Today ratings agency Standard and Poor (S&P) will decide whether or not to downgrade South Africa’s sovereign foreign credit rating. South Africa received its first downgrade from S&P in 2011 and again in June 2014, with the latter downgrade motivated by labour issues and failure to show economic growth at the time. In this review S&P has turned their focus...
Read moreUntil late last week, investors were assigning only a very small probability to the US Fed hiking interest rates next month. But it all changed this past week as a drastic re-pricing caused the dollar to appreciate, US bond prices to fall and emerging market assets to sell off. The main trigger was the Fed’s minutes from their last meeting...
Read more…and it seemed to have been a horror week for the local economy. It started off relatively well, with the feel good factor that Moody’s didn’t downgrade the country’s sovereign credit rating following their most recent review that was released at the end of last week They kept a negative outlook on the rating, but saw the glass as half...
Read moreThe global focus was on US employment data this week as the US Fed’s data dependent policy has meant that investors have increasingly turned more short-term orientated in their decisions. Some Fed members spoke during the week, causing nervousness ahead of the release of the US non-farm payroll data as they stressed that the next June meeting remained an open...
Read moreThe US Fed meeting on Wednesday was one of the key financial market events of the week. The Fed’s December rate hike was followed up with decidedly more dovish rhetoric at the March meeting and investors were anxious over any modification in the wording to signal a change in policy. Fed Chair Janet Yellen played it safe. She removed the...
Read moreMovements in the oil price is increasingly dictating equity market direction. This strong correlation between the daily directional moves in equity markets to those of oil prices has been in place since last year November and continues to be until today. This week started on a poor footing as the world’s largest oil suppliers couldn’t reach a compromise over production...
Read moreMerely two months ago, many market participants were predicting a global recession as equity markets tumbled and investors shied away from risky assets. Goldman Sachs reported that the oil price could plummet to as low as $20 a barrel. But in a very short space of time, markets have turned around and reached new highs for the year. The recovery...
Read moreThe Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s address to the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday was rather dovish, stating that the U.S. Central Bank should proceed with caution in adjusting monetary policy. In the December meeting the FOMC members saw rates between 1.25% and 1.5% at the end of 2016, and at 3.5% in the longer term. In the...
Read moreAmidst a country visit by Moody’s, the global credit rating agency, ahead of their credit rating review on the country, what can only be described as a political circus has been playing out. The public spat between Finance Minister Gordhan, the SARS head Moyane and the Hawks has been overshadowed by the revelations from the Deputy Finance Minister that he...
Read moreThe 2016 MCPF National Pension Fund Foru, took place from the 17 – 18 March 2016. Member reports MCPF National Report Back 2016 [ddownload id=”1398″] Combined Rule Amendments [ddownload id=”1399″] National Membership Movement Report 2011 to 2016 [ddownload id=”1400″] Novare – MCPF Member Report Back March 2016 [ddownload id=”1401″] Summary Actuarial Report for Member Meeting [ddownload id=”1402″] MCPF National Pension...
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