Cape Town - A roundup of Monday's top economic and finance reads on Fin24.
Facebook denies reports it secretly logs your call data
Facebook has denied that the company secretly logs the calls and messages of individuals using Android mobile devices, following media reports and user complaints.
In a blog post, the company said that logging is part of opt-in feature for individuals using Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android, and that it can be turned off in settings.
"People have to expressly agree to use this feature," the company said. “If, at any time, they no longer wish to use this feature they can turn it off in settings for Facebook Lite users, and all previously shared call and text history shared via that app is deleted.”
Shrinking platinum sector adds to Ramaphosa's economic challenge
"Ramaphoria" boosted the rand and revived investor sentiment. But deep underground in the platinum mines, there’s very little cause for optimism.
Producers in South Africa, which accounts for about 70% of the world’s mined platinum, are closing shafts and cutting thousands of jobs as a stronger rand combines with stagnating prices for the metal in squeezing profit margins.
The future looks equally bleak, as reduced demand for diesel engines and the rise of electric cars threaten to erode the need for the metal used to cut pollution.
Rand may retest R11.50/$ on good economic news - analyst
The rand may again test the R11.50 level against the dollar on the back of positive economic developments in SA, including Moody's decision to not cut the rating on the country's sovereign debt.
"The sentiment in South Africa has lifted markedly in the past four months, and with the latest influx of good news we could see the rand enjoying a favourable run in the short term," TreasuryONE dealer Andre Botha said in a market update on Monday morning.
New SA political leadership is unclogging deals, Nedbank CEO says
Investments in South Africa’s infrastructure that couldn’t be completed last year because of political uncertainty, are among deals that are now on the cusp of getting done, says the chief executive officer of Nedbank Group.
Mike Brown’s confidence reflects improving sentiment since Cyril Ramaphosa replaced the embattled Jacob Zuma as the country’s president last month. The government is trying to resolve policy uncertainty in South Africa’s crucial mining industry while getting renewable energy projects underway again.
Nedbank plans to “work alongside certain state-owned enterprises that have previously been starved of funding, to rehabilitate them”, he said, emphasising cash-strapped power utility Eskom Holdings and loss-making South African Airways.
Moody's sees Tencent share sale by Naspers as smart move
The reduction of its stake in Tencent is credit positive for Naspers [JSE:NPN], ratings agency Moody's said on Monday.
Last week Naspers announced it had reduced its stake in the Chinese internet giant from 33.2% to 31.2% via an accelerated offering to investors, raising $9.8bn.
Moody's currently rates Naspers at Baa3 stable, one notch above sub-investment grade. Tencent is rated at A1 stable, which indicates "low credit risk".
The ratings agency said in a research note on Monday morning that the share sale was a smart move by Naspers. It would strengthen its balance sheet and help fund the scaling of its core e-commerce operations, as well as help it pursue new acquisitions without incurring more debt.
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