SA's net gold and foreign exchange reserves rose in June, suggesting that the Reserve Bank has been taking advantage of a steadier rand, notes Fin24.

Western executives believe the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA will reshape the global business landscape, but they struggle to identify their currencies.

Vehicle dealerships and their customers are feeling the pain of the new National Credit Act. As banks adjust to the stringent requirements of the Act, vehicle dealerships were surprised to find most new loan applications being declined in the first two weeks of June.

Current account holders in SA are paying more than double the global average in bank charges, according to Capgemini, which announced the results of a new benchmarking study yesterday.

The unit trust industry is taking up the social responsibility baton. It has unveiled its Financial Sector Charter access initiative to complement the banks' Mzansi accounts and the life industry's Zimele products.

SA's retail sales slowed to 5.4% year-on-year in April at constant prices, data showed. Statistics SA said the figure was down from an upwardly revised 10.5% in March.

Tunisia is Africa's most competitive country according to the Africa Competitiveness Report 2007, released at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town.

Workers on one of the Western Cape’s largest tomato farms have become the beneficiaries of a major land redistribution deals in the Paarl district by buying 43.6% of the business at R13.5m, with the help of the government.

Residents of Gauteng earn more, are better educated and are likely to live longer than people in other provinces, an SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) study has found.

Universities will get a substantial cash injection this year. In fact, they'll be getting most of Education Minister Naledi Pandor's vast R16bn budget.

SA households owe more on their home loans, car repayments, personal loans, furniture accounts and credit cards than the government has committed to spending on running the country in the current budget.

Telkom has cut the retail price of international bandwidth by 30% retrospectively from May 1.

The rand has broadly stabilised and this is a much better level for the currency to be at, according to Professor Ben Smit, director of the Bureau for Economic Research.

The SA brand is worth over R500bn, says Minister in the presidency, Essop Pahad.

SA retail sales growth jumped to 10.1% year-on-year in March, official data showed this week, pointing to consumer spending staying high and backing a case for higher interest rates.

The rand may be out of kilter given the country's wide current account deficit and may need rebalancing, central bank Governor Tito Mboweni said.

New research that shows the SA economy could be up to 9% larger than originally thought is ‘just the beginning’.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has expressed concern over the latest petrol price increase.

The skyscrapers in Africa's financial heartland cast a long shadow over Maria Zwane's home in Johannesburg's teeming Alexandra township, where running water and proper sanitation remain a luxury.

Afrikaans speaking consumers could be the spark this year that the economy needs to maintain a growth rate of 5%.

After swallowing the country's biggest fuel price rise at the beginning of the month, consumers have been warned that another big hike in petrol prices is likely next month – of anything between 25c and 40c a litre.

Good macroeconomic policies and a sound banking system mean SA's economy is well positioned to resist external shocks and should keep growing at 5% a year, a senior International Monetary Fund official said.

The central bank has held its repo rate steady at 9.0%, in line with expectations, despite warning the inflation outlook had deteriorated.

Young South Africans wishing to work and travel in the UK will have to dig deeper into their pockets after the British High Commission more than doubled visa fees on April 1.

Hush-hush preparations are under way for a lavish birthday banquet this week for Jacob Zuma, which will include a R15 000 birthday cake.