By Alec Hogg

In today's global headlines:

• Saudi Arabia's once secretive national oil company Aramco lifted the veil on its financials yesterday to expose that it is by some distance the biggest profit generating company on earth. Aramco, which plans to raise $10bn through the sale of corporate bonds, disclosed that last year it produced net profit of $111bn – virtually double Apple Inc, previously regarded as the world's most profitable business. The bond sale will be used to help fund the purchase of Saudi Arabia's national petrochemicals firm and to show the seriousness of the intention to publicly list the company's shares in 2021. Aramco wants to use the IPO to build futuristic new cities and diversity Saudi Arabia's economy by funding the development of a host of non-oil industries like technology, entertainment and mining.
• Two former employees of Barclays Bank were sentenced to jail for their roles in rigging of the Europe's benchmark interest rate. A former trader, 40-year-old Carlo Palombo, was sentenced to four years in prison, and his colleague, 62-year-old Colin Bermingham, a senior rate submitter, was given five years. Another former colleague one-time star trader Philippe Moryoussef was tried in absentia last year and sentenced to eight years in prison, while his partner in crime Christian Bittar of Deutsche Bank got five years. During the years when they were fiddling with the rate, between 2005 and 2009, Bittar earned more than £57m in pay and bonuses. Moryoussef, who received similar bonuses, is in France.
• The South African rand rallied strongly yesterday after Friday's non-statement from Moody's, which simply stated that the rating was not adjusted with the next review on November 1. Moody's is the only one of the Big Three ratings agencies to still give South African debt investment grade status. Its non-statement on the scheduled reporting date now provides breathing space for the country's new president Cyril Ramaphosa to implement long-awaited economic reforms, presumably after the May 8 general election. Yields on South Africa's 10-year debt dropped nine basis points to 5.1%, their lowest level in a year, while the exchange rate gained a sharp 2.4% to R14.16 against the US dollar. The JSE's banking stock index rose almost 4%.
• It's now four winning sessions in a row for South African shares as the JSE picked up 1.1% yesterday led higher by financial and industrial shares. Coronation Fund Managers was a feature with a 7% surge, with fellow asset manager Sygnia rising 6.6%. Gold shares were punished with Harmony and Anglogold shares losing 5%. Horse racing stock Phumulela dropped almost 5% after last Friday's financial results. Ayo Technology Solutions, which has featured in the commission of inquiry into the PIC which invested R4.3bn into the business at an allegedly inflated share price, reported a strong set of interims to end February with headline earnings per share up 226% to 56c a share while an interim dividend of 35c a share has been declared.