TJ Strydom | JOHANNESBURG
South Africa-based retail group Steinhoff International reported a 13 percent rise in half-year operating profit and a 48 percent jump in revenue as recent acquisitions buoyed sales.
Steinhoff, which bought U.S.-based Mattress Firm and Britain&#8217;s Poundland last year, said its operating profit rose to 903 million euros ($1.02 billion) in the six months to end-March, up from 797 million a year earlier.
<blockquote>&#8220;Excluding the recent strategic acquisitions, the company&#8217;s retail business achieved total organic revenue of 7.2 billion euros amidst volatile markets and currencies, translating to 9 percent organic growth,&#8221; Steinhoff said in a statement.</blockquote>
The South African group, which moved its primary listing to Frankfurt in 2015, focuses on thrifty furniture shoppers in developed markets such as Europe and the United States but also sells clothing and mobile phone airtime in Africa.
Geographical and product diversification in a resilient discount market helped the company achieve solid revenue and operating margins, Chief Executive Markus Jooste said.
Steinhoff, after withdrawing from a plan to merge its African assets with grocer Shoprite, last month said it planned to separately list its African businesses on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.
($1 = 0.8876 euros)
(Reporting by TJ Strydom; editing by Jason Neely)

South Africa’s Steinhoff reports rise in H1 profit, revenue

Nqobile Dludla | JOHANNESBURG
South African cement maker PPC reported a 93 percent decline in full-year earnings on Wednesday due to a liquidity crisis precipitated by the cut in its credit rating to junk status.
PPC, which is still negotiating a possible merger with rival Afrisam, said headline earnings per share fell to 7 cents from 107 cents in the comparable period last year.
S&amp;P Global Ratings (S&amp;P) downgraded the company&#8217;s long- and short-term South African national scale corporate credit ratings to zaBB- and zaB respectively in May 2016.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Sunil Nair)
&nbsp;

South Africa’s PPC’s FY profit slumps on S&P downgrade

Michelle Nichols | UNITED NATIONS
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe used an address on Monday at the opening of the first United Nations conference on oceans to call for an end to sanctions on his landlocked country so it can implement a series of global goals on sustainable development.
The 93-year-old was among about nine leaders to attend the New York conference, which is due on Friday to adopt a &#8220;Call to Action&#8221; committing to &#8220;conserve and sustainably use our oceans, seas and marine resources.&#8221;
<blockquote>&#8220;The effects of climate change are not discriminatory, so please down with your sanctions,&#8221; Mugabe said. &#8220;My country is committed to implementing the (sustainable development goals) and will do so within the means available to it.&#8221;</blockquote>
In 2015, the 193 U.N. member states adopted an agenda of 17 goals for the world&#8217;s sustainable development up to 2030. One of those goals was to safeguard the ocean, while another calls for &#8220;urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts&#8221;.
<blockquote>&#8220;Allow my county to act freely within the context of our agreements and its sovereignty,&#8221; Mugabe said.</blockquote>
Western countries imposed sanctions in 2001 on Mugabe&#8217;s government over allegations of vote-rigging and human rights abuses, which he rejects.
Mugabe&#8217;s travel to international conferences such as the ocean summit has raised eyebrows in cash-strapped Zimbabwe. Last year Mugabe made at least 20 trips abroad, spending $36 million in the first 10 months, according to government figures.
Bolivian President Evo Morales used his address on Monday to denounce neighboring Chile for failing to provide his landlocked country with unfettered commercial access to its ports.
Bolivia lost access to the Pacific following an 1880s war. Under a 1904 treaty, Chile has to allow Bolivia to cross its territory for trade access.
&#8220;The broad and free commercial transit that Chile is obliged to provide us suffers from constant interruptions through strikes, stoppages for various reasons, but above all because our access has become a profitable business for private companies that benefit from the port monopolies,&#8221; Morales said.
The U.N. ocean conference will also promote partnerships, such as between governments and businesses, to address issues such as marine pollution, ocean acidification, and marine research. It will also compile voluntary commitments.
&#8220;Unless we overcome the territorial and resource interests that have blocked progress for far too long, the state of our oceans will continue to deteriorate,&#8221; U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. &#8220;We must put aside short-term national gain, to prevent long-term global catastrophe.&#8221;
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Tom Brown)

