Welcome to 2017. A new era has apparently dawned. December 2016 - and the first few days of January 2017 - have been scandal free. By "scandal" I mean shenanigans on a nation-shaking, currency-quaking, investor-scrambling scale such as those which occurred in December 2015 when President Jacob Zuma fired Nhlanhla Nene and began his siege of the Treasury. No minister was fired, no new policy craziness was revealed and nobody made an unwise statement that shook the political foundations. So mild was the political weather over the holiday season that the business news agency Bloomberg allowed itself a positive one-liner on South Africa in an article entitled: "The Most Popular Investor Picks for Emerging Markets in 2017". This is the line: Some investors see President Jacob Zuma’s power waning, boosting the appeal of South African stocks and bonds, especially given that some say the country will probably avoid a debt downgrade. Hardly a ringing endorsement, but it makes a change from ...
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