S&P Global Ratings maintained its outlook on SA as stable, alleviating the fear the rating agency would give SA a further downgrade at its next ratings review. “Since Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as ANC leader in December 2017 and appointment as the country’s president in February 2018, business and investor confidence have strengthened,” S&P said in its latest sovereign rating report on SA, issued at 10pm on Friday night. S&P held its credit rating on rand-denominated South African government bonds at one tier into junk status, BB+, and foreign-currency denominated bonds at two tiers into junk status, BB.  “We anticipate a … Continued

Statistics South Africa released the April Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) index on Wednesday, showing that costs increased 4.5% year-on-year, compared to 3.8% in March. Fin24 reported that the big culprits behind the rise in inflation were price increases in product groups that attract specific taxes, namely alcohol, fuel and sugary drinks. On April 1, both the added taxes on these items and the jump to 15% value added tax (VAT) rate became effective, although Stats SA said the full impact couldn’t be assessed in April. Some items calculated are zero rated, mitigating the effect of the increase. Fin24 took a look at what … Continued