More people have jobs, but inflation quickens

EMPLOYMENT in the non-agriculture sector rose by 0.5% to 8.992 million people in the fourth quarter last year compared with the previous three months, Stats SA said. The number of people with jobs was up by 0.1% when compared to the same period in 2014.

JAPAN-headquartered global investment bank Nomura‚ attracted by a surge in mergers and acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa‚ will set up shop in Cape Town next month, with Jan Newman heading its South African operation.

MINER Wescoal Holdings said it expected that its annual headline earnings per share would be about 50% more for the year to March than the year before. The results were expected to be released early in June.

THE financial services sector has committed itself to spending R122-billion on various forms of BEE over five years. The Financial Sector Charter Council agreed on the commitment.

HEADLINE inflation quickened more than expected in February, hitting 7% year on year from 6.2% in January, data from Stats SA showed — the highest rate since May 2009. Month on month, prices were up 1.4% after a rise of 0.8% the previous month.

THE Reserve Bank’s leading business cycle indicator fell 0.6% month on month in January, weighed down by a decrease in the number of residential building plans passed and in the dollar-based export commodity price index.

SOUTH Africa will cut its 2016 maize forecast by almost 7% as late rains have failed to provide relief, a Reuters poll showed. The Crop Estimates Committee will provide its third production forecast for the 2016 crop on Wednesday.

WEAKER construction activity in the first quarter pushed the FNB-BER civil confidence index down 14 points, from 42 points in the fourth quarter last year to 28‚ the lowest level of confidence in the industry since late 2011.