News 13:00
BULLETIN 14 March 1 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# An economist says the interest rates for house prices have likely peaked
# President Cyril Ramaphosa underscores education as a collective activity
# And ugby: George North retires after 14 years of Test rugby for Wales
# FNB senior economist, Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, says interest rates for house prices have likely peaked. The projections of slightly lower interest rates, moderately better growth outcomes, and continued employment gains should help support a modest lift in demand for property, and consequently, increased property prices from the second half of this year. Mkhwanazi says the FNB house price index growth averaged 0,7-percent year on year in February, slightly lower than the 0,9-percent in January:
# President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised the collaborative nature of education in South Africa at the sixth Basic Education Sector Lekgotla in Johannesburg. He commended progress in key areas like Early Childhood Development and foundational learning, underscoring the importance of a robust educational foundation. Ramaphosa also praised ongoing support from the private sector, academics, NGOs, and civil society in enhancing the education sector:
# Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink has acknowledged that there are limited resources to address rising crime in the metro. This comes as some disgruntled Ga-Rankuwa residents have slammed both the provincial and local government, for failing to address joblessness which they said was directly linked to crime in the community. Brink says the metro has strengthened efforts to fight crime, but police stations must be equipped to do the serious work of controlling the streets and doing crime intelligence.
# The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute and Earthlife Africa Johannesburg are concerned about South Africa’s nuclear energy expansion plans. The Section 34 determination to procure two-thousand-500 megawatts of new nuclear power generation has been gazetted. Earthlife Africa’s Makoma Lekalakala says they are considering taking the nuclear determination on judicial review:
# Rugby: George North will wear the number 13 jersey in his final game for Wales when they take on Italy in a Six Nations clash in Cardiff on Saturday. The 31-year-old centre announced his retirement after playing 120 Tests, and scoring 235 points since making his debut in 2010. He also represented the British and Irish Lions in three matches. North missed last week’s loss to France. Wales is currently in last place on the log and needs to beat the Azzurri to prevent the wooden spoon.
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-60-cents and the euro at 20-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-466-dollars-96-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-169-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-62-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….