Lower credit impairments boosted FirstRand's profits in the six months to December 2021.
"Growth in earnings for the full year to June 2022 will exceed the group's long-term target of a real growth in earnings as the last tailwinds of the pandemic recovery are felt," he said.Ratings agencies Fitch and Moody's slashed Russia's sovereign debt on Thursday to so-called"junk" status, or the category of countries at risk of not being able to repay their debt, after Moscow's assault on Ukraine.
The operating performance from the South African platinum operations for 2021 was particularly strong, with production above the upper end of the guided range for 2021. Costs were also lower, bucking inflationary trends. Powell in testimony to U.S. lawmakers backed a measured Fed interest-rate liftoff and vigilance on inflation, while indicating the world’s biggest economy can weather higher borrowing costs.
The Fed chair managed to “appease risk-markets by ruling out a 50 basis-points hike in March, while simultaneously promising inflation vigilance at following meetings,” Citigroup Inc. strategists William O’Donnell and Edward Acton wrote in a note. Russia’s credit rating was cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. Sanctions could undermine the nation’s capability and willingness to service debt.Oil prices soared Wednesday above $113 per barrel and natural gas hit a record peak, as investors fretted over key producer Russia's intensifying assault on Ukraine.