The Markets Daily

Local news has dominated our narrative this week. The debates over a basic income grant, the pros and cons of privatising SOEs, the challenges posed by vaccine hesitancy, options to recover lost teaching time and insurance claims by people with expired driver’s licenses have allowed for robust water-cooler conversation. 

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In scouring the news, I was interested to see how SA’s GDP rebasing was characterised as increasing the size of the economy by 11%. Headline GDP growth is ordinarily presented at constant prices.

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Just transition, “a socially managed and agreed-upon path to decarbonise the economy, taking care not to leave communities and employees from the carbon economy stranded as fossil fuels are phased out” is critical to SA’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions.

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Global political relations are the big news today, with the G7 set to meet to discuss the current timeline for the withdrawal of military forces from Afghanistan, with most members likely to push the US to extend its month-end deadline, while the Taliban seems opposed to any extension. 

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The end of the northern hemisphere summer draws ever closer – which means the end of the southern winter is in sight (at long last!). That said, it does look like winter is planning on one last push later this week, however after that it is hopefully smooth sailing into warmer weather and the last push to the end of 2021. 

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As of today, all South Africans over the age of 18 are eligible to receive their Covid-19 vaccinations. Originally, adults aged 18 to 34 were only permitted to receive the jab after 1 September but the shocking reduction in vaccine take-up has compelled the Cabinet to bring forward the date.

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Having never dealt the magnitude of trades conducted on Tuesday, the JSE found itself in a quandary yesterday morning as it was forced to delay the opening auction by 5 and half hours, following what it described as ‘large corporate actions’. That’s an understatement of note. 

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Summer heat has taken on a more sinister meaning in the South of France and the Spanish province of Avila as wildfires have broken out amidst a heatwave.

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The world remains transfixed by events in Afghanistan as the Taliban starts to exert its authority over the Middle Eastern country.

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The approval of vaccinations for covid-19 toward the end of 2020 represented the beginning of the end of the pandemic for so many, and yet, in August of 2021 covid-19 continues to represent a threat to global economic activity.

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