BizNews Radio
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
Modern business world encourages psychopathic behaviour - Heidi Maibom
Former Steinhoff CEO, Marcus Jooste is rumoured to have been asked if he was an 'effing' psychopath when it came to light that he had been lying for years to colleagues and close friends. DA MP, David Maynier caused a stir in Parliament when he repeated the question to Jooste…
Bumper Sea Harvest; Sugar tax hits RCL Foods; Vox buys out Investec; Manufacturing sentiment slips; Petrol price hike; