by Bright Simons The enthusiasm that greeted the election of Barack Obama, the first and only American president with an African name, was palpable across Africa. Everywhere you travelled you heard and felt a new wave of positive sentiments about the possibility of a great new era for doing business between Africa and America. One […]
economics
Posted inBusiness, General
The economic week in review: Unsettling
The week began with elections in France and Greece that cast fresh doubts on Europe’s ability to contain its ongoing debt and economic crises. The week drew to a close with a slew of disappointing data in China. In between, the United States sent out mixed signals and South Africa reported a rise in unemployment. […]
Posted inBusiness
The purchasing managers’ index: way more interesting than the Oscars
Last week’s post looked at a measurement of fear in the financial market. This week we’ll turn our attention to a broader measure of future economic prospects, the purchasing managers’ index (PMI). During its heydays in the 1960s, manufacturing accounted for a quarter of South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP). The sector has since declined, […]
Posted inBusiness
Economics for ordinary people
I write a weekly economics preview for the Mail & Guardian Online. Every Monday morning, before South Africa’s markets open, I preview the noteworthy economic events and data releases likely to generate headlines and move markets in the week ahead. The economic events that I cover vary significantly from one week to the next. One […]
Posted inGeneral
What is creativity?
How does it work? Is it mere imitation, or transformation, or could it be — under rare circumstances — “pure” creation, that is, out of thin air, as it were? This last possibility is captured in the Christian doctrine of “creatio ex nihilo”, which is attributed to God — the creation of the universe out […]