South African Markets - Factors to watch on Dec 4

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares rose for a second session on Thursday, though investors' willingness to take on risk was mainly limited to defensive plays, while the dollar and yen rose as central banks in the UK and Europe prepared to cut interest rates to their lowest in years.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday are expected to join central banks from Thailand to New Zealand in drastically reducing interest rates in response to a deep and potentially prolonged global economic downturn.

Oil prices fell below $46 a barrel to almost four-year lows as fears of deepening economic woes overshadowed bullish weekly U.S. oil stocks data, while gold was range-bound after slumping nearly 2 percent on Wednesday.

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS
South Africa's resource-heavy bourse stumbled on Wednesday, tracking U.S. stocks lower, but the rand firmed against the greenback in a quiet session as exporters offloaded dollars.

The Johannesburg Top-40 index closed 3.48 percent lower at 17,183.38 points, reversing earier gains in the session. The broader All-share index skidded 3.05 percent to 19,113.28 points.
At 1548 GMT the rand traded 1.5 percent stronger against the dollar at 10.1250 compared to Tuesday's close at 10.28.
For Wednesday's South African financial markets closing report, double click on.

MTN
Africa's biggest mobile operator by subscribers said mobile spending by MTN customers in many of its markets remained "resilient", according to the Financial Times.
Business Day newspaper, in an article attributed to the FT, quoted CEO Phuthuma Nhleko as saying telecom firms could be less hard hit that other sectors by a global economic slowdown because communications were viewed as essential.

SANLAM
South African financial services firm Sanlam reported an 86 percent drop in normalised headline EPS for the 10 months to October and said a global economic slowdown would hit growth at all its key units.

Sanlam, one of the biggest asset managers in South Africa, said total new business volumes for the period had increased by 7 percent and new business sales at its UK unit rose 19 percent.
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ESKOM, MINERS
South Africa is in talks with the World Bank over a loan of up to $5 billion for the state-owned power utility Eskom's expansion programme, a senior official at the Treasury said on Wednesday.

Eskom, which provides 95 percent of the country's power, has been rationing electricity since January, when the national grid nearly collapsed, affecting major industries, including mining.
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BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
The government is not considering new ways of supporting black economic empowerment companies in trouble because of the financial crisis and said such firms should approach two existing government bodies for help, Business Report newspaper said.
The paper quoted trade and industry director-general Tshediso Matona as saying the National Empowerment Fund and the Industrial Development Corporation were providing support for black businesses.

GOLD
Gold slipped on Thursday as the dollar gained against the euro and worries about demand weighed on oil, driving investors away from bullion ahead of the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data later this week.

Gold was trading at $771.30 an ounce, down $1.30 from New York's notional close, after hitting an intraday high of $775.35. Gold posted its biggest daily percentage fall in almost eight weeks on Monday on falling oil and firm dollar.
For the latest precious metals report, double click on .

WALL STREET
U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday as investors flocked to shares of Coke and other companies that hold up well in recessions following another round of disappointing economic data and corporate outlooks.
Coca-Cola Co, the soft-drink maker, rose 5 percent, making it one of the Dow's top advancers. Fast-food chain McDonald's was another standout, rising more than 4 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 172.60 points, or 2.05 percent, to end at 8,591.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 21.93 points, or 2.58 percent, to 870.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 42.58 points, or 2.94 percent, to 1,492.38.

EMERGING MARKETS
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ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe riot police broke up protests by doctors, nurses and union members on Wednesday and the death toll from a cholera epidemic blamed on the country's spiralling crisis jumped to 565.
Trade unions have called protests over a shortage of increasingly worthless cash while at least 100 health workers protested to demand better pay and conditions at a time they are fighting Zimbabwe's worst cholera outbreak on record.
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Some of the main stories out of the South African press:
BUSINESS DAY
- Watershed for Mugabe as soldiers rampage
- No BEE law changes - official
- Sanlam falls on poor profit news
- MTN reassures potential investors

BUSINESS REPORT
- Lifeline offered to black economic empowerment casualties
- Dearth of credit can strangle commerce