News
Product releases, market developments and regulatory changes that matter to people moving money in and out of South Africa. Short, factual updates — what changed and what it means for you.
Flying taxis, humanoid robots and AI-powered cures for cancer – a look into the near future
Never mind the distant future – the near future looks both fascinating and terrifying. We are at the start of a massive acceleration in innovation and growth that will power…
The rand weakens on US tariffs shock (and lower interest rates)
As we predicted at 80eight, the ZAR shot back above R18.20 to the USD on two developments over the last week – the imposition of 30% tariffs on US imports from SA, and the 25…
What the future looks like with AI
“By the time the decade is out, we’ll have billions of vastly superhuman AI agents running around.
Why foreigners don’t love us anymore
The chart below is depressing as hell. It shows outflows from SA equities tanking since 2020, with just small outflows of bonds.
Trumporia
You might be confused about all the polls declaring the US election “too close to call”. In the end Donald Trump swept the boards, even in so-called swing states where the result…
What happens when the banks fall in love with crypto
First they ignore it, then they ridicule it, then they attack it and then they embrace it. That sums up the banks’ attitude to crypto over the last decade and a half.
Will Trump turn on SA?
Trump coming for SA? It certainly seems so. His newly-appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he will not be visiting South Africa for the G20 summit.
Take a look at which jobs are about to disappear
The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report for 2025 offers some interesting insights into the future of work in the next five years. It’s going to be a wild few years.
Will AI bring an end to personal income tax?
There’s been a lot of discussion about the government’s failed attempt to raise VAT by two percentage points (which is a 13.3% increase).
Government spending and wealth inequality go hand in hand
The graph below should be a compulsory study in all political science classes. The more the government spends, the greater the income equality.
With AI, is your university degree worth anything?
The chart below shows that those with college degrees in the US face the same rate of unemployment as those without degrees.
20% of South Africans earning more than R1m a year work in government
Getting a job in government is the best gig in town. As we previously reported, South African public sector workers earn 50% more than their private sector peers.