THE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS, GLOBAL OIL PRICES, AND SOUTH AFRICA – ECONOMIC PREPAREDNESS AND CLEAR COMMUNICATION NEEDED

by Prof Raymond Parsons | Mar 17, 2026 | Expert Voices

NOTE OF COMMENT – BY NWU BUSINESS SCHOOL ECONOMIST PROF RAYMOND PARSONS ‘The recent escalation in the US/Israeli war with Iran has now injected new urgency into assessing the economic and business implications for countries like South Africa. With the Brent...

Prof Parsons comments on the potential economic and business implications of the US- Israeli attack on Iran

by Prof Raymond Parsons | Mar 2, 2026 | Expert Voices

Commenting on the potential economic and business implications of the US- Israeli attack on Iran NWU Business School economist Prof Raymond Parsons says: ‘South Africa must not underestimate the potential negative economic and business implications that could yet...

Budget 2026: Stabilisation in a Slow-Growth Economy

by Prof Joseph Sekhampu | Feb 26, 2026 | Expert Voices

Prof Joseph Sekhampu is the Chief Director of the North-West University Business School. The 2026 Budget positions itself as a moment of stabilisation after a decade of fiscal strain. The consolidated budget deficit narrows to 4.5% of GDP in 2025/26, declines to 4% in...

Prof Parsons comments on the decision on Friday by the US Supreme Court to declare President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs illegal

by Prof Raymond Parsons | Feb 23, 2026 | Expert Voices

Commenting on the decision on Friday by the US Supreme Court to declare President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs illegal NWU Business School economist Prof Raymond Parsons says: ‘The decision by the US Supreme Court that President’s Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are illegal...

The labour market as a lagging indicator of political settlement

by Prof Joseph Sekhampu | Feb 19, 2026 | Expert Voices

By Prof Joseph Sekhampu, chief director of the NWU Business School. Every society organises its economy around a set of implicit bargains about power, access, and reward. Those bargains determine who enters markets easily, who must navigate layers of permission, who...

The budget and boosting business’s ‘animal spirits’ by Prof Raymond Parsons

by Professor Raymond Parsons | Feb 16, 2026 | Expert Voices

The highly anticipated 2026 budget on February 25 also coincides with the 90th anniversary of the publication of a path-breaking book that decisively influenced fiscal policy for nearly a century. It was called The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money and...