For those of us still reeling from last weekend’s rugby result, here is the good news. Since Monday, the rand has improved by 3% against the Aussie dollar. And it is back below seven per US dollar. So there.
Our green and gold money has also put in a great showing against most other currencies and is line for the yellow jersey for the month of July.
This has not necessarily been stunning news for the share market and the All Share once again demonstrated its penchant for roller coasters. The week’s range has been over 700 points, which is not healthy for those of weak disposition. So far the index has remained north of 20 000, at which level it would be just 10% below the May 11th all-time high. As always, calling the move from here is a foolhardy exercise but with my record, I shall do all the bulls a favour and say that I think that it should go weaker. I am quite amazed that the Middle East conflict does not yet appear to have undermined confidence to any real extent.
Technology allows everyone to follow, in graphic and distressing close-up, the pain and anguish caused by the nasty and brutish conflicts being caused by so-called leaders pursuing their ideologies.
But it is all getting rather pointless as we shall soon be merely provinces of China. An advertisement placed in the local paper by a retail store in Springbok – a small town about 500km north of Cape Town (and we all know how remote that place is) – is seeking a shop assistant fluent in Chinese. And if the Orientals don’t take over the world, the bureaucrats already have.
Another notice, posted by some doubtless already under-funded research institute, warns the public that it is planning to plant some potatoes. Said spuds allegedly boast a rather special pair of genes. Namely, the firefly luciferase gene and the cassava granule bound starch synthase gene. The possibility that this information means anything at all to more than six people and their pet hamster is zero. The only jeans that we could recognise would be Levis or Soviets. However, it seems that we have something called the Genetically Modified Organisms Act on our statute books. This legislation apparently does more than just describe the people who promulgated such nonsense. It gives them powers. And the prospects for the potato planter are poor, because elsewhere in the press I found the news that a similar trial with sorghum has been rejected by government. Some committee has decided that the greenhouse in which the plants were to be reared was not sufficiently secure to prevent the genes escaping. After all, our record with jails is not good either!
Muttering about interest rates has begun to be heard again. US big bank boss man Bernanke said something that could suggest that he won’t again soon be lifting rates. Or maybe he meant the opposite. Nevertheless, his testimony provided enough ambiguity for traders worldwide to buy, or was it sell? Back home, money market interest rates in particular are ratcheting upwards presumably in anticipation that our own big man Mboweni will tug the UP lever at the next meeting in August.
I hope there’s some beach volleyball on TV tomorrow morning.
James Greener
21st July 2006
