According to Yael Geffen, CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, the decision by the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to raise the repo rate by 25 basis points to 4% is not unexpected.
Yael Geffen, CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, welcomed the government backtracking in this budget speech on its earlier decision to increase personal income tax, as well as providing a further R2.2 billion in tax relief through raising personal income tax brackets and rebates by 5%.
Although the pandemic hasn’t yet abated as we had all hoped and 2021 looks to be more of the same, interestingly, instead of increased pessimism, a December survey of global executives by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) found that even in the short-term optimism is growing with the highest levels of optimism now being detected since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Urbanisation has been a major watchword of the 21st century, with 55% of the world’s population already living in urban areas and numbers expected to increase to almost 70% by 2050, however, the course of urbanisation is likely to be significantly altered by several forcible disrupters.
With the Corona Virus now in SA and beginning to cause widespread panic, we are not only concerned for our health but also our businesses and livelihoods as it is predicted that the pandemic is likely to bankrupt far more people than it kills.
For decades, baby boomers ruled the corporate world and, during this time, one of the key hallmarks of a company’s success was always its property; preferably a large, imposing building at a prestigious address where the workers all gathered together daily at the same time to conduct business.
This years’ “women’s month” was nothing short of an oxymoron with horrific acts of violence towards women and children, both highlighting the extent of the problem and the need for the country to take continue to a stand and work together to protect society’s most vulnerable.
Reacting to the President’s address, Yael Geffen, CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, said South Africa was the living embodiment of the “good news, bad news” paradigm.
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