EMPLOYMENT NEWS ON FASTMOVING

The manufacturers’ sentiment index jumped to 36,61 in the third quarter of this year from the -14,89 recorded at the end of the previous quarter, Simonis Storm Securities (SSS) said in a report released earlier this month. read more

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Fackson Shamenda, says Shoprite is operating normally and its operating licence is still in force. read more

The construction of a shopping mall to be the property of the University of Zambia (UNZA) Great East Road campus will cost K248 million. read more

The Namibian Government is injecting huge stimulus into the Namibian economy in order to accelerate the growth of local enterprises. The recent promulgation of the amended Regulation 28 and 29 of the Pension Funds Act has the potential to unlock capital and channel its flow towards entrepreneurial businesses. read more

Johannesburg - Food manufacturer Pioneer Foods [JSE:PFG] is cutting jobs as part of a restructuring process to reduce costs in the face of constrained consumer spending, its chief executive has said.  read more

Johannesburg - The softer global economy and weak domestic business and household confidence are expected to keep South African GDP growth at 2.0% this year with a marginal pick-up to 2.8% in 2014. read more

Shoprite chief executive Whitey Basson has moved beyond blaming the usual suspects of unions and labour legislation for South Africa’s economic woes and has lashed out at the “declining” manufacturing sector for its lack of innovation and competitiveness. read more

It is slightly less than a month since Graeme Mouton was appointed as the new Financial Director of Namibia Breweries Limited but already he says he is inspired by the O&L Purpose “Creating a future, enhancing life.” read more

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar has elevated Jason Reiser to the position of senior VP/lead merchandising officer at Family Dollar, according to an internal memo from company president and COO Mike Bloom. read more

SABMiller suffered its biggest weekly decline in more than two years last week as a strike at its South African beer operations continued and Unilever said sales growth slowed in emerging markets.  read more

Brussels - The CEO of Delhaize Group's European division has resigned, effective Oct. 31, the Belgian supermarket operator said. read more

Heidelberg Mall, set to open in October 2014, is already attracting a powerhouse of leading retailers a full year before it opens, including some of South Africa’s most popular national stores.  read more

Simon Susman, the Woolworths chairman, is the latest big businessman to put the cat among the government pigeons by suggesting that the labour market environment is too constraining.  read more

New York -- Consumer Confidence decreased in September amid resurfacing concerns about the short-term outlook for both jobs and earnings, according to The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index. The index, which had increased slightly in August, now stands at 79.7, down from 81.8 in August. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 79.9 this month. read more

Cape Town, Monday 9 September: According to the results of an economic impact study conducted by economists Economics Information Services (EiS) led by Barry Standish, the V&A Waterfront should be viewed as an economic hub which has contributed some R198-billion to the South African economy over the last ten years alone.  read more

Massmart’s Direct Farm Programme, Ezemvelo, launched in August 2012, under the auspices of the group’s Supplier Development Fund, continues to extend its reach and is now operating in four provinces in South Africa, namely Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.  read more

Johannesburg - About 400 Pick n Pay employees will be jobless in the coming months after the company retrenched workers to cut costs. read more

Huawei, the Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company, has appointed Wilson Liu as the new CEO for its South African operations.  read more

A Tanzanian firm has indicated its intention to set up a cotton ginnery in Zambia to provide a ready market for small-scale cotton growers in the country. read more

Microsoft (23 August 2013) announced that CEO Steve Ballmer has decided to retire within the next 12 months, upon the completion of a process to choose his successor. read more

Zambia will this year face a rice deficit of 15,000 tonnes against the national requirements of more than 62,000 tonnes due to poor yields, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) report has revealed.  read more

Johannesburg - Trade conditions remained positive in July, despite volatility on a month-to-month basis, the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said on Tuesday.  read more

Cape Town - Pick n Pay hopes to trim jobs across the country as it implements a turnaround strategy, BDLive reported on Wednesday. read more

Pretoria - Agriculture employs 5.2% of the workforce but only accounts for 2.5% of annual gross domestic product, statistician general Pali Lehohla said on Monday. read more

