Rational Perspective

Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has said it expects South Africa's interest rates to fall. It’s not just South Africa that is struggling to turbo-charge its economy. Amid concerns that a global recession looms, the European Central Bank has kept low-rates unchanged, reports Bloomberg. The FTSE/ JSE Gold Mining Index has been rising steadily in recent weeks as investors’ expectations for a quick deal between the US and China have evaporated. Spot gold was up to around $1,337 an ounce late on Thursday. Also set to benefit from a Trump-sparked trade war with China could be Chinese rare earths. A group of 17 elements that appear in low concentrations in the ground, rare earths are used in a wide-range of products stretching from lasers and military equipment to magnets found in consumer electronics, as Reuters reports. Asia is losing the battle to stop the biggest animal disease outbreak the planet has ever faced. Local agricultural analyst Wandile Sihlobo warns that South African consumers are likely to