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Misdirected energy fails to nail the real culprits 2008-04-21 06:00:01 A noisy, intrusive advertisement, inviting people to take part in a Renault-sponsored TV reality show, is being flighted on Radio 702. [Full Story...] Rising rates, inflation both inflict pain equally 2008-04-14 06:00:01 Rising interest rates hurt - but so does inflation, as it eats into the purchasing power of money. So why aren't we grateful that the Reserve Bank is determined to get inflation under control? [Full Story...] Bank's kitty should help rand to roar a little more 2008-04-07 06:00:01 Brian Kantor, an investment strategist at Investec Securities known for his contrarian views, has criticised the Reserve Bank for continuing to build its foreign exchange reserves through periods of rand weakness. [Full Story...] Malthus' predictions draw closer to reality 2008-03-31 06:00:01 The world has a problem. With the integration of Asia into the global economy over the past two decades, importing countries have increasingly relied on cheap Asian labour to keep global inflation under control. [Full Story...] Cream fails to rise to the top in local government 2008-03-17 06:00:01 A businessman last week neatly summed up a major problem facing the South African economy. "The speed with which [the] government moved enabled us to miss the boat," he said. [Full Story...] Beware the fickle figure when data series shift 2008-03-10 06:00:01 Financial markets are scary places in which vast sums of money move at lightning speed. So it is not surprising that the people who navigate them are a nervous lot, always sniffing the wind. [Full Story...] Silver lining in today's cloud is platinum 2008-03-03 06:00:01 It's an ill wind that blows no one any good and some canny or lucky investors are benefiting from a range of problems around the globe: an exceptionally bad winter in China and flooding in Australia have sent coal prices surging; a power crisis that disrupted mining production in South Africa has sent platinum prices soaring; and traffic congestion in Gauteng is boosting the prices of property within walking distance of the Gautrain stations now under construction. [Full Story...] Manuel's answer on Eskom debt is 'X' rated 2008-02-25 06:00:01 As a professional recorder of public utterances, I have a request to make of public speakers: please finish your main clauses. I spend much of my life waiting for people to wend their way through a series of subsidiary clauses - only to find they have left their main clause dangling. [Full Story...] R10bn for fight against crime 2008-02-20 14:53:01 There would be more than 200 000 police officers by the end of March 2011, up 22 percent from the 163 000 police officers in 2006/07, as well as more prosecutors, judges and magistrates. [Full Story...] Property sales cycle is adjusting to key changes 2008-02-18 06:00:01 If you are trying to sell a house for about R1.82 million, here's a tip. Take your house off the market for a while. This advice comes not because there's a conjunction of unfavourable stars working against you; it's just that the market pendulum has swung against you. If you're patient, it will return because pendulums always swing back. [Full Story...] E-filing puts advantage in hands of the taxman 2008-02-11 06:00:01 In the age-old battle between taxpayers and the taxman, the new e-filing system for individual taxpayers may have given the latter the edge. Werksmans' tax director, Ernest Mazansky, believes taxpayers are at risk if their interpretation of their tax affairs differs from the taxman's. [Full Story...] Electricity rationing will lead to more chaos 2008-02-04 06:00:01 If policy makers at Eskom, in government and at local municipalities want electricity rationing to work, they must come up with some smart ideas. Harnessing the co-operation of a large and diverse community of electricity users needs a lot of thought and effective positive incentives. [Full Story...] Local gold producers won't feast at banquet 2008-01-28 06:00:01 Gold and platinum prices are at all-time record highs But South African producers may not be in a position benefit. The precious metals are in uncharted territory precisely because markets believe South African operators may not be able to produce. [Full Story...] Inflation targeting critics miss the mark 2008-01-21 06:00:01 Most critics of inflation targeting miss an important point. Scrapping inflation targets will not do away with the need to keep inflation under control. [Full Story...] As stocks get scary, where can you invest? 2008-01-14 06:00:01 On January 2, the first trading session of the year, the JSE's all share index gained 1 percent to close at 29 263.4 points. Overnight, investors apparently had second thoughts, and the following day the index shed 1 percent in the first five minutes. [Full Story...] Mboweni's on track with bubbles-at-bay strategy 2007-12-10 06:00:01 Recent events had "catapulted the world into the longer term", George Magnus, senior economic adviser to UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, said on Friday. [Full Story...] New debt crisis is on the cards - literally 2007-12-03 06:00:01 A s we glide into the gift-giving, high-spending holiday season, another spectre is surfacing in global financial markets: bad credit card debt. People are asking: is this the new subprime? [Full Story...] Creditors' one-way bets may be called in 2007-11-26 06:00:01 Shareholder activists are trying to make their presence felt in what is likely to become a long-running battle with one of the world's biggest banks. [Full Story...] Fortune's wheel turns us towards innovation 2007-11-19 06:00:01 It's hard to remember a time when the world was awash with oil - as it was only eight years ago, when the price fell below $10 (about R68 at current rates) a barrel. It's harder still to get to grips with the fact that commentators then couldn't visualise a world that was not awash with oil. [Full Story...] Economic policy is not immune to global flows 2007-11-12 06:00:01 On January 2 1981 the Reserve Bank's chief foreign exchange dealer consulted Gerhard de Kock, who was then the bank governor. "The exchange rate is $1.35 to the rand. Shall I let it go to $1.36 or shall I sell rands into the market?" he asked De Kock. [Full Story...] Removal of dead wood at JD Group clears the way for black knight 2007-11-11 06:00:01 The big news this week seems to be the swift political winds of change, although it seems more like a gale force, at JD Group. After posting a 26 percent drop in profit, the furniture