Cape Town - A roundup of Wednesday's top economic and finance reads on Fin24.
Ramaphosa invokes his inner Mandela – for political ends
Emotions and tributes aside, the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth also heralds changing fortunes for both the ANC and the DA.
Having Barack Obama seen together with President Cyril Ramaphosa in meetings, and on stage, adds to a sense of legitimacy and respectability for the South African president in the aftermath of the Zuma era.
Importantly, Ramaphosa is attempting to re-kindle a 'Mandela-esque' identification in the hope that he can restore some lost support and political credibility to his Presidency in the tough early days of his tenure in office, writes Daniel Silke.
EU set to fine Google billions over Android - sources
The EU is set to fine US internet giant Google several billion euros this week for freezing out rivals of its Android mobile phone system, sources said, in a ruling that risks fresh tensions with Washington.
Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is expected to say on Wednesday that Google abused its dominant position in the market by making tie-ups with phone makers like South Korea's Samsung and China's Huawei.
REVEALED: The plans to expand VBS if ‘looting’ wasn’t exposed
VBS Mutual Bank was set to further expand to become a commercial bank and several new branches may have opened around the country if those running the organisation had successfully managed to conceal allegations of intense looting.
Two of the bank’s executives in 2017 also wanted to entice state entities to deposit money with it. It was hoped that VBS’s “proven track record of growth” would lure them into doing so.
Higher fuel prices help push June CPI rises to 4.6%
SA's Consumer Price Index (CPI) ticked up to 4.6 % in June from 4.4% the previous month, with transport costs being one of the key contributors due to higher fuel prices, according to official statistics released on Wednesday.
Before the announcement was made, analysts had expected CPI to rise to 4.8%.
Fuel prices have been steadily increasing since April due to a combination of higher global oil prices, higher fuel taxes and a weakening rand. This has prompted government to investigate strategies aimed at cushion consumers from the impact.
Big Mac Index: Rand should be trading at R5.63/$
The South African rand is undervalued against the dollar by as much as 57.9%, suggests the latest Big Mac Index, released annually by The Economist.
First produced in 1986 "as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are at their 'correct' level", the index uses purchasing-power parity – or the notion that in the long run, exchange rates should move towards a rate that would equalise the prices of identical goods and services in any two countries – to evaluate currencies' relative value.
The resultant system, or "burgernomics", has been updated regularly ever since.
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