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document.write("<h5>Horse Manure</h5>");
document.write("All hyperbole und conjecture. Pragmatically speaking, you need to run this country like a business, and not like some Cubanesque Soup Kitchen. <br />Even in its heydays, it was no day at the beach, financially. Now its a basket case. You need to contain all costs of doing business, open the economy up and deregulate everything. You have only cartels & monopolies running here, which is why the country is taking such a beating. Hi Interest overnite carry trades do not an economy make. Were the venerable SARB to cut the cost of money to say 2% - the Rand would plummet $1/R25, which would spur exports, tourism, investment, etc ...<br />Of course, you have to have big gonads to do that sort of thing - its way to comfortable sitting in the merde, at the bottom of the barrel. <br />Its the ultimate comfort-zone - you can sink no lower.<br />Wake Up!!<br /><br />. mac");
document.write("<h5>smoking your socks Kees</h5>");
document.write("I simply cannot see the SARB cutting rates December 2008. At current prices we are now basically energy neutral in terms of our oil imports and coal exports, but with platinum falling to the levels where it did, our trade deficit will keep on widening, because of the shortfall created by the lower platinum price (close to R3bn). We need to import less and the consumer will have to bear the brunt of the trade balance correction. The only reason why Australia could cut their rates, is because they actually went into a trade surplus. It would be extremely risky and possibly foolish to start talking of cutting rates in December. And we are not out of the woods yet with our inflation numbers. The weaker rand has offset quite a bit of the lower oil price and our inflation could remain stubbornly high.. konstabel");
document.write("<h5>Devaluing the rand</h5>");
document.write("A question for mac: is what you think might work, not what Italy used to do with the Lira to remain competitive? Italy has now the poorest economy in 'old' Europe.<br />They used to do that, because they did not want to deregulate and free up their markets. (as you prescribe correctly)  I reckon, if they would de-regulate at least the job market and the telekoms industry, there would be no need to go the whole hog. The world-wide credit crunch was caused by the tiny little bits of the banking system that were not regulated - so, nothing wrong with strategic regulations.     . Peter");
document.write("<h5>Stagflation here we come</h5>");
document.write("Big mistake - ever heard of stagflation? Cutting rates will do nothing at all for growth but will keep inflation going up..and up... and up... watch us pay even more for food, cars etc. By the way, Mac - 2% interest rates would spur investment? Are you nuts? Ever heard of Zimbabwe? Hyperinflation is the only consequence - do you really want SA rands to become toilet paper? Maybe you would like using US dollars like they do in Zim.. Mark");
document.write("<h5>Disinflation - no chance</h5>");
document.write("Option 1 - disinflation because fuel costs etc have dropped? Let me ask you this - when fuel costs soared, everything went up. Since it dropped - nothing has dropped - food, travel, everything remains expensive. The ONLY way to control inflation is thru interest rates - the input cost argument is hogwash. In SA, everyone charges the absolute maximum people will pay for anything - regardless of what anything costs to produce.. Mark");
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