Tag: PwC’s Strategy&

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on 12 November 2020 that employment in South Africa increased by 543,000 in the third quarter of the year – recovering some of the 2.2 million jobs lost during the lockdown-hit second quarter.

All over the world, interest in hydrogen as a vector for clean energy is growing, as industries and governments investigate and implement national decarbonisation strategies. With the rapid growth in renewable electricity and falling costs of wind and solar power, the opportunity to produce zero carbon hydrogen has caught the attention of global energy players.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is meeting again - 21 July 2020 to 23 July 2020 - to discuss policy matters. The central bank lowered interest rates by a cumulative 275 basis points in the year so far, most recently making a 0.5 percentage point cut in lending rates on May 21.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered his Supplementary Budget Speech 2020 to (a virtual) Parliament on June 24. Against the backdrop of a pandemic and deepening economic recession, the minister released adjustments to the February budget numbers, also promising a second round of adjustments in October alongside the Medium‐Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on October 29 that South Africa’s unemployment rate increased from 29.0% in 2019 Q2 to 29.1% in the third quarter. This was the highest jobless reading since 2003, and South Africa now has the joint fourth-highest unemployment rate out of 182 countries tracked by Trading Economics.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered a macabre Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBSP) to Parliament on October 30. The MTBPS communicates to government and the people the economic context of the country and fiscal spending priorities over the coming three years. (It does not include detailed spending plans or tax proposals, which are left to the main budget in February.)

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on May 14th that South Africa’s unemployment rate increased from 27.1% of the labour force in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 27.6% during the first quarter of 2019.

Members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) meet from 15 to 17 January to decide a suitable interest rate stance that sees inflation settle in the middle of the 3% – 6% target range.

South Africa’s banking sector is increasingly moving towards a ‘marketplace without boundaries’, shaped by the fast-approaching entry of new digital players challenging the status quo in the market, and driving unprecedented levels of innovation.

The Black Friday sales frenzy can trigger our deepest emotional and cognitive responses and can lead us down a path of unnecessary spending. However, consumers can use insights from behavioural economics to empower them to make decisions that align with their individual financial goals.