Tag: Momentum Investments

In his previous budget speech, Minister Mboweni mentioned a host of different taxes that the revenue man would soon be collecting from us. From personal income tax, to fuel taxes, corporate and carbon taxes – the list was long. But one tax he didn’t mention – and to his credit it is not an official tax (but I would argue it should be) – is behaviour tax.

Despite perceiving the overall risks to CPI as on the upside, all five members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 3.5%. The repo rate has been on this level since 23 July 2020.

All five members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 3,5%. It has been on this level since 23 July 2020. The MPC viewed the overall risks to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) outlook to be on the upside compared to balanced in the March 2021 statement. This means the MPC’s interest rate outlook is more hawkish.

As the world battles COVID-19, a certain number of women in South Africa are fighting what the United Nations terms the shadow pandemic: endemic gender-based violence (GBV). The government GBV and Femicide Command Centre alone recorded more than 120,000 victims in the first three weeks of lockdown last year.

When the minister of finance delivered Budget 2020/21 on 26 February 2020, COVID-19 was mostly contained to China (with other countries registering few cases). The budget therefore made virtually no provision for what was to become one of the largest health and economic meltdowns in the past 90 years. As such, except for the growing fiscal deficit, the main and consolidated budgets[1] contained no earth-shattering announcements.

Global financial markets whipsawed in 2020 in reaction to a devastating COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent decisions taken by governments and policymakers to protect citizens and keep economies afloat. Higher levels of uncertainty were reflected in the initial spike in the CBOE Volatility Index (Vix) in March 2020 before unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus calmed markets during the year. 

Real growth in GDP for the third quarter of 2020 surprised the market consensus to the upside in line with a further relaxation in lockdown restrictions on mobility and activity. Growth surged by 66.1% q/q saar in the quarter and exceeded the November 2020 Reuters Econometer median growth forecast of 34.6% q/q saar.

Moody’s and Fitch downgraded SA’s foreign-currency sovereign rating and its local-currency rating.

The Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, delivered his much anticipated Medium-term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday, 28 October 2020. Hard choices and reform implementation are key to achieving five-year stabilisation plan.

As increasingly more investors begin to question the purpose and impact of their investments, beyond a singular focus on return, unlisted alternative assets have demonstrated how supporting environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) principles can generate solid returns for investors, while also having a tangible, positive and lasting impact.