It’s almost 2015 so I will keep today’s BizWrap short and sweet. Air Asia shares plummeted 7% after contact was lost with flight QZ8501 (from Indonesia to Singapore). Debris and bodies have been found in the Java Sea. Our trade deficit narrowed to 5.7 billion rand thanks to a lower oil imports (due to a lower oil price, currently trading at $57.10) and mineral products. The JSE gained along with many emerging markets on positive sentiments in Asia (expansionary policy is expected to boost GDP, especially in China). The Rand has strengthened since last week against the Euro and Pound however the strong Dollar isn’t relinquishing any of its gains. Commodities have dropped the past few months to low levels and a turning point looks likely however gold has decided not to wait for the New Year and the rally has caught many by surprise including some big Wall Street hedge funds that were bearish on gold (expected a decline in the price). The debt crisis in Greece continues to pose a looming risk for Europe’s economy. The prime minister, Antonis Samaras, has now failed three times to gain adequate backing for his presidential candidate. Data this week showed that France’s unemployment rate is the largest ever climbing to 10.5%. The average unemployment rate is Europe is 10%. Thailand boasts the lowest unemployment rate in the world at under 1% while the rainbow nation still struggles at the 25% level. We are fortunately not the worst off with Djibouti (a small African country) having more than half its labour force jobless. BizWrap top tip for the week: Include some financial goals in those New Year’s resolutions! That’s a wrap for 2014 everybody and we expect great things for 2015. Happy New Year!
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 10:23:12 +0000
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