Business

Major indices up, year ends on positive note
JOHANNESBURG -- The Johannesburg Stock Exchange ended the year at a record high yesterday--with the all-share index just over 1% stronger -- raising hopes that the rally would continue into January. Dealers cited the general positive sentiment and...

Zim economy 'more pressing than land'
HARARE -- Kumbirai Katsande, head of the Confederation of Zimbabwean Industries, yesterday unleashed controversy by warning President Robert Mugabe that redistribution of white-owned land to blacks was less important than other economic reforms. ...

Turn-of-the-century bug bugs the Brits
LONDON -- The millennium bug struck early in Britain this week when some high-street swipe card machines refused to authorise payments. They could not recognise the date January 1, 2000. A forerunner of the millenniumcomputer glitch hit thousands...

Next sugar crop likely to be up after rains
JOHANNESBURG -- With good spring and early summer rains the sugar crop to be produced by South African company Tongaat-Hulett throughout the Southern African region looks set to be higher in the 2000/1 season than the 1,224 million tons of sugar p...

ON THE WATER WAGON:
Crystal Mountain Bottled Water driver Mark Anderson loads his truck in Kentwood, Michigan. Some customers are tripling their orders as the new New Year approaches. While some Y2K-fearing consumers are snapping up baby formula, electric generators...

IMF happy with Korea
WASHINGTON -- South Korea's recovery from the Asian financial crisis has been so successful that its economy could post growth of over 9% for 1999 despite "lingering risks" that could mean trouble if "a large unfinished agenda" of reforms is not c...

Chinese economy beats target, up 7,1% in 1999
BEIJING -- Boosted by government spending and a recovery in exports, China's economy grew at a rate of 7,1% in 1999, just slightly exceeding the government's annual target, the Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. The government had targeted 7%...

GOLD
NEW YORK -- Selected gold prices (in US dollars per troy ounce) yesterday: Hong Kong: 290.50; London: 290.20; Paris: 286.64; Frankfurt: N/a; Zurich: 290.30. -- Sapa-AP ...

NEW HIGHS and LOWS
NEW HIGHS PRICEPREV NORTHAM 775750 GENCOR 27502650 GFSA 15251490 LIB HOLD 1904019000 LIBERTY 71507100 TEMPORA 33003205 PANPROP 550532 MONTE 13501250 CGSMITH 25002460 L T A 45004000 DIDATA 39803950 CADSWEP 11601155 TIG OATS 7350...

INDICES
JOHANNESBURG -- Selected indices for JSE at close of trade: All share: . . . 8542.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . up94.0 Industrials: . . . .9211.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .up82.7 Financial: . . 10,724.4 . . . . . ...

JOHANNESBURG STOCK EXCHANGE at the close
SecurityRuling Day's price move MINING COAL DUIKERS751 +31 TWEEFONTN11000+500 WANKIE40 DIAMONDS DE-BEERS17900 -260 GEM105 ICH3350 +45 ODMHOLD800 TRNSHEX930 GOLD ANGGOLD31660 -240 AVGOLD425 +5 DBNDP-O3 +1 DBN-DEEP1035 +5 DBNDP-BO210 -20 E-R-P-M...

MAJOR MOVEMENTS
DAILY TOP 10 UP SAMRAND4525+ 125,0 ADONIS 9038+ 73,1 DBN DP 31+ 50,0 YTHRK 258+ 47,1 CORPBAN6019+ 46,3 TLC 113+ 37,5 SHAWCEL9926+ 35,6 HEAVEN 133+ 30,0 ELEXIR 133+ 30,0 SB BOE 92+ 28,6 WEEKLY TOP 10 UP SAMRAND4533+ 275,0 VELOCIT4025+ ...

RATES OF EXCHANGE
JOHANNESBURG -- Yesterday's closing exchange rates, as supplied by Standard Bank: (R/, R/US$ and R/Irish punt, other rates per rand.) USA6,2500 EURO6,3634 GREAT BRITAIN10,1318 IRELAND8,0814 UAE,5902 AUSTRIA2,1681 AUSTRALIA,2426 BELGIUM6,3525 BOTSW...

SHIPPING
EAST LONDON -- In port last night: Nil. Arrived yesterday: Nil. Sailed yesterday: Nil. Due today: Frontier (0600) from Port Elizabeth to K middle. Eastern Cape   South Africa   Foreign&n...

UNIT TRUSTS
FUND NAMEBUYSELL ABSA: Aggressive FoF136,09130,08 Balanced115,05108,11 Fincl&Ind Index113,27106,43 Flexible120,94113,64 General252,58237,35 Growth FoF108,75103,93 Income107,51106,31 International212,73199,89 Money Market100,40100,00 Spec Grow...