In true fashion, just when all hope is lost, the market takes a corner. And the Rand showed it still had some fight in it, as it picked itself off the canvas and fought back strongly. But have the tables turned, or is it too early to call There is still little to cheer about…
A new month, a new start. But it did not seem to make any difference for the weakening ZAR. As the week moved along, it seemed that the poor Rand was just consistently on the back foot, and was going to carry on losing ground for a while yet. So, that begs the question -…
The headline says it all..."Rand loses 4% of value...what now?" A truly bruising week for the economy, as the Rand soared to touch over R13.71/$ - a level not been seen since May. Although there was some pullback in the latter half of the week, the damage had been done. Even worse, the Euro &…
Good news for South Africans looking to move money offshore! SARS have removed the official requirement for private individuals to provide '3 Years of Annual Financial Statements' in order to obtain a TAX CLEARANCE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT to send up to R10 Million out of South Africa. This is a major breakthrough for clients investing…
Natural disasters, economic disasters and whipsawing financial markets... The Rand was dealt further body blows this last week...and in so doing moved into our predicted target areas from last week - issued before any of these hit. The fun ride the Rand has been on does seem to be coming to an end (despite pullbacks…
All good things come to an end, right? That was the story of this week as the weight of all the negative news and economic events took its toll on the Rand, crashing it as high as R13.26... So now, with the Rand making its worst level for the month, it seems the tables have…
The United States is enduring a very difficult period... Having just been hit with Hurricane Harvey, one of the most destructive hurricanes we have seen in quite some time... ...along comes an 'up-sized' Hurricane Irma wreaking havoc in its path as it bears down on Florida, sending millions running for their lives. And while the…
It was another week of building. Not positive building, but building of tension globally, waiting for an explosion... ...as Hurricane Harvey raged through Texas ...and tensions rose toward to a crescendo between the USA & North Korea ...and Trump asked Russia to close their embassies in D.C., NYC & San Francisco Through all this political…
All of us began the week with some trepidation as to what was coming next. Despite some rocky ground, it had been a great couple of weeks for the ZAR. But very seldom has the Rand treated us to a continued period of stability. So we are always just left waiting for it to end.…
Well, well, well...who would have thought? After a catastrophic previous week with Zuma surviving the #NoConfidence vote, all eyes were on the Rand to see the longer term effect. And how often has it happened, that the Rand delivers exactly the opposite to what the general public expects? Contrary to the public's feeling surrounding the…
Can you believe it? Zuma dodged the bullet again. And the poor Rand just so happened to be standing right behind him, and was left no option but to take the hit. Another week which started off well, with Speaker Mbete giving Parliament a chance with the Secret Ballot... ...only for the tables to turn…
While many were holding thumbs that the ZAR's continued period of strength and stability would someone manage to keep going, it seemed the honeymoon was over as the week got underway from a healthy R12.88... ...and proceeded to rush to R13.48 within just a few days! A sharp turnaround, and not one South Africans wanted…
The Rand has been bootstrapping it for a bit too long... And all too soon, it seemed its luck has run out. And then there was a comeback. And then it lost it all again. This week had it all, as the Rand was thrown up and down as if it were a child's ragdoll…
This last week was nothing short of confusing for most. After the comeback of the ZAR during the previous week, many had high hopes that this week would have more of the same action. But certainly was not to be... ...as the Rand held more stable than we have possibly ever seen, the full 5…
While it has felt feels like the tide is dragging a seemingly helpless ZAR out to sea... ...the market just keeps on fighting back! With no rationall explanation, the Rand strengthened nearly 50c in less than 2 days. Why? Economists bumbled around for answers...while secretly thinking: "How could this be? What is happening?" It was…
The market did not react how persons hoped it would this week, as it sent shockwaves through the financial world... ..."where to from here?" was the question as it spiked closer to R13.50/$ on Wednesday. The Rand had lost over 3% of its value in just a few days. Who would have expected things to…
Well, that was quite a week... Things looked pretty rosy to start. And then ended not quite on the same score. Such swings of 'fortune' are what brings the level of volatility we have come to expect over the past few years from the USDZAR. We need to reanalyze our figures to bring them up…
What did we say last week? We thought perhaps we would have a quiet week ahead of us with a lack of economic events, but concluded with this: "But no. That is most probably asking too much. The Rand can create its own triggers. Or the politicians do it. " And what do you know...…
A week which was looking so good... Steady, smooth, and almost calm strengthening of the market from Monday morning through Wednesday... ...only for Wednesday and Thursday to turned things on their head! The Fed hiked the interest rate. And the Rand reacted accordingly. What had been a good week, suddenly turned into an action-packed show.…
Isn’t it amazing, how time and again, when the news is about the worst it can get, that the Rand pulls a fast one against everyone’s expectation. Will anyone forget the last week of March this year when, after days of rumours, Zuma decided it was time to throw all caution (and what was left…
