Rand firmer in volatile market

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand crept up against the dollar on Monday after gyrating in a wide range as investors returned tentatively towards emerging market assets, while a firmer euro and gold price added support.

After swinging in a wide 15 cent band, the rand stood at 7.0785 versus the dollar at 1525 GMT, about 0.64 percent firmer than its New York close of 7.1250 on Friday. It weakened to 7.19/dollar earlier in the session.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Nedbank First-Half Net Rose 42 Percent as It Boosted Corporate Lending

(Bloomberg) -- Nedbank Group Ltd., South Africa's
fourth-biggest bank, said first-half profit rose 42 percent,
boosted by gains in corporate lending. The company expects 2007
earnings to increase by as much as 33 percent.

Net income in the six months to June 30 advanced to
2.78 billion rand ($389 million), or 7.05 rand a share, from
1.95 billion rand, or 5.77 rand, a year earlier, the Johannesburg-
based company said in a statement today. Annual profit-per share
will rise 22 percent to 33 percent, it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Nedbank lifts H1 headline EPS by 34 pct

(Reuters) - South African banking firm Nedbank Group increased first-half headline earnings per share by 34 percent as loans and advances increased, but it said on Monday bad loans were rising.

Nedbank, majority-owned by insurer Old Mutual, said headline EPS were 700 cents, while headline earnings for the six months to end-June increased to 2.775 billion rand.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Rand softer vs dollar as risk aversion weighs

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was weaker against the dollar in late Friday trade -- giving up its earlier gains -- as the greenback's own softness against the yen brought risky-asset jitters back to the fore.

At around 1510 GMT, the rand was trading at 7.1135 against the dollar, down 0.33 percent from New York's Thursday close of 7.09, having earlier strengthened to 7.0360 as some market players liquidated long dollar positions.


Read more at Reuters Africa

BA CEO expects fines provision to suffice

(Reuters) - BA set aside the provision in May and this week U.S. and UK authorities unveiled fines worth almost 270 million pounds.




Authorities in Europe, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are also probing BA's fuel surcharges.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Johncom rejigs management after M-Net sale

(Reuters) - South African media firm Johnnic Communications has rejigged management as it focuses on expanding its media and entertainment business after selling its stake in pay-TV channels M-Net and Supersport.

Johncom said in a statement on Monday the restructuring would help the company sharpen its focus as it expands its core media and entertainment business. The firm said last year it was selling its stake in M-Net and Supersport to Naspers.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Angola building hotels as oil boom fuels demand

(Reuters) - Booming Angola is building dozens of hotels and guesthouses to meet rising demand that has pushed the price of a room in the capital Luanda to $250 per night, the country's tourism minister said on Friday.

The southwestern African state also needs thousands of new hotel rooms to accommodate visitors to an international diamond summit in 2009 and the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament, which it will host in 2010. About 2,000 people have already registered for the summit.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Union cancels wage talks with Angloplat, row continues

(Reuters) - South Africa's biggest mining union cancelled wage talks due on Thursday with Anglo Platinum Ltd because the miner was apparently not prepared to substantially change its offer, a union official said.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) declared a dispute, the first legal step towards a strike, on July 11, but never officially filed it after Angloplat said it may raise its offer.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.Africa June PPI slows to 10.4 pct yr/yr

(Reuters) - South Africa's producer price inflation braked to 10.4 percent year-on-year in June, bang in line with forecasts, after an 11.3 percent increase in May, official data showed on Thursday.

On a monthly basis, PPI increased by 2.1 percent after a 1.1 percent rise in May.


Read more at Reuters Africa

WWF launches bid to save southern Africa fisheries

(Reuters) - Fisheries in southern Africa face further decline unless a new approach to fishing is adopted, the World Wildlife Fund said on Wednesday at the launch of a report aimed at protecting the region's marine life.

