Rand seen hitting 5-month lows

The rand has taken a pounding from a global markets sell-off over the past week and could slip further as investors continue to flee risky assets.

The unit would likely soften towards R7.80/US$ this week - levels not seen since a plunge in early October last year - with few positives to warrant a rebound, analysts said.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Top-40 shaves off billions

South Africa's blue-chip Top-40 stock index fell more than 2% on Monday, dragged lower by mining stocks after a sharp sell-off in Asia.

The Top-40 lost 607 points, or 2.64% to 22 382 points by 09:29 after earlier falling as much as 2.67% to 22 377.41 - its lowest level since January 12.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Rand plunges below R7.50/$

South Africa's rand shed over 1.60% to four-month lows against the dollar in early Monday trade and was seen giving up more value during the week, weighed down by turmoil in equity markets.

The rand was at R7.5250 against the greenback at 09:00, its weakest level since October 31 last year, down from a close of R7.4085 in New York on Friday.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Gates dumps Microsoft stock

Bill Gates, chairperson and co-founder of Microsoft, sold 4 million shares of the software giant's stock over the last three days of February, bringing his total sales for the month to 20 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Gates still owns 917.5 million shares of Microsoft after the share sales, according to the filings. This represents about 9.2% of total diluted shares outstanding as of December 31.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Asian Stocks Slump on U.S. Economic Concern; Toyota, HSBC Slide

Asian stocks tumbled, extending a global sell off that wiped $1.5 trillion from the value of global equities, on concern U.S. growth will stall.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-largest carmaker, slid after a government report showed consumer confidence dropped in the U.S., Asia's biggest export market. HSBC Holdings Plc, the third-largest bank, slumped after the Sunday Times said it will write off $11 billion to cover mounting losses in America.

Read more at Bloomberg.com

Go International With Foreign Index Funds

International markets, through their index funds, offer excellent investment opportunities with parallel risks. Investors can gain appropriate exposure to these opportunities while mitigating the risks through several viable investment options.

Read full article at investopedia.com

Tax honeymoon over in China

The tax honeymoon for foreign investors in China is ending.

For two decades, China has rewarded new investors with hefty tax breaks, helping lure the nearly US$700bn in investment that has helped make the country the world's fourth largest-economy, but fuelling growing complaints by Chinese companies about unfair treatment.

Read more at FIN24.co.za