In January 2018, the FNB House Price Index showed a slowing in year-on-year growth compared with the revised December 2017 rate. This comes after some prior months of accelerating year-on-year growth.

Real Retail Sales growth for December 2015 continued to record an exceptionally healthy growth rate under the weak economic circumstances.

As if on cue, shares in the suitably named Resilient REIT roared, entrenching themselves in the pound seat, after the firm churned out yet another bumper set of earnings numbers.

Economically, we are likely in the early stages of what I call the “stagnation” or “correction” phase of the economic super-cycle, “early” meaning perhaps 4-8 years in (depending on whether you ignore the short growth up-tick around 2010/11 and start the clock in 2008, or otherwise start counting from 2012), and the length of such super-cycle stagnation phases can conceivably roll on for far longer than that.

2015 has seen some positive growth, but Residential Building and Fixed Investment remains low.