beaten down shares following the recent selloff on euro area jitters.
The general mining counters led the rebound, which was boosted in part by improved global sentiment following the better than expected US jobless claims data.
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Source: FIN24
Rand stronger on dollar sale
May 10, 2012--The rand was stronger in afternoon trade on Thursday after a big order to take profit on dollars, according to a dealer. However, continuing European jitters are expected to keep the rand in a weaker band.
The dollar sale order meant rand's were purchased. But the dealer added: ?We could see big buying interest of the dollar at 7.95/dlr rand to the dollar.?
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Source: FIN24
JSE stays weaker at noon
MAy 9, 2012--The JSE was decidedly weaker at noon on Wednesday after a slightly positive start, with political tension in Greece still the central focus of investor attention.
At 12:02 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.31% to 33 443.96 points, taking the losses to 2.77% since the start of the month. Platinum shares fell 0.97%, taking the losses in that index to 7.16% since April 30.
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Source: FIN24
Volatile rand breaches R8/$
May 9, 2012--The rand weakened by over 10 cents on Wednesday afternoon as European political turmoil continued to upset emerging market sentiment.
An analyst said attention had shifted to the actions of the European Central Bank (ECB) as it attempted to counter the crisis.
The possibility of Greece's exit from the ECB has heightened global concern after reported figures showed an increase in the chances of exiting had risen to 15% from 5%. It is hoped the ECB can stop a potential Greek exit.
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Source: FIN24
JSE extends losses on risk aversion
May 8, 2012--The JSE extended losses at noon on Tuesday, tracking the weaker trend on world stock markets, with political uncertainty in Greece still the main catalyst for market selloffs, in the absence of fresh market moving data.
At 12:03 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.59% to 33 756.54 points, with platinum shares falling 1.41%, gold miners shedding 0.90% and resource counters losing 0.44%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand retreats to three-week low
May 8, 2012--South Africa's rand hit its worst level in three-weeks on Tuesday, declining with investors' appetite to take up risk while Europe looks politically unstable. Soft domestic jobs numbers added to the beating as they pointed to an uncertain economic recovery.
Joblessness increased to 25.2% of the labour force in the first quarter of the year, rising back to the stubborn quarter mark after 23.9% unemployment in the fourth quarter.
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Source: FIN24
