All Share Continues Slip and Slide - Down 0.4%

Extreme volatility is the order of the day. Any headline you read is likely to be obsolete five minutes after going up. Like this one: JSE up 0,42%; tracking FTSE . In fact in the last minute the JSE has climbed another .2%.

“We consider the Fed’s rate cut still insufficient for the global financial markets to completely recover and help the Japanese stocks to fully rebound,” Credit Suisse chief strategist Shinichi Ichikawa said.

World markets still volatile

The market is nervous and it should be.

Crash? JSE down to 25714.630

It's not yet noon and the JSE is down 3.52% on low levels. R/$ rate is 7.16 which impacts on how affordable oil is for us. There is a confluence of events at work domestically, including the perception overseas of South Africa's energy problems (Manuel has been one voice of sanity though, saying: let's call it what it is - it's not load shedding but rolling blackouts).

The subprime woes overseas and the perception that the US is now on track for a recession - something that I have suggested on the cards for a few years now - is finally happening.

Oil prices are receding as demand recedes, but obviously demand remains fairly inelastic. Expect more bad news, and then for it to go from bad to worse. This is simply Peak Oil theory at work, not pessimism. It's reality, and unfortunately we will begin to realise that we cannot grow forever, we never could.

JSE sharply lower on global fears

Political strife ’not cause of JSE jitters’

THE local stock market’s nasty drop yesterday morning, which had the JSE all share index down more than 2% in intraday trade, raised concerns that political events were souring the financial climate, but analysts felt the outcome of the African National Congress conference had already been priced in.

“I think the political events have been priced in for some time,” chief investment officer at Cannon Asset Managers Adrian Saville said. “The weak markets of Friday, after our close, and yesterday had to be brought in.”

This meant yesterday’s disastrous drops had more to do with global financial woes. On Monday, European, US and UK stock markets fell heavily over concerns about a slowdown in the US economy. Yesterday this caused copper prices to be chopped to a nine-month low while aluminium hit a nine-week low — both events hurt the stock prices of large-scale producers of these metals, Anglo American and BHP Billiton.
More.

NVDL: Maybe. Not sure if I buy this. I think the market here would have us believe there is no connection, because everyone would like to believe Zuma won't be bad for business. Obviously there is some connection, and jeepers, the JSE has nosedived to 27830. A few days ago the JSE was edging 31 000. I guess time will tell, but whatever Zuma does, I'd predict the markets to start coming to grips with the inflationary/recessionary effects stemming from the motoring mad USA.