Mandela's poor health 'painful': Motshekga
http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2013/06/12/mandela-s-poor-health-painful-motshekga
South Africans should take a moment to send their thoughts
and prayers to ailing former president Nelson Mandela, ANC Chief Whip Mathole
Motshekga said on Wednesday.
In his opening remarks in the budget vote debate on the
presidency, Motshekga described Madiba's poor health as "painful".
"Millions across the world share our love for Madiba
and I am sure that he is kept in everyone's prayers. We wish the family much
strength during this difficult time," said Motshekga.
Reference was made to Mandela's 100 days speech to
Parliament in 1994.
"Down the years, human society has pitted itself
against the pestilences of poverty, disease and ignorance. Progress has been
achieved while reverses have also been sustained.
"It is incumbent on South Africa to be in the company
of those who have recorded more success than failure," Mandela said at the
time.
It was because of Mandela's vision that MPs should debate
the presidency's budget in a way which was in the public interest and lived up
to the mandate given to public representatives by millions of South Africans.
Mandela responding to treatment: Zuma
http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2013/06/12/mandela-responding-to-treatment-zuma
Former president Nelson Mandela is responding well to the
treatment he is receiving, President Jacob Zuma told MPs on Wednesday.
"I am happy to report that Madiba is responding better
to treatment from this morning," he said, opening debate in the National
Assembly on the presidency's budget vote.
Zuma said the government was "very happy with the
progress that he is now making, following a difficult last few days".
Mandela had been admitted to a Pretoria hospital in the early hours of
Saturday morning and was in a "serious but stable" condition. His
condition had remained unchanged since then.
The elder statesman was spending his fifth day in hospital.
Zuma said the government appreciated the messages of support
for Mandela from all over the world.
"It is an honour for us as South Africans to share
Madiba with the international community. We fully understand and appreciate the
global interest in this world icon. We are so proud to call him our own."
He urged South Africans, and the international community, to
"continue to keep president Mandela and the medical team in their thoughts
and prayers".
Mandla Mandela, the ailing icon's grandson, said the family
appreciated the support they had received from South Africans and the global
community.
"We want to say thank you and we appreciate all your
support that you show towards our grandfather and your father," he told
journalists outside Mandela's Houghton home in Johannesburg.
"My grandfather is the father of the nation, embraced
by the entire global community, so we appreciate the support we have
received."
Mandla spoke to media after he dropped someone off at the
house after returning from the hospital.
He said the family was grateful Mandela was receiving
support from the presidency and the African National Congress-led government.
"We also want to thank the doctors who have worked
around the clock to ensure that they look after him while he is in the
hospital."
Mandela's ex-wife, ANC MP Winnie Madikizela-Mandela arrived
at the hospital just after 3pm on Wednesday. Moments later, Mandela's daughter
Makaziwe arrived.
Earlier in the day, Mandla, another grandson, Ndaba,
Mandela's wife Graca Machel, and his daughter Zenani, were at the hospital.
Gold: 3 Essential Facts For Your Future
http://uk.advfn.com/newspaper/clem-chambers/18551/gold-3-essential-facts?cma=out
Best selling
financial journalist provides three essential facts about gold.
When any market crashes, it’s a shock. For a real nose dive
it normally takes something unexpected and dramatic to kick it off. If people
had any idea of the reason or that it was coming then the fall would start
early and be more shallow.
Gold is misunderstood and it is viewed as “the mad metal”,
so here are three things to remember whether you love or hate gold.
1. Gold is a commodity
To many people gold is something special. It’s more than
just another metal that comes out of the ground. This may well be because since
the dawn of time gold has been a status symbol and status is what breeds
success or simply just breeds.
Whatever you feel about gold, it is just a metal. That isn’t
necessarily a bad thing and it doesn’t mean it needs to be cheaper.
Gold supply has not kept up with demand so its price should
rise. Where once gold was used on things that could be easily recycled. Now
gold is used in things that don’t get recycled in a way that the gold is being
recovered. So gold is being lost.
2. Gold is volatile
Gold used to be worth a lot less than it is today. As we
have seen recently at ADVFN, you don’t have to look hard to see gold is as
vulnerable to swings in values as any other commodity.
The key to investing in gold is being able to watch the gold
price live. A free ADVFN account will allow you to follow it live and direct at
home or on your tablet or smartphone via our free app.
3. Gold is not a
stable store of value
It is a myth to believe gold is a constant store of value.
