Latest news and views in Brief
Spokesman for the Presidency Mac Maharaj today announced that South African President Jacob Zuma (right) has been admitted to hospital for tests. Maharaj said doctors are satisfied with his condition. Zuma turned 72 in April. Yesterday Zuma was advised to rest following a demanding election and transition programme to the new administration and said he … Read more
From the SA Press Association: The mineral resource department will pull out of negotiations in the platinum wage dispute if parties do not come to an agreement next week, Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi said on Saturday. “On Monday all the parties [mine executives and Amcu] will be coming back. Hopefully we will have a happy Monday or we will … Read more
From Allan Thomson of Dreadnought Capital: I am very sad to inform you that Stuart Rees passed away last Saturday. Stuart was the first CEO of the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX.) Many of the practices we take for granted in the South African derivative markets were conceived and implemented by Stuart. He was an … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A South African footwear manufacturing union said on Friday it would go on a wage strike from Monday, the latest industrial action to hit an economy already reeling from a five-month stoppage in the platinum sector. Thousand of Members of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) are set to … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa‘s biggest insurer, Sanlam, reported a 23 percent jump in earnings for the first four months of the year on Wednesday after booking increased new business volumes and higher returns from investment services. The company established nearly a century ago said new business increased 21 percent to 59 billion rand ($5.5 … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African gold producer Sibanye Gold said it expected headline earnings per share to be at least 20 percent lower in the six months to end-June, due to an increase in shares issued after it was spun-off from Gold Fields and made acquisitions. The mining company said it expected higher production in … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African power utility Eskom said on Wednesday its senior executives would not get annual bonuses this year as the company implemented cost-cutting measures to address a funding shortfall of 225 billion rand ($21 billion). A lower-than-hoped-for rise in electricity rates last year left state-owned Eskom with the $21 billion revenue gap … Read more
PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa’s central bank Governor Gill Marcus said on Tuesday she did not see the continent’s most advanced economy going into recession, despite a GDP contraction of 0.6 percent in the first quarter. “It would have to be a very dramatic decrease on the numbers that are already there for us to go into a recession, … Read more
JOHANNESBURG – JOHANNESBURG, June 4 (Reuters) – South Africa’s private sector kept shrinking in May as a five-month strike at the country’s platinum mines depressed output and new orders, a business survey showed on Wednesday. HSBC’s Whole Economy Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 49.7 in May from 49.4 in April as output and new orders, … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand held steady against the dollar early on Wednesday, tracking the euro and finding support from investors who believed the local unit was oversold after three consecutive days of losses. At 0638 GMT the rand was trading at 10.7585 to the dollar, not far off a 10.7630 close in New York … Read more