Star 2025-09-29

South Africa’s municipalities continue to grapple with mounting debt and underperformance in revenue collection, according to the latest National Treasury fourth-quarter Local Government Section 71 report for the 2024/25 financial year. The report, released on Friday and covering the period ending 30 June 2025, shows that while municipalities collectively spent R597.2 billion, or 89.8% of their adjusted expenditure budgets, revenue collection fell short. Municipalities billed and generated R617.3bn, equivalent to 93% of their adjusted revenue targets. A major concern flagged by Treasury is the ballooning municipal consumer debt, which climbed to R427.7bn, up from R339.9bn in the same period last year. Households account for 71.9% (R307.5bn) of this debt, while government entities owe R24.7bn, a sharp increase from R18.6bn in 2023/24. “The growing debt burden highlights the liquidity and cash…

The latest World Economic Forum (WEF) chief economists’ outlook for September paints a stark picture of a global economy grappling with persistent disruptions and mounting uncertainty. This analysis, corroborated by South African economists, emerges from a comprehensive survey involving chief economists from various sectors, including Old Mutual Group’s chief economists, Johann Els. In a revealing appraisal, the report highlights a resilience amidst turbulence, yet underscores that growth prospects remain subdued, with significant risks skewed to the downside. Notably, 72% of chief economists surveyed anticipate a deterioration in global economic conditions over the next year – a sentiment echoed across numerous economies facing prolonged instability. The WEF report underscores the impact of recent tariffs imposed by the US on a multitude of countries, initiating a recalibration of global supply chains and…

Online marketplace OLX will enter the Western European auto market with the acquisition of leading French motors classified platform La Centrale for €1.1 billion (about R22.38 billion), its owner, the JSE and Amsterdam-listed Prosus said on Friday. Prosus, a subsidiary of Naspers, is focused on food and lifestyle e-commerce and in August reported a 54% jump in its e-commerce adjusted core earnings. On Friday it said that buying La Centrale would help it enter the European autos market and strengthen its e-commerce presence in the continent, complementing the recently announced planned acquisition by Prosus of meal delivery company Just Eat Takeaway. “I expect to invest more in AI technology in France,” Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi said in a statement. Prosus expects the deal to close by year-end. OLX CEO Christian…

Starbucks plans to close stores and eliminate 900 jobs in a $1 billion (about R17.3bn) restructuring effort as the company amps up a turnaround plan under chief executive Brian Niccol. The coffee chain, which had 360 000 global employees last year, said its overall store count in the US and Canada will drop by 1% to 18 300. After that, it plans to grow the number of stores it operates and refurbish another 1 000 restaurants. Following a review of its coffeehouses, the company identified a number of stores where it couldn’t see a path toward profitability and decided to close them. It plans to focus on stores that align with Niccol’s plan to make its restaurants a more inviting place to visit. “Early results from coffeehouse uplifts show customers…

South Africa’s Policy Uncertainty Index (PUI) surged to a record 81.0 points in the third quarter of 2025, up from 75.9 in the previous quarter, according to the North West University (NWU) Business School. The baseline of the index is 50, with higher levels reflecting greater policy uncertainty. NWU Business School economist Professor Raymond Parsons said the rise in uncertainty was driven by a mix of global and domestic headwinds. “A combination of negative global and internal factors outweighed the positive ones in the PUI over this period,” he said. Parsons added that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will soon update its overall economic forecasts for its annual meeting in October. On the global front, the IMF is set to update its economic outlook at its October annual meetings. Its…

Gemfields Group said on Friday its free cash flow before working capital movements fell to a negative $22.1 million (about R382m) for the six months to June 30 due to lower auction revenue and capital expenditure at Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) in Mozambique. The JSE-listed miner and marketer of coloured stones said in its interim financial results that total revenue came to $64.2m, well down from R121.41m a year before. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation loss came to $4.9m. The net loss came to $24.58m, compared with the $13.67m profit at the same time a year before. "This has been a challenging first half marked by gemstone production difficulties at both mines. MRM experienced lower premium ruby output while Kagem Mining suspended mining altogether at the end…