THE LOCAL

Cape Town - South Africa’s banks have been virtually recession proof, delivering robust earnings growth and return on equity despite the turbulent economic and political environment. Led by strong management teams, SA banks have successfully navigated through the turbulence of political and policy uncertainty and the rating downgrade to junk status. History has shown that emerging market bank shares have tended to produce strong returns following a credit rating downgrade. This stems from management anticipating and discounting negative outcomes before they occur. This is the view of Overberg Asset Management in this week's overview of the economic landscape. South Africa economic review • June manufacturing and mining production confirm both sectors of the economy posted positive contributions to GDP growth in the second quarter (Q2). While mining production fell in June by 2.6% month-on-month and 0.8% year-on-year strong production in April and May helped overall out...

New York - The dollar rallied with US stocks and Treasuries extended their losses after US retail sales exceeded forecasts last month, boosting speculation the Federal Reserve might lift interest rates again this year. Oil fell for a second day. Most major US equities indices opened higher, while traditional havens including gold and the yen slumped as the threat of war over North Korea receded. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged up after the German economy extended its growth spurt in the second quarter, albeit at a slower pace than expected. The British pound tumbled to a five-week low after UK inflation unexpectedly held steady in July, clouding the outlook for rate increases, while oil extended a slide to below $48 a barrel. Monthly retail sales in the world’s biggest economy advanced by the most this year in July, bolstering the case for more policy tightening. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley earlier said he favored another rate hike in 2017. Meanw...

hina warned Botswana on Friday against hosting the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who is due to visit there next month, saying it hoped Botswana could make the “correct” decision about the trip. The Dalai Lama is expected to address a human rights conference in the capital, Gaborone, on Aug. 17-19 and will also meet Botswana’s president. China is a major investor in Botswana’s economy. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing that the Dalai Lama wears the cloak of religion to engage in anti-China, separatist activities and China opposes any foreign official meeting him in any form. “We hope the relevant country can clearly recognise the essence of who the Dalai Lama is, earnestly respect China’s core concerns, and make the correct decision on this issue,” Geng said. He did not elaborate. The Dalai Lama, who fled from Tibet into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, has long been at loggerheads...

* Trump's explicit condemnation followed widespread criticism * Three business leaders quit advisory panel in protest * Trump hits back at media and Merck CEO * One dead after white nationalists clashed with counter-protest By Scott Malone and Jeff Mason CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va./WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, facing a mounting political furor and backlash from business leaders, has explicitly condemned neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists two days after a rally by hate groups in Virginia turned deadly. The Republican president's specific denunciation of extreme right-wing organizations, whose followers constitute a devoted segment of his political base, came on Monday after a torrent of criticism from Democrats and members of his own party. Critics said Trump waited too long on Saturday to address the upheaval in Charlottesville before delivering a tepid and ambiguous message denouncing hatred and violence "on man...

  Bill Gates has donated 64m Microsoft shares to charity in the world’s biggest donation this year. Bill Gates , the world’s richest man, has donated $4.6bn (£3.6bn) in the Microsoft founder’s biggest gift to charity since he set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates donated 64m Microsoft shares according to  a US Securities & Exchange Commission filing . The recipient of the gift was not specified but it is expected that the money will be directed to the foundation he and his wife set up in 2000 with $5bn funding to improve global healthcare and reduce extreme poverty. The foundation did not respond to requests for comment. The shares donated represent about 5% of his current $90bn fortune. The gift reduces Gates’ stake in Microsoft, which the 61-year-old co-founded in 1975, to just 1.3% from 24% in 1996. Bill and Melinda Gates have donated 35bn since 1994. They donated $16bn worth of Microsoft shares in 1999 and followed it up with another $5...

he action in equity markets this past week suggests that some serious damage has been inflicted on the bullish trend. Is the damage serious enough to mortally wound the bull? It is far too early to tell. That said, we continue to believe that equity markets are at the forefront of a major topping process that will ultimately lead to some serious declines in the months ahead. Headline indices could conceivably eke out a marginal new high during this topping process but for our bearish thesis to hold, we would like to see further equity market weakness in the weeks immediately ahead. We have shown in the chart below our interpretation of last week’s trading in the S&P 500. The first notable pattern was on Tuesday 8 th  when the market traded quite strongly higher during the morning, taking the market to a new intraday all-time high. However, strong selling later in the day left in place both a down close on the day and a potential bullish failure. Having traded in such a narro...