What’s New

Markets in the United States (US) were shocked when Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair, Jerome Powell, gave his annual address at the Central Bank Summit in Jackson Hole. In the past, this event has been used to make important announcements about central bank policy. In the early 2000s, US central bankers used the event to announce that they would start cutting interest rates to support economic activity, which finally led to the 2008/2009 global financial crisis.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) recently said that it will soon publish the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in South Africa. Many in the industry, especially those who support the technology, have been anxiously awaiting this legislation for quite some time. Previously, the FSCA was vocal about declaring cryptocurrencies as financial products and this past week the Prudential Authority Division at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) shared a similar sentiment.

Investors breathed a sigh of relief last week after data from the United States (US) Department of Labor showed that US inflation finally eased from its four-decade high. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), an index used to measure the rate of price increases among households, came in lower than analysts expected: It increased 8.5% from a year earlier, cooling off from the 9.1% high that we saw in June.