It does seem that the equities bull markets are over for the moment. As always one only knows this for sure sometime after the trends reverse. The fact that the down ticks are not yet precipitous demonstrates that there is still considerable balance between buyers and sellers. For inclined bears it appears that the dreadfully cruel war between Russia and one of its previous provinces, Ukraine should have a negative impact on investor confidence. On the other hand, now that we are belatedly learning just how important Ukraine is for global commodity supplies, there undoubtedly are those who saw it coming and are well positioned SA motorists are not one of these lucky folk. Petrol prices are squeezing the life out of our economy.
Apparently the double jump was expected. The Monetary Policy Committee obviously noticed the downgrade of their tea time nibbles from Chocolate Digestives to mere Marie biscuits and hit back yesterday with a half percent rise in the repo rate instead of the one quarter percent jump it has applied in the last three adjustments . This caused the major commercial banks (acting entirely independently, of course) each to adjust their lending rate to prime clients to 8.25%pa. Which in turn cascades into virtually every money lending agreement price being adjusted upwards. Allegedly this will rein in inflation. Patient readers will remember that since the beginning of time Tidemarks has remained unconvinced by this long held assertion of economic cause and effect. Making money more expensive seems an odd method to make goods less so.
The Prat in a Hat, Police minister Bheki Cele, has been ranting about something one would have imagined was his problem to fix. That is the atrocious working conditions that the police must endure. But most of the premises occupied by SAPS are state owned which means they are the collective responsibility of all the fat cats who get to sit around the Cabinet Room Table. That’s where the chair throwing needs to take place to demonstrate just how disappointed and disgusted we are with our non-functioning government. We need a billionaire to pitch up and threaten to buy the whole sorry mess and then to start by firing everyone on the state payroll who sits in the same chair all and every day and calls that “working” . First to go should be the aforementioned hatted one. Next should be those still sheltering at home awaiting “zero covid. “
Fortunately, it seems as if the cockamamie idea to erect a gigantic flagpole (with a flag to match) has been shelved. The only public reason offered by the spectacularly useless Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa for this project is that it will “memorialise our democracy”, whatever that might mean. The idly cynical amongst us think that R22m might be worth it, if only to see how long it will take our nation’s world class metal recyclers to nick a 100m tall steel flagpole. These amazing disconnects between ministerial imagination and citizen realities are breath-taking. Another example was the astonishment expressed by ex-minister Tito Mboweni that privately owned Safair’s business model included charging passengers R15 for a bottle of water. Years of flying for free at the front of the plane have taken their toll on this amateur cook’s grasp of real life.
The format and fixture list of the United Rugby Championship has an insoluble problem. Seasons! It certainly pits interesting sides against each other and its rather relaxing not to have whining antipodeans in the background all the time. But the laudable attempt to reduce inter-hemisphere travelling costs is up against the fact that rugby is not a sport for summer conditions. Nevertheless, there is considerable interest in the URC for SA fans this weekend as there should be at the PGA Championship being played on another of those impossibly groomed USA golf courses. In the meantime, there is an incredibly silly spat breaking out about F1 drivers wearing jewellery. The self-acknowledged injuries they might suffer from their various body piercings and adornments must be trivial when contrasted with steering the fastest cars on the planet – a risk they obviously already accept.
James Greener
Friday May 20th 2022
