Developments in the US, in particular, continue to have spill-over effects on emerging markets in general and South Africa in particular. While it is clear that monetary policy normalisation will (and should) take place, the timing of the initial “lift off” is still uncertain, and dependent on domestic developments in the US, not least in the labour market.
The financial crisis that gripped global markets in 2008 and 2009 was more severe than any since the Great Depression. Economic policymakers around the world saw the mounting risks of a global financial meltdown in the fall of 2008 and understood the extraordinarily dire economic consequences that such an event could have.