Green light for insurer, red flag for economy

INSURANCE group Discovery had been given the regulatory go-ahead to establish a banking presence in South Africa, it said, in a move that could lead to it gaining a banking licence within a year. It said last year that it would spend R2.1billion to set up a retail bank. PETRA Diamonds reported a 30% rise in first-quarter production, boosted by strong output at its Cullinan mine in South Africa. Production rose to 1.1 million carats from 842 796 carats a year earlier, it said. THE economy looked set for improved growth in the next six to 12 months, according to the Reserve Bank’s leading business cycle indicator, which broke the contraction spell with a 0.6% rise in August compared with a year earlier. PRODUCER inflation slowed to 6.6% year on year in September from 7.2% in August, according to data from Stats SA. On a month-on-month basis, prices were down 0.3%, after falling 0.1% the previous month, it said. SOUTH Africa cut its 2016 GDP growth forecast by almost half and warned that the economy risked slipping into a “low-growth trap”. It was expected to grow by 0.5% this year, down from an estimate of 0.9% in February, Treasury said in its medium-term outlook. SOUTH African steel production fell by 2.7% year on year in September to an estimated 446 000 tons, after recording its first increase this year when rising 6.9% in June to 545 000 tons, according to the World Steel Association. THE JSE has found billionaire Christo Wiese’s venture Invicta Holdings in breach of listings requirements for the purchase of Invicta shares by subsidiary Humulani Marketing without the specific authority needed to do so. THE retail price of petrol will rise by 3.6% from Wednesday, and wholesale diesel will go up 5.9%, the Energy Department said. The price of 93 octane petrol will rise to R12.79 and 95 octane to R13.05 a litre in Gauteng, and diesel will go up to R11.35.