CryptoSilence of the naysayers
There’s a lot of gloating going on in the bitcoin community, with reminders of famous (and embarrassing) predictions that it would go to zero.
NewsSome thoughts on Davos
Social media had some fun with a picture of the unelected leader of the European Union, Ursula Von Der Leyen, stepping out of an Audi A8 6.3 litre 585 HP 12-cylinder monster as…
CryptoSore losers
We reported last week on the stunning accuracy of online betting site Polymarket in predicting the outcome of the US presidential election far better than most polls.
NewsSouth Africa, we have a gambling problem
Thanks to some good reporting by amaBhungane , we have learned that gambling accounted for 17% of GDP in 2024 – a turnover of R1.14 trillion.
ForexSouth Africa’s Staggering Cost of Sending Remittances
Remittance Costs in South Africa and the Rise of Crypto Alternatives The chart below from the World Bank shows the costs of sending remittances from South Africa.
CryptoStablecoins versus The Banks (stablecoins are winning)
An interesting piece of news over the last week may have missed the financial headlines, but it did not escape our attention.
NewsStablecoins will swamp central bank digital currencies
Remember all the talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and their potential threat to personal sovereignty – where the authorities can snoop on your purchases and put…
NewsTake a look at which jobs are about to disappear
The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report for 2025 offers some interesting insights into the future of work in the next five years. It’s going to be a wild few years.
NewsTaxpayer collapse imminent?
The Efficient Group’s Dawie Roodt recently told Jeremy Maggs some sobering facts about the state of SA’s finances: Fewer than 4% of taxpayers contribute almost 50% of personal…
NewsThe AI power crunch
While SA tries (and has largely succeeded) to solve load shedding, other countries are scrambling to build out power generators to feed the AI monster.
CryptoThe long view favours stocks (that is, until bitcoin arrived)
At this time of year everyone is focused on last year’s asset returns. Let’s take a step back – a really big step back – and see what the long-term picture looks like.
TradingThe Nasdaq has its Magnificent 7, the JSE has its own Terrific 10
Considering the JSE’s average annual return over the last decade is roughly 11% and about 15% a year for the S&P 500, you’d be far better off investing abroad.