As expected, Consumer price inflation accelerated further in October, to 5.9% year-on-year, compared to 5.4% in September. Inflation has steadily crept higher after the July trough of 4.7% and is now uncomfortably close to the upper limit of the SARB’s target range.

Helen Jewell - CIO, BlackRock Fundamental Equities, EMEA, discusses the outlook for equity markets against the backdrop of continued macroeconomic turbulence.

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported headline inflation (CPI) at 5.9% year-on-year (y/y) for October 2023, a surprisingly large jump from the 5.4% figure reported for September 2023.

So perhaps you know what AI stands for, but now you want to know a little bit more – what makes it different, for instance, from being just another search engine, like Google? How could AI affect our daily lives? And very importantly for those thinking about their life savings from time to time: what are fund managers thinking about the investment opportunities arising from this development?

The primary worry for advisers (when viewed from an internal perspective) was technology, followed closely by clients, and then succession planning.

Within the Southern African context, which currently has one of the highest start-up failure rates in the world, emerging entrepreneurs certainly require financial support, but over and above capital investment, they also need access to markets, a strong business network and ongoing operational support.