Ina Opperman While vaccines are a priority the government also needs to implement structural reforms.
Hugo Pienaar, chief economist of the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) at the University of Stellenbosch, thinks the first quarter of this year will be a setback to the recovery, because renewed restrictions announced late in December impacted confidence and weighed on spending, especially in January.
“However, based on recent company commentary, the situation seems to have improved from February.”
Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop says the return to pre-pandemic levels of activity is likely to be protracted, with downside risks including a slow vaccination roll out and new variants of the virus. “We anticipate growth of 2.9% year-on-year in 2021, but this is coming off 2020’s low base.”
The budget will help the economy to recover under certain conditions and there will be an uptick in employment. The Budget will help the economy to recover under certain conditions and there should be an uptick in employment.
US bonds just keep on rising despite the US Fed again insisting this week that it doesn’t see inflation becoming a problem. A continuation in this vein spells bad news for emerging markets’ currencies and assets, with bonds likely to be worst hit by an erosion of their yield premiums in wha.
The annual budget statement will be the main event on the economic calendar this week and a few unexpected, albeit possibly temporary, positive developments…
Business confidence is not as low as the average monthl dailymaverick.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymaverick.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.