Thursday, May 21, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni yesterday criticised commercial banks again, saying that they are not necessarily passing on the benefits of lower interest rates to consumers.
Domestic banks seem to be charging higher spreads relative to the prime interest rate, he said.
Mboweni meets with South Africa's top banks today to discuss the 3,5% difference between the repo rate and the interest rate that banks charge consumers.
Addressing a group made up mainly of economists, Mboweni referred to the serious issues confronting both model-builders and forecasters as a result of the current financial crisis.

In world news, a visit by US trade chief Ron Kirk earlier this month to the World Trade Organisation, seems to have transformed the political atmosphere of long-running global commerce talks and kickstarted negotiations after a long period of inactivity.
Diplomats cannot point to any sudden major advances in the WTO's Doha round of trade talks, but technical work on the details of trading goods, which could lay the foundations for a future agreement, is moving along steadily.
A meeting of key ambassadors with WTO director-general Pascal Lamy assessing the state of the Doha round, showed general agreement with Kirk that new approaches are needed to make progress on the talks, launched over seven years ago.
Negotiators do not believe that these new dynamics mean a Doha deal is imminent, and argue it would still be premature to call ministers to Geneva in July to clinch an agreement. However, the WTO's council is likely to call a ministerial conference towards the end of the year.

In South African news, economic policy under President Jacob Zuma is not likely to be dominated by the left wing, says political commentator Justice Malala. While it is evident that the left wing has been on the rise since the African National Congress's Polokwane conference in December 2007, Malala doubts that it will become pervasive.
Speaking at a business breakfast hosted by the French South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Malala shed light on the President's new Cabinet, saying that Zuma had made "inspired, courageous and market-pleasing choices in the economic cluster". Zuma has achieved a balance with Trevor Manuel as the new National Planning Minister, while new Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel both come from trade union and communist backgrounds.
The only problem with the economic sector of Zuma's Cabinet, Malala explained, is that there are now six Ministers with a bearing on macroeconomic policy.

Also making headlines:
The Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force states that acting National Prosecutions head Mokotedi Mpshe's personal moral views on the decriminalisation of sex work are ‘out of line'.
President Jacob Zuma's new Cabinet holds its first meeting.
An east African developmental bloc calls for United Nations sanctions on Eritrea.
And, experts say that Bosco Ntaganda, a rebel wanted for war crimes, is leading United Nations-backed operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.