Business confidence rose sharply in the first quarter of 2010, according to a survey released yesterday.

Rand Merchant Bank and the Bureau of Economic Research said their Business Confidence Index (BCI) jumped by 15 points to a level of 43 during the first quarter of 2010.

This was the single biggest increase between two consecutive quarters in 16 years, the survey found. Also, at 43 the BCI was back to the same level which prevailed before the global financial market crisis erupted around 18 months ago.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Limited reported a rise in revenue late on Monday as it released its full year results for 2009.

President Jacob Zuma has pointed out to British parliamentarians that the number of businesspeople on his delegation was indicative of his administration's particular interest in heightening economic relations with the United Kingdom.

Business confidence improved in February, according to the Business Confidence Index (BCI) released by the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) on Wednesday.


 

Gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the fourth quarter of 2009, released on Tuesday, confirm the economy is on the mend, Nedbank Group economists have said.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan won praise on Wednesday for a balanced, positive budget that held state spending on track without raising taxes.

The new Treasury boss adjusted the growth forecast for 2010 to 2.3 percent of GDP, rising to 3.6 percent in 2012, but warned that South Africans would continue to feel the pinch of the recession as job creation lagged recovery.

The optimistic tone saw the rand trading stronger minutes after the minister started delivering his maiden budget speech to the National Assembly.

Nationalisation of South Africa's mines and other economic sectors is not government policy, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has come out in support of what it calls President Zuma’s “commitment to long-term energy planning and greening industrial policy” as outlined in the president’s State of the Nation address last Thursday.

Morné du Plessis, CEO of WWF, says, “South Africa cannot achieve the bold and exemplary commitments it made under the Copenhagen Accord without the transformation of its domestic energy economy. This requires, firstly, integrated energy planning, taking into account electricity supply, liquid fuels, direct fuel use by industry and the demand-side sectors of the energy economy.”

“Secondly, it demands a transformed institutional environment which allows for the participation of clean electricity suppliers in a market currently dominated by Eskom and coal.”

South Africa's official unemployment rate edged lower in the fourth quarter of 2009, halting the massive job losses that had accompanied the first recession in nearly two decades.

South Africa is the best performing housing market in the world over the longer-term, latest figures from British news magazine The Economist reveal.

The Kagiso Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) - which measures manufacturing activity - entered 2010 with a bang.

Team South Africa - a partnership between the government and business - will use the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to reassure global political and business leaders that it is ready to stage a successful 2010 Fifa World Cup, as well as position South Africa as "the next big thing".

The partnership also aims to drive dialogue on the African agenda and will be encouraging WEF delegates to look South for fresh solutions to a better world, by experiencing the magnitude of the country's trade and investment offerings.

Represented in the partnership are the Presidency, IMC, Government Communication and Information Service, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), Discovery, Old Mutual, Absa, Telkom, Nedbank, MTN, Sasol, Investec, Transnet and First Rand.

The establishment of the Mining Industry Growth, Development and Employment Task Team (MIGDETT) has led to a mitigation of job losses in the mining industry from an initial estimated 100 000 to approximately 50 000.

Although likely to remain subdued in the opening months, there is a good chance that economic growth could be surprisingly solid, with South Africa ending 2010 with annual GDP growth of over 3%, predicts Old Mutual chief economist Rian le Roux.

South African corporate governance practices are considered relatively mature compared to emerging market peers, says Fitch Ratings in a report published, but they remain underdeveloped by international market standards.

South Africa's manufacturing industry is catching up with improved global conditions. That’s according to Kagiso’s head of fixed income, Andre Coetzee, after the purchasing managers index (PMI) increased for the fifth consecutive month.

South Africa has been rated 28th out of 155 countries surveyed on speed of trade practices by the World Bank. According to the new World Bank Group survey on trade logistics, the capacity of countries to efficiently move goods and connect manufacturers and consumers with international markets is improving around the world.
 

Investors who bought gold or commodities at the beginning of the decade tripled their money by 31 December 2009.

An American organisation and the National Business Initiative of South Africa, will partner in setting up the first economic council aimed at diversifying the South African economy.

 

There was good news and bad news for house prices, FNB said on Monday when it released its house price index.

The strong rand, steadier prices and improved access to credit could make it easier for consumers to buy a new car in 2010 - factors that would develop a preference for new rather than second-hand vehicles in South Africa.

South Africa is set to bounce back strongly in headline-growth terms in 2010, asset manager and investment bank Nomura said on Friday.

This was due to continuing infrastructure spending, a contribution from net trade and restocking from low levels, it said in a statement.

"On top of this, the World Cup will add 0.7 percentage points to growth from short term consumption and investments, on our estimates."

South Africa's economy has moved out of recession, recording slight positive growth for the third quarter of 2009, Statistics SA said on Tuesday.

The rugby series between the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions boosted the South Africa economy to the tune of almost R1,5bn, a study commissioned by SA Rugby has revealed.

Year-on-year house price deflation is "almost a thing of the past," FNB said on Monday as it released its House Price Index.