Following 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.
Read full articleAs the war in the Ukraine continues, you might have heard some rumours about fuel prices in South Africa (SA). Some commentators that I would not refer to as experts even believe that fuel prices can reach R40 a litre. Although nothing is impossible, I doubt this has much more than a 10% probability of occurring.
Read full articleThe whole world continues to look on in disbelief as Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine drags on, despite heavy sanctions and the seizing of assets from anything or anyone related to Russia. Russian flights have been restricted and travel bans have been imposed. The United Kingdom (UK) has cut Russian companies out of their insurance market, the world’s largest commercial and speciality insurance centre.
Read full articleMost of us have a negative response when told to calm down. This is especially true when headlines of war and despair dominate the news. While US markets came under pressure in January over interest rate concerns, European and other markets have been dragged lower over fears of contagion, prompted by sanctions against Russia.
Read full articleDuring February, market uncertainty peaked, and this caused volatility to erupt. After a lot of negotiations, media staging, propaganda, and hard sanctions, Russia invaded the Ukraine. The reasons for this invasion range from believable to fanatical, and even includes a conspiracy or two.
Read full articleAs market, economic, and finance experts, we often get asked questions about investing in alternative assets, from property to cryptocurrencies. Because these assets fall outside of the scope of many of the regulatory bodies of traditional finance in South Africa (SA), we can, at best, use our expertise to inform and to educate clients; we cannot give advice. We hope that clients can use our expertise as part of the research that they do to make the best asset allocation decisions.
Read full articleThe perfect storm besieged global equity markets at the start of 2022. The impact is even more pronounced when global investments are measured in ZAR, as the rand has strengthened since the beginning of the year, further exacerbating the negative performance of global equities for South African based investors.
Read full articleIn his latest State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ramaphosa, once again, delivered a pro-business message. He explained that: “The key task of government is to create the conditions that will enable the private sector to emerge, to grow, to access new markets, to create new products, and to hire more employees”.
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