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 [...]
December 2022 In Review It was another tumultuous year in markets. For the full year no domestic asset class offered positive real returns for the first time in over two decades. Money market investments (up 5.1%) provided the best [...]
Economic and Market Overview December 2022 November In Review An advisory panel established by SA’s parliament found there are grounds for lawmakers to investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa in connection with a scandal over a robbery at his game farm. “In [...]
Economic and Market Overview November 2022 October In Review The International Monetary Fund published their bi-annual World Economic Outlook in October. Global growth is forecast to slow from 6.0 percent in 2021 to 3.2 percent in 2022 and 2.7 percent [...]
Economic and Market Overview October 2022 September In Review Central banks around the world continued to push their official rates higher in an attempt to curb inflation. The US Federal Reserve added 0.75% to the Fed Funds rate while the [...]
Economic and Market Overview September 2022 Global The last 15 years represent a truly remarkable time in the global economy and markets. From the Bear Sterns leverage credit hedge funds collapse in 2007 to the war in Ukraine, the last [...]
Economic and Market Overview August 2022 Global From inflation to recession. This was a dominant theme in macro-economic analysis in July. Inflation in most developed markets has likely peaked and attention has now shifted to the likelihood of recessions occurring [...]
