Local economic update: March 2012 By Tendani Mantshimuli, consumer economist, Liberty Life Government will spend more than R1 trillion over the next year. Our budget deficit has been cut as revenue collection is stronger than expected. The minister of finance, Pravin Gordhan, tabled his third budget in parliament on 22 February 2012. As with the [...]
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RSS feed for this sectionAltrisk donates to Diabetes SA’s education programmes
Altrisk has donated R86 700 to Diabetes South Africa, a non-profit organisation founded in 1969 with the aim of providing support and advocacy for people living with diabetes in South Africa. Diabetes SA is a member of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and is well represented on many of the working committees of this global [...]
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Budget 2012 – the challenge of balancing growth and fiscal responsibility
By Professor Andre Roux, Director: Institute for Futures Research, University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) The 2012 Budget Speech, to be delivered by Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan next week, is likely to be the most challenging budget delivered in over 20 years. Amid widespread economic turmoil, the key challenge will be to bridge the [...]
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New research on retirement – retirees do not spend less
Although many financial planners suggest that households should plan to retire on 75% of their income at retirement, new research suggests an entirely different approach. Megan Butler, Research Actuary at Alexander Forbes and lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, considered the income and expenditure profiles of almost 3000 households and found that contrary to [...]
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Most critical Budget since 1994
By Chris Hart, chief strategist, Investment Solutions The credit-rating agencies have already fired their warning shots. SA faces the risk of a credit-rating downgrade if the country’s financial order is not steered back in the direction of fiscal sustainability. Fiscal slippage has been increasing in recent years. The global financial crisis essentially exposed the deteriorating [...]
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SA inflation hits 6%
Figures released by Stats SA show October headline CPI rising to 6%, above market expectations. Stanlib economist Kevin Lings notes that for 2010 as a whole, SA CPI inflation averaged a very respectable 4.3%y/y, but is “clearly trending higher and is expected to rise above 6.5% in the coming months. In addition, inflation could struggle [...]
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Flat business confidence better than it seems
After falling from 55 index points in the first quarter of the year to 39 in the third quarter, the RMB/BER Business Confidence Index (BCI) eased by one point to 38 in the fourth quarter. Sentiment improved notably in the retail and wholesale trade sectors, deteriorated further in new motor trade and remained largely unchanged [...]
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How can SA avoid the mistakes of the global economic crisis?
The economic crisis in the western economy holds some important lessons for South Africa’s attitude to debt and the culture of easy money that breeds it. In short, “failing to deal with the culture, system and incentive structures that create excessive debt and leverage, and then simply kicking the can down the road has prolonged [...]
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Five trends that will drive Africa’s growth
But realisation of potential will depend on how the continent leverages its advantages A surge in population, rapid urbanisation, the adoption and absorption of new technologies, as well as the continued unlocking of abundant resources and the deepening of the continent’s financial sector are five prominent trends that will propel Africa’s on-going economic reinvigoration [...]
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Tax Guide 2012
Latest Issue - 30 April 2012
In This Issue:
- Local and offshore ETFs
- Why stock selection is key
- Medical Survey - the cost of healthcare
- New player in life insurance market
Newsletters
Newsletter 17 May 2012: Lump sum versus debit order, 3 essentials for a confident investor
In today’s newsletter we look at investing with a lump sum or regular contributions – how do they stack up against each other? We also share three investment tips to cope with uncertainty. Being right about muddle-through hasn’t made investing any easier Most predicted that politically and often economically the year 2012 would be a [...]
