BizNews Radio
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
Govt customs duties’ 'indecision' costs fiscus billions - report
Extensive delays by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and the Minister of Finance to take final decisions in dozens of customs duty investigations have cost the fiscus at least R1.25bn in revenue. So believes Donald MacKay, CEO of XA Global Trade Advisors. He was speaking at the launch…
BBB Ep 35 - Oil price drops sharply as China admits economic woes; US market buoyancy continues; SA banks firm up; Rand weakens
The oil price dropped almost $4 a barrel overnight as the consequences of China's zero-Covid approach to the virus continued to knock its economy. While most of the world, including SA, is now tightening monetary policy to squeeze out higher inflation, China has the opposite problem and yesterday cut two…
FT's Rachman Review: Whatever happened to Mandela’s dream for South Africa?
Our partners at the Financial Times have a fantastic podcast episode that tracks the fortunes of President Cyril Ramaphosa since he took over the reins of power from embattled former head of state Jacob Zuma. While Ramaphosa’s 2017 Nasrec win at the ANC’s elective conference came with much fanfare about…
SA's top banking analyst on Absa after interim results: Shares still cheap; 50% upside in next two years
The new management team at Absa continue to impress SA's top banking analyst, Kokkie Kooyman of Denker Capital. The bank's interim results for the half year to end June positions Absa as 'the best of the rest' behind market leading FirstRand, about as impressive an accolade as CEO Arrie Rautenbach…
BBB Ep 34 - Shares rise for fourth week; Institutions driving Crypto; Telkom tussles; SA industrial shares winning
Wall Street is enjoying its best run in almost a year with share prices posting their fourth consecutive weekly rise, boosted by a strong session on Friday. Also in this episode of the BizNews Breakfast Briefing, bullion is back above $1 800 and the Rand continues to gather momentum. The…
‘I’m ready to be President’ - SA politics disruptor-in-chief Mmusi Maimane expects prominent role after 2024
However the chips fall during SA's watershed 2024 National Election, the founder of One South Africa Movement, a community-driven, activist organisation, expects to play a prominent role in the likely new ruling coalition. Perhaps even as the country's President. In this fascinating interview, Mmusi Maimane shares how he is helping,…
Ahead of the game by acquiring cheap spectrum and betting big on 5G, rain chairman Paul Harris believes merger with Telkom would close out unique trif..
With suitors for Telkom now rapidly emerging thick, rain chairman and co-founder Paul Harris visited the BizNews studio to offer the elevator pitch for a merger of his speedboat with the supertanker. Of all the bidders, Harris alone is not in uncharted waters. In 1998, Harris together with partners Laurie…
Israeli water experts in SA - politics be dammed (pun intended)
A team of Israeli water experts is in South Africa to meet various municipalities, hoping to share world-leading technology that could help turn around the country’s ailing water infrastructure. South Africa is a water-stressed country with some bulk infrastructure as old as 80 years. Dr Clive Lipchin is heading the…
BBB Ep 33 - More good news on US inflation; MTN shares rocket on interims but it gets another suitor for Telkom; Peche exposes big fees at Big Three u..
The US stock markets took a breather overnight, shrugging off more good news on the inflation front where July's growth in the Producer Price Index dropped to its lowest since October 2021. The JSE had a good session yesterday, helped by strong interim numbers reported by MTN which led the…
Looking to the gut for alternatives to antidepressants – Psychiatrist Ted Dinan
Depression and anxiety are mental illnesses that have become ubiquitous in modern society and their prevalence is on the rise. As is the widespread use of antidepressants and other psychiatric medication to combat the crippling symptoms which accompany them. Antidepressants, however, are in no way a panacea to depression. In…
DA's push for Phala Phala ad-hoc committee vs ATM's Sec 89 Committee - here's the difference
The DA remains adamant that an ad-hoc committee is the most appropriate and effective means through which to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable for the allegations stemming from the Phala Phala robbery in February 2020. But in July this year, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula denied their request, citing other…
Insider Sean Peche exposes SA's R320bn Balanced Funds ripoff: How Big Three unit trusts fleece savers
In this powerful expose' of a R320bn ripoff, straight-shooting financial insider Sean Peche says despite massive underperformance, SA's Big Three Balanced Fund unit trusts are harvesting billions every year from clients via management and 'performance' fees. The mushrooming of these funds into R100bn giants, is driven by marketing and profits,…
BBB Ep 32 - US inflation drops, pushes Nasdaq back into Bull Market; Bitcoin surges above $24k; Rand jumps again; Solid Nedbank growth, interim divi b..
A slight change to the BizNews Breakfast Briefing format on a day when the Nasdaq gained almost 3% to officially move the tech heavy index back into a Bull Market. Stimulus came from a US consumer price index for July that was lower than analysts had anticipated, suggesting peak inflation…
Demystifying the vagus nerve – our body’s internet, super-highway, internal safety monitor – Professor Owen Epstein
Deeper research into the functions of the human body never cease to move beyond the realm of fascinating. In an insightful discussion with Professor Owen Epstein, a pioneering professor of gastroenterology based at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London, the gut-brain connection was explored. He explained the significance of…
SA on the cusp of a revolution in the energy space – Nedbank CIB’s Mike Peo
Bronwyn Nielsen spoke to Mike Peo, head of Infrastructure, Energy and Telecommunications at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking about the green hydrogen energy space and whether this is going to be transformative for the energy landscape in South Africa and potentially, Africa. While Peo confirmed that we may be on…
BBB Ep 31 - Biden's $50bn chip investment, but Mr Market frets over bad news from Taiwan; Palantir plummets; Musk sells another $7bn in Tesla; Gold pr..
Plenty to catch up on after SA's public holiday yesterday, but little of it is encouraging. US stock markets are fretting over downbeat reports from New York listed chip makers and corporate America's anger at Joe Biden's economic package announced yesterday. The share price of BizNews portfolio favourite Palantir lost…
2024 could be a 'breakthrough moment' for SA as electorate seeks alternatives
The 2024 national elections could herald a transitional phase in the history of South Africa, depending on the emergence of a new political vehicle located outside of traditional party politics. That's what polling data tells political analyst Lukhona Mnguni, head of policy and research at think-tank, the Rivonia Circle. He's…
BBB Ep 30 – Markets react to US job numbers; Cloudflare is a pick; Uber making more money than ever; Apple in hot water
Markets were neutral on Friday as July's US jobs numbers surprised economists to the upside (more than double forecasts) while BizNews stock holding Cloudflare rallied 27%. Also in today's BizNews Breakfast Briefing top gig companies, Uber and Lyft are making more than ever, while Apple is in hot water for…
CrypTalk ep 5 - What is an NFT? An overpriced picture, or the future of contracting?
In this episode of CrypTalk, BizNews' Ross Sinclair speaks with Gaurav Nair of Jaltech, an alternative investment fund, about NFTs, what they can be used for, whether they will all be worthless one day, as well as the Solana cyberattack which stripped multiple Solana owners of their tokens to the…
New political alternative beckons as Makashule Gana closes 20-year DA chapter
Makashule Gana has called it quits with his political home - the DA - and vows not to join any other existing political party, instead seeking to establish a new political alternative. Gana has been a constant within the DA for the past two decades, but tells BizNews he leaves…