The Indices have returned the following:

JSE All Share                                                      20.64%

All bond Index                                                   15.49%

Money Market (STEFI)                                         5.58%

Listed Property                                                 37.18%

Inflation                                                              5.60%

JP Morgan Global Bond (USD)                             2.11%

MSCI The World Index (USD)                           13.93%

With this in mind it is interesting to note these same Indices’ returns since 1 August 2012:

JSE All Share                                                      7.91%

All bond Index                                                   0.98%

Money Market (STEFI)                                       1.63%

Listed Property                                                 2.22%

Inflation                                                            1.78%

JP Morgan Global Bond (USD)                           0.44%

MSCI The World Index (USD)                           2.90%

The Rand is currently valued as follows:

Currency                                                       Current Value                   12 Month Change

Rand/Dollar                                                         8.94                                      5.42%

Rand/Pound                                                        14.28                                     8.68%

Rand/Euro                                                          11.49                                     1.59%

Equities have performed well over the past 12 months and have rallied rather significantly since August this year. While bonds have delivered good positive returns over 12 months the index has been largely flat since August. Global Equities are also delivering good Dollar returns and especially good returns in Rand terms.

Taking a closer look at the sector returns within the JSE All Share the following picture emerges:

Sector                                                                12 Month Returns           Performance Since 1 August

Financials                                                            39.30%                                                  6.02%

Industrials                                                           31.63%                                                  1.93%

Resources                                                            -1.70%                                                  7.94%

 South African GDP Growth currently measures in just over 3%.

At the recent Monetary Policy Committee Meeting on Thursday 23 November 2012 rates were kept constant and are as follows:

Repo Rate                                                           5.00%

Prime Rate                                                          8.50%

 Overall the financial markets have delivered positive returns over the past 12 months. There are however still significant risks for global growth into short to medium term. It remains to be seen how the US will deal their coming fiscal cliff which requires the cooperation of both Republicans and Democrats who still hold widely divergent views as to the appropriate course of action.

Europe has not resolved their sovereign debt woes and still need to come up with a sustainable long term initiative. As this situation develops it is sure to contribute to the volatility of the global markets.

Finally China’s growth is the other major factor being watched by the market to give some indication of the trend in global growth. The most recent figures suggest an increase in manufacturing activity which is a positive indicator for the direction of future Chinese GDP growth.