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Tax

Tax is a by product of success. I have no issue paying it. I like roads, I like security, I like water and hospitals etc.

Forget about fast food and look at it this way:

SA has a trade surplus. ie...Exports exceed our imports. So foreigners are buying SA products more than what we are buying from them.

This is good for the ZAR as they are buying ZAR via products. The ZAR will keep strengthening as long as we have a trade surplus. The revival of the commodity sector (SA is commodity driven) is the main driving force of the ZAR increasing in value.

Negative local political news will drive the ZAR down but as long as we have a trade surplus it will eventually regain lost ground depending on the severity of the news.

This can get complicated when comparing to currencies other than the USD.

That I understand, but I feel that is a flawed economy, because... Correct me if I am wrong, but does this not basically mean we export our raw materials for next to nothing and then we buy back the expensive refined and processed products?! Thus we will never make money as exporting to buy back the end product will always be more expensive.

Should government not start creating companies that can use our raw resources to manufacture products we can sell to other countries instead of other countries buying our raw resources for bottom price and then they manufacture products and we end up paying 10 times more to buy those products which we could've manufacture our self?

Come now AXL!

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Okey so in the real world, what does fair value mean? It doesnt appear to be something that is at all possible to attain?

With FX it is difficult to say and that is why the hamburger index was invented. 

Don't be offended, but so fair value is basically useless?

Since I cannot go to absa and say hey! I am going to murica please give me 100 fair value worth's dolla please.

I'm not saying it will get to 8.00 by a long shot. Fin24 BM Index showed the ZAR to be fair value at R5.84 in July last year but the economic growth and political climate has not been factored in.

http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

Okey so in the real world, what does fair value mean? It doesnt appear to be something that is at all possible to attain?

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I am willing to bet anyone the zar will continue to weaker the coming 20 years

What you say there, no one will dispute and it is a no brainer but it will only do so after the zar has reached fair value. That could be R11.00 or R12.00 but once reached she will start weakening by the normal 2,5% pa again.

Admittedly I am a noob no a complete amateur when it comes to currencies. How does fair value work? How do I work it out?

What is the longest time you can go long on Forex?

I mean there's not a lot of guarantees in life, but in the long term the zar will always weaken against the USD.

So a geared position going long for 30 years should yield a interesting result no?

Let AXL hit 80! Come npw