Trump dramatics and Brexit negotiations dominated international headlines; in South Africa, the Public Protector’s recommendation that the government changes the Reserve Bank’s constitutional mandate continued to make waves.
Global News
- After last week’s technology share sell-off, US markets bounced back. The S&P500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indices touched all-time highs, but closed the week up only 0.21% and 0.05% respectively.
- In the US, Donald Trump admitted to lying about taping former FBI Director James Comey in order to influence his testimony.
- The new US senate Bill, created to potentially replace Obamacare, may see 22 million people lose their health insurance by 2026.
- The Supreme Court decided to partially revive Trump’s travel ban.
- Brexit talks started last week. EU officials said that Prime Minister Theresa May’s initial offer around the rights of European Union Nationalists was not good enough.
- On Monday, May formalised a coalition between the Northern Irish Democratic Union Party and her party, the Conservatives.
- Consumer confidence in the Eurozone hit a 16-year high in June, driven by robust economic growth and low unemployment.
- The value of crypto-currency Bitcoin dropped by 15% last week.
Local News
- The JSE All Share Index gained 1.32% over the week, largely due to the weaker rand. The industrial sector rose by 2.92%, while the resource and financial sectors increased by 0.25% and 0.43% respectively.
- Inflation matched expectations at 5.4% year-on-year in May.
- South Africa’s current account deficit widened by more than expected in the first quarter of 2017 to 2.1% of GDP.
- Following a recommendation from Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) primary constitutional mandate be altered, the credit rating agencies released statements warning of future sovereign credit downgrades should the SARB be interfered with.
Source: Dynasty, Stanlib, Efficient Select, Prescient, Moneyweb, and Bloomberg Markets etc