Business community focused on the clouds rather than silver linings
The South African business community got more pessimistic in the final quarter of 2016, a poll by Stellenbosch University’s Bureau of Economic Research (BER) released on Tuesday showed. The BER’s business confidence index fell four points to 38 from 42 index points in the third quarter, the RMB sponsored poll of 1,600 respondents found. SA’s low business confidence is often cited as a concern by credit ratings agencies. "Simply put, without a notable improvement in sentiment, the economy will remain stuck in first gear", Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) chief economist Ettienne le Roux said. Although South African businesspeople are more gloomy than they were three months ago, the reading is still higher than the 32 index points recorded six months ago in the second quarter survey.
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