If you are like a rich guy, you are not a happy camper nowadays. Its murder on the trading floors ey?? It’s insane, there is no stopping the rot, $700bn we’ll sign it…nah not now…markets crash, ok the senate will approve it, markets still crash. $700bn written into a law…markets still crash….heads are scratched. What to do?
Banks are being nationalized, now there is an across the board slash in interest rates in some European markets, to stimulate growth.

Maybe I am a bit dim, but in my mind if people didn’t over-react and just rode out the storm instead of this insane sell-off that is taking place, I am more than convinced that this rapid and severe drop in the markets wouldn’t have taken place. Lots of shares have lost value and that’s largely due to the huge sell off in anticipation of the possible slow down in the economy. Now I am no market guru by a long shot, the only shares I own are MTN and SASOL, thanks to BEE ;-).Yes the shares have taken a hiding but y sell? Everyone panics and sells and values drop even further, don’t panic, don’t sell, don’t create the whole herd mentality and some value will be maintained…it makes sense to me, unless I am really simplifying things.

The part that doesn’t make sense to me, well didn’t make much sense to me is the fact that our currency the Rand is taking such a beating. I searched high and low for some literature to shed some light on the tremendous fall of the Rand and not too much was forthcoming. It’s not just the Rand falling I know and comparatively we haven’t done too badly, but we have fallen to our worst levels in 7/8 years this over a period of say 2 weeks. INSANE!! What makes it even more perplexing for a lay person such as myself is the fact that the US Dollar is pretty strong at the moment. Same thing happened on 9/11…typical depiction of the US sneezing and the rest of the world catching a cold.

Their economy is under threat. We all suffer. They need to go a further $700bn into debt, we all suffer…hmm no sense or nonsense. But then again it started dawning on me, is it because they were the first to publically announce a blanket government bailout plan that their currency has strengthened? Could it also be because they are historically the world’s premier economy, so when ish hits the fan, everyone runs to what they perceive to be the safest option…enter the US dollar. Which I still find odd, because I would have thought in times like this commodities such as gold a very universal currency and measure of value since time in memorial.

Listening to 702 and reading some of the internet sites this seems to be the case. When markets become jittery, the first reaction of most is flight from risky assets, and if you didn’t know SA is considered risky, which I assume would lead to an increase in the demand for dollars hence the dollar strengthens…

If I am off the mark please do correct me cos I am using a bit of what I believe to be common sense, which may not be so common ;-)

An interesting day in SA, earlier we had the former chair of the ANC, Mosiuoa Lekota, all but stating outright that there will be a new political party being formed, a splinter from the ruling ANC. I say Amen to that, not because I am in opposition of the ruling party, but because I am not in favour of a one party rule democracy. In my mind that is contrary to the whole concept of democracy…unless I am missing something again.

Lets be honest, the old guard, did some good but they were also pretty arrogant in some of their mannerisms. They failed the people regarding crime, healthcare and education. There is so much lack of accountability in many government institutions. I watched Carte Blanche the other nite and my word the mismanagement going on there is just madness, and nothing happens to no one. I was very impressed when I read a few weeks ago that Mr Maree, my former boss and head of the National Empowerment Fund was convicted…4 yrs or so later but at least something was done.

I am saying all this because I believe the country needs change. I am not sure what the new guard has to offer us, but I get nervous when I hear some of the mouth pieces they have chosen to speak on their behalf. The language they use is strong and more divisive as opposed to unifying. I would also add that some of their mutterings are a tad nonsensical and sensational too. What the new guard do offer is a bit of focus on the neglected many. The people who stood in queues some 14 years ago, their situation hasn’t changed a helluva lot. Some might say it may have worsened. I read stories that the houses built during the apartheid years were far superior to the RDP houses currently being built. We have masses of people accumulating wealth by cutting corners and developing below par housing, which fair enough may be a few times better than the shacks in which they dwelled but, frankly that’s just not good enough.

Education, sheesh let me not get started here. Education should be a fundamental right of every living human being, along with affordable healthcare. If people are educated first and foremost they will be able to see the wood from the trees and be in a position to make an informed decision about who they elect as a leader. Secondly through education you are in a position to fend for yourself, identify opportunities this great land of ours has to offer and how to enhance the lives of yourself and also those around. If you are educated you will know that a life is not really worth the R100 you may get for that cell phone.

Anyway interesting times…heard a couple of the bigger economies have reduced their interest rates in an effort to curb the potential growth stagnation. Also read that China may be lending the USA $500bn to help them stem the run on their banks. This also serves Chinas interests because it protects their export market too because if the US market is weak then who will the world sell to or buy from.

Lets see how it all plays out…Off to Ghana on Friday for a few days for some work, looking forward to catching a bit of a tan and a sweat . You all have a great week and weekend.

Birthdays
28th John K, Shaheed, Kelly
29th Evie
1st Oct Herman
2nd Willem, Linda
4th Monkfish
9th KC

Take it easi

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