Cape Argus 2022-01-19

Casey Delport AFTER the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, triggering a collapse in global economies and financial markets alike, central banks across the globe responded by rolling out unparalleled stimulus measures. The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) was no different, cutting the repo rate by a cumulative 300 basis points (bpts) in response to the onset of the pandemic. All in all, the extraordinary amount of monetary policy-easing in 2020 supported the economy in its recovery from the depths of the Covid-19- induced slump. Since lowering the repo rate to record lows in 2020, the SARB maintained these highly accommodative monetary policy settings through most of 2021. However, with inflationary pressures mounting and global economic activity having recovered faster than initially expected, the policy challenge for…

FINTECH has gone mainstream and is no longer a niche sector. There are now more than 26 000 fintech companies globally that employ half a billion people. The pandemic has changed consumer behaviour substantially, with 30 percent of banking consumers now using app banking, and 64 percent using one or more fintech platforms. The future of fintech looks promising considering the maturity and funding of the sector. It is quite extraordinary how quickly consumers have adopted fintech; 96 percent of global consumers are aware of at least one fintech service or company, taking it from a niche sector to becoming mainstream. Highest funding on record Over the past year, the second and third quarters have become the best funding quarters on record with $31 billion…

David Betancourt Temuera Morrison vividly remembers the first time he tried on his Boba Fett suit. He sat in a meeting room with Star Wars VIP producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, wearing a darker version of the armour he’d worn two decades earlier in the Star Wars prequels as bounty hunter Jango Fett, the man who provided the genetic material to create Boba – and he instantly felt stronger, with the urge to stick his chest out a little. There was no denying the electricity of the moment. And Filoni, one of the chief architects in Star Wars’ new era of pop culture relevance, gave a passing grade with his eyes – eyes that Morrison described as twinkling. Filoni then said that they’d made the right decision in bringing…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za Actress Thuli Phongolo has released a statement clarifying the circumstances around her sudden departure from Showmax’s hit telenovela The Wife. Thuli’s character, Lerato, was cut in the latest episodes (episode 28-31) that aired on Showmax. Her exit was followed by speculation on social media that claimed her role was “unexpectedly” written out of the show because she was often “missing in action” and “unprofessional”. Earlier this month, Stained Glass, the production company behind the popular telenovela, confirmed to IOL Entertainment that Phongolo’s contract had been terminated. “We can confirm that Thuli Phongolo’s character arc ends in the episodes airing next Thursday, 13 January 2021. “This was by mutual agreement, due to schedule clashes,” said Stained Glass spokesperson Nomfundo Zondi. Now, in her own statement released by her…

Rafieka Williams rafieka.williams@inl.co.za LAW ENFORCEMENT agencies in Cape Town were kept busy over the festive season with figures showing that 1 203 people were arrested over this period. In addition their public emergency centre took almost 50 000 calls. The arrests were recorded for the period of December 1, 2021 to January 15, 2022. Of the 1 203 arrests, 482 were made during December and an additional 224 arrests were made in the first two weeks of January. A total of 18 firearms, 91 rounds of ammunition and 81 dangerous weapons were confiscated, resulting in 68 arrests. Metro police made 322 arrests, 46 of which were related to drunken driving, and confiscated 35 rounds of ammunition and four firearms. Traffic officers took 4 997 motorists into custody for outstanding warrants…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za THE alleged assassination of Mzoxolo Cecil Dibela, a long-standing leader of the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta), has been described as a great loss within the industry. Dibela’s body was found at the sand dunes at Monwabisi Beach in Khayelitsha on Monday afternoon. He had sustained gunshot wounds to his head. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said Harare police attended a crime scene at Monwabisi Beach on Monday at about 3pm. Swartbooi said that on arrival they found the body of an unknown man next to the road who had sustained gunshot wounds to his head. “The victim was declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel. The motive for the attack is taxi-related,” Swartbooi said. He said the unknown suspects fled the scene and were…