Net salaries remain unchanged in October

The PayInc Net Salary Index, which tracks the average nominal net salaries of around 2,1-million South African earners, moved sideways in October 2025, but remained higher year-on-year, signalling stronger spending ahead of the busy year-end shopping period....
Energy, water, skills could hobble data centres in the AI age

Energy, water, skills could hobble data centres in the AI age

The global acceleration of artificial intelligence continues to reshape investment flows, digital infrastructure and economic growth. According to a new global analysis by Coface, data centres – the backbone of AI development are expanding at an unprecedented...

Lower interest rates provide household relief

The results of the Altron FinTech Household Resilience Index (AFHRI) for the second quarter of 2025 were released today, confirming some relief for households during the first half of the year. Although the AFHRI showed a healthy year-on-year improvement of 2.3%, the...

Card spending rebounds ahead of holiday spending

The final quarter of the year is widely seen as a performance anchor for South African retailers, with elevated consumer spending expected to offset weaker months, boost profitability, and influence year-ahead strategies on inventory and pricing. Seasonal demand,...

AI-driven cartels challenge traditional antitrust systems

Digital cartels and algorithmic coordination could threaten antitrust processes and automatically collaborate on pricing. This was one of the topics under discussion at the 10th Anniversary International Conference “Antitrust Policy: Science, Practice, Education...

Those harmless utilities could be adware in disguise

Check Point researchers identified a network of Android applications on Google Play masquerading as harmless utility and emoji-editing tools. But, behind their cheerful icons, these apps created a persistent background advertising engine – one that kept running...