retailer forced five senior executives to quit. [Full Story...] It was a good week for soccer in the UK 2007-11-05 06:00:01 Word at the weekend that the Bank of England governor has turned down a job as the UK's soccer boss came as a great relief. [Full Story...] Telkom fails yet again to answer the telephone 2007-10-29 06:00:01 A colleague who lived in the US for a year recalls an interesting encounter with American telephone provider AT&T.; The company charged tiered rates, which allowed local calls virtually free, while it made its profit on out-of-town and international calls. [Full Story...] Worst savers may soon get even less motivation 2007-10-22 06:00:01 South Africans are among the world's worst savers. I know this from comparing the country's savings ratio, provided by the Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin, with global figures from the latest World Economic Outlook released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). [Full Story...] What we don't know won't hurt us - will it? 2007-10-15 06:00:01 Let's see. Interest rates are up. But so is the rand. [Full Story...] Luxury housing loses out to the affordable 2007-10-08 06:00:01 South Africa is blessed by the absence of a housing bubble. [Full Story...] The best you can do is dodge the pendulum 2007-10-01 06:00:01 Global fortunes are flowing in two different directions. In China, there seems no end to the good news, while in Europe and the US markets are reeling from time bombs, buried in low-quality debt. [Full Story...] Maths + science = economic growth 2007-09-17 06:00:01 Strong commodity prices and the recent weakening of the US dollar have not been enough to rescue the rand. [Full Story...] The future is simply not what it used to be 2007-09-10 06:00:01 Second-guessing is a popular sport among central bank critics. And they are best at it when they have the benefit of hindsight. [Full Story...] Particle theory also has an economic spin 2007-09-03 06:00:01 It can be a mistake to find out how something really works. You'll often sleep better if you take everything for granted. [Full Story...] Construction boom can keep economy ticking 2007-08-27 06:00:01 For years, homeowners have been able to tap into their home loans to fund consumption. [Full Story...] When investors throw good money after bad 2007-08-20 06:00:01 Before the US Federal Reserve launched its rescue raft on Friday - a cut in its effective lending rate to commercial banks - investors globally were being forced to sell good assets to cover losses on poor-quality mortgage bonds originated in the US. [Full Story...] US home loan crisis is a morality tale for SA 2007-08-13 06:00:01 In the US, as the housing boom of 2001 to 2005 drove prices beyond the reach of many households, mortgage originators hit on a brilliant device for pushing their products. [Full Story...] Cooking the inflation book is no solution 2007-08-06 06:00:01 When interest rates rise to uncomfortable levels, their victims start looking for escape clauses in monetary policy. [Full Story...] How the China effect nipped back inflation 2007-07-30 06:00:01 Falling prices, still floating miraculously on a sea of inflationary impulses, appear in three categories of goods listed in Statistics SA's inflation report for last month. [Full Story...] Inflation jams traffic on economic highway 2007-07-23 06:00:01 Consumers can be forgiven for being confused: only a few months ago, they were bombarded with unsolicited offers of credit; now they are treated as potentially bad credit risks who must be closely scrutinised before being granted credit. [Full Story...] Bears find Motley Fool's honet unappetising 2007-07-16 06:00:01 The bears are having a bad time. Financial markets have been rising for a little more than four years and looking toppish for about 18 months. [Full Story...] How to keep Pac-Man out of your pay packet 2007-07-09 06:00:01 Pick 'n Pay chairman Raymond Ackerman has called inflation "a thief in the night". [Full Story...] Volatile variables of oil and rand exchange rate 2007-07-02 06:00:01 About four years ago, when the oil price was around $30 (R211) a barrel, the consensus long-term forecast for the price was around $25 a barrel. [Full Story...] China in historic cutback of US treasury bonds 2007-06-25 06:00:01 Michael Power, a strategist at Investec Asset Management, has found a vital clue to global perceptions of the US economy. [Full Story...] Bond markets are trying to tell us something 2007-06-18 06:00:01 If you're confused about interest rates, you're not alone. [Full Story...] Time for the state to back the Reserve Bank 2007-06-11 06:00:01 Developments in the domestic economy in the past week may be a test for the economy as well as for policy makers' resolve to keep SA Inc on its current growth trajectory. [Full Story...] There's a bigger picture to civil service pay 2007-06-04 06:00:01 There is popular support for the civil servants' demand for a 12 percent pay rise. But that is largely because people confuse two different issues. [Full Story...] Mr & Mrs Average lose out on housing boom 2007-05-28 06:00:01 The property boom has been making headlines for years, after house prices started rising sharply around the turn of the century. [Full Story...] If China's market bubble flattens, will SA pop? 2007-05-14 06:00:01 Stock market analysts are agonising about a giant bubble on the eastern horizon. [Full Story...] Open markets beat aid, says Fed governor 2007-05-07 06:00:01 A handout is never as effective as a hand up. This comment was made recently by a US Federal Reserve Board member, governor Frederic Mishkin. [Full Story...] Snorting at bulls to arrange a bear's picnic 2007-04-30 06:00:01 Nouriel Roubini is a professor of economics at New York University who is described by his detractors as an "ecoblogger of doom". [Full Story...] Job ads show why state's pay curve is crazy 2007-04-23 06:00:01 Eight public sector trade unions are threatening to strike. The reason: the wage increase offered at director-general level is effectively 7.9 percent, compared with only 6 percent for low-income earners. [Full Story...] World needs people who see past their noses 2007-04-16 06:00:01 There was a time when the world was divided into two ideological camps: the left and the right. Today it is divided into people who can see past the end of their noses and those who cannot. [Full Story...] Asgisa needs more than piecemeal approach 2007-04-02 06:00:01 An economy doesn't work in bits and pieces; it operates as a whole. So a change in one place requires a change in another. [Full Story...] |
