Ratepayers revolt in top South African city and Sim Tshabalala criticises rating agencies

The big financial news in South Africa includes ratepayers’ revolt in eThekwini, Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala criticising rating agencies, and good news about load-shedding.

Bianca Botes, director at Citadel Global, said financial markets stabilised after weak United States consumer confidence data.

This weak consumer confidence data raised concerns about the United States economy, prompting investors to seek safer assets.

She added that uncertainty over President Trump’s policies, including efforts to decouple from China, is adding to market volatility.

Chinese stocks remain under scrutiny ahead of key policy meetings in March despite recent optimism driven by AI advancements and regulatory easing.

US Treasury yields have rebounded slightly, while Australian and Japanese bond yields have declined. Markets are also pricing in potential US Fed rate cuts later in 2025.

The rand starts the day slightly weaker but remains within its recent range, trading at R18.43/$, R19.35/€, and R23.31/£.

Here are the biggest finance and investing stories related to South Africa over the past day.

Ratepayer revolt in eThekwini—The eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) is the latest entity to voice discontent at the escalating water supply crisis in the city. On Saturday, the ERPM will embark on a protest action at Curries Fountain Sports Development Centre to deliver its memorandum of demands. Read more on TimesLive

Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala criticises rating agencies – Standard Bank Group chief executive officer Sim Tshabalala has criticised international credit rating agencies, claiming that South Africa’s credit rating is arguably four notches lower than it should be due to biases against the continent. Read more on News24

Load-shedding suspended – Following the recovery of the generation capacity and replenishment of emergency reserves, Eskom suspended load-shedding at 05:00 on Wednesday morning. Read more on Daily Investor

New leadership team for OM Bank – OM Bank has announced its new executive team and board, with the Capitec challenger only months away from launch. Old Mutual said that the new bank, which cannot hold the Old Mutual name due to regulation requirements, will be chaired by Nomkhita Nqweni. Read more on BusinessTech

VAT increase still possible – South Africans may still have to contend with a VAT increase in the postponed Budget Speech on 12 March, as it would boost investor confidence in the government’s fiscal consolidation efforts and prevent potentially harmful spending cuts. Read more on Daily Investor

New wealth tax can chase rich people out of South Africa – The government is considering a wealth tax to increase revenue and plug the Budget shortfall, but this would drive rich people and businesses out of the country. Read more on Daily Investor

Alternative budget for South Africa with no tax hikes – The Democratic Alliance has presented its own budget proposal that will find extra money to fund government spending by cutting down the state’s “reckless” expenditure. Read more on BusinessTech