Cape Times 2024-07-30

Optimism about global growth prospects this year and next is building among hundreds of economists polled by Reuters, with risks tilted toward higher inflation even as they cling to their forecasts for interest rate cuts. While most major central banks were successful last year in taming rocketing inflation rates with rapid rate hikes, a resilient global economy with strong employment and wage growth has kept alive risks of price pressures surging again. In all, a 56% majority of economists – 114 of 202 who responded to a question about inflation in the global poll covering nearly 50 top economies taken July 8 to 25 – said it would probably be higher than they forecast for the remainder of the year than lower. So too with rates. The global economy was…

The SA Poultry Association (Sapa) says it strongly believes that targeted chicken products should be included in an expanded list of items that are zero-rated for value-added tax (VAT). This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his Opening of Parliament Address, announced a plan to change the range of food items exempt from VAT, saying it indicated multi-party support for an initiative that would help lower food prices for low-income households. This includes a comprehensive review of administered prices to identify areas where prices can be reduced. Yesterday, Sapa’s general manager Izaak Breitenbach said chicken was South Africa’s most popular and most affordable meat source, accounting for 66% of all meat consumed in the country. “It is therefore the main source of meat protein for millions of poor people, including…

Toronto-based Africa Energy Corporation (AEC), holder of a 10% interest in the significant Brulpadda and Luiperd gas finds offshore of Mossel Bay, said yesterday that they would remain a shareholder and were confident the fields were commercially viable. It said it was confident the fields could produce gas for South Africa during its transition away from coal-fired power plants. AEC’s continued participation was good news for the project, as TotalEnergies South Africa, operator and 45% shareholder, confirmed yesterday also that it would exit the project because it was too difficult. TotalEnergies said in a statement it withdrew from the Blocks 11B and 12B offshore exploration fields following a decision to exit the fields by another partner in the project, CNRI (Canadian Natural Resources International) which had held a 20% stake.…

A new project aiming to accelerate the development and accessibility of human avian influenza (H5N1) messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine candidates for manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries was launched yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO announced that the Argentinian vaccine manufacturer, Sinergium Biotech, would lead this effort leveraging the WHO and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) mRNA Technology Transfer Programme. WHO director-general, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said this initiative exemplified why WHO established the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme – to foster greater research, development and production in low- and middle-income countries, so when the next pandemic arrived, the world would be better prepared to mount a more effective and more equitable response. The programme, jointly developed by WHO and MPP, was launched in July 2021 with the aim…

In recent years, both the financial services industry and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) have worked together to make hedge funds more accessible to South African investors. This shift represents an opportunity for retail investors to reassess their portfolios in light of their newfound access to an asset class that has demonstrated consistent and meaningful outperformance when compared to the broader equity market, and which was formerly only available to high-net-worth individuals. Enhancing risk-adjusted portfolio performance A core tenet of investing is that achieving returns typically requires taking on some level of risk. Without taking risk, it’s challenging to outpace inflation or grow wealth in real terms. The ideal amount of risk varies depending on your investment goals, but even a rough approximation of the right risk level can…

South Africans went to the polls on May 29 to vote for their preferred political parties. This was preceded by intense campaigning on all fronts, in which many manifestos were presented to the electorate. This occurred against a backdrop of record unemployment, growing inequality, violent crimes and high poverty rates. These, combined with load shedding and a weak economy, must be the seventh administration’s top priorities to encourage investment, build the economy, restore confidence and assist South Africa in its transformation. Instead of producing a clear winner, the results forced political parties to co-operate for the good of the nation, and the results of these engagements is what is referred to as Government of National Unity (GNU). There have been many murmurs from many places, and it seems that…