Landlocked Zimbabwe calls for end of sanctions at U.N. oceans summit

Kieran Guilbert | DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
More girls are completing secondary school across sub-Saharan Africa as attitudes change and state spending rises, but some of the most marginalised girls &#8211; like those married young or forced to work &#8211; are still missing out, education experts say.
The percentage of girls completing secondary school has risen in all regions of Africa since 2005, said a recent report by the African Development Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the U.N. Development Programme.
Almost twice as many girls in East Africa and three times as many in Central Africa completed secondary education in 2014 as in 2005, according to the annual African Economic Outlook report, which was published at the end of last month.
Yet more must be done to support girls across the continent who are not in school &#8211; such as those who are married or forced to work &#8211; if the world is to meet a U.N. global goal to ensure all children receive secondary schooling by 2030, experts say.
The deadline on universal education was agreed as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) &#8211; a global plan to end poverty, hunger, advance equality and protect the environment.
&#8220;Many of the most marginalised girls from the poorest households do not make the transition from primary to secondary, or ever set foot in a school at all,&#8221; Paola Babos of the U.N. children&#8217;s agency (UNICEF) told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Attitudes towards education for girls are changing across Africa &#8211; as more and more parents see sending their daughters to school not only as a chance to improve their futures, but also to boost the family&#8217;s fortunes, according to Plan International.
Yet issues such as child marriage and teenage pregnancy threaten progress in closing the education gender gap in sub-Saharan Africa, said Vernor Munoz, an education expert at Plan.
&#8220;We need to look beyond education to society &#8211; and tackle prejudices, stereotypes and harmful practices that prevent girls being in school,&#8221; Munoz told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
While the gender education gap is closing on the continent, of 19 countries worldwide with fewer than 90 girls for every 100 boys in secondary school, two thirds of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the U.N. educational body UNESCO.
The world is set to miss by more than half a century the SDG on education due to under-funding, UNESCO said last September.
Yet African governments have scaled up spending on education in recent years, found the African Economic Outlook report.
The average percentage of state expenditure on education in sub-Saharan Africa between 2010 and 2014 was 16 percent, higher than the global average of 14 percent, the report showed.
(Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women&#8217;s rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit <a href="http://news.trust.org/">news.trust.org</a>)

More African girls going to school, yet poorest miss out: experts

Nearly a decade after the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, a new Pew Research Center <a href="https://aws.predictiveresponse.net/fwd.htm?redirect=http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/05/global-publics-more-upbeat-about-the-economy&amp;utm_source=AdaptiveMailer&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=6-5-17%20Global%20Economy&amp;org=982&amp;lvl=100&amp;ite=1230&amp;lea=259319&amp;ctr=0&amp;par=1&amp;trk=">survey</a> finds global economic spirits are reviving.
Many Europeans, Japanese and Americans feel better today about their economies than they did before the financial crisis. More broadly, in 11 of 18 countries that were surveyed in both 2016 and 2017, publics feel more positive about their economy than they did a year ago. The Dutch, Germans, Swedes and Indians see their national economies in the most positive light. While global publics are increasingly upbeat about economic conditions, the overall view of the economy is still in negative territory in many countries. Overall, a median of only 46% in the 32 nations surveyed this year say their current economy is doing well.
At the same time, many are concerned about the future: A median of just 41% believe that children in their country today will grow up to be better off financially than their parents. The most pessimistic about prospects for the next generation are the French, Japanese and Greeks.
Across five large European economies, Japan, and the United States, public assessment of national economic conditions is now more positive than it was in 2007, immediately before the global financial crisis.
Nearly six-in-ten Americans (58%) believe the economic situation in the U.S. is good. This is the most upbeat assessment of U.S. economic conditions and only the second time that half or more of those surveyed have given the economy a positive rating since 2007. The U.S. economy has experienced roughly 80 months of job growth and the unemployment rate was only 4.9% in 2016. In spring 2009, when the jobless rate was 9.3%, just 17% thought economic conditions were good. In 2007, before the economic downturn, 50% said conditions were favorable.
In France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom, a median of 51% now give their economy a positive grade. This comes in the wake of an average 1.7% growth in 2016 in the five European Union countries surveyed and an unemployment rate of 7.4%. The public’s view of the economy is up from a low of 15% across the five EU nations in 2013, when their economies grew at an annual average of only 0.6% and joblessness stood at 9.0%. In 2007, a median of 36% in those countries said their economic situation was good.
In Japan, 41% now voice the view that their economy is doing well. The Japanese economy grew by 0.8% in 2016, with unemployment at 3.1%. In 2012, despite economic growth at 1.7%, only 7% held the view that their economy was good – possibly because the unemployed accounted for 4.4% of the labor force. In 2007, before the financial crisis, 28% of Japanese said economic conditions were good.
These are among the key findings of a new Pew Research Center survey conducted among 34,788 respondents in 32 countries from Feb. 16 to April 28, 2017. The findings are for immediate release and available at <a href="https://aws.predictiveresponse.net/fwd.htm?redirect=http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/05/global-publics-more-upbeat-about-the-economy&amp;utm_source=AdaptiveMailer&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=6-5-17%20Global%20Economy&amp;org=982&amp;lvl=100&amp;ite=1230&amp;lea=259319&amp;ctr=0&amp;par=1&amp;trk=">http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/05/global-publics-more-upbeat-about-the-economy</a>.

