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The global trade system has been jolted by the emerging trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy, M&G

A return to tariff walls: The largest trade shock since the 1930s

The economic fallout includes a risk of US recession and global trade network disruptions, but history shows that patient investors may be rewarded as market volatility settles…

The world is changing and alliances shifting which presents opportunities for the continent if the citizenry is engaged

Africa’s better future

The world is changing and alliances shifting which presents opportunities for the continent if the citizenry is engaged

Trevor Manuel
1996 – 2009. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Ramaphosa and Manuel’s feted economic plan delayed or dead?

With most of the NDP targets way off the mark, our fiscal path defers the NDP goals by another decade, if we are lucky, while an incapable state will spell its death

Wrong number: Telkom is planning to shed employees as it focuses on cutting costs. Photo: Nadine Hutton/Bloomberg

After Telkom, more tech sector lay-offs on the cards

Telkom plans to retrench 15% of its employees across the group as the sector rebalances after the online boom during the pandemic

With two units at Koeberg nuclear power station likely to be out of commission at the same time, Eskom will struggle to keep the lights on, said Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.

Editorial: Who is to blame for the Eskom crisis?

There’s not just one person to blame for decades of mismanagement of an electricity crisis that was made known some 25 years ago

The ANC has made the call for more flexible monetary policy before, but has dithered in seeing it through. (Photo: Delwyn Verasamy, M&G)

Reserve Bank changes to keep economy afloat are dead in the water

The ANC has made the call for more flexible monetary policy before, but has dithered in seeing it through

Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago announced on Thursday that the monetary policy committee had increased the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7%, effective from 29 May.

Brace for another big repo rate hike, even as inflation softens

Analysts are expecting the Reserve Bank to remain hawkish amid still high inflationary pressures and a weak rand

Analysts say the fossil fuel’s boom will probably be short-lived as the turn to renewable energy picks up. (Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Europe’s winter extends coal’s hot streak

But analysts say the fossil fuel’s boom will probably be short-lived as the turn to renewable energy picks up

(Getty Images)

GDP contracts as SA’s sluggish economy embarks on a go-slow

Global dynamics and South Africa’s energy crisis will weigh on domestic growth for years to come. But green investment could, eventually, resuscitate the economy

Sasol’s earnings have soared given the energy crunch caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine — and it’s betting on another fossil fuel to carry it into the future. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)

Sasol betting big on natural gas

The company’s earnings have soar given the energy crunch caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine — and it’s betting on another fossil fuel to carry it into the future

The inflation number was in line with consensus expectations, which took into account July’s petrol price hike. During that month, fuel prices rose by more than 10%, with the price of petrol going up by more than R2 a litre. Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Inflation hits 7.8% – a level not seen since the global financial crisis

Labour unions have embarked on a nationwide strike over the high cost of living

The Reserve Bank has maintained the repo — at which it lends to commercial banks — steady at 8.25% for five consecutive meetings, since hiking it by 50 basis points in May 2023.

South African inflation hits the highest mark since 2009 joining global economy struggles against rising food and fuel prices

Consumer inflation surged again, after piercing the South African Reserve Bank’s ceiling for the first time in five years

Annual consumer inflation was unchanged at 3.2% in February at 3.2%, with increases registered in housing and utilities, food and alcoholic beverages and restaurants and accommodation offset by decreases in the services sector, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.
 (Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Relief: Government must guard SA’s poor against inflation’s assault

It could prove difficult for government to loosen its grip on the public purse, but economists say the current extraordinary circumstances require intervention

(Mail & Guardian)

Editorial: The coming catastrophe of higher food, fuel prices for South Africa’s middle class

Consumers, who have remained resilient despite South Africa’s economic woes over the past decade, are being squeezed on all fronts. What are the policy options? Or is it the same…

The rand has managed to withstand even the strongest global headwinds, but it is unlikely it will continue to hold steady in the wake of the Fed’s aggression.  (Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Rand offers cold comfort amid global inflation storm

The rand has managed to withstand even the strongest global headwinds, but it is unlikely it will continue to hold steady in the wake of the Fed’s aggression

Hotspots: Armoured vehicles from Operation Barkhane, led by the French military against Islamist groups in the Sahel region, are handed over to the Malian army in Timbuktu. (Photo: Florent Vergnes/AFP)

What’s in store for the African continent in 2022?

Conflict hotspots, most in the Sahel region, will continue to dominate the news this year, while a number of countries will hold key elections.

PODCAST: South Africa and South Africa with Covid-19, part 2

Join in the second part of our discussion with economist Sifiso Skenjana.

Entrepreneurial: Kamo ‘Skanju’ Mogajane and Thabang ‘Mafufa’ Molebatsi, from Katlehong, started their own business when they failed to find jobs. They own a clothing brand called Izinja. (Andy Mkosi)

GDP, recession, JSE, rallying rand … these terms mean very little to unemployed South Africans. This is the real picture of our economy

The economy is not producing work, with many young adults working outside their fields of study or considering leaving the country as a result

Listen to women and youth to enable recovery from the pandemic

Women in the personal services sector and young people have been hard hit by the pandemic in terms of employment, but they struggled even before Covid-19

The green economy can pave a way to a thriving South African society by unlocking economic value, fighting climate change and improving human wellbeing. It is a win-win-win.

Assets, wealth revolution on the go

Financiers are ‘impact investing’ by shifting their support to investment products that prioritise environmental, social and governance issues