Hits&Misses

GDP gets a boost, but you’ll be paying more for petrol (again)

recovery in agriculture gave GDP a boost in the third quarter and has led to economists revising upwards their forecasts for the year. GDP increased 2% quarter on quarter in Q3.

ASappi plans to buy speciality paper assets from Cham Paper Group in a $149-million deal. The transaction would give Sappi an opportunity to grow its speciality and packaging paper business, it said.

Business confidence is improving ahead of the ANC’s conference, according to the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Business Confidence Index measured 95.1 points in November, up from 92.9 in October. It rose 1.2 index points compared to the same period a year ago. Sacci said: “The anticipation for changes in domestic economic policy . . . and a probable fresh approach towards business and investor expectations enhance the business mood.” Almost four in five Grade 4 pupils fall below the lowest internationally recognised level of reading literacy‚ and South Africa is last out of 50 countries in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. According to the 2016 report‚ released this week‚ there has been no significant progress in improving children’s reading skills since the last survey five years ago.

US law firm Pomerantz has started a probe into whether Naspers engaged in business malpractices. The probe is on behalf of Naspers shareholders after subsidiary MultiChoice said it would investigate claims of improper payments to ANN7.

The petrol price for all grades rose by 71c a litre on Wednesday. A litre of 95 octane petrol will now cost R14.76 inland and R14.27 at the coast. Diesel per litre will increase by 60.3c (0.05% sulphur content) and 57.3c (0.005% sulphur content).