Wednesday July 27, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Henry Lazenby

Making headlines:

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to South Africa slumped by more than 70% to just $1.6-billion in 2010 from $5.4-billion in 2009, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 'World Investment Report 2011' shows. The result was materially worse than the overall 8.5% decline, to $55-billion, in FDI flows to Africa during the year and pushed the continent’s largest economy into tenth position as a recipient of FDI, from a ranking of fourth in 2009. Africa’s decline also bucked an otherwise strong performance from other developing regions, reflected by the fact that the continent’s share of developing-country FDI inflows fell from 12% in 2009 to 10% last year.

A global deal on a pact to succeed the UN's main climate agreement is still within reach but will not be struck this year, with the pace of talks still far too slow, New Zealand's top climate negotiator said. Inevitably, there would be a gap after the Kyoto Protocol's first period expires in 2012, Minister of Climate Change Negotiations Tim Groser said in an interview after delegates from 35 nations attended two days of climate talks in Auckland.
Disputes between rich and poor on sharing curbs in greenhouse gases mean gridlock over the Kyoto Protocol, the existing UN plan which obliges about 40 industrialised nations to cut greenhouse-gas emissions until 2012.

Johannesburg's City Power had a mark-up of 117% on electricity it obtained from Eskom and resold, according to Business Report. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa heard yesterday that this was much higher than other cities in the country and a threat to the manufacturing industry. A director at Scaw Metals, Markus Hannemann, warned that if the City of Johannesburg's electricity tariffs continued to increase at current rates, its factory in Johannesburg would close.
Hannemann said the 117% mark-up on electricity appeared to be the highest in the country. The neighbouring municipality of Ekurhuleni had a margin of 56% and Durban a mark-up of 35%.

Also making headlines:
Libya will not begin talks on ending a conflict with rebels before Nato air strikes stop, and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's leadership is not up for negotiation, the Prime Minister said.
South Africa, a new UN report asserts, has more State-owned enterprises active internationally than any other country
And, the US has placed on hold a $350-million aid package for Malawi after the Southern African country launched a deadly crackdown on protests against President Bingu wa Mutharika.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.