Compiled by Samantha Pauwels & Rynel Moodley
| HighlightsSouth Africa’s headline consumer price index (CPI) annual inflation rate dropped 0.9 percent to reach 4.4 percent in January, Statistics SA said on Wednesday, as the country continues to benefit from lower fuel prices. The lower inflation outlook together with the weak growth outlook, should persuade the Monetary Policy Committee to keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming meeting in March.
Globally, all eyes have been on Greece as the country requested an extension on its loan programme. Germany has rejected the loan request as a German finance ministry spokesperson said the new plea was “not a substantial proposal for a solution”. This uncertainty in the Eurozone has reflected in stock markets worldwide. The accusations form an ominous backdrop for a meeting of Eurozone ministers today in Brussels that could either provide a reprieve for Greece or push the country closer to the brink of leaving the bloc. |
Graph of the Week The Worlds $294 000 000 000 000 Wealth Deutsche Bank estimates the value of the whole market to be a whopping $294 trillion. The stock market makes up 23% of the global financial assets, increasing to $68.7trn from $64trn in 2013.This was largely driven by growth in funds targeting Japan, US and western European equity markets, and a rise in holdings of US, German and Swiss bonds, offset by the decline in assets in emerging markets – a trend that has continued in 2015.In all, the amount of net private capital inflows in to emerging market economies last year dropped to its lowest level since 2009 as investors pile into “safe-havens.”
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Quote of the Week
“The greatest example is this: If you went to the horse races, would you always bet on the favourite? The favourite, assuming the crowd is intelligent, which usually it is, is the horse with the highest probability of winning. That doesn’t mean that the favourite is always the best bet. You might have another horse that has a lower probability of winning but the odds are so much higher, that’s the smart bet…” – Howard Marks
Did you know?
The world’s largest coral reef system and one of the planet’s most diverse habitats, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is under significant threat from extensive industrialisation specifically planned port expansions. The Australian government recently approved plans to expand several ports along the coast, in order to boost their coal and natural gas exports. A new report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates that up to 51 million cubic meters of seabed material could be dredged to accommodate these port expansions – that’s enough material to fill up New York City’s Empire State Building 49 times over.
Cannon Media
Our Chief Investment Officer, Dr Adrian Saville spoke to CNBC Africa about Cannon Asset Managers’ SuperDogs Fund. The SuperDogs Fund favours value shares that are typically out of favour. If you are looking for a portfolio that looks different to the market, this may be the one.
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