The rand has remained resilient, albeit volatile, as negative global drivers continue to clash against many positive local drivers. At one point, the rand touched R15.18 last week, before poor performing global indicators caused the rand to depreciate back to levels around R15.90.
Read full articleIt has been almost three decades since the African National Congress (ANC) came into power. Our job, as economists, is to interpret the economic results of their actions, or, in this case, the lack thereof. To do this, we try to determine how the decisions of the ruling party, in aggregate, impact on the economy and, by implication, on the livelihoods of South Africans.
Read full articleDuring the first week of May, the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the United States (US) increased interest rates by 0.5%, the first time since 2000. Later, during the last week of the month, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) followed suit.
Read full articleIn a daring move, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) last week decided to increase interest rates by 0.5%, despite the pressure that it will undoubtedly place on South African consumers. Although 15 out of the 24 analysts that were surveyed, expected a 0.5% increase, I cannot help but wonder if it was not a little too much.
Read full articleDespite the robust rally at the end of the week, all three major equity market indices in the United States (US) – the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite – posted weekly losses. In total, the Nasdaq has lost $7.6 trillion in the current decline.
Read full articleWe ended April anticipating the announcement from the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed). Because of all of the uncertainty, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite contracted 13.3% in April, its worst monthly drop since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Read full articleThe past month has been a wild one! The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite, a stock market index that includes almost all of the stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States (US), contracted 13.3% in April. This was its worst monthly drop since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Read full articleFollowing the severe floods in KwaZulu-Natal, many companies have suspended their operations to recover and to restore damaged equipment and infrastructure. Container depots, terminals, and warehouses that have been damaged will likely further constrain local supply chains.
Read full articleIn the past week uncertainty caused volatility in global stock markets to drag on. Uncertainty about war, commodity prices, inflation, interest rate increases, lockdowns in China, global economic growth, and the likes, are all keeping investors, and the markets that they represent, both nervous and restless.
Read full articleIn global markets: This past month has been all about the war in the Ukraine and its impact on the global economy. The war has almost caused investors to forget about the long-term shift in monetary policy that finally started when the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) increased its interest rates.
Read full articleThe South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has, again, increased interest rates by 0.25%. This is the third increase since December 2021, bringing the repurchase, or policy, rate that the SARB offers banks up to 4.25%. The SARB’s quarterly projection model, a model used to guide the market but also to assist the SARB in making interest rate decisions, shows that interest rates should increase gradually in South Africa (SA) over the next few years.
Read full articleBetween all the headlines of war, interest rate hikes, volatile markets, and the concerns emanating from these, theories about an upcoming recession are becoming ever-more frequent. Technically, a country is in a recession if that country experiences two consecutive quarters of negative, or contracting, growth.
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