Like anything else the price of gold is created by supply and demand. When the
Spanish pillaged South America and brought the gold and silver back to Europe, there was rampant inflation. More gold meant gold
money was worth less and the price of things in gold went up.
If you register with ADVFN, you will receive a free, easy to
follow guide on ‘How to Invest’.
Jobless At EU Hits A New Record High
http://uk.advfn.com/newspaper/kenneth-mondero/19077/jobless-at-eu-hits-a-new-record-high
The Eurozone has reached another record high unemployment
rate in April 2013 as the single-currency block continues to be mired in its
longest recession since its creation 14 years ago.
Data from EU’s statistics agency, Eurostat, revealed
seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in the 17-member bloc rose from 12.1% in March
to 12.2% in April of this year. The jobless rate for the broader 27-member
European Union, nonetheless, remained unchanged at 11%.
The figures translate to 26.588 million men and women, ages
15-74, who do not have work in the EU, 19.375 million of which are from the
Eurozone.
Europe’ southern region posted the highest unemployment,
including Greece, Spain, Portugal,
which, along with Cyprus,
also posted the highest increase in the number of jobless.
Cyprus
recently nearly faced a breakdown of its financial system after its biggest
banks were exposed to the Greece’s
sovereign debt, averted shortly by a financial aid from the troika in exchange
for the closure of its second largest bank, Laiki, sending ripples across the
country.
Data from Eurostat showed Cyprus’ unemployment rate jumped
from 11.2% in April last year to 15.6% a year after.
Of the 27 countries, unemployment dropped at nine states,
putting the EU’s unemployment rate at a sustained level of 11%. Ireland’s
jobless fell from 14.9% to 13.5% in the 12 months to April 2013.
Youth Unemployment
A significant concern for the EU is the enormous rise in
unemployment of individuals between ages 15 and 25, which rose from 22.6% both
in the Eurozone and the greater EU in April 2012 to 23.5% in the 27-member EU
and the 24.4% in the 17-member block.
The situation was referred as a “social crisis” by Italy’s
President, Giorgio Napolitano, whose country reported a 40.5% of jobless youth
in the same period, as quoted by the BBC.
Eurozone leaders have earlier announced measures to increase
employment among the youth whilst economists perceive the condition will only
get worse in the short term.
Big firms have been cutting jobs to secure profitability,
including UK’s
four biggest banks, which, according to Bloomberg, have reduced their workforce
by 25% globally.
Only Germany,
Europe’s largest economy, kept both
unemployment rates low in its youth to a low 7.5% and the general jobless rate
at 5.4%.
The outlook for the EU remains gloomy as the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicted a recession of the
Eurozone by the end of this year, which may further affect labour.
The Death of Wealth: The Economic Fall of the West
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Death-Wealth-Economic-Fall/dp/1908756144/a05b9-21
The Economic Fall of the West Question: what is the next
economic game changer? Answer: The Death of Wealth. Market guru Clem Chambers
dissects the global economy and the state of the financial markets and lays out
the evidence for the death of wealth. Financial meltdown The Death of Wealth
flags up the milestones on the route towards impending financial disaster. From
the first tentative signs of recovery in the UK and US stock markets at the
start of 2012, to the temporary drawing back from the edge of the Fiscal Cliff
at the end, the book chronicles the trials and tribulations of the markets
throughout the year. Collecting together articles and essays throughout the
last twelve months along with extensive new analysis for 2013, The Death of
Wealth allows us to look at these tumultuous events collectively and draw a
strong conclusion about what the future holds. A tumultuous year for the global
economy 2012 started with the US
economy showing signs of recovery, and European financial markets recovering
some of the ground lost during the euro crisis. It ended with Obama’s
re-election and the deal that delayed the plunge off the fiscal cliff by a few
months. In between, the eurozone crisis continued, but none of the affected
countries actually left the eurozone; quantitative easing tried to turn things
around with the consequences of these “unorthodox” actions yet unknown; and the
equity markets after the mid-year correction became strongly bullish.
Predicting the economic fall of the west The Death of Wealth takes you through
the events of 2012 month by month, with charts showing the movements of the
FTSE 100, the NASDAQ COMPX and the SSE COMPX throughout the year. With an
introduction by renowned market commentator and stock tipster Tom Winnifrith
and a summary by trading technical analyst Zak Mir, this collection chronicles
the rocky road trip the financial systems of the world have been on, and
predicts the ultimate destination: the death of wealth as we know it.