S.Africa business confidence falls to 4-year low

(Reuters) - South African business confidence fell to a four-year low in December as companies were nervous about economic growth in 2008, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said on Wednesday.

The Business Confidence Index fell to 94.8 points, its lowest level since November 2003, after declining to 95.8 in the previous month.

SACCI said in a statement a stable rand currency assisted exports and manufacturing output,

"The other sub-indices all turned negative...trade, residential construction and import volumes declined substantially while inflation moved higher while the stock market lacked direction."

Inflation climbed to a four-and-half year high of 7.9 percent year-on-year in November, raising expectations that the central bank would hike interest rates again on Jan 31, after raising them by 400 basis points since June 2006.

 

Read more at Reuters Africa

Bear Stearns Turns to Insider Schwartz for New Course

(Bloomberg) -- In naming insider Alan Schwartz as its new chief executive officer, Bear Stearns Cos. is pursuing a different course than other firms that replaced their leaders after suffering subprime mortgage losses.

Schwartz, an executive with more than 30 years of experience at Bear Stearns, was the hand-picked choice of his predecessor, James ``Jimmy'' Cayne, 73, who remains as non-executive chairman. Other firms such as Merrill Lynch & Co. and Citigroup Inc. sent their CEOs packing and named replacements with extensive experience elsewhere.

The 57-year-old Schwartz is known for his collegial style, which he will need as Bear Stearns seeks to rebuild confidence in the firm, battered by subprime losses and a languishing stock price. Cayne, who stepped down yesterday, wasn't known for his personal skills.

 

Read more at Bloomberg