Tag: inflation

Markets continued their rally into the fourth quarter of 2021, with South African (SA) equities delivering its strongest calendar year return since 2012 (up 27.1%) and global equities since 2015 (up 28.8% in Rands).

The start of a new year is the perfect time to change old habits and make choices that promote growth and well-being. This isn’t only good advice for life, but also for one’s investments. As we welcome 2022, there may be no better opportunity to look back at how the investment landscape has changed, consider where the biggest opportunities for the next 11 months will come from, and take note of which investment habits you need to shake.

Foreign exchange fluctuations can have a material impact on investment portfolio returns measured in terms of a base currency. We dedicate significant resources into understanding currencies through a range of models, backed by observations from our local teams.

Statistics South Africa has published the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QFLS) for Q3 2021, showing how continued lockdown restrictions, load shedding, and the July riots impacted jobs in the country. The results show that the number of employed persons decreased by 660,000 in the third quarter of 2021 to 14.3 million.

There has certainly been plenty of foolishness, as a new generation of day-traders have pushed meme stocks, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and cryptos to ridiculous levels. Battle-hardened investment professionals have not been immune to bouts of irrational exuberance either.

Should you believe in the Santa Rally theory, which suggests that stocks rise in the last days of the year? What does data from the last 94 years tell us? Investors found their festive spirits in 2020 despite a raging pandemic.

A 'new' economic school of thought has emerged and gained mass popularity over the recent years. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), seeks to challenge the mainstream consensus across the economic spectrum. What exactly is MMT and could it work to address South Africa’s economic woes?

Against the backdrop of easing lockdown restrictions and a reassuring National Budget, the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) decision to keep the repo rate unchanged provides further impetus for more sustainable economic activity.

The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept interest rates steady at 3.5% at the scheduled September 2020 interest rate-setting meeting despite downwardly revised growth and inflation views. This decision tied in with the view of 15 out of the 25 analysts surveyed by Reuters, while we were one of the ten favouring a 25-basis point cut.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) cut rates by another 100 basis points this morning in an inter-meeting move. Rates are now down 225 bps since the start of the year, and down 250bps since July last year.