Liberty Corporate Customer Update | October 2011
With summer just around the corner, for many that means it's time to hit the gym and get back into the healthy swing of things. October is breast cancer awareness month, and it's a great reminder that we should all be doing regular checks to ensure that there are no lumps or bumps, aches, pains or other illnesses that we don't know the cause of. Whether you're a man or a woman, you are at risk for some kind of cancer, so take your health seriously and be sure to get yourself checked out this October and ensure you take out some form of dread disease cover. No matter how seriously we take our health, as mortal beings the reality is that we also have to ensure that those we love will be looked after when we are gone. If you have a valid will in place, remember that it's important to revisit and update it regularly. On the regulatory front, the pension industry has once again called on government to consider mandatory preservation of retirement funds. This would force South Africans to save more and ensure that fewer people retired into poverty. Global investors had another tough month. The gold prices rose above the price of platinum, fuelled by global uncertainty after rating agency Standard & Poors downgraded US debt for the first time in history. Fears remain that growth in the world's largest economy is stalling and the global economy may fall back into recession, while investors continue to search for signs of improvement in the Euro Zone. Locally, the Reserve Bank decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at 5.5% this month, as was widely expected. The Monetary Policy Committee said it was concerned about the rand, which has lost significant ground against the US dollar in recent weeks, posing the risk of pushing up inflation. Positive economic news included consumer inflation of 5.3%, which rose more slowly than was expected, while retail sales growth picked up more than forecast. However, the latest GDP figures showed the South African economy grew by a very disappointing 1.3% in the second quarter of 2011, with growth for 2010 overall confirmed at 2.8%. Remember, you can log onto www.libertycorporate.co.za at any time for news, views and information from Liberty Corporate, or click here to go directly to the Trustee page, where you can find the contact details for the Liberty Corporate Trustees. Until next time Seelan Gobalsamy Chief Executive, Liberty Corporate
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