Global publics more upbeat about the economy, but many are pessimistic about children’s future

<ul>
<li>Apple is launching peer-to-peer payments in iOS 11.</li>
<li>It&#8217;s called Pay Cash and lets users send money to family or friends.</li>
<li>They can even transfer the money right out to a bank account.</li>
<li>This will compete with Square Cash, Venmo and other solutions.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/todd-haselton/" rel="author">Todd Haselton</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/@robotodd">@robotodd</a>
<div class="group">
<iframe loading="lazy" src="http://player.cnbc.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&amp;byGuid=3000624534&amp;size=530_298" width="530" height="298" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Apple just announced that iOS 11 will support peer-to-peer payments through a new feature called Pay Cash, making it a direct competitor to similar services offered by Square Cash, PayPal, Venmo and even Facebook.
Peer-to-peer payments allow one user to pay another one through their smartphone. You might use it to pay a friend for pizza, for example, or to split a meal at a restaurant. It&#8217;s an industry that&#8217;s been growing in popularity, and one Apple has been rumored to enter.
Pay Cash will allow you to easily send money to family and friends, transfer it to and from your bank, and to even use it for Apple Pay purchases.
It&#8217;ll be a part of iOS 11, which launches later this year, Apple said Monday at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.
</div>

Apple launches peer-to-peer payments to take on Square, PayPal and Venmo

<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/todd-haselton/" rel="author">Todd Haselton</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/@robotodd">@robotodd</a>
<ul>
<li>IMac Pro is the most powerful computer Apple has ever announced.</li>
<li>It includes a super-sharp 5K display.</li>
<li>It&#8217;ll start at $4,999 and will launch in December.</li>
</ul>
Apple unveiled the iMac Pro on Monday, saying it&#8217;s the most powerful Mac ever made.
It will ship with an 8-core Xeon processor, a 10-core processor or an 18-core processor, the company announced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.
The iMac Pro features a 5K display and, thanks to the added muscle under the hood, can support two additional 5K displays, something Apple says it has never offered before. The processing power is enough to help Apple power VR, too, which will be supported in macOS High Sierra, the latest macOS operating system.
Apple said folks can expect real-time 3-D rendering, a 1080p FaceTime camera for sharper video chats and more. It will start at $4,999 when it launches in December. You can expect that price to increase as you outfit the computer with more powerful processors.
The iMac Pro wasn&#8217;t the only computer announced during the show. Apple also announced refreshes to the iMac, the MacBook Pro and the iMac during WWDC.
And it announced <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/05/apples-launches-peer-to-peer-payments.html" target="_self">that iOS 11 will support peer-to-peer payments through a new feature called Pay Cash</a>.

Apple unveils ‘the most powerful Mac we have ever made’

<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/todd-haselton/" rel="author">Todd Haselton</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/@robotodd">@robotodd</a>
<div class="inline-player">
<div id="player_0_104511110_0" class="asset cnbcvideo imgasset desc_size600_400 featuredPromo theplatform-video__docked" data-autoplay="1" data-dockable="1">
<div class="headline"><iframe loading="lazy" src="http://player.cnbc.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&amp;byGuid=3000624594&amp;size=530_298" width="530" height="298" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="group">
Apple unveiled its home speaker during WWDC 2017 on Monday. The device, called HomePod, will go toe-to-toe with existing competitors such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home.
Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller said Apple wanted to combine good speakers with smart speakers you can talk to, referencing Sonos and Amazon Alexa. Schiller said the speaker &#8220;needs to rock the house&#8221; free from distortion. It also needs to have &#8220;spatial awareness&#8221; to make the music sound good no matter the room size. It also needs to be fun to use, Apple said.
It&#8217;s powered by an A8 processor that Apple says helps it tap into the cloud and provide the best audio experience in your room. There are seven tweeters inside, too, and 6 microphones that allow you to talk to the speaker. &#8220;Hey Siri,&#8221; brings the speaker to life and then you can ask it to play music.
This isn&#8217;t just about music, though. You can also ask HomePod to control HomeKit devices and adjust the air conditioning or lights. Or you can ask it for the news, weather, traffic, sports scores, to text someone with messages and set reminders.
Also, Schiller made a point to say that Apple cares a lot about its user&#8217;s privacy, so nothing is ever being sent until you say &#8220;Hey Siri.&#8221;It uses an anonymous Siri ID, too, so your searches aren&#8217;t tracked back to you.
Amazon&#8217;s $179.99 <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Echo-Bluetooth-Speaker-with-WiFi-Alexa/dp/B00X4WHP5E" target="_self">Echo device</a> offers tight integration with Amazon services like shopping and audiobooks, in addition to integrations with services such as Nest, Uber, Fitbit, Domino&#8217;s and Pandora. Amazon also offers a $49.99 Dot speaker and the $229.99 Echo Show, which features a screen. Google&#8217;s $109 competitor, <a class="inline_asset" href="https://store.google.com/product/google_home?utm_source=madeByGoogle&amp;utm_medium=MS&amp;utm_campaign=google_home_BN" target="_self">Google Home</a>, offers similar options.
Apple&#8217;s speaker will launch this December in white or gray and will cost $349.
This story is developing, check back for more.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="http://player.cnbc.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&amp;byGuid=3000624540&amp;size=530_298" width="530" height="298" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
</div>

