HOUSEHOLD DEBT NEWS ON FASTMOVING

Johannesburg - The first interest rate hiking by the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) will most likely only be in 2015, according to John Loos, FNB's household and property sector strategist. read more

Johannesburg - The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) will probably keep interest rates steady when it ends its final policy meeting of the year this week and is likely to stay on hold until at least late 2014, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. read more

Johannesburg - Retail sales grew at a sluggish 0.2% in September compared with the same month last year, after expanding by a revised 3.2% in August, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. read more

The total Namibian debt (comprising domestic and foreign government, corporate and household debt) grew by 0,43% during July to N$80,98 billion, representing an annual growth rate of 9,93%, slightly lower than the growth recorded in June of 10,15%.  read more

The International Monetery Fund(IMF) has weighed into the long-running debate on high household debt, warning that commercial bank's level of exposure to this was a "significant source of vulnerability".  read more

According to recent retail data from Statistics SA, the furniture sector was the only decliner in May, suggesting that Ellerines is not the only furniture retailer in trouble. Furniture sales were down 2.5 percent that month. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's manufacturing output fell 2.9% year-on-year in volume terms in February, the first contraction in five months, compared with revised 3.7% growth in January, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday.  read more

Johannesburg – The average middle class South African household spends over R7 000 each month paying off debt, while more than half of South Africans say they will never be financially free. read more

Low interest rates are masking the financial fragility of South African households, which are still shouldering a heavy debt burden, First National Bank (FNB) household and property sector strategist John Loos said on Tuesday. read more

Household debt-service looks to have improved according to FNB's Household Debt-Service Risk Index which has found that the third quarter has seen a mild decline to a level of 6.03 from a previous quarter's index level of 6.10 (on a scale of 1 to 10). read more

Retail sales growth which continues to surprise on the upside is unlikely to alter the interest rate outlook, with rates likely to remain unchanged at 36-year lows until the fourth quarter of 2012 at least, according to economists. read more

Borrowing by households and private companies slowed in September adding to evidence that demand in the economy remains weak read more