Tag: trading

In this vidcast, we dig into the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation Summit (FOCAC) that took place in Beijing and what it means for the African continent. We also unpack some of the conditions that typically come with foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments and how Africa can negotiate these better.

The renowned behavioural finance research duo, Barber and Odean, published a paper in 2001 entitled Boys will be boys that ruffled a few feathers. The duo studied and reported on the performance difference males versus females generated on their investments. Not only did they find a statistically significant difference in favour of women, but they also found that men had better investment performance in the mere presence of women.

Traders and investors must overcome many hurdles in order to succeed. Among the most common of these hurdles are emotional pitfalls such as fear and greed, and behavioural shortcomings such as impulsivity. Neuroeconomics – a relatively new discipline – may hold the key to understanding the neural processes that govern the way traders make decisions, and assist them in making the right ones.

The Corporation for Deposit Insurance (CODI) finally aligns South Africa with the rest of the G20. By guaranteeing cash deposits of up to R100,000 per qualifying depositor in the event of a bank collapse, this innovative new scheme has the potential to change South Africa’s banking landscape, which is currently dominated by the Big Five (FNB, Nedbank, Standard, Absa and Capitec).

Conventional wisdom is that winter is one of the weakest periods for retail trading in South Africa. However, a big data analysis we commissioned shows that retail sales tend to pick up in winter after the quiet autumn months. 

Many people who have business ideas feel in some way that they are not ready to take the plunge, and one of the most convenient excuses is that they feel that they “are not entrepreneurs”. But this doesn’t take away the business idea smouldering at the back of their minds. To try and resolve their dilemma, they start looking around for answers as to whether entrepreneurs are born or made. As a result, this is a question that gets asked of experts almost continuously.

The volatility of the South African Rand (ZAR) against the US Dollar (USD) and other major currencies is a trend that is keeping many South Africans up at night. How well the USD performs and how it impacts the value of the ZAR, is greatly impacted by factors such as the US employment figures, inflation rates and gross domestic product (GDP) data, pronouncements by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), and locally, South Africa’s trade balance, GDP, inflation levels, unemployment figures, and guidance from the South African Reserve Bank about monetary policy.

With an economic growth forecast of only 1.6% over the next three years for South Africa, businesses are facing a tough trading environment, exacerbated by the impact of geopolitical tensions, disruptive new technologies, persistent weather catastrophe threats and failing public infrastructure and services.

In the midst of buoyant equity markets and impressive returns, the prudent investor recognises the imperative of fortifying their wealth against a risk premium. As markets surge and fluctuate, the need for astute wealth management strategies becomes ever more important – particularly for South Africans who need to measure and manage their wealth in global terms.

Black Friday has grown in prominence in South Africa over the last few years and has fundamentally changed the way South Africans shop. While average spending in November has historically been higher than in the first 10 months of the year, it was always well below the traditional festive season trading numbers recorded in December.