Apple just unveiled HomePod, a $349 competitor to Amazon’s Echo

<div class="group-container ">
<div class="group">
The bounce in Treasury yields witnessed after the election of <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/donald-trump/" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> is now decaying in the D.C. swamp. If the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/43752521" target="_self">Federal Reserve</a> continues to ignore this slow growth and deflationary signal from the bond market and continues along its current rate hiking path, the yield curve will invert by the end of this year and an equity market plunge and a recession is sure to follow.
<a class="inline_asset" title="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/invertedyieldcurve.asp?lgl=myfinance-layout-no-ads" href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/invertedyieldcurve.asp?lgl=myfinance-layout-no-ads" target="_self">An inverted yield curve</a>, which has correctly predicted the last seven recessions going back to the late 1960s, occurs when short-term interest rates yield more than longer-term rates. Why is an inverted yield curve so crucial in determining the direction of markets and the economy? Because when bank assets (longer-duration loans) generate less income than bank liabilities (short-term deposits), the incentive to make new loans dries up along with the money supply. And when asset bubbles are starved of that monetary fuel they burst. The severity of the recession depends on the intensity of the asset bubbles in existence prior to the inversion.
The Fed has traditionally controlled overnight lending rates between banks. That all changed when the Fed started to buy longer-term Treasurys and mortgage backed securities as a result of the Great Recession. Nevertheless, outside of these quantitative easing programs, the long end of the yield curve is primarily influenced by the inflationary expectations of investors. The yield curve inverts when central banks believe inflation is headed higher; but bond investors are convinced of the opposite.
<div id="inline_movable_ad"> The last two times the yield curve inverted was in the years 2000 and 2006. The inversion and subsequent recession that began in the year 2000 caused NASDAQ stocks to plummet 80 percent. The following inversion caused the Great Recession in which the S&amp;P 500 dropped 50 percent and, according to the Case/Shiller 20-City Composite Index, home prices fell over 30 percent.</div>
This next inversion will occur in the context of record high equity, real estate and bond market valuations that will require another government bailout. However, this time around the recession will commence with the balance sheets of the Fed and Treasury extremely overleveraged right from the start.
As you can see from the chart below, if the 10-year note yield (orange line) continues to fall along its current trajectory; and the Fed plods along with its avowed Dot Plot hiking path (blue line), the yield curve should invert around the end of 2017. Market chaos and another brutal recession should soon follow.
</div>
</div>
<div class="group-container last">
<div class="flex_chart embed-container storyChart">
<div class="chartImage"><img decoding="async" src="http://sc.cnbcfm.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/files/2017/06/05/Pento%20chart%20yield%20curve.jpg" /></div>
</div>
<div class="group">
What could prevent this baneful scenario from happening?
One of the most popular Wall Street myths is that long-term interest rates rise simply because the Fed is raising the Fed Funds Rate (F.F.R.). This normally occurs because the central bank is trying to catch up to rising inflation and is initially behind the curve. However, later on in the tightening cycle long rates begin to decline as inflation is stamped out of the economy.
For example, from June 2004 thru June 2006 the Fed raised the F.F.R. from 1 percent-5.25 percent; but the 10-year note only increased from 4.7 percent-5.2 percent. That means the benchmark note went up just 50 basis points even though the F.F.R. was raised by 425 basis points. What is especially notable here is that GDP growth was well above 3 percent in both 2005 and 2006; as opposed to today&#8217;s environment of 1.6 percent GDP growth for all of 2016, and just 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2017. The fear of recession and deflation is the primary reason why the 10-year note yield is currently falling.