Johannesburg - South African paper maker Sappi posted a narrower quarterly loss on Friday, hit again by weak demand in Europe, where it said it plans significant cost cuts over the next three years. read more

Mbombela - An international company is all set to harvest green tea leaves in Barberton to extract powerful anti-oxidants that help treat diseases such as cancer, malaria and heart disease.  read more

Samsung Botswana officially opened its third store in Gaborone at Rail park mall, bringing the total number of Samsung franchise stores in Botswana to five.  read more

New York -- Cache Inc. announced that Anthony DiPippa (“Tony”) will join the company as executive VP, CFO, on Aug. 7.  read more

Frankfurt - Siemens chief executive Peter Loescher plans a probably doomed fight for his job at Wednesday's supervisory board meeting, a German newspaper said, after the German industrial group said at the weekend it would sack him. read more

Ottawa - Struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry has fired 250 employees in a new product testing division at its Canadian headquarters, a spokesperson said Thursday.  read more

London - Kate Bostock, one of the biggest names in Britain's retail industry, has quit ASOS after just seven months, deciding the fast-growing online fashion firm wasn't for her. read more

Mobile handset maker Nokia has announced the appointment of Shaun Durandt as general manager for Nokia South Africa.  read more

Accra Brewery Limited, a subsidiary of SABMiller, has again demonstrated its commitment to employee skills development by sourcing for a grant of GHC 212,000 from the Skills Development Fund (SDF).  read more

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Haruna Idrissu, has said government may, in the future, consider taking measures to discourage the importation of flour into the country in order to reinforce local production. read more

Johannesburg - Massmart, South Africa’s biggest food and goods wholesaler, said sales growth slowed during the first half of the year amid a downturn in consumer spending. read more

Johannesburg - A complaint was lodged on Wednesday with the Competition Commission against the SA Poultry Association and local frozen chicken producers. read more

US retail major WalMart recently announced a top level change in its Indian operations with President Raj Jain being replaced by Ramnik Narsey, who is currently Senior Vice-President for Walmart International, with immediate effect.  read more

New York - US stocks Friday opened higher following a better-than-expected US jobs report, even as US Treasury yields spiked.  read more

Johannesburg - Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into South Africa decreased by 24% between 2011 and 2012, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). read more

Cape Town – A high degree of interest in the medical and health benefits of coconut oil has led to a joint venture worth $4m (about R37m) between Agri-Vie and Vida Oils International. read more

Ghana is projected to increase its local processing of cocoa to 40% in the coming years, according to the 2013 Economic Report on Africa (ERA) released on March 25, 2013. read more

The Copperbelt has on an annual basis been experiencing shortages of liquor, especially during festive periods and various events. read more

WINDHOEK - The long-awaited brewery in Okahandja to be built by SABMiller took a concrete step towards fruition late last month when the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Tjekero Tweya, officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony for the new brewery.  read more

Johannesburg - Cipla Medpro South Africa [JSE:CMP], the drug firm being taken over by India's Cipla Medpro, said on Thursday it had promoted its two deputy chief executives to serve as joint CEOs on a temporary basis. read more

Johannesburg - Economic growth in the first quarter of 2013 remained subdued due to contraction in the manufacturing sector, the SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) said on Wednesday.  read more

Johannesburg - The number of people employed in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy rose by about 7 000‚ or 0.1%‚ in the first quarter of 2013‚ the March Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) survey released by Statistics SA on Tuesday shows. read more

New York – Improvements in real home prices, initial unemployment claims and real wages drove an increase in the Deloitte Consumer Spending Index last month.  read more

Pharmaceutical firm Adcock Ingram has appointed Werner van Rensburg as its chief operations officer, and Doreen Kosi has been confirmed as the government relations executive. read more

Johannesburg - A ban on alcohol advertising will result in a loss of 12 000 jobs, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday. read more

Johannesburg - Global factors are the main contributors to the current volatility of the rand, analysts said on Wednesday. read more

FMCG major Procter & Gamble (P&G) India is enhancing its manufacturing capabilities and expanding its footprint by setting up its largest plant at Kothur Mandal in Mahaboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The company will be investing R370 crore in the plant through Procter & Gamble Home Products.  read more

Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc are short-listing potential candidates to become the next Dell Inc chief executive should they succeed in a proxy battle against Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners, two sources close to the matter told Reuters. read more

Eenhana sees rapid development EENHANA – The recent opening of the Woermann Brock and Shoprite supermarkets in Eenhana has created new employment opportunities for more than 76 youngsters. read more

Johannesburg - Jeff Wright has resigned as Country Bird Holdings [JSE:CBH] after five years at the helm‚ the poultry producer said on Friday. read more

The rand has dipped to a new 4-year low, breaking through the R10 to the dollar mark by mid-afternoon on Thursday (30 May). read more

London - British consumer sentiment hit a six-month high in May, and a leading business association revised up its growth forecasts for the first time since the financial crisis, adding to hopes that a tentative recovery is under way. read more

Cape Town - A total of 54 000 new jobs were created in the agriculture sector in the first three months of the year, Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said on Wednesday. read more

Johannesburg - Unemployment in Gauteng decreased by nearly 5% between 2011 and 2012, Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Monday. read more

Shoprite brings 150 jobs NHLANGANO – Shoprite Checkers has added a stimulating effect to the economy of the small town of Nhlangano by availing about 150 jobs to locals.  read more

Johannesburg - Poultry producer Astral Foods [JSE:ARL] on Monday reported a 82% plunge in diluted headline earnings per share to 94 cents in the six months ended March 2013 as operating profit slumped by 80% despite a 5% rise in revenue to R4.234bn. No interim divided was declared. read more

The Rockefeller Foundation will pledge close to US$100 million (R900m) to create digital field jobs in Africa, it was announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa on Thursday (9 April).  read more

Microsoft Corp on Wednesday named Amy Hood, head of finance of its Office division, as its new chief financial officer.  read more

Asda will open its controversial multi-million-pound store in East Cleveland this summer, the retail giant has confirmed. read more

The future of about 4,000 workers in the country's textile sector is uncertain as firms report that local and export orders for June and beyond have dried up.  read more

The informal economy is the major contributor to a number of emerging economies globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, the sector constitutes 70 percent of the workforce while in other countries such as Ghana, the informal economy employs 85 percent of the workforce. In India 400 million people work in this sector. read more

London - British manufacturing contracted by the narrowest of margins in April, and much less than expected, the first major set of data for the second quarter of the year showed on Wednesday. read more

An Indian business delegation was in Botswana last week to seek investment opportunities and strengthen ties with local stakeholders.  read more

Johannesburg - An incentive to encourage businesses to employ young South Africans and reduce youth unemployment was announced in Johannesburg on Tuesday. read more

The construction of the US$200 million shopping mall in Kitwe which is expected to be the largest in Zambia will finally take off in the next two months. read more

Johannesburg – The Momentum/Unisa Household Wealth Index on Friday revealed a second consecutive (quarterly) strong increase in the value of nominal wealth during the fourth quarter of 2012 so that it surpassed R6 trillion for the first time. read more

Washington - Africa, with its improved economies, can contribute to global growth for the first time in history, African finance ministers said on Saturday in Washington. read more

Masscash, a division of Massmart, has expanded its presence in Mozambique with the opening of a newly built Saverite store in the district of Xai Xai, 200km away from Maputo. read more

Cape Town - A draft law proposing all businesses be licensed with municipalities, will "create more red tape", warns the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  read more

Johannesburg - Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth should accelerate to more than 5% over the next three years, far outpacing the global average, but the region must do more to convert this into reducing poverty, the World Bank said on Monday. read more

Recognising the strong buying power of emerging markets in Durban’s outer lying suburbs, Pick n Pay has acquired a property in Chatsworth which will see it go head-to-head with competitor Shoprite’s store on the opposite side of the road.  read more

Johannesburg - A controversial bargaining council wage agreement in the clothing industry has been extended, the clothing trade union Sactwu said on Sunday. read more

