Not too long ago the price of fuel went up to new record highs in South Africa and now chances are we may have another fuel price hike next month. It really is just a question of by how much and not if it is going to happen or not. The Department of Minerals and Energy announced last month that it would impose a minimum increase of 25 cents a litre but some economists predict that the increase could be by as much as 50 cents a litre. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, Nationwide Airlines announced that they have stopped operating until further notice. This news has come as a shock to many travelers who had already booked flights with the airline and are now left stranded. Nationwide’s CEO, Vernon Bricknell said, “Our cash-flow has become critical and as a result have decided to voluntarily cease all flight operations until further notice.” It seems like Nationwide can not stay out of the news ever since November 7 last year when the airline had one of is airplanes engine fall off on take-off on a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Later on in the same month, the airline had its fleet grounded by the South African Civil Aviation Authority as some of the fleets aircraft were deemed not fit to fly. Read the rest of this entry »

What a shocker! South Africa’s CPIX rate went into double digits for the first time since 2003, with a shock rise to 10.1% in March from 9.4% in February. It is now almost certain that the Reserve Bank will hike interest rates again in June in order to try halt the inflation which seems to galloping away into the sunset. One wonders how the Central Bank feels now seeing inflation at 10.1% after they have been trying to keep inflation between 3 - 6%. It seems like a long way away now to get the inflation down from double digits to the 6% mark. This is the 12th month running that the CPIX has been outside the banks target range. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, the local currency reached the R7.62 mark against the dollar which was a seven-week high. We had gotten used to the rand softening over the last couple of weeks against the dollar, with the rand reaching levels of R8.16 at one point against the dollar. The rand did not only strengthen against the dollar yesterday but also made significant gains against the pound and the euro.

Although the rand has strengthened its still remains 10% down against the dollar, 11% weaker against the pound and a staggering 22% behind the euro in the year to date. It is still one of the world’s worst-performing currencies this year when measured in dollar terms.

We all dream about winning the lotto or by some miracle seeing six extra zeros added to our bank account one day. Now in all reality the chances of someone just getting a million rand are very slim unless you work hard for it or you come up with a brand new idea that will make you a million rand just like that. The question I would like to pose today is, “If you do just get a million rand extra from somewhere, what can you actually do with it?” Read the rest of this entry »

According to a recent eMarketer forecast, mobile marketing will reach more than $19 billion globally by 2012. With that said, I think it is clear for all to see the effect mobile marketing is going to play over the next couple of years and it is time for South Africa to start to make a significant contribution into this lucrative and emerging market. Read the rest of this entry »

The price of oil reached a new record high today with the price of a single barrel rising to $113.66. The price of oil has risen by close to 18% since the beginning of this year and has been hovering just above the $100 mark for most of the time. The two major reasons for the rising oil prices is that most investors are now investing in commodities and oil seems to be a commodity they are investing quite a lot in. The second reason is that the US dollar continues to weaken. A weak dollar tends to raise prices for commodities denominated in that currency by boosting non-US spending power and by attracting investors seeking an inflation hedge. Investors will continue to invest in commodities for as long as there is volatility in the stock markets. Read the rest of this entry »