Commodities & Growth: South Africa pulled in more than R261bn from its biggest exports in the first half of 2026, with precious metals and coal doing the heavy lifting—worth over 3% of annual GDP. SME Jobs: Business Partners launched a R150m SME Youth Jobs Fund to help established SMEs hire young people (18–35), targeting about 1,000 new jobs via support for labour-related costs. Private Sector Pulse: S&P Global’s PMI showed modest improvement in July (50.3), with easing pricing pressure and lower fuel costs, but new orders and hiring stayed soft. Property Momentum: Residential prices kept climbing in March—up 8.6% year-on-year nationally—with the Western Cape leading and Johannesburg up 5%. Islamic Finance: Standard Bank rolled out a Shari’ah-compliant floorplan for dealerships, aiming to meet rising demand for compliant asset and stock financing. Energy Transition: Envision Energy and Sasol will study a green hydrogen system at Sasolburg, while a blended finance fund (SA-H2) reported a R3bn first close for green hydrogen projects. Local Water Crisis: A fatal eThekwini water-tanker incident in KZN renewed scrutiny on unreliable supply and tanker dependence. Municipal Finance: Treasury’s tough stance on municipal funding is being framed as a corrective move to restore discipline amid mounting irregular and wasteful spending. Johannesburg Housing: Joshco and the City of Johannesburg launched a city-wide housing needs survey (Aug 4–30) to map demand and affordability across all regions. NSFAS Theft Case: NSFAS opened a theft case against a former board member over alleged missing laptops for Eastern Cape schools. Gauteng Child Abuse Reports: Gauteng schools recorded 22,020 child abuse reports from 2023 to 2026, including serious offences. Automotive Sales: Toyota SA posted its strongest monthly sales of 2026 in July, lifting market share to 24.5%. Prospecton Flood Recovery: eThekwini’s Umlazi Canal Upgrade feasibility work (R310m) feeds into a larger R4.5bn plan to cut flood risk and protect industrial investment. Green Economy Support: Founders Foundation kicked off its first Green Economy Accelerator for 13 entrepreneurs to build investment-ready sustainability businesses.