Ougadougou - Burkina Faso set a minimum farmgate price for cotton growers of 235 CFA francs per kilogram for the 2013/14 growing season, down from 245 francs the previous year, the Interprofessional Cotton Association of Burkina (AICB) said on Thursday. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's manufacturing output fell 2.9% year-on-year in volume terms in February, the first contraction in five months, compared with revised 3.7% growth in January, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday.  read more

Nsoko Msele sugar mill project to rejuvenate Swaziland’s vital export crop A fourth sugar mill announced for Swaziland, the Nsoko Msele integrated sugar milling project, would significantly increase production of refined sugar, the country’s main source of export revenue, the project’s shareholders said this week. read more

New York -- Ron Johnson is out as CEO of J.C. Penney. In making the announcement, the company also said that that Myron E. (Mike) Ullman has rejoined Penney as CEO, effective immediately. Ullman, who served as CEO of Penney until late 2011, has also been elected to the board of directors. read more

Dube TradePort is set to be the main KwaZulu-Natal beneficiary of new multibillion-rand Chinese and Indian deals to come out of the Brics summit hosted in Durban last week.  read more

Johannesburg - The Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) 2013/2014, aimed at creating economic growth, was unveiled in Pretoria on Thursday. read more

The Managing Director of Unilever Ghana Limited, David Mureithi has resigned. read more

Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT), a local civil society organisation says domestication of the draft COMESA Seed Trade Harmonisation regulations will hinder small-scale farmers from participating in the seed business. read more

Windhoek - Kuiseb Traders have shown that they mean business when they recently launched a fully Namibian brand of processed and packaged fish products for the local market. read more

Washington - Personal computer industry pioneer Michael Dell would “invest for growth” and compete aggressively in new markets if his plan to take the company he founded private succeeds, according to a new memo. read more

Johannesburg - Growth in the manufacturing base will enable the Brics countries to achieve their desired economic growth and job creation, Indian Minister of Commerce Anand Sharma said on Wednesday.  read more

South African property investment and development company Atterbury, Demashuwa Properties and Namibia-based Safland Property Group are moving ahead with what they believe will be Namibia’s largest commercial property development – the 54 000 m2 Mall of Namibia – The Grove, in Windhoek. read more

Johannesburg - South African employment agency Adcorp Holdings said on Monday it would introduce a new, 10-year black-empowerment deal worth 521 million rand ($55.91 million) after its previous one failed to produce value.  read more

London - The eurozone's economic downturn deepened this month, even before Cyprus' bailout troubles, but China's factories took a completely different path and moved up a gear, business surveys showed on Thursday. read more

International consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble (P&G), which plans to build a state-of-the-art R1.6 billion manufacturing plant in Gauteng, is positioning itself to capture growth in Africa as the slowdown in developed markets continues. read more

Johannesburg - The South African economy needs a larger manufacturing sector in order to improve employment, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Thursday.  read more

Durban - Newcastle Chinese and Taiwanese clothing factories have won a high court application for exemption from a bargaining council wages agreement, it was reported on Thursday. read more

Heineken, the world's biggest brewer, more than doubled chief executive Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer's pay in 2012 as it awarded him one-time share bonuses worth €4m. read more

Johannesburg - Meat inspectors are on a legal strike over a pay dispute, International Meat Quality Assurance Services (IMQAS) said on Tuesday. read more

Cape Town - The opening of a factory manufacturing high-tech gadgets could boost employment not only in the Western Cape but South Africa as a whole, Cape Town premier Helen Zille said on Tuesday. read more

Johannesburg - Transnet might have to cut its planned R300bn capital expenditure programme by R50bn if economic growth proved disappointing or strikes affected the sector‚ CEO Brian Molefe said on Monday. read more

South African grocery retail giant, Pick n Pay, has completed the takeover of OK Grocer at Keetmanshoop.  read more

Bogota - Striking Colombian coffee growers who have blocked roads for 11 days ended their protest Friday after winning a government subsidy to offset lower prices for their product on international markets. read more

Johannesburg - The biggest decrease in the rate of unemployment in South Africa last year was recorded in Gauteng, economic development MEC Nkosiphendule Kolisile said on Sunday.  read more