Dit is Vrydag en ek wil vandag sommer net gesels oor interessante navorsing. Gedrags-ekonome ondersoek onder andere die sielkundige impak van armoede. Hulle arumenteer dat om baie arm te wees tap ʼn mens se moed en krag en dit hou jou arm. ʼn Studie in Indië het interessante resultate.

If you have been following the financial news recently, you will know that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the South African economy seem to have nothing to do with each other anymore. The stock market is hitting highs, but the economy is only slowly recovering from the setbacks of 2020. Alan Greenblo writes for Business Live that there are three drivers of optimism on the stock market.

As jy onlangs die finansiële nuus gevolg het sal jy weet dat die Johannesburgse effektebeurs en die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie oënskynlik niks meer met mekaar te doen het nie. Die beurs tref hoogtepunte, maar die herstel net stadigaan van die terugslae van 2020. Alan Greenblo skryf vir Business Live dat daar drie drywers van optimisme op die beurs is.

Noudat mens weer wettiglik alkohol kan koop, kan ons gerus ʼn bier drink op die suksesse in die landboubedryf. Die sitrusbedryf het ʼn rekord jaar beleef en graan het ʼn uitskieter somerseisoen.

Now that you can legally buy alcohol again, we should drink a beer and celebrate the successes in the agricultural sector. The citrus industry experienced a record year in 2020 and maize has had an outstanding summer season.

When I have been talking about the recovery of the economy after the worst of the pandemic and the lockdown, the figures were from the fourth quarter of last year, but finally, some of the first 2021 figures were announced yesterday and they are up and down.

Wanneer ek gesels oor die herstel van die ekonomie na die ergste van die pandemie en inperking, was dit gebasseer op syfers uit die vierde kwartaal van verlede jaar. Gister is van die eerste 2021 syfers bekend gemaak en dit is op en af.

Economists are constantly trying to gauge the health of the economy, and at the moment specifically the recovery of the economy. GDP growth figures are only calculated quarterly and are available with a lag. Meanwhile, we are looking at other monthly data or even higher frequency indicators.

Last week, export and import unit value index data were released. This represents the trends in export and import values, weighted by volumes. I often say that the South African economy needs to import inputs when it grows, and strong demand from abroad for our exports is good for the growth of the economy. But what do the latest figures show?

Ekonome probeer deurentyd om die gesondheid van die ekonomie te peil. Op die oomblik gaan dit spesifiek oor die herstel van die ekonomie na die groot inkrimping in 2020. BBP groeisyfers word net kwartaalliks bereken en is beskikbaar met ʼn sloering. Intussen kyk ons na ander maandelikse- of selfs meer hoë frekwensie-aanwysers.

Verlede week is uitvoer en invoer eenheidswaarde-indeks data aangekondig. Dit verteenwoordig die neigings in uitvoer- en invoerwaardes, geweeg met die volumes. Ek sê gereeld dat die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie het nodig om insette in te voer wanneer dit groei, en ʼn sterk vraag uit die buiteland na ons uitvoere, is goed vir die groei van die ekonomie. Maar wat sê die nuutste syfers?

One of the biggest constraints on economic growth in South Africa is load shedding, and one of the biggest debt exposures in the public sector is Eskom's debt burden and therefore any energy news is important. Yesterday, energy regulator Nersa announced after a court battle that Eskom may recover an additional R6 billion in revenue from consumers. If it all becomes part of price increases this year, electricity prices could increase by 10.95%. There are still other court cases underway regarding the calculation of Eskom's allowable income which could later lead to even higher electricity prices. But that's not the end of the story.