Market news this week was dominated by a strong rally across global equity markets and a weaker dollar that tumbled on the back of the latest consumer price index (CPI) numbers from the US. Headline inflation dropped to 3%, the lowest read since March 2021 and down from the four-decade high of 9.1% reached in…
Today marks the halfway mark for 2023 and what a ride it has been for equities so far, despite persistent high inflation; ongoing rate hikes; a protracted war in the Ukraine; a banking crisis in March, which included regional banks in the US as well as the failure of Credit Suisse; and predictions about an…
Markets this week struggled to take clear direction from central banks and economic data. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indices slid on Wednesday as the Fed suggested that more interest rate increases might be appropriate this year, after deciding to pause the tightening cycle last week. Meanwhile, an increase in the UK’s base rate…
South Africa’s ruling party has, in recent weeks, pressed on with three pieces of divisive legislation in the face of increasingly (and unusually) vocal dissent from the business community. These new laws codify populist and impractical policies in an apparent attempt to strengthen the ruling party’s prospects during the national elections in 2024. The laws…
Equities have enjoyed a solid start to the month, with Big Tech companies driving the gains. Growing enthusiasm about artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the forces powering the surge in stocks of the trillion-dollar club, which comprises Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon. (We have exposure to all of these stocks through our offshore house-view…
At the outset of this year, we wrote an article about why we’re not bullish about the JSE, despite its outperformance of the global markets in 2022. In line with our expectations, we have seen a reversal of fortunes between major international indices and the local bourse this year. If anything, the tide has turned…
The South African rand has tumbled to new lows against the US dollar and other major currencies this week, with the R20/$ resistance level in clear sight. The rand shed around 2% of its value yesterday as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced a widely expected 50bps increase in the repo rate—a move that…
In what has become as much of an American tradition as the Superbowl, the White House and Congress are currently wrangling about whether they should allow the US government to borrow more money. The US has been operating on an annual deficit for most years since 2001 and now – once again – needs to…
The rand hasn’t had an easy time in 2023, coming under pressure from record levels of load shedding, the Financial Action Task Force grey-listing, and rising interest rates in the rest of the world. But this week has been especially tough for the currency after US Ambassador Reuben Brigety accused the South African government of…