The Fed has been tightening monetary policy since it started to taper its $80 billion per month quantitative easing program back in December 2013. It has subsequently raised rates three times and is now most likely already ahead of the curve due to the anemic state of the economy. But, as always, the Fed fails to read the correct economic indicators and is now fixated on the low unemployment rate and its dubious effect on inflation.
Some argue that the yield curve won&#8217;t invert if economic growth stalls because the Fed will then truncate its rate hike path. And indeed there is a lot of evidence for the second quarter recovery narrative to be proven false. For instance, April data on existing home contract closings declined 2.3 percent month over month, to a 5.57 million annual rate versus a forecast of 5.65 million. And new homes weren&#8217;t much better as single family home sales declined 11.4 percent to 569,000 annualized vs. the 610,000 forecast. Pending home sales also disappointed falling 1.3 percent. Then we had durable goods falling 0.7 percent, and core capital goods orders showed no growth at all.
These data points highlight the reality that the second quarter will not spring higher from the anemic first quarter growth rate. But the problem is that the F.F.R. is already close to 1 percent. Therefore, even if we get just two more hikes before the Fed realizes growth is faltering, that rate will be near 1.5 percent. If the economy slows enough that even the Fed takes notice, the 10-year note yield should retreat back to where it was in July of 2015 (1.35 percent). In this second scenario, the yield curve inverts despite the Fed&#8217;s failure to consummate its dot plot plan.
Of course, there is a small chance that the yield curve doesn&#8217;t invert due to an aggressive reverse QE program&#8211;a very quick unwinding of the Fed&#8217;s $4.5 trillion balance sheet. While this may avoid an inversion of the yield curve, it would also siphon off capital from the private sector, as investors divert yet more money to the Treasury.
An aggressive selling of the Fed&#8217;s balance sheet is a very unlikely scenario given the minutes of the May Federal Open Market Committee meeting. In that meeting the Fed decided to merely taper the re-investment of its balance sheet, which is the pace in that it stops reinvesting its assets. With a total debt to GDP ratio of 350 percent, this third scenario has very low odds of occurring; but should remand the economy into a recession even if such a plan is deployed.
Therefore, the only rational way to avoid an inverted yield curve, market chaos and a recession is if long-term Treasury yields reverse their long-term trend lower due to a rapid increase in GDP growth. This would only occur if Trump&#8217;s agenda of repatriation of foreign earnings, tax cuts and infrastructure spending is imminently adopted. But the probability of this happening very soon is getting lower by the day.
An inverted yield curve will lead to market disorder as it did in 2000 and 2006. But this next recession starts with our national debt over $20 trillion dollars and the Feds balance sheet at $4.5 trillion. Therefore, when the yield curve inverts for the third time this century you can expect unprecedented chaos in markets and the economy to follow shortly after. This is because the yield curve will not only invert at a much lower starting point than at any other time in history but also with the Fed and Treasury&#8217;s balance sheets already severely impaired.
There will be unprecedented volatility between inflation and deflation cycles in the future due to these factors. This represents a huge opportunity for those that can identify these inflexion points and know where to invest. To be more specific, sell your long positions and get short once the curve inverts; and then be prepared to hedge against inflation when the Fed responds with helicopter money.
Commentary by Michael Pento, the president and founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies. He is also author of the book, &#8220;<a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Bond-Market-Collapse-ebook/dp/B00C42S5KE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1368206596&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Coming Bond Market Collapse</a>,&#8221; and produces the weekly podcast, &#8220;<a class="inline_asset" href="http://pentoport.com/blog/subscription/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Mid-week Reality Check.</a>&#8220;
Follow CNBC&#8217;s Opinion section on Twitter <a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.twitter.com/CNBCopinion" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@CNBCopinion</a>.
</div>
</div>

Op-ed: This market indicator has predicted the past 7 US recessions. Here’s what it’s signalling now

