Fitch kept our rating unchanged, which sent the Rand to 12.80 vs the US Dollar and weighed on our market. For the week the local market fell 2.2% despite a flat to slightly positive close. PPC put out a trading update which led us to talk about other companies that are also expanding into Africa. After market close, S&P also confirmed our rating citing the usual concerns of weaker growth, political risk and contingent liabilities. The US added 138,000 new jobs for the month of May versus the expected 186,000.

 

Ratings, PPC & US jobs