News 08:00

BULLETIN 15 February 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A senior FNB economist says shopping has fallen by 1% in 2023
# The police are looking for robbers after a cash-in-transit robbery in Hammanskraal
# And, golf: Lombard leads a strong South African group in the Dimension Data Pro-Am

# FNB senior economist, Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, says shopping declined by one-percent last year, compared to 2022, reflecting a subdued consumer demand environment. This is expected to persist in the near term, driven by sticky inflation, high interest rates, and depressed consumer confidence. According to Mkhwanazi the prevailing tight lending standards and high debt service cost environment should keep credit growth relatively contained, both in the bank and non-bank sectors, and thus provide less support to consumption:

Meanwhile, tax expert Charles de Wet predicts no Value Added Tax or wealth tax increases in the 2024 budget to address the 15-billion-rand deficit. He urges efficient tax collection methods, digitalization, and expenditure discipline. While personal income tax and VAT collection rose by eight-percent, corporate tax collection fell by 14-percent. De Wet opposes a VAT hike, proposing a threshold increase to two-million-rand for company VAT registration. He anticipates sin tax hikes but doubts changes to corporate tax rates, advocating for global competitiveness.

# Gauteng police have launched a manhunt to arrest a group of suspects who are linked to a cash-in-transit heist that occurred near the Mandela Sports Complex in Hammanskraal. Police spokesperson, Amanda van Wyk says the driver of a cash van and his two crew members were driving along Hamman Road in Hammanskraal from the N1 when they were intercepted by a group of armed suspects who rammed into the cash van with a silver Mercedes Benz C180:

# Three people have been arrested after shots were fired in Kansas City during Super Bowl celebrations. One person has been killed, with at least 21 others injured in the shooting. Three people are being treated at hospitals in the city with critical injuries, while seven more are battling life-threatening injuries. Police say they have yet to establish a motive for the shooting, but local law enforcement officials told CBS News that it was not terror-related. Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs say none of their players were injured in the shooting.

# Golf: Zander Lombard forms part of a strong group of in-form South African professionals teeing off today in the prestigious Dimension Data Pro-Am at Fancourt. Lombard is in great form and now has a career-high of 100 on the Official World Golf Rankings. Since last year’s Joburg Open, Lombard has finished in the top 16 in seven of his last eight tournaments.  Oliver Bekker is also back to defend his title and is seeking to make Dimension Data Pro-Am history by becoming the first three-time winner of this tournament.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-5-cents and the euro at 20-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 52-thousand-281-dollars-50-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-992-dollars-1-cent a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-23-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….