Cover Story
Jun 17 2010 00:00
There can be no messing about when it comes to succession: the next CEO of Telkom will make or break the company. Not since Telkom’s creation as an individual entity in 1991 – or, indeed, before that point, when it went from telegraph carrier to Government department before being unbundled as a public utility – has there been a more decisive point in its history.
Companies
Jun 17 2010 00:00
THE EUROPEAN DEBT crisis is (understandably) playing havoc with the European single currency, the euro. We show a chart of the US dollar/euro, which recently broke below a long-term support level. We also show a chart of the US$/rand, which has been weakening. The charts shown point to ongoing euro weakness, although there will be bounces in-between.
Insight
Jun 17 2010 00:00
THE NEW ECONOMIC WORLD in which we’re now living (surviving) has totally changed the value of some economic indicators and made others completely useless. Nevertheless, the gold price is still reported a day on news bulletins several times. For a long time now, the contribution by gold to South Africa’s gross domestic product has been relatively minor. Even our export earnings from gold are now far less than for platinum, coal and vehicles.
Money clinic
Jun 17 2010 00:00
INTERNATIONAL MARKET EXPERT Jon D Markman puts forward two reasons why current market uncertainties won’t develop into a fully fledged bear market: first, solid profit increases in the United States and, second, the latest market downturn is in line with earlier corrections in bull markets.