South African business confidence slumped to all-time low in April in a clear sign of the economic impact of of a nationwide lockdown seeking to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Unprecedented demand for online services and entertainment during Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, along with a scramble for haven investments, have helped set South African stocks on course for a record month.
Finance minister Tito Mboweni said the South African economy could contract as much as 6.4% this year due to the coronavirus outbreak and the budget deficit could swell to more than 10% of GDP.
Alphabet shares surged after first-quarter results and upbeat executive comments showed the company’s cloud and YouTube businesses kept growing in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
That the US’s biggest companies are technology firms whose businesses stood up to lockdowns has been good news for its stock market. For the Nasdaq 100 Index, it’s been salvation.
The South African Reserve Bank has cut the repo rate by a 100 basis points – the second time it has done so in less than a month as worries mount over the impact of Covid-19 on economic growth.
Naspers remains on the lookout for acquisitions even as economies around the world grind to a halt in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sub-Saharan Africa will post its first recession in 25 years as the coronavirus pandemic brings economies to a halt and disrupts global trade, the World Bank said.
JSE-listed 4Sight Holdings has agreed to sell its subsidiary Digitata, which it bought in 2017, for R91.9-million, to its original owners.
South Africa’s economy could contract by between 2% and 4% this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and measures to curb its spread, according to the Reserve Bank.