Events that moved the market Q1 2018

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq end at record highs for the fifth straight day.

The euro hits a three-year high to the dollar as economic and investor optimism in the euro zone grows and quantitative tightening is expected soon.

Bitcoin tumbles below $10 000, a 50% drop from its record-high a month ago.

The number of people employed in the United Kingdom rises by 102 000 to a record high.

Viceroy, the company that exposed Steinhoff, publishes a report calling Capitec a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and requests for the bank to be placed into curatorship.

The NEC of the ANC announces that it has recalled Jacob Zuma as president of the country, setting a 48-hour deadline.

The SA unemployment rate declines to 26.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017 from 27.7% in the previous two quarters.

The US Commerce Department recommends steep tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium ‘in the name of national security’.

Global stocks stumble in the wake of Fed minutes painting a healthy picture of the world’s biggest economy, raising the prospect of tighter monetary policy.

Nhlanhla Nene’s position as Minister of Finance is restored by President Ramaphosa.

The dollar strengthens after newly appointed Fed Chair Jerome Powell comments that the central bank would stick to gradual rate hikes.

The SA economy grows by 1.3% in 2017, partly driven by agriculture bouncing back from one of the worst droughts in recent history.

Tiger Brands appoints an expert team to identify the causes of a listeria outbreak that has killed more than 180 people and has been traced to one of its factories.

SA Business confidence climbs to the highest level since the start of 2015.

SA year-on-year headline consumer inflation is 4.0% in February 2018, down from 4.4% in January.

Moody’s keeps South Africa’s credit rating at Baa3, one notch above junk status and upgrades the outlook of the economy to stable.

S&P raises SA’s GDP growth forecast for 2018 from 1% to 2% - still not enough to address SA's high unemployment rate.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq end at record highs for the fifth straight day.

The euro hits a three-year high to the dollar as economic and investor optimism in the euro zone grows and quantitative tightening is expected soon.

Bitcoin tumbles below $10 000, a 50% drop from its record-high a month ago.

The number of people employed in the United Kingdom rises by 102 000 to a record high.

Viceroy, the company that exposed Steinhoff, publishes a report calling Capitec a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and requests for the bank to be placed into curatorship.

The NEC of the ANC announces that it has recalled Jacob Zuma as president of the country, setting a 48-hour deadline.

The SA unemployment rate declines to 26.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017 from 27.7% in the previous two quarters.

The US Commerce Department recommends steep tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium ‘in the name of national security’.

Nhlanhla Nene’s position as Minister of Finance is restored by President Ramaphosa.

The dollar strengthens after newly appointed Fed Chair Jerome Powell comments that the central bank would stick to gradual rate hikes.

The SA economy grows by 1.3% in 2017, partly driven by agriculture bouncing back from one of the worst droughts in recent history.

SA Business confidence climbs to the highest level since the start of 2015.

SA year-on-year headline consumer inflation is 4.0% in February 2018, down from 4.4% in January.

Moody’s keeps South Africa’s credit rating at Baa3, one notch above junk status and upgrades the outlook of the economy to stable.

S&P raises SA’s GDP growth forecast for 2018 from 1% to 2% - still not enough to address SA's high unemployment rate.