U.S. Stocks Post Biggest Gains Since July; Countrywide Rises

U.S. stocks broke a week long slump and posted their biggest gains since July after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson eased concern that rising mortgage defaults will undermine the economy.

Countrywide Financial Corp., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and Citigroup Inc. led financial shares to their steepest advance in more than six months. Twelve stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Paulson, who is meeting with his counterparts during his first tour of northeast Asia as treasury secretary, told reporters in Tokyo earlier today an increase in bad debts at subprime mortgage companies won't affect banks that make less risky loans. Asian stocks surged the most in almost two months and emerging markets had their best performance since June. The drop in global equities since Feb. 27 erased $3.3 trillion in market value.

Read more at Bloomberg.com

Nikkei down as U.S. economy concerns weigh

The Nikkei share average fell 0.46 percent on Wednesday as shares of leading exporters such as Canon Inc. were hit by continuing concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy.

Caution ahead of Friday's settlement of Nikkei futures and options contracts also weighed on the market, participants said.

Read more at Reuters.com

BHP Billiton, Anglo lead S.Africa bourse recovery

South African shares jumped on a global markets recovery with blue chips rising more than one percent on Tuesday, but investors continued to fret about global growth prospects and the risk of renewed selling.

Index heavyweights BHP Billiton and Anglo American led a cross-market rally ignited as Japan's Nikkei rose from five days of heavy selling and the gold price came off a six-week low. Firmer U.S. stocks ensured the market ended up.

The Johannesburg Top-40 index of blue-chip stocks gained 1.27 percent to 22,701.37 points off its lowest level in six weeks, which it struck on Monday. The wider All-share index added 1.24 percent to 25,228.11 points.

Read more at Reuters South Africa

S.Africa's Feb business confidence slips - SACOB

South Africa's business confidence slipped for the second straight month in February, and appeared set for a volatile path, the South African Chamber of Business (SACOB) said on Friday.
SACOB's Business Confidence Index fell to 100.5 points in February from 101.5. points the previous month, compared with an all-time high of 103.5 points in December.

"It seems that business has tilted towards a more volatile course," SACOB said, adding that the January and February levels marked the worst annual start for business confidence since 2002.
"The uncertainty that began with developments in the Chinese economy and the corrections that have taken place, and might still be taking place in world markets in the near future, could play a profound role in a global context," the business body said.

Read more at Reuters South Africa

How Influential Economists Changed Our History

There is an old joke that is often told about economists: Three economists are hunting ducks. The first shoots 20 meters ahead of the ducks, the second shoots 20 meters behind the ducks, and the third says, "Great job! We got them!"

All jokes aside, there are many economists that do incredible jobs and there are some who have made contributions in financial history that crossed over into many aspects of social history as well. In this article, we'll show you five of these economists and explain their impact on society

Read the full article at investopedia.com

Average house price at R891 000

Nominal house price growth of 15.4% year-on-year (y/y) was recorded in February from a revised 15.4% in January, according to the latest Absa House Price Index.

This brings the average price of a house in the survey to R891 700 in February 2007.
However, the researchers pointed to growth potentially levelling off again later in the year.

In real terms y/y growth of 8.9% was recorded in January from a revised 8.9% in December, while nominal growth on a month-on-month (m/m) basis was reported slightly down at 1.1% after 1.4% growth in January.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Google belted over copyright

The global software giant Microsoft hit out at Google over copyright in a newspaper column on Tuesday, accusing the search-engine giant of riding roughshod over intellectual rights in a rush to grab content.

Google "appears to be trying wherever possible to skirt copyright law's boundaries", Tom Rubin, a top adviser on intellectual property law for Microsoft, alleged in the Financial Times.


Read more at FIN24.co.za

Rand bounces back

The rand bounced back against the dollar on Tuesday on firmer global markets and as the rally on the Japanese yen lost steam, but traders warned recent stock market woes may not be over.

The local currency firmed sharply in early trade before steadying at around 1.3% stronger on the day.

It was trading at R7.4234/$ at 17:45, a gain of 1.1% from its previous New York close, clawing back heavy losses after sliding to a four-month low of R7.5410 on Monday.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

'AA won't be scrapped'

As long as imbalances of the past still persist, the government's affirmative action policy would not be scrapped, deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Tuesday.

Replying to a question by an MP in the national council of provinces who had asked her if the government had any intentions to do away with the policy, Mlambo-Ngcuka said affirmative action was a corrective measure that could only be disbanded once its objectives had been met.

Read more at FIN24.co.za