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National Treasury has reason to fear Friday 13 June

11 June 2014

With two ratings agencies due to announce their reviews of the country’s ratings on Friday, it’s not superstition that will be making those working in the National Treasury nervous.

Is South Africa headed for a recession?

11 June 2014

South Africa’s economy contracted in the first quarter by -0.6%. The protracted strike in the platinum sector shoulders a large part of the blame, and even if the strike ends soon, it could still take up to three months for the platinum mines to get return to full operations. Manufacturing also contracted, and while other sectors grew positively in the first quarter, they displaying a weakening trend (with the exception of construction).

SA’s economy lagging behind the globe

10 June 2014

While South Africa’s economy contracted in the first quarter, so far second quarter data have hardly been encouraging. According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), sales of new vehicles fell by 9.2% year-on-year in May. There was a sharp decline in exports due to the discontinuation of a specific car model which could lead to a further blow to the trade deficit, but NAAMSA expects vehicle exports to improve in the second half of the year.

Dark clouds and silver linings

10 June 2014

In its biannual Monetary Policy Review, the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) describes the outlook for the global economy as “sunny with a chance of storms”. Perhaps the current mood in South Africa can be described as “stormy with a chance of sun”. The dreaded R-word, recession, is being thrown around following the first quarter’s contraction.

quick poll

Question

Do you think short-term insurance broking will survive the AI plus humanoid robotics age?

Answer

Human first always Not a chance Possibly maybe Yes, but reimagined

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