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EZA

iShares MSCI South Africa Index ETF

5/25/2013, 6:37 PM ET

Quote & Headlines Market Currents StockTalk

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Thursday, May 23, 2:46 PM Gold's sharp rise today can be attributed to the dollar's drop vs. the yen; when the dollar drops, gold should rise, as their correlation during the past 24 days has hit -86%. A stock sector that's standing out is emerging market gold miners: South Africa’s Sibanye (SBGL), Harmony (HMY) and AngloGold (AU), plus Peru's Buenaventura (BVN) are stronger, even as their corresponding country ETFs (EZA; EPU) are in the red. 5 Comments [Commodities, On the Move]
Tuesday, May 21, 2:17 PM South Africa's rand falls to its lowest level in four years as clashes between mine owners and workers erupt again today. Government "heavy-handedness" with mining companies has created a "major negative" for investors both inside and outside mining, as it reduces companies’ abilities to set their balance sheets and control their own destinies, Greenbriar Partners says. AU -3.3%, GFI -3%, HMY -2.6%. 5 Comments [Commodities, Global & FX]
Monday, May 20, 8:12 AM Shares of South African miners sink as the country's mine workers union calls for a 60% pay increase on gold and coal producers. The union says it is seeking an entry-level minimum monthly wage of 7K rand ($750) for surface workers and 8K rand for underground workers vs. respective current minimum wages of 4.7K and 5K rand. AU -3.7%, GFI -3.4%, HMY -1.9% premarket. 2 Comments [Commodities, Global & FX]
Friday, May 17, 7:58 AM The head of a major South African mining union threatens to bring the country's economy "to a standstill" and demands a meeting with President Zuma, ramping up the rhetoric in a long and heated conflict between labor and the government. But a strike seems averted for at least another day, as top platinum producer Amplats (AGPPY.PK) says employees reported for today's shifts as normal. Comment! [Commodities, Global & FX]
Wednesday, May 8, 2:52 PM The recent selloff in commodities (DBC) is not a correction, says Stan Druckenmiller, now on stage at Ira Sohn, but instead the end of the supercycle. Avoid commodity markets - Brazil (EWZ, BRF, BRL), South Africa (EZA, SZR), Canada (EWC, FXC). "Frankly, I'd short the aussie (FXA)." His largest equity holding? "I can't imagine a better position than Google (GOOG)" - selling for 16x earnings and no exposure to China. 4 Comments [Quick Ideas]
Monday, December 31, 2012, 11:51 AM More details on iShares' ETF fee hikes: Going to 0.61% from 0.59% (a 3.4% hike) are its Chile Investable Market Fund (ECH), China Small Cap Fund (ECNS), Indonesia Investable Market Fund (EIDO), Israel Capped Investable Market Fund (EIS), Philippines Investable Market Fund (EPHE) , Poland Investable Market Fund (EPOL), All Peru Capped Fund (EPU), Taiwan Fund (EWT), South Korea Fund (EWY), Brazil Fund (EWZ), Brazil Small Cap Fund (EWZS), South Africa Fund (EZA), Thailand Investable Market Fund (THD) and Turkey Investable Market Fund (TUR). 2 Comments [Global & FX]
Monday, December 10, 2012, 1:20 PM Emerging markets are hot, but just some of the smaller markets - Colombia (CXG), Philippines (EPHE), South Africa (EZA), Thailand (THD), Turkey (TUR) - are seeing ETF inflows which could be described as worrying. Among the larger markets, India (MSCI India +28% YTD) and China (MSCI China +14% in last quarter) aren't seeing this sort of interest. 2 Comments [Global & FX]
Friday, October 12, 2012, 12:38 PM South Africa's credit rating is cut to BBB from BBB+ at S&P, with the outlook remaining negative. The country's mining strikes are likely to have the ANC taking on "more populist elements" heading into 2014 elections, resulting in "amplified spending pressures and reduce(d) fiscal flexibility." Comment! [Global & FX]
Monday, October 8, 2012, 1:32 PM Spreading labor unrest in South Africa is taking a toll on the country's government paper and the currency, with the prices of both slumping to multi-year lows. "We think it more likely than not that the rand will at least test the 9/dollar mark," says a local currency strategist. SZR -13.1% Y/Y. 2 Comments [Global & FX]
Thursday, March 29, 2012, 12:05 PM With risk poking its head out again, emerging market currencies slide, led today by South Africa's rand (SZR) and the Hungarian forint. Both country's kept interest rates on hold last night, with South Africa's central bank sounding a bit dovish. Also hit are the Mexican peso (FXM) and India's rupee (ICN) 1 Comment [Global & FX]
Monday, March 12, 2012, 12:54 PM South African oil major Sasol (SSL -2.1%) reports earnings of $1.8B for 2011 H2, up from $980M a year earlier, roughly inline with estimates. Profits benefited from a 16% decline in the rand (SZR) as well as higher crude prices. Comment! [Global & FX, Energy]
Friday, October 14, 2011, 2:20 PM DuPont (DD +2.1%) announces a South African regulator has rejected its planned purchase of a seed company, upholding a legal ruling from last year. The move follows a growing trend in the nation of tightening restrictions on foreign ownership of companies. Dupont says it will study the decision and any available options for future action. Comment! [Global & FX]
Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 7:39 AM South African economic growth accelerated to 4.8% in Q1 vs. expectations of 4.2%. The rand strengthen on the news, bringing the currency's gain to nearly 5% since the February lows. Growth is still well below the 7% figure hoped for by the government. EZA +26%, SZR flat Y/Y. Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 11:08 AM South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan extolls the strongish rand, saying it provides an "important buffer" from higher commodity prices. He again pledges not to use currency controls to try and curb capital inflows. SZR -0.5%, EZA -0.4%. Comment! [Global & FX]
Monday, March 7, 2011, 8:53 AM South Africa becomes the latest country to wave the white flag in the "currency wars," its finance minister crediting the strong rand (SZR) with crimping inflation pressures. No longer able to ignore rising prices, nations are abandoning rhetoric and policies meant to stifle currency appreciation. Comment! [Global & FX]
Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 3:02 PM The gold ETF (GLD) has outperformed South African gold miners for years. Last year's culprit was the rising rand, which meant a 29% increase in the dollar value of gold translated into just a 13% jump for the SA miners. A lower rand (SZR) could turn things around in 2011. AU, GFI, HMY, DROOY. Comment! [Global & FX]