By Vijaykumar Vedala
Gold held steady after hitting its highest in over six weeks earlier on Monday, buoyed by disappointing U.S. jobs data that appeared to dilute the prospects for an aggressive string of interest rate hikes in the United States.
U.S. job growth slowed in May and employment gains in the prior two months were not as strong as previously reported, suggesting the labor market was losing momentum despite the unemployment rate falling to a 16-year low of 4.3 percent.
Spot gold had climbed 0.1 percent to $1,280.74 per ounce by 0352 GMT. It hit a peak of $1,281.95 an ounce early in the session, its strongest since April 21.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery were up 0.2 percent at $1,283.3 an ounce.
Palladium on Monday matched its June 2 high of $843.10 an ounce, which was the metal&#8217;s strongest since September 2014.
<blockquote>&#8220;We do expect gold to hit some turbulence as we approach the June Fed rate hike, but things could open up for the precious metal post-meeting if the central bank&#8217;s language remains dovish,&#8221; INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note</blockquote>
Higher interest rates put pressure on gold prices by increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
&#8220;We had an excellent Friday where gold really reacted. It is taking a pause in Asian trading this morning,&#8221; said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes referring to the 1.1-percent jump in prices for the metal prices in the previous session.
EUROPEAN ELECTIONS
Meanwhile, following a militant attack on a nightlife district of London this weekend, British Prime Minister Theresa May will resume campaigning on Monday for the national election due in three days. The vote is expected to be much tighter than previously predicted.
&#8220;(European elections have) been an underlying supportive factor for some time providing some good safe-haven buying but not enough to spark any panic buying. That&#8217;s why we think things will be relatively subdued,&#8221; Hynes said.
Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long position in COMEX gold for the second straight week, hitting the highest level in nearly a month, and also raised it in silver, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, edged higher on Monday, but was not far from Friday&#8217;s nadir of 96.654, its lowest since Nov. 9.
Among other precious metals, silver hit a high of $17.585 an ounce early in the session, its strongest since April 26. Platinum was down 0.6 pct at $946.10.
(Additional reporting by Koustav Samanta in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford)

Gold hits highest in over 6 weeks as US jobs data disappoints

TJ Strydom | JOHANNESBURG
The former head of South Africa&#8217;s power utility Eskom has approached the courts to overturn his sacking, local media reported on Sunday.
Eskom was told to remove chief executive Brian Molefe last week after members of the ruling African National Congress criticised his reinstatement just two weeks ago, given he resigned last year amid allegations of graft.
Molefe has launched an urgent application in the Labour Court in Johannesburg to have the decision to remove him declared invalid, the Timeslive website reported.
Eskom and Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown were listed as respondents, the report said. Neither Eskom nor Brown&#8217;s spokesman could immediately be reached for comment by Reuters.
Molefe resigned in November after a report by the Public Protector, a constitutionally mandated corruption watchdog, raised questions over Eskom coal contracts awarded to a company owned by the Gupta family, wealthy friends of President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma&#8217;s opponents said Molefe&#8217;s return was a new attempt to access contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Government ministers have said the Guptas have offered to secure them promotions in return for tenders.
Zuma and the Gupta family deny wrongdoing. Molefe also denies any wrongdoing and said he resigned in the first place in the interest of good governance and stability.
(Reporting by TJ Strydom)

South Africa power utility’s former CEO to challenge sacking in court

TJ Strydom
South African President Jacob Zuma has denied owning a &#8220;palace&#8221; in the United Arab Emirates, his office said on Sunday, after local media reported that an influential family bought him a home in the wealthy Gulf state.
Graft accusations in more than 100,000 leaked documents and e-mails last week heaped more pressure on the scandal-plagued Zuma only days after he survived a no-confidence vote by members of his own party&#8217;s top body.
South Africa&#8217;s Sunday Times newspaper reported that several independent sources had told it that the Gupta family had bought Zuma a retirement home for 330 million rand ($25 million) in an upmarket suburb of Dubai.
The newspaper did not name the sources, but said they included businessmen, senior officials in the ruling African National Congress and people close to the Zuma family. It also cited some of the leaked e-mails.
The Gupta family, wealthy Indian-born businessmen whose companies have contracts with state-owned firms, have denied all allegations of influence-peddling or improper dealings and through a spokesman last week labeled the e-mails &#8220;fake news&#8221;.
&#8220;President Zuma does not own any property outside South Africa and has not requested anybody to buy property for him abroad,&#8221; his office said in a statement, adding that the report about a &#8220;palace&#8221; in Dubai was a &#8220;fabrication&#8221;.
&#8220;The president has also not received or seen the reported emails and has no knowledge of them,&#8221; his office said.
South Africa&#8217;s anti-graft watchdog called in November for a judge to investigate alleged influence peddling in Zuma&#8217;s government and focused on allegations that the brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, influenced appointments of ministers.
Zuma is fighting the report in court and has not appointed a judicial commission to investigate. He denies any wrongdoing.
Last year, South Africa&#8217;s top court found that Zuma had failed to uphold the constitution by ignoring instructions to pay back some of the $16 million in state funds spent on renovations at his private home.
(Reporting by TJ Strydom; editing by Mark Heinrich)

