Die ekonomie minuut

This week is filled with economic news. There are important indicators for the state of the economic recovery and on Wednesday Minister Mboweni will deliver the Budget Speech.

Ek sê gereeld dat die Covid-19 pandemie en inperking tot gevolg gehad het dat mense inkomste en werke verloor het. Tot nou toe het ons egter ʼn onvolledige prentjie gehad. Dit was ʼn donker prentjie, maar die resultate van die derde rondte van NIDS-CRAM opname is bekend gemaak en dit lyk of indiensname sterk herstel het tussen Junie en Oktober.

I often say that the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown resulted in people losing income and jobs. So far, however, we have had an incomplete picture, but the results of the third round of NIDS-CRAM survey have been announced and it looks like employment recovered strongly between June and October.

Statistieke Suid-Afrika het gister Desember maand se kleinhandelverkopesyfers bekend gemaak en ons het eindelik ʼn prentjie van hoe dit met die bedryf en met verbruikers gegaan het in 2020.

Statistics South Africa released retail sales figures for December yesterday and we finally have a picture of how things went with the industry and with consumers in 2020.

Our South African currency, the Rand, celebrated its 60th birthday on Sunday and there were a lot of interesting reports and discussions about this. The value of our currency is important to all of us. As food price inflation rises, your Rands have less purchasing power and the exchange rate affects the cost of imported products.

Ons Suid-Afrikaanse geldeenheid, die Rand, het Sondag sy, of haar, 60ste verjaarsdag gevier en daar was ʼn klomp interessante berigte en gesprekke hieroor. Die waarde van ons geldeenheid is vir ons almal belangrik. As voedselprysinflasie styg het jou rande minder koopkrag en die wisselkoers beinvloed die koste van ingevoerde produkte.

In gister se Minuut het ek aan die einde die stukkie goeie nuus gedeel dat dit lyk of die Tesourie ongeveer R100 miljard meer belasting-inkomste gaan inkry as wat gedink is. Dit verdien ʼn mooi verduideliking.

In yesterday's Minute, I shared the piece of good news that it looks like the Treasury will receive about R100 billion more in tax revenue than was thought. It deserves an explanation.

Hierdie week se ekonomiese aanwysers gaan ons ʼn idee gee hoe gaan dit met die Suid-Afrikaanse verbruiker.

This week's economic indicators will give us an idea of how the South African consumer is doing.

Die Minister van Arbeid het hierdie week aangekondig dat die nasionale minimumloon vanaf 1 Maart toeneem. Vir plaaswerkers verhoog die minimumloon vanaf R18.68 per uur na R21.69 per uur. Dit is R3.01 per uur, of ʼn 16% verhoging. Dit behoort die gemiddelde werker wat die minimumloon verdien se inkomste met R350 per maand te verhoog. Wat gaan die impak hiervan wees?

This week the Minister of Labor announced that the national minimum wage will increase from the 1st of March. For farmworkers, the minimum wage increases from R18.68 per hour to R21.69 per hour. This is R3.01 per hour or a 16% increase. This should increase the income of the average worker earning the minimum wage by R350 per month. What will the impact of this be?

This evening, President Ramaphosa delivers his third State of the Nation Address, and we are far from the days of Ramaphoria. The economy is struggling and the state coffers are empty. I wonder then, what do we expect from the President? I have a few ideas on what he can say to build confidence in our future.

Vanaand lewer President Ramaphosa sy derde staatsrede, en dit is jammer om te sê, maar ons is ver van die dae van Ramaforie. Die ekonomie trek swaar en die staatskas is leeg. Ek wonder toe, wat verwag ons van die President? Ek het 'n paar idees oor wat hy kan sê om vertroue te bou.

Met die Begrotingsrede om die draai het SAB die Minister van Finansies gevra om vir bier-brouers verligting te gee deur nie aksynsbelasting te verhoog nie. Die South African Liquor Brand Association vra vir ʼn verhoging laer as die inflasiekoers. Die bedryf argumenteer dat hulle tyd nodig het om te herstel na ʼn totaal van 19 weke waarin alkoholverkope verbied is. Wat die nuusberigte nie verduidelik...

With the Budget Speech around the corner, SA Breweries has asked the Minister of Finance to give relief to beer brewers by not increasing excise taxes. The South African Liquor Brand Association is asking for an increase below the inflation rate. The industry argues that they need time to recover after a total of 19 weeks in which alcohol sales were banned. What the news reports do not explain is...

In gister se Minuut het ek vertel hoe investering in vaste kapitaal verminder het, en in 2020 skerp afgeneem het. Dit is ʼn belangrike drywer van ekonomiese groei wat oor die afgelope tien jaar te laag was. Verlede week was daar ʼn nuusberig met ʼn vreemde en verkeerde oplossing vir groei en werkskepping, naamlik dat die bevolkingsgroeikoers verminder moet word. Die raad kom uit ʼn verslag van die Inc...

Ons weet dat die corona-virus pandemie en inperking die ekonomie ʼn knou toegedien het in 2020, maar ʼn kommerwekkende syfer wat verlede week uit gekom het was die impak op investering in vaste kapitaal.

We know that the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown delivered a blow to the economy in 2020, but a particularly worrying figure that came out last week was the impact on fixed capital investment.

In yesterday's Minute, I explained how investment in fixed capital decreased, and then declined sharply in 2020. It is an important driver of economic growth that has been too low over the past ten years. Last week there was a news report with a strange and wrong solution for growth and job creation, namely that the population growth rate should be reduced. The advice comes from a report by the In...

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.

It's Friday and today I just want to talk about interesting research. Behavioural economists examine, among other things, the psychological impact of poverty. They argue that being very poor has a mental burden that frequently keeps people poor. A study in India has some interesting results.

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.

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.