Publications
Partners
Cape Town - ICYMI: A roundup of Thursday's must-read financial and economic news.
Traders brace for 'explosive' rand moves after ANC decision
Rand traders haven’t been this nervous since the global financial crisis.
Just days before the ruling African National Congress elects a leader to replace President Jacob Zuma as party head, the rand’s implied volatility versus the dollar has shot up to levels last seen in 2008.
The measure, based on options to buy or sell the currency, suggests traders are preparing for big price swings, depending on the outcome of the leadership battle.
A win for Cyril Ramaphosa, a former trade unionist who built a multi-million rand business empire before becoming the party’s deputy president, could spark a rand rally to below R13/$, a level last seen in September, according to Rand Merchant Bank.
READ: Traders brace for 'explosive' rand moves after ANC election
Steinhoff 2016 financials also need to be restated
Global retail giant Steinhoff International on Thursday announced that its financials for 2016 will also need to be restated.
This comes after at least six organisations announced they were investigating the company after its CEO quit and the company's share price plunged dramatically from R46.25 last Tuesday to just R9.80 at Wednesday's close.
On Thursday the shares opened trading sharply lower at R8.90 before pulling back to R9.26 (-5.51%) by 09:11 on the JSE.
The precipitous decline in the share price was caused by a late night announcement on December 5 that Steinhoff’s audited year-end results had been delayed, and that CEO Markus Jooste was resigning "with immediate effect" amid suspected accounting irregularities.
READ: JUST IN: Steinhoff says 2016 financials also need to be restated
5 ANC policy proposals that could change SA's economy
Much of the focus has been on the leadership race in the build-up to the ANC’s 54th national conference, but there are also key policy proposals on the table which could change the economic trajectory of the country.
The changes were decided on during fierce debates in the economic commission at the ANC’s national policy conference in June/July.
The final proposals were circulated to the party's branches and provinces for further debate and will need to be ratified by the elective conference before they become official ANC policy.
The proposals include; The land expropriation debate, wealth tax, nationalising the Reserve Bank, mining matters and the competition policy.
PICS: Clifton villa sold for R120m
View from the lounge of the home sold for R120m
The property is situated on the slopes of Lion’s Head in Nettleton Road, which is regarded as one of the most expensive residential streets in South Africa. The deal was concluded by Dogon Group Properties and the buyer is South African.
According to Denise Dogon, CEO of Dogon Group, the house has seven levels and six bedrooms. It was designed by award-winning architect Stefan Antoni.
Features include a private cinema, a wine cellar, an office, a gymnasium, a massage room, a steam room, a library, a floating bar, staff accommodation and an infinity pool.
Sibanye plans to buy long-suffering Lonmin in R5.17bn deal
Sibanye offered £285m (R5.17bn) to buy Lonmin in an all-share offer, according to a statement on Thursday. The deal, Sibanye’s fourth major acquisition in the past two years, cements the status of CEO Neal Froneman as a top dealmaker in platinum and gold.
“The operating synergies between the two groups do incentivise a merger and could finally allow Lonmin to restructure and optimise its business,” wrote analysts at Berenberg in a research report.
“We view this as a positive for Lonmin and a negative for Sibanye on a valuation basis.”
* Sign up to Fin24's top news in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO FIN24 NEWSLETTER