South Africa’s Zuma denies owning ‘palace’ in Dubai

Egypt&#8217;s Trade Ministry has issued tough new regulations on importers by sharply raising the minimum capital they need to operate, the government&#8217;s latest effort to curb foreign-made goods and spur local manufacturing.
Under the ministry&#8217;s executive regulations, the minimum capital required for the smallest companies to register was hiked to 500,000 Egyptian pounds (about $28,000) from 10,000 pounds previously. For limited companies, the minimum threshold was raised to two million pounds from 15,000 pounds previously.
<blockquote>&#8220;This is in line with measures taken by the ministry in the past to limit the import of low-quality goods,&#8221; the Trade Ministry said in a statement.</blockquote>
&#8220;It also aims to encourage new investments in national industries and protecting them from unfair competition from imported products,&#8221; it added.
The new regulations also raise the minimum capital required for a joint stock company to be registered to 5 million pounds. Importers will have six months in order to adjust to the reform, which was contained in an amendment to the Importers Register Law passed in March.
Import-dependent Egypt is struggling to revive its economy and curb a trade deficit since a 2011 uprising drove away tourists and foreign investors.
Importers have criticized previous government measures aimed at reducing demand for foreign goods, saying local producers do not have the capacity to fill the gap.
(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Helen Popper)

Egypt tightens rules on importers in crackdown on foreign goods

Mfuneko Toyana | PRETORIA
South Africa&#8217;s Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Friday he would not be implicated in documents leaked to the media that allegedly expose influence-peddling in government.
Gigaba said allegations he was involved in anything untoward were &#8220;made to impugn my integrity and is meant to divert us from the work of transformation and growing the economy&#8221; adding that he had &#8220;done no wrong&#8221;.
Some South African media reported on Thursday they had access to over 100,000 leaked documents and emails that showed improper dealings in lucrative government contracts by business friends of President Jacob Zuma.
(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Writing by TJ Strydom; Editing by Joe Brock)
http://cnbc.africa/trending/state-capture/2017/06/02/south-african-graft-accusations-expose-split-anc-zuma/

South Africa’s Gigaba says not implicated in leaked documents

Joe Brock | JOHANNESBURG
The ruling African National Congress said on Friday it is gravely concerned by leaked documents alleging influence-peddling by friends of President Jacob Zuma, deepening a divide in South Africa&#8217;s ruling party over its leader.
Some South African media reported on Thursday they had access to over 100,000 leaked documents and emails that showed improper dealings in lucrative government contracts by business friends of Zuma.
The latest allegations of influence-peddling may deepen divisions in the ANC as factions battle for control ahead of a party conference in December where a successor to the beleaguered, scandal-plagued Zuma will be chosen. Zuma can remain as head of state until an election in 2019.
Zuma and the Gupta family, wealthy Indian-born businessmen whose companies have contracts with state-owned firms, have not commented but have denied similar allegations in the past. Reuters could not independently verify the new allegations.
&#8220;These reports contain very worrying claims about the nature of the relationship between government and private interests,&#8221; the ANC said in a statement, calling on government to urgently establish the veracity of the leaks.
&#8220;The ANC views these allegations in a very serious light as, if left unattended, they call into question the integrity and credibility of the government.&#8221;
The statement appeared to contradict Zuma, who said at a parliamentary session on Thursday that he was not interested in &#8220;hearsay&#8221; published in newspapers.
A backroom schism in the ANC over Zuma has burst into the open in recent weeks as his opponents seek to oust him or ensure his chosen candidate does not take over the reins.
Analysts say Zuma&#8217;s camp will back his ex-wife and former African Union chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in December, while another faction will support Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
ANC SPLIT IN TWO
&#8220;This week we have seen there are clearly two ANCs,&#8221; said political analyst Daniel Silke.
&#8220;One ANC sees very little wrong with crony capitalism, kickbacks and shady payments. The other ANC sees the reputation of the party among the electorate disintegrating and fear the real possibility they could lose power.&#8221;
Opposition parties have made upbeat comments about unseating the ANC in 2019, an unthinkable scenario a few years ago for a party that has led comfortably since it swept to power under Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid in 1994.
Zuma survived a call to resign at an ANC meeting last week due to disputes over political appointments and his friendship with the Gupta family.
Parliament is expected to hold a no-confidence vote in Zuma later this year but he has survived similar attempts before.
When Zuma sacked respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan in March, three of the top six members of the ANC, including Ramaphosa, openly criticising his decision, breaking the party&#8217;s strict rule of showing unity in public.
Gordhan&#8217;s replacement Malusi Gigaba has been accused of having close ties to the Guptas. Gigaba said on Friday that he had done nothing wrong and the leaked documents would not link him to the family.
(Additional reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, TJ Strydom and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

