@youcan'tstopusnow. Thank you for your sentiments.

1. Africa's fate is in its own hands. Largely a commodity based continent, it did not have the human resource and leadership to participate in the technology boom of the last 30 years.

The sands are shifting. Commodities are in a secular bull market, lifting many of the continent's economies from the doldrums. The big men of Africa are a dying breed giving way to an ilk of forward looking leaders. Europe's debt crisis has sent money fleeing to among others, emerging Africa. China has chosen to place Africa on its shoulders at it ascends the stairs to the throne of global supremacy.

Africa arise!

2. Analysis on local stocks is reserved for my paying clients. This thread is a blackboard on international events that have an impact on local matters. Fundamental analysis is worthless without a view on global events.

Witness the shifting sands of global finance. Interest by central banks in the Chinese Yuan also brings into focus the Australian Dollar as the "distant province of China" pre-loaded with natural resources.

In my humble opinion, gold is the ultimate reserve in times of national and regional destabilisation.

"The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is considering holding a part of Nigeria’s external reserves in the Chinese Yuan. This is being considered in order to preserve the value of the nation’s external reserves and eliminate losses at a time of increased volatility in major world currencies.

Reuters quoted CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as saying during an interview in Paris at the weekend that the “CBN was also considering diversifying its forex reserves with a small shift into Asian currencies, in particular the Chinese Yuan.”
According to Reuters, Sanusi said on the sidelines of the 10th International Economic Forum on Africa in Paris that “it was extremely important to maintain exchange rate stability,” and that the country's forex reserves were adequate to defend the naira at current levels..."

Read more:

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=175748

Pay heed to history. Those who ignore it are bound to repeat past mistakes.

The EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has laid out the grim facts. Southern Europe also known as the Club Med group could degenerate politically as a result of the debt crisis.

"Mr Monks yesterday warned that the new austerity measures themselves could take the continent ‘back to the 1930s’.

In an interview with the Brussels-based magazine EU Observer he said: ‘This is extremely dangerous.

'This is 1931, we're heading back to the 1930s, with the Great Depression and we ended up with militarist dictatorship.

‘I'm not saying we're there yet, but it's potentially very serious, not just economically..."

Read more:

http://www.dailymail.co....ugal.html#ixzz0qugUCBT6

Market bulls have been able to push the NSE 20-Share Index solidly above 4260 points which places 4709 as the next technical level. Technicians will find comfort in the 4260 level as it is 50% of the entire decline from 6161 to 2360 which inidcates that the market has assumed a bullish posture.

It is not lost on observers that the European Debt Crisis did not stall the upward momentum. Those that seek diversification in markets that have a low correletation to Western markets will find happy hunting grounds locally.

"Stock market analysts are riding on a recent upturn in corporate earnings and the expected improvement in economic growth to drum up investor interest in equities and claw back part of the ground that share traders ceded to the bonds market with the onset of global recession.

In a series of research papers sent to investors in the past two months, the market watchers are forecasting a steady rise in the rate of returns from equities with the message that the time to get on board is now...."

Read more:

http://www.businessdaily...8/-/1327gm/-/index.html

Interesting developments coming from china as experts consider the scenarios from China dropping its dollar peg.

Read more:

http://www.reuters.com/a...e/idUSSGE65J00M20100620

An interesting but old article:

http://economictimes.ind.../articleshow/5196961.cms