- - - -
DIARY
CAPE TOWN - Final day of 16th Africa Oil Week. Oil and gas industry executives, key African government officials, state and national oil companies to attend. (More details on http://www.petro21.com/events/index.cfm?id=454 )
PRETORIA - SARB releases October reserves data. 0600 GMT
ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe's MDC has ended its boycott of the new unity government and will give President Robert Mugabe a month to fully implement their power-sharing deal, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Thursday.
The decision, at an extraordinary Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting, ended the worst political crisis since the administration was formed in February.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian stocks rose ahead of the latest U.S. payrolls report on Friday, expected to show the fewest job losses since August 2008, while oil prices recovered after a sharp drop on high U.S. fuel inventories.
The Australian dollar edged further above $0.91 after the Reserve Bank of Australia sharply upgraded growth forecasts and said more gradual increases in interest rates will be required.
That contrasted with the Federal Reserve this week, which said rates will stay near zero for a long time, and the Bank of England on Thursday, which extended its emergency supply of funds.
SOUTH AFRICA RESERVE BANK
Gill Marcus takes over from Tito Mboweni as Governor of South Africa's central bank from Nov. 9 and will head up the monetary policy committee (MPC) that decides on interest rates.
For a newsmaker on Marcus, see
For a factbox, click on
SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS
South African stocks ended largely flat on Thursday, halting a decline for the week, with financial shares up but gold counters gave back gains as the gold price retreated from a record high.
The rand firmed slightly, buoyed late in the session by a rally on Wall Street that pointed more appetite for risk.
The Johannesburg bourse's blue-chip Top-40 closed flat on Thursday at 23,298.24 points, down only 0.01 percent, and the broader All-Share index was at 25,897.80, 0.1 percent lower.
NORTHAM PLATINUM LTD
The miner said on Thursday it had appointed D.R. Wolstenholme as financial director with effect from November 5.
GOLD
Gold held steady around $1,090 an ounce on Friday after its rally to a record high this week on anticipation of renewed central bank demand came to a halt, with investors looking to economic data for direction.
U.S. October non-farm payrolls data, due at 1330 GMT, is expected to highlight the strength of the economic recovery, give a clear direction to the dollar and set the tone for the gold market.
Fewer job losses than expected could prompt investors to move away from the dollar into recovery-sensitive assets, such as stocks and commodities, including gold, traders said.
WALL STREET
U.S. stocks jumped on Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 up for a fourth day, as economic data boosted confidence in the recovery and strong results from Cisco Systems suggested a rebound in technology spending.
The market's advance was broad-based, and the Dow ended above 10,000 for the first time in two weeks.
EMERGING MARKETS
For the top emerging markets news, double click on
- - - -
Some of the main stories out of the South African press:
BUSINESS DAY
- Confusion at Eskom as chief executive sits tight
- S.Africa scraps deal for Airbus military aircraft
- Budget deficit no threat to S.Africa's rating - S&P
BUSINESS REPORT
- Eskom board accepts CEO Jacob Maroga's resignation: post to be filled in 90 days
- National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NAFCOC) splits in battle for 1.5 billion rand in shares
THE STAR
- Eskom top-job race row
- Athletics South Africa boss Leonard Chuene in firing line over Caster Semenya lies
(Reporting by Serena Chaudhry) (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com) Keywords: MARKETS SAFRICA FACTORS/ (serena.chaudhry@thomsonreuters.com; +27 11 775 3153; Reuters Messaging: serena.chaudhry.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
