According to the latest medium-term budget, South Africa's debt-to-GDP ratio will rise to 77% over the next few years, up from the current figure of 72%.

When investors contemplate market crashes or bear markets, the narrative is typically around the precipitous fall in the stock market's value. However, this year has seen one of the worst bear markets in history, but instead of stock markets collapsing, it has been global bond markets.

Helen Jewell – Chief Investment Officer, BlackRock Fundamental Equities, EMEA&Stefan Gries - Head of European Equity, BlackRock Fundamental Equities focusing on the key takeaways from the recent earnings season and exploring how investors can find opportunities in an uncertain earnings environment.

One of the dominant narratives this time last year was that a US recession was highly likely during 2023, with consequent negative impacts on the global economy and financial markets. This view was driven by the rapid rise in inflation and aggressive hiking of interest rates by the US Federal Reserve.

Most of the businesses that applied for licences in South Africa to offer crypto services are registered financial services providers. This indicates that crypto products and services will be added to their offerings once licences are issued.

The waters investors have had to navigate over the past three years have been exceptionally choppy. Since 2020, we have seen a brutal market correction, global bonds and equities going into retreat at the same time in 2022, a banking crisis, and more recently, yet another fallout in bond markets coupled with stock markets turning negative.