October 2023 In Review October did not turn out to be the month of peace in the Middle East. On 7 October conflict between Hamas and Israel flared up and this has dominated global geo-political events since. According to [...]
September 2023 In Review The Monetary Policy Committee of the South African Reserve Bank decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at 8.25% (and the prime rate at 11.75%) for the second meeting in a row. The governor, Lesetja [...]
August 2023 In Review Local economic data for the second quarter in August was mixed. Mining and manufacturing surprised on the upside, while economic activity in Retail Sales came in lower than expected. Overall, economic activity in South Africa [...]
July 2023 In Review In an update to their World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) upgraded their expectations for global economic growth in 2023 from 2.8% to 3.0%. This is still lower than the 21st century’s average [...]
June 2023 In Review In an interview with Business Day, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago has suggested the central bank’s almost two-year-long fight against inflation is paying off, saying recent data showed clear signs of the reversal of the [...]
May 2023 In Review The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank raised the official interest rate by 0.5%. Higher than-expected global interest rates and persistent inflation led to all five members of the MPC voting [...]
April 2023 In Review Joe Biden formally announced that he would seek a second term in office. The New York Times reported that, while the president once pitched himself as “a bridge” to a new generation of Democratic leaders, [...]
March 2023 In Review The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank surprised market participants with a 0.5% increase in the official lending rate. This was 0.25% higher than expected as the bank cited concerns about [...]
February 2023 In Review South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled the 2023/2024 National Budget on 22 February. As widely expected, the budget was dominated by the electricity crisis. Another revenue windfall (due to elevated commodity prices) and savings [...]
January 2023 In Review South African equity markets had a very strong rally and ended the month nearly 9% higher. This strong performance was led by Naspers, Prosus, and Richemont. Local bonds gained almost 3%. Global markets also recovered [...]