South African graft accusations expose split in ANC over Zuma

Mfuneko Toyana | PRETORIA
South Africa&#8217;s unemployment rose to its highest in 14 years in the first quarter as agriculture and informal sectors shed jobs and more people stopped looking for work, data showed on Thursday, in a sign the economy may be headed for recession.
The unemployment rate climbed to 27.7 percent of the labour force in the first quarter, the highest since September 2003, from 26.5 percent in the last quarter of 2016.
The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes people who have stopped looking for work, rose to 36.4 percent, or 9.3 million people out of a total workforce of 22.4 million.
Statistics South Africa warned that recent credit downgrades to sub-investment grade and the threat of further cuts were taking its toll on the economy as the currency depreciated and made imports more expensive.
<blockquote>&#8220;Certainly you are better off without a downgrade than you are with one,&#8221; said Statistician General Pali Lehohla. &#8220;The depreciation of the currency works for you when it is deliberate.&#8221;</blockquote>
South Africa lost its coveted investment grade status in April when S&amp;P Global Ratings and Fitch downgraded the country following the sudden firing of the finance in a midnight cabinet purge by President Jacob Zuma.
The rand lost about 10 percent in the wake of the cabinet shake up and subsequent downgrades, making it one of the worst performing emerging market currencies this year.
The two ratings firms, which cited political and economic instability as reasons for the downgrades, are due to announce follow-up ratings decisions this week.
The statistics department said half a million jobs were lost in the quarter, with agriculture sector shedding 44,000 jobs and 14,000 lost in the informal sector.
South Africa&#8217;s economy shrank 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2016 and if it shows a contraction when domestic product results are released on Tuesday the continent&#8217;s most industrialised economy will be in technical recession.
(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Joe Brock)

South Africa’s unemployment hits 14-year high as recession looms

Lawrence White | LONDON
Barclays announced the sale of its Zimbabwe bank to Malawi-listed First Merchant Bank on Friday as the British lender continues its exit from Africa.
In March it announced it was in talks on the sale of its stake in Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe as part of a broader exit from Africa to refocus on the United States and Britain.
Barclays did not announce a price but said the deal would remove 292 million pounds ($375.69 million) in risk-weighted assets from its balance sheet.
All 700 Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe employees will transfer to the new owner, Barclays said. The deal is expected to complete in the third quarter of this year.
Barclays cut its stake in Barclays Africa Group to 15 percent on Thursday, ending more than 90 years as a major presence in Africa.
($1 = 0.7772 pounds)
(Reporting by Lawrence White; editing by Jason Neely)

International News

South Africa’s Steinhoff reports rise in H1 profit, revenue

South Africa’s PPC’s FY profit slumps on S&P downgrade

Landlocked Zimbabwe calls for end of sanctions at U.N. oceans summit

More African girls going to school, yet poorest miss out: experts

Global publics more upbeat about the economy, but many are pessimistic about children’s future

Apple launches peer-to-peer payments to take on Square, PayPal and Venmo

Apple unveils ‘the most powerful Mac we have ever made’

Apple just unveiled HomePod, a $349 competitor to Amazon’s Echo

Op-ed: This market indicator has predicted the past 7 US recessions. Here’s what it’s signalling now

Gold hits highest in over 6 weeks as US jobs data disappoints

South Africa power utility’s former CEO to challenge sacking in court

South Africa’s Zuma denies owning ‘palace’ in Dubai

Egypt tightens rules on importers in crackdown on foreign goods

South Africa’s Gigaba says not implicated in leaked documents

South African graft accusations expose split in ANC over Zuma

South Africa’s unemployment hits 14-year high as recession looms

Barclays sells Zimbabwe bank to Malawi’s First Merchant

News Tips

Advertise With Us

International News

South Africa’s Steinhoff reports rise in H1 profit, revenue

South Africa’s PPC’s FY profit slumps on S&P downgrade

Landlocked Zimbabwe calls for end of sanctions at U.N. oceans summit

More African girls going to school, yet poorest miss out: experts

Global publics more upbeat about the economy, but many are pessimistic about children’s future

Apple launches peer-to-peer payments to take on Square, PayPal and Venmo

Apple unveils ‘the most powerful Mac we have ever made’

Apple just unveiled HomePod, a $349 competitor to Amazon’s Echo

Op-ed: This market indicator has predicted the past 7 US recessions. Here’s what it’s signalling now

Gold hits highest in over 6 weeks as US jobs data disappoints

South Africa power utility’s former CEO to challenge sacking in court

South Africa’s Zuma denies owning ‘palace’ in Dubai

Egypt tightens rules on importers in crackdown on foreign goods

South Africa’s Gigaba says not implicated in leaked documents

South African graft accusations expose split in ANC over Zuma

South Africa’s unemployment hits 14-year high as recession looms

Barclays sells Zimbabwe bank to Malawi’s First Merchant

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters