Thank you for inviting me to this seminar and I look forward to sharing my views on the recent international and domestic economic developments, as well as changes to the financial regulatory architecture. Global Outlook The global environment facing South Africa remains challenging and fraught with a high degree of uncertainty. Developments in the US, in particular, continue to have spill-over effects on emerging markets in general and South Africa in particular. While it is clear that monetary policy normalisation will (and should) take place, the timing of the initial “lift off” is still uncertain, and dependent on domestic developments in the US, not least in the labour market.