By Werner Gerber, Audit Manager BDO South Africa “The fundamental purposes of the European Union are to promote greater social, political and economic harmony among the nations of Western Europe. The EU reasons that nations whose economies are...
Survey reveals South Africans’ gift and holiday dreams
Technology gifts and beach holidays come out tops, while most of us keep mum when we get gifts we don’’t like. A snap holiday survey conducted by Visa in South Africa has revealed what South Africans want most for Christmas gifts, where they want...
Edgars Club fee under scrutiny
A referral by the NCR may see the removal of the Edgars Club fee. In early November, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) referred Edcon Limited to the National Consumer Tribunal for charging consumers a club fee on credit agreements. This follows...
Doing good is good business
Pick n Pay aims to reduce landfill waste and create 20 jobs a week, and challenges banks to reduce fees It is refreshing to see a business leader actively working on environmental and social issues as well as challenging government and other...
Heading for a club sandwich generation
The dependency cycle is worsening, putting further pressure on those who have an income. I have to confess that the latest results from the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor made for sombre reading. We all know that households are starting...
Sectional title market remains stronger than full title
The sectional title segment of the housing market continues to outperform the full title segment, in line with the "smaller is better" theme. But is it about home price affordability, or more about home running cost affordability? John Loos,...
Interest rate increase could make consumers more vulnerable
By Sanisha Packirisamy, economist at Momentum Asset Management. It is clear that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) remains aware of the potential negative local effect of a rise in US rates should the US decide to hike rates this year. In the...
The impact of debt on our retirement
Debt is the main reason people withdraw their retirement benefits when changing jobs, according to key findings of the 2015 Sanlam Benchmark Survey, a comprehensive annual review of South Africa’s retirement industry. After interviewing thousands...
Court mediation available to over-indebted consumers
Consumers in Gauteng and the North West who are not able to pay their debts and who are being taken to court by credit providers can now request the magistrate to refer the matter to court mediation. Magistrates will also encourage parties to go...
Tax-free savings a reality
Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) get the go-ahead. From 1 March 2015 South Africans will be allowed to invest up to R30Â 000 a year in tax-free savings accounts (TFSA). (*Update: this amount was increased to R33Â 000 per year on 1 March 2017 and to...
Previous Articles
Paying for overspending
We will spend R18 000 per taxpayer this year on government debt repayments As I listened to Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s budget speech it struck me that our government is in a very similar situation to most South African households. Over the last five years, our...
The impact of lower inflation on investment returns
Dave Mohr, Chief Investment Strategist at Old Mutual Wealth, explains that investors with portfolios that include performance benchmarks that target inflation-linked growth should not be overly concerned about the possibility that their returns will be reduced...
Making sense of interest rates
Last week, consumers received good news from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) that the repo interest rate would be kept at 5.75%, which means that the retail rate at which consumers are offered credit, would stay at 9.25%. Absa provided this useful infographic...
The death of the independent adviser
Despite assurances to the contrary, the recommendations contained in the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) released by the Financial Services Board will make it more challenging for a financial adviser to operate as an independent. As the recommendations stand, many...
Tax Ombud gives a voice to taxpayers
The first Tax Ombud report raises important concerns with SARS processes and has already made a difference to ordinary taxpayers in resolving outstanding issues. In its first six months of operation, from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2014, the Tax Ombud office assisted...
What you need to know about the 2014 Medium-term Budget in 500 words
Expect unhappy public servants and higher taxes. Like most household budgets, government is running out of money and credit lines and the only choice now is to cut consumption and still try squeeze a bit more out of taxpayers. In the words of Finance Minister Nhlanhla...
Timewasting chokes executive work-life balance
Executives approaching burnout, and under the impression that their workloads are too heavy, would do well to take an honest assessment of how much time they spend on actual work, compared to how much time they spend attending to non-essential distractions, writes...
Low-cost investing with Satrix
Satrix has released a new range of funds which has reduced the cost of investing Since Sanlam bought out Satrix two years ago it has been implementing some interesting changes which have improved the offering to investors wanting to access low-cost passive index...
Time for the SARB to go on hold?
By Nazmeera Moola, economist and strategist, Investec Asset Management Consumers should be able to sleep somewhat easier in the next few months, as we have most likely seen the last interest rate hikes for 2014. This is partially due to the weak economic outlook. We...
African Bank and your money
African Bank provides clarity on what will happen to both depositors' and borrowers’ money. If a retail client had deposited funds with ABIL what happens to their money? Will they get it back and would they receive the same rate of interest? As indicated by the...