Dependency levels drop in past 15 years
Every working person in South Africa supported themselves and an average of three other people, the SA Institute of Race Relations said yesterday. A survey conducted by the institute showed that the general dependency had dropped among South Africans in the past 15 years, although Africans remained the racial group with the highest average number of dependents. “Dependency among Africans has come down significantly from a high of nearly six people depending on every employed person in 1997 to just over three in 2012,” Lucy Holborn, the research manager at institute, said. – Sapa
RIM shares rise to highest in a year
Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, is trading at its highest level in almost a year amid signs that demand for Apple’s market-leading iPhone is ebbing. RIM’s stock rose 9.4 percent to $14.83 (R129) in early trade in New York yesterday, after a 14 percent gain on Friday. The shares climbed to $15.04 earlier, the highest intraday price since February 22. Apple reduced its orders for iPhone 5 screens this quarter. – Bloomberg
European banks to slash bonuses
Barclays and Deutsche Bank would take a knife to bonuses for investment bankers in the coming weeks as they sought to tackle high costs, people familiar with the matter said yesterday. Barclays was finalising bonuses for last year and overall 2012 compensation for investment bankers would fall by between 10 percent and 20 percent on average, two sources said. Deutsche Bank’s investment bankers would see bonuses for 2012 fall by 15 percent to 20 percent, two sources said. – Reuters