With the rand likely to be under pressure and interest rates set to climb, where should you be investing your money? A natural reaction would be to invest in shares that benefit from this environment, such as rand hedge stocks.
We have a peculiar set-up in South Africa when it comes to buying a house. Buyers and sellers are represented by the same agent, who is incentivised purely by the sale of the property at the highest price. This makes it impossible for an estate agent to act in the best interests of the buyer.
No one expected the interest rate hike last month, and certainly not the rand and market fallout that followed. If you had been reading the press, there had been concerns around the price of the stock market and the fact that the rand was looking vulnerable as the current account deficit continued to balloon.
With eight million people seeking employment, small business is going to be one of the ways to reduce unemployment in South Africa. It’s for this reason that the government is focusing on developing a culture of small business. But starting your own business can be a daunting task — where do you begin?
With the 2010 World Cup on the horizon, guesthouses are popping up and offering employment to many South Africans. Across the board, tourism is offering opportunities for small businesses, but being in the people industry can be tough as events beyond your control can affect tourist perceptions.
The Virgin Money credit card makes for an excellent savings account. Paying 5% interest on any positive balance in the account, it beats any savings account in the market for smaller deposits. In order to qualify for that rate with an ordinary bank, you generally need a balance of about R20 000.
From September 1 everyone will be able to access their credit records free of charge once a year as part of legislation introduced under the National Credit Act, which came into force at the beginning of June this year. According to Michael Bouchier, managing director of Credit Health, it is vitally important for everyone to regularly check their credit record.
Last week proved how fast a market can move. It showed that, even if you suspect a correction is likely, when exactly it is going to happen will always be a surprise. On June 5, I investigated options open to investors who were concerned that the market may be facing a major correction, in the region of 15%.
A colleague recently calculated that if she had used bundled account pricing on her bank account she would have saved R3Â 500 in bank fees a year. That is a huge sum of money. A survey conducted by Pick ‘n Pay banking shows that, while most people feel their banking fees are too high, many have no idea what those fees are, writes Maya Fisher-French.
Cost-to-company packages might not be as lucrative as they appear. Before you decide to leave your job for a better offer, read the fine print carefully. Cost-to-company packages are becoming a popular form of remuneration, but it can leave you with a nasty shock.