Latest news and views in Brief
By Keith Wallis SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent futures held above $109 a barrel on Friday as fresh tensions over Ukraine kept them on course for their biggest weekly rise since mid-April, but returning Libyan supply capped gains. U.S. crude futures were also heading for their best week in five, bolstered by data indicating the U.S. economy could … Read more
By A. Ananthalakshmi SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Gold struggled below $1,300 an ounce on Friday as U.S. jobs and factory data indicated brighter prospects for the economy, hurting the metal’s appeal as an investment hedge. Platinum was headed for its best weekly gain in three months on supply worries from prolonged strikes in top producer South Africa, … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The rand steadied against the dollar early on Friday, taking a breather as investors reacted to weak eurozone growth data and worried about violence in the platinum belt. Friday’s session is expected to be quiet, with few domestic and global events scheduled, which should keep the rand trading within the previous day’s … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Africa’s biggest telecommunications operator MTN Group plans to spend $3 billion to upgrade and expand the infrastructure of its operations in Nigeria over the next three years, South Africa’s Business Day newspaper reported on Friday. “We will continue to invest at this rate in the medium term and make sure the overall quality of service in … Read more
By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) – Anglo-South African financial group Old Mutual posted a 24 percent rise in gross sales of its products ranging from insurance to investment funds, helped by a strong performance in Africa. In a trading statement on Thursday, the company – a member of Britain’s FTSE 100 index – said gross sales in the … Read more
By Zandi Shabalala MARIKANA South Africa (Reuters) – South African platinum producer Lonmin said on Thursday it might go to court in a bid to stop a 16-week strike because of the levels of violence faced by workers who want to return to work. The company also said some miners had turned up for work at its operations, but … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Tiger Brands, Africa’s second-biggest consumer foods maker, took a 849 million rand ($82 million) writedown on its loss-making Nigerian business on Thursday, as it struggles with tough competition and weak margins. South Africa-based Tiger Brands, which also flagged as much as a 9 percent rise in first-half profit, has been trying to make money out … Read more
Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group, announced its audited consolidated results for the year ended 31 March 2014. Financial highlights Sales grew by 5 % to EUR 10 649 million; and by 10 % at constant exchange rates Satisfactory broad-based growth Operating profit in line with the prior year at EUR 2 419 million Operating margin … Read more
The bloodbath in company reputations has largely continued this year, with the exception of retailer Woolworths, which emerged with an even stronger reputation in Reputation Institute’s National RepTrak® Pulse survey. Last year’s top company, Vodacom, fared particularly poorly in 2014, dropping a massive 9.35 points to sixth position in the table, one position below its … Read more
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African banks face an increase in bad loans due to rising interest rates and the prevalence of unsecured lending, ratings agency Moody’s said on Wednesday. The central bank hiked its repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 percent in January and analysts polled by Reuters forecast the benchmark rate to … Read more