News in South Africa 11th August: 1. SA R500 billion in debt: South Africa will need to borrow R500 billion over the next year, or R2 billion per weekday on average, to fund its current fiscal deficit and refinance maturing debt. This increases the risk of investing in the country and increases borrowing costs for […]
News in South Africa 8th August: 1. Alerts issues over taxi violence: Tensions between the City of Cape Town and the taxi council have boiled over, resulting in several countries issuing an alert to their citizens planning on travelling to the city – with some suggesting they delay their trips if possible to avoid harm. […]
News in South Africa 7th August: 1. Government credibility scares off investors: The government’s lack of credibility due to its poor economic policy, unsustainable debt burden, and policy uncertainty adds to the risk premium on South African assets, making investors fearful of investing in the country. Following the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Annual General […]
News in South Africa 2nd August: 1. US stripped of AAA rating: The US was stripped of its top-tier sovereign credit grade by Fitch Ratings, which criticized the country’s ballooning fiscal deficits and an “erosion of governance” that’s led to repeated debt limit clashes over the past two decades. The credit grader cut the US […]
News in South Africa 26th July: 1. Food price relief: South Africa’s food inflation should continue to decline, despite new risks facing agriculture in South Africa. According to Stats SA, Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) cooled from 6.3% in May to 5.4% in June – the lowest reading since 5.0% in October 2021. Crucially, annual inflation […]
News in South Africa 25th July: 1. Rand makes a comeback: The rand is looking set for a tough week ahead, with US rate hikes likely to weaken the local currency. The rand has been one of the worst-performing major currencies in the world and reached a record high of nearly $20.00/$ in May. The […]
News in South Africa 24th July: 1. Good week tainted by 2 industries: South Africa had a great week on the economic front last week, with Stats SA reporting a significant drop in inflation, the Reserve Bank holding on interest rates and the rand ending stronger against the dollar. However, economists at the Bureau for […]
News in South Africa 21st July: 1. Financial stress climbing: A survey of more than 35 000 people has revealed that 55% spend more than 40% of their take-home pay on debt repayments, while 37% say more than half their available income goes straight to servicing debt. Nearly 80% of respondents say that they “experience […]
News in South Africa 20th July: 1. Division over interest rate hikes: Economists are divided over whether South Africa’s central bank will pause interest-rate increases on Thursday, or extend its longest phase of monetary tightening since 2006. Deteriorating inflation expectations, currency risks and enhancements to the South African Reserve Bank’s quarterly projection model, used to […]
News in South Africa 19th July: 1. EU carbon levy impact: The European Union’s plan to put a carbon levy on imported goods from outside the bloc is an attempt to shift the burden for climate action to developing countries and may contravene World Trade Organization rules, South Africa said. The so-called carbon border adjustment […]
