South Africa's rating of 63,2% ranks it 52nd globally on the Heritage Foundation 2008 Index of Economic Freedom. In a statement released on Monday, Century 21 South Africa -- the local chapter of the world's largest real-estate brand -- said the index, which covers 162 countries, took 10 specific freedoms into account.
The MD of Standard and Poor's (S&P) South Africa, Konrad Reuss, said on Wednesday that some of the recent pessimism in South Africa is completely overdone and that he does not feel the country is going to dip into a recession. South Africa currently has a "stable" foreign-currency rating by S&P.
Fear and mistrust gripped Wall Street on Monday after Citigroup's CEO quit in the wake of mounting credit losses and an influential money manager called the subprime mortgage market a "$1-trillion problem". US stocks followed European shares lower, while safe-haven bonds rallied and even the downtrodden dollar ticked up.
