South Africa's Treasury is again inviting members of the public to give Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan tips on how they want the country's money to be spent.

Comparing year-end values, South Africa's stock exchange showed little movement overall in 2011, but held firm - and in doing so was one of the better performers in a turbulent year for equities worldwide, Moneyweb reports.

The decline in the number of civil judgments for debt shows household balance sheets are on the mend in South Africa, an Investec economist said on Friday. However, a substantial slowing in economic activity would slow this trend.

The FNB/BER building confidence index increased from 23 in 3Q2011 to 29 in 4Q2011, providing more evidence that the building sector is slowly beginning to recover, says Cees Bruggemans, chief economist of FNB.

South Africa's economy slightly expanded to a growth rate of 1.4% in the third quarter of 2011, Statistics SA said on Tuesday. This was up from 1.3% in the previous quarter, said Gerhardt Bouwer, executive manager national accounts at Stats SA in Pretoria.

Ratings agency Moody's has kept the outlook for South Africa's banking system stable, citing the continuation of benign macroeconomic conditions and solid capital buffers.

A slight drop of only one index point to 38 in the RMB/Bureau for Economic Research Business Confidence Index (BCI) was surprising, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) said last week. It said this should keep the country on track for economic growth of 3%.

A new research report on South Africa, expected to be released next year, is to provide unique insight into the workings of the country's economy, says the Department of Trade and Industry.

After falling by 7 index points in 3Q2011, the FNB/BER consumer confidence index (CCI) increased by one index point from +4 in 3Q2011 to +5 in 4Q2011.

There will be more certainty about foreign direct investment in South Africa within the next year, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Monday. "Within the next year we'll have a very clear legal framework within which FDI (foreign direct investment) can operate," the minister told Business Unity SA's annual general meeting in Johannesburg.

The term "local is lekker" was given a new meaning yesterday when government, unions and the private sector all signed a deal committing the country to increasing its target of procuring locally manufactured goods to 75%.

South Africa is open for foreign investment and is ready to act as a gateway to the rest of the African continent, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday.

Vehicle sales in all segments registered surprisingly strong gains in the past month, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted Kagiso Purchasing Managers Index showed a "more optimistic picture" in September. The PMI, an indicator of performance in the manufacturing sector, increased by four points in September to 50.7 index points, according to a report released by Kagiso Asset Management on Monday.

South Africa, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are the markets with the most promising 10-year growth outlook, Bank of America Merrill Lynch says in a report on the long-term growth outlook for the EMEA countries.

First time house buyers are spending more on a property than they did a year ago, according to bond originator ooba this week. The July first time buyer's purchase price figures show year-on-year growth of 3% to R609,417.

South Africa's low lending rate and the Reserve Bank's stockpiling of more than $50 billion in foreign currency would help shield the country from some of the turmoil experienced by global markets in recent days, Johan van den Heever, the Reserve Bank's deputy chief economist said yesterday.

South African markets are stable enough to function through the knock-on effects of the United States debt downgrade, the department of finance and the SA reserve bank (SARB) said on Monday. "Our financial system remains strong, with adequately capitalised financial institutions supported by a robust regulatory framework," they said in a joint statement.

South Africa needs to maintain a sustained economic growth rate of over 5% a year to solve its unemployment problems, various speakers said at a debate on nationalisation, organised by the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Johannesburg, on Thursday.

Investors continue to feel optimistic about the valuation of the local equity market, according to the July 2011 results of the South African Investor Confidence Index.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has committed to double bilateral trade with South Africa by 2015, as he began his first working visit to sub-Saharan Africa to bolster trade links with the continent.

Confidence among institutional investors and financial advisors has risen to levels last measured in 2009 as they believe value is returning to the South African equity market, according to the latest South African Investor Confidence Index.

South Africa's economy has been recovering since its lowest point in August 2009, mainly driven by household spending, the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Friday. "The recovery in households' expenditure was especially strong in the area of durable goods such as motor vehicles," the SARB said in its annual economic report 2011.

Consumer confidence increased marginally in the second quarter of 2011. Although marginally lower than in 2010, consumer confidence remained relatively high by historical standards, according to the latest FNB/BER consumer confidence index released today.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its growth forecast for South Africa in an update to its latest World Economic Outlook, exceeding an upgraded forecast for emerging and developing economies as a whole, and in contrast to a lowered forecast for advanced economies.