Comments on Current Affairs

In South Africa and around the world, this quarter was a financial and political rollercoaster ride…

The SA Reserve Bank left the repo rate unchanged at 7% in November.  In total, the SARB has raised interest rates by 200bps since January 2014. Notably, the SARB may be at the peak of its rate hiking cycle.  At this stage, rate cuts are not expected in 2017.

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Trump wins in what is seen as an anti-establishment vote, a vote for the protection of jobs and anger at how Washington has ignored the middle class American.

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Interest rates were left unchanged at the September Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Meeting.  The SARB have kept interest rates on hold since March, citing a more benign view of inflation risk.

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• Asset class returns over the last year (14 September, 2015 – 14 September, 2016).

I have mentioned previously on this blog that we are entering a lower return environment and looked at expected returns over the next 10 years “Looking Ahead at Markets and Inflation” (updated in December 2015 “Expected asset Class Returns over the next 10 Year”).

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The rand has performed well recently, due to a number of internal and external factors.   But is the rally sustainable?
Are we in for a period of relative rand strength, or is the currency vulnerable to a relapse?

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Interest Rates: The SA Reserve Bank left rates unchanged at the May Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.   This decision came after raising interest rates by 75bps since the beginning of the year.

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During the course of 2015, the Rand weakened by -25.4% against the US Dollar. Notably, in the first half of 2016, the Rand strengthened 5.7% against the currency.

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We Hope You like the Look of the New Blog.

The decision by UK voters to leave the European Union (EU) was a surprise outcome, which has resulted in tangible uncertainty and widespread market volatility.

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