Equities and oil prices tumbled Wednesday after a brief respite from last week's painful rout across world markets, with recession fears building as central banks hike interest rates to combat decades-high inflation.
Most observers expect the Fed to aggressively hike US interest rates several more times this year having recently carried out the sharpest lift in almost 30 years. "This is a darker day for global markets than has been seen in a while. Serious questions remain about the resilience of consumers, and it appears traders are bracing for a harsh hand where interest rates are concerned."
In the United States, President Joe Biden will Wednesday ask Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months as skyrocketing prices cause widespread anger among Americans just months before crucial mid-term elections. Hardware retailers' confidence was also lower than the first quarter at 52. Conditions in the sector has deteriorated–especially regarding sales and profitability, Mkhwanazi explained. He added that the"boom" in hardware sales recorded in the third quarter of 2020 has ended.
The residential sector's building activity also improved. This is linked to converting office space to residential space and rebuilding efforts after disruptions. Mkhwanazi noted that this improvement comes off a low base, and there is little indication the trend will continue at the same pace.Investment holding company Brait says it has completed its initial public offering plans for food manufacturing company Premier.
The agreement had its roots in 1967, during the apartheid era. At the time, coastal refineries did not have the capacity to meet inland demand, and South Africa was also facing sanctions. To avoid running out of fuel, the government decided to establish an inland refinery in Sasolburg.Retailer Shoprite has launched a new division that will help to grow and provide commercially viable small and medium sized enterprises with access to its market.
Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell's two-day testimony to Congress this week will be pored over for an idea about officials' plans for fighting runaway prices, which are being fanned by supply chain snarls, China's lockdowns and the war in Ukraine. "You have to be planning defensively at this point. There are a lot of questions on all risk assets."In early Asian trade, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Jakarta and Manila all fell, while Tokyo and Shanghai were barely moved. There were small gains in Wellington.
Oil prices were feeling the heat from recessionary fears, with both main contracts down more than three percent Wednesday, though Goldman Sachs said that with demand still outpacing supplies, the market remains tight. "If you go well above 140, the BoJ will have to change policy and the first change in policy is going to be yield curve control," he said referring to a policy of keeping long-term rates artificially at a chosen level.
Raubex already owns over 61% of Buaba, and has made a an offer to acquire all the remaining ordinary shares it does not already own at 42c per share. The offer is expected to open for acceptances from 09:00 on or about 28 June 2022, and will remain open for 30 business days. Raubex shares jumped over 2% in early trade on Tuesday, before levelling out at a 0.95% rise by mid-afternoon. Redefine Properties, the owner of Blue Route Mall and the Kenilworth Centre announced on Tuesday that board member Bridgitte Mathews has resigned due to personal reasons.
While there was no catalyst from Wall Street owing to a public holiday, a healthy performance across Europe provided a little boost, while bargain-buying was also lending support. "While not expect Powell to reinvent the policy wheel, we could expect him to reinforce the idea that the Fed is in data-dependent mode," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
However, while the volatility of last week has gone, banks' intention to continue hiking rates could cause fresh ructions. Brown joined the board in January 2012 and served as the chairman of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee from July 2013. At the time of his death, Brown was the lead independent director in July 2020 and a member of the Remuneration Committee.