The WWF said industry should move away from its traditional reliance on "single species" conservation in which targeted populations, such as hake, were maintained without consideration for other species, such as sharks and seabirds.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Exxaro sees H1 headline EPS 232-258 cents

(Reuters) - South African black-owned miner Exxaro Rersources expects to report first-half attributable and headline earnings per share of between 232 and 258 cents, the company said on Tuesday.

The company could not provide comparable figures because Exxaro was created through a black empowerment deal at the end of 2006.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.Africa maize rallies on crop output jitters

(Reuters) - South Africa's most-active maize contract jumped by over two percent on Tuesday as worries about a smaller-than-anticipated harvest mounted ahead of the latest crop forecast.

December white maize firmed by 44.8 rand to 1,775.8 rand a tonne, close to the daily trading limit of 45 rand.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Platinum Declines in New York on Prospect Anglo Platinum Will Avoid Strike

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum fell from an 11-week high
in New York on expectations Anglo Platinum Ltd., the world's
biggest producer of the metal, will resolve a wage dispute with
miners later this week, avoiding a strike. Palladium also fell.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers agreed to
meet Anglo Platinum for more wage talks on July 26 and expects
an improved offer, union chief negotiator Oupa Koma said on
July 20. Before today, platinum had gained 18 percent this
year, partly on concerns strikes would disrupt supplies.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

S. African Rand Gains in Week on Expectations Interest-Rate Gap to Widen

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's rand advanced for a
fourth week, its best performance in almost a year versus the
dollar, on expectations the interest-rate gap with the U.S. will
widen.

The rand touched its highest in 11 months yesterday, buoyed
by expectations the Reserve Bank will keep raising borrowing
costs and on speculation the U.K.'s Standard Chartered Plc is in
talks to buy South Africa's Nedbank Group Ltd. The dollar held
near a record low against the euro on views slowing economic
growth will prevent the Federal Reserve from raising U.S. rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Aquarius contractor fires 3,000 striking workers

(Reuters) - More than 3,000 striking workers at two South African mines owned by platinum miner Aquarius Platinum have been dismissed, the firm said on Thursday.

The strike stemmed from demands for a bonus made by employees and followed the dismissal of 108 load-haul dumper operators in May. The rest of the contractor workforce went on a sympathy strike.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Standard Chartered eyes S.Africa's Nedbank -report

(Reuters) - The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said Asia-focused Standard Chartered had been in discussions with Nedbank for some time.



Business Day quoted Standard Chartered South Africa Chief Executive Officer Christopher Low as saying the country was core to the group's strategy to expand its African business.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Rand holds steady vs dollar in liquid market

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand remained around levels at which it has traded for the past two weeks on Wednesday, with an uptick in global risk aversion and central bank intervention seen blocking any significant gains.

At 1455 GMT the domestic unit was at 6.9640 versus the dollar, barely changed from Tuesday's New York close of 6.96, though it briefly visited 7.0001 earlier in the session.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.Africa maize deliveries at 4.257 mln T, boost price

(Reuters) - South African farmers have so far delivered 4.275 million tonnes of maize, data showed on Wednesday as the market rose on supply nerves generated by a gap between these figures and the official crop forecast.

White maize deliveries from South African farms rose to 2.682 million tonnes in the week to July 13 from 2.487 million, the South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) said on its website shortly after the market closed.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.African stocks weaker, led by resource shares

(Reuters) - South African shares closed weaker for the second straight day on Tuesday, led south by a slump in platinum shares following on a poor trading statement from miner Lonmin and losses by heavyweight miners Anglo American and BHP Billiton.

"Anglo and BHP were down and platinum shares as well because of Lonmin's production update. The market seems to be reading Lonmin's negative update as the outlook for the entire sector as well," a Johannesburg-based trader said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.Africa to raise nurses' pay by 20 percent

(Reuters) - AIDS-hit South Africa, which has seen many health workers leave for better pay overseas, will raise nurses' salaries by around 20 percent in an effort to keep more at home, the health minister said on Friday.

The announcement followed a pay strike by public servants last month which crippled operations in many public hospitals and schools. That strike ended when public service unions agreed to an increase of 7.5 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa