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Economy News

Manufacturing output expands 7,9%, growth may slow

By: Chanel de Bruyn 8th July 2010 South Africa’s manufacturing output grew by 7,9% year-on-year in May and while this was lower than the 8,7% year-on-year growth in April, it was not necessarily as a result of economic weakness, an economist has said. Absa Capital senior economist Ian Marsberg said that the investment bank had... →

World Cup gives business confidence a boost

By: Chanel de Bruyn 8th July 2010 Despite indications that the global economy may remain depressed over the medium term, the successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup could boost domestic business confidence, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said on Thursday. The chamber, which reported a 2,8 point... →

Renewables scale-up core to Zille's sustainability road map

By: Jade Davenport 7th July 2010 Western Cape Premier Helen Zille officially released the Western Cape provincial government's (WCPG) strategic plan on environmental sustainability and resource-use efficiency in Cape Town on Wednesday, in which a target was set for generating 15% of the province's electricity from renewable... →

Red tape continues to stymie SA's foreign investors, report finds

By: Terence Creamer 7th July 2010 It takes eight procedures and 65 days to establish a foreign-owned limited liability company in South Africa, which a new World Bank study says is slower than both the sub-Saharan African average of 48 days and the global average of 42 days. The ‘Investing Across Borders 2010' report - which... →

Africa rocketing out of recession

By: Keith Campbell 6th July 2010 Africa is the region that is growing fastest out of the global recession. “Our prediction is that this year the continent will have a growth of 4,5%, next year 5,5% and then 6%,” reported African Development Bank vice-president and chief economist Professor Mthuli Ncube on Tuesday. “This is a... →

Africa needs foreign investment to tackle infrastructure deficit

By: Keith Campbell 6th July 2010 The infrastructure deficit in Africa currently amounts, in monetary terms, to $1,5-trillion, African Development Bank vice-president and Chief Economist Prof Mthuli Ncube told Engineering News Online on Tuesday. And the continent probably can’t afford to finance all the required development from... →

Busa calls on Eskom and its unions to keep talking

By: Terence Creamer 2nd July 2010 Organised business on Friday urged Eskom and its trade unions to continue with collective bargaining efforts to resolve the current wage negotiation stalemate, indicating that it was "deeply concerned" at the prospect of industrial action at the power utility, which is classified as an essential... →

Land reform delays cause uncertainty in the sugar industry

By: Eleanor Seggie 2nd July 2010 The ongoing land reform programme remains an area of significant focus for the South African sugar industry, reports the South African Sugar Association (Sasa). →

Sugar price volatility fears eased

By: Eleanor Seggie 2nd July 2010 Finance was a significant concern at the recent Kingsman Asia Pacific sugar conference in Singapore, reports market analyst and broker in the world sugar and biofuels markets Kingsman. →

Engineers needed to provide economic growth impetus

By: Petronel Smit 2nd July 2010 Inadequate economic growth can partly be ascribed to the lack of engineers in the country. About 60% to 75% of enrolled engineering students finish their degree. →

Association supports small-scale growers

By: Eleanor Seggie 2nd July 2010 The small-scale cane growers sector is currently operating below potential, with sharply reduced yields and a 20 % decline in the number of growers in this sector, over the past five years, reports the South African Cane Growers Association (Canegrowers). →

Industry research efforts make headway

By: Eleanor Seggie 2nd July 2010 The Sugar Milling Research Institute (SMRI) reports that its research and development (R&D) initiatives have resulted in a number of commercial opportunities that will add significant value to sugar-cane processing. →

World Cup to yield little for SA's manufacturers - Coface

By: Dennis Ndaba 1st July 2010 The direct benefits for South Africa's struggling manufacturing sector from the 2010 World Cup will be limited to retail- and hospitality-related manufacturers, with limited spinoffs likely for the sector as a whole, trade credit protection company Coface said on Thursday. Coface South Africa's... →

SA has lowest employment ratio in Africa – report

By: Loni Prinsloo 1st July 2010 Africa's largest economy, South Africa, is boasting the highest unemployment ratio on the continent, with almost 60% of people being unemployed and 25% choosing not to participate in the country's economy. Economist Mike Schussler, who presented the '2010 Uasa South African employment report' in... →

South African PMI drops below 50-point level

By: Chanel de Bruyn 1st July 2010 The manufacturing sector’s contribution to overall gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter would likely be “meaningfully less” than the 1,3 percentage points contributed during the first quarter of the year, Kagiso Securities head of fixed income André Coetzee said on Thursday,... →

NUM ready to defy strike ban, Solidarity rejects new offer, Eskom makes contingency plans

By: Sapa 30th June 2010 The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Wednesday formally notified Eskom of its intention to go on strike next week over wages, a union spokesman said. "Today [Wednesday] we started mobilising our members for the strike," said NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka. →

Bicycle wholesalers, retailers face price-fixing charge

By: Creamer Media Reporter 28th June 2010 The Competition Commission has requested the Competition Tribunal to levy an administrative penalty on 28 bicycle wholesalers and retailers that it believes had been involved in price-fixing activities during 2008. The firms were facing allegations that they colluded to set the wholesale and... →

Jobs must take centre stage in SA growth plans – Patel

By: Chanel de Bruyn 25th June 2010 For South Africa to achieve results in growing the economy, existing packages could not simply be repackaged and jobs had to be at the centre of the country’s common goal, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Thursday. Patel and Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies met with... →

Job creation should supplant wage increases in SA's income inequality battle

By: Terence Creamer 25th June 2010 The current emphasis on wage increases to address South Africa's income inequality crisis is inappropriate and should urgently shift to a focus on economic inclusion for those six-million-plus citizens who are currently unemployed, a group of leading international economists argues. Speaking at... →

Zuma declares Africa ‘open for business’

By: Sapa 25th June 2010 South African President Jacob Zuma declared Africa "open for business" in an address to business leaders before the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Toronto, Canada, on Thursday. Speaking at a lunch-time meeting, attended by Stephen Hayes, president and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa and... →

Tribunal confirms R13m settlement in bitumen case

By: Chanel de Bruyn 23rd June 2010 The Competition Tribunal has confirmed a R13-million settlement agreement between petroleum products producer and marketer Masana Petroleum Solutions and the Competition Commission in relation to a bitumen and bituminous products price-fixing cartel. Following an application for leniency made by... →

SA to push for cure to economic imbalances at G20 - Gordhan

By: Loni Prinsloo 23rd June 2010 South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday that the world has been suffering from an economic imbalance for years, and that South Africa would be pushing for a cure at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Canada this weekend. "The world has been suffering from an imbalance for... →

CPI slows further, door open for rate cut

By: Reuters 23rd June 2010 South Africa's consumer inflation slowed further to a new four-year low in May, leaving the door open for another interest rate cut in July. Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday headline inflation slowed to 4,6% year-on-year in May, bang in line with Reuters forecasts and the lowest reading... →

SA economy shed 79 000 formal jobs in Q1

By: Chanel de Bruyn 22nd June 2010 The number of people employed in the formal sector declined by 1%, or 79 000 employees, during the first quarter of this year, compared with the fourth quarter of 2009, Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA’s) latest Quarterly Employment Statistics showed on Tuesday. Year-on-year, the number of... →

SA to continue creating jobs after World Cup – Zuma

By: Chanel de Bruyn 22nd June 2010 South Africa has “serious plans” to create new jobs after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with government’s R800-billion infrastructure plans expected to assist in this, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday. Speaking at a Reuters newsmaker event in Sandton, he noted that the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a... →

China emerging as key African trade partner, report shows

By: Terence Creamer 18th June 2010 Africa's total merchandise trade with non-African developing countries surged from $34-billion in 1995 to a material $283-billion in 2008, making this category of trading partner the continent's fastest growing, a new United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) study shows. It... →

Manufacturing rebound loses momentum

By: Chanel de Bruyn 17th June 2010 The rebound in South Africa’s manufacturing industry has slowed, with few producers seeing improvements in the coming 12 months, a Bureau for Economic Research (BER) survey showed on Thursday. The BER said that the sector had lost some momentum during the second quarter of the year. →

Minister has no authority to dismiss SoE employees, DPE avers

By: Terence Creamer 15th June 2010 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) felt compelled on Tuesday to "to provide clarity" on Minister Barbara Hogan's statement to Parliament regarding the future of Siyabonga Gama at State-owned freight logistics group, Transnet. In a Parliamentary response, Hogan indicated that Transnet... →

Africa must launch tough economic reforms – Clinton

By: Reuters 15th June 2010 African nations must stop seeking handouts and begin tough structural reforms, especially on trade, if they truly want to improve their economies, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday. "Most of the work that needs to be done needs to be done in Africa," Clinton told a forum about US... →

Hopes that World Cup could kickstart SA economy

By: Creamer Media Reporter 14th June 2010 Hopes were riding high that the 2010 FIFA World Cup could boost business confidence and kickstart the local economy, said debt counseling firm Consumer Assist. Economic indicators were not looking good, CEO Andre Snyman said, adding that new growth was necessary to stem a tide of jobless young... →

Inspectors undergoing training in legal aspects of health, safety

By: Petronel Smit 11th June 2010 Inspectors from the Department of Labour (DoL) are currently being trained in health and safety law to improve their competences from a legal perspective. →

Joburg academy receives millions for artisan training

By: Petronel Smit 11th June 2010 The five-year partnership agreement, to 2013, between social development body the Tiso Foundation and the Ikhaya Ioku Fundisa Techniskills Academy (IFTA) has seen R15,7-million allocated to the Artisan Development Programme for the training of learners in critical and scarce skills. →

World Bank expects Africa's recovery to continue, but debt crisis blurs outlook

By: Terence Creamer 9th June 2010 Economic growth in the sub-Saharan Africa region is expected to continue its gradual postcrisis recovery between 2010 and 2012, driven by rising commodity prices and stronger external demand, the World Bank's ‘Global Economic Prospects 2010' report, released on Thursday, states. But the report... →

Sacci says trade activity recovered in May

By: Creamer Media Reporter 9th June 2010 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) Trade Activity Index (TAI) recovered some of its April losses during May, moving up four points to 51. Fewer trading days in April had seen the TAI fall by nine points to 47, down from 56 in March. →

African economies should boost tax collection, cut reliance on aid

By: Chanel de Bruyn 8th June 2010 African economies could, and had to, boost tax collections and reduce their reliance on aid, Jean-Philippe Stijns, an economist at the Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Tuesday. Speaking on findings of the ‘African Economic Outlook 2010’... →

SA employers report cautiously optimistic hiring plans for Q3 – survey

By: Loni Prinsloo 8th June 2010 South Africa's employment outlook dropped slightly to a "cautiously optimistic" 7% for the third quarter compared with the second quarter, but employer hiring intentions still improved with five percentage points compared with the third quarter last year, stated ‘The Manpower Employment Survey'... →

Southern African economies likely to underperform relative to African peers

By: Chanel de Bruyn 8th June 2010 African economies are rebounding strongly from the global economic crisis, with the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP) expected to expand by 4,5% this year and by 5,2% in 2011. However, some regions would expand at a slower rate, African Development Bank research divisional head Peter... →

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