Top5 on Fin24: 910 carat diamond found in Lesotho, Steinhoff sells stake in e-retailer at a loss

Cape Town - A roundup of Monday's must-read financial and economic news. 

Biggest diamond recovered at Lesotho mine since 2006

A 910 carat gem diamond has been recovered in a Lesotho mine - the fifth largest gem quality diamond found to date.

According to Gem Diamonds, a British-based diamond company listed on the London Stock Exchange, the gem diamond is the largest discovered at the Letšeng Diamond Mine since 2006, when the 603 carat Lesotho Promise was discovered.

Although very large diamonds have been given specific names, this one has not yet been named.

READ: Exceptional 910 carat gem diamond found in Lesotho

Steinhoff loses out in sale of e-retailer stake

International supermarket chain Carrefour announced last week that it will acquire a stake in e-retailer Showroomprivé from European home furnishings retail chain Conforama, a subsidiary of embattled global retail group Steinhoff [JSE:SNH].

This comes less than a year after Steinhoff, via Conforama - one of its largest European subsidiaries - bought a 17% stake in the digital retailer.

Steinhoff had bought the 17% stake in Showroomprivé in early May for €157.5m, at €27 per share. Carrefour's investment in Showroomprivé, meanwhile, will take the form of an off-market acquisition of the block of shares owned by Conforama at €13.5 per share, for a total amount of about €79m. 

READ: Steinhoff sells stake in e-retailer to supermarket giant at a loss

Eskom to release interim results by the end of January

Eskom says it is committed to releasing its interim financial results by the JSE's deadline of January 31.

The power utility issued the stock exchange notice in response to a notice by the JSE earlier on Monday, where it warned it would delist Eskom's bonds if it does not release its interim financial report within the three months stipulated by its debt listing requirements.

The release of Eskom's interim results has been postponed since November 2017. But the power utility said it would meet the JSE's deadline. 

READ: Eskom commits to publishing interim results by January 31

Woolworths shares down 9% on news of profit drop

Shares in Woolworths [JSE:WHL] fell by as much as 9.2% in early trade on Monday, before recovering to trade about 5% down by noon, on news that it expects a profit drop for the first half of the financial year.

The multinational retail company put out a half-year investors' note on Monday morning to say it expects headline earnings per share to be down between 12.5% and 17.5% for the six months ended December 24 2017.

Woolworths shares opened at R63.50 on the JSE on Monday, falling to an intraday low of R57.64 in early trade before again firming to change hands at R60.00 exactly by 11:45.

READ: Woolworths shares down on news of profit drop

What to expect for SARB’s interest rate decision on Thursday

The most important market event of the week will be the first interest rate decision of the new year of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB), which takes place on Thursday, according to FNB’s chief economist Mamello Matikinca.

The MPC meeting is unlikely to deliver any surprises, as it is expected to keep rates unchanged.

READ: SARB interest rate decision this week: what to expect

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