Tag: currency

In global trade and investing, one truth never changes: timing matters. Nowhere is this more evident than in foreign exchange. Even small shifts in currency values can change the cost of sending money abroad or affect the returns on an offshore investment. Timing is everything in these situations.

When Jean-Baptiste Say published his Treatise on Political Economy in 1803, he was not trying to be provocative. He was trying to be clear. In doing so, he ended up stating something both obvious and easy to forget: real economic activity begins with production, not consumption.

The charts below, and others like them, are frequently used online and in presentations by economist and author Stephanie Kelton. She uses them to support the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) claim that, contrary to conventional wisdom, government deficits are not harmful. Instead, she argues they represent a gain to the economy.

It is often purported that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. My online debate with South African Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) advocate, Buddy Wells, made me think about this wise saying. Mr Wells, of whom I have grown fond since our first interaction on X and who has been nothing but cordial in our debates, argued that following the policy prescriptions of MMT, the SA government can issue more currency to build more schools and employ more teachers.

Gold's long-term fundamentals were already looking positive. By effectively rejecting the US role as reserve currency issuer, President Trump is super-charging these trends. We have long maintained the view that long-run global geopolitical and fiscal trends have the potential to drive a very powerful bull market in gold.

Modern monetary theorists argue that nations with monetary sovereignty can never run out of money to fund projects. They can always issue more currency whenever they need it.

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is an economic framework that proposes that countries that control their own currency can issue new currency to meet the needs deemed necessary by the government. Theorists argue that governments should issue currency to create jobs for the unemployed, to narrow the gap in wealth inequality.

Sometimes, it takes an outsider to allow South Africans to recognise that SA retail innovation is positive in their own country.

In this vidcast, we discuss the BRICS currency announced at the recent gathering of member nations in Russia. We also acknowledge the confirmation that South African Airways is now officially debt-free. And we examine what this development means for the national carrier’s future.

The pivotal role of digital accessibility for goods and services has become abundantly clear over the past few years. The global economy, now more than ever, relies on the seamless flow of transactions across borders. Whether it involves individuals, businesses, or financial institutions spanning different countries, the realm of cross-border payments has taken center stage in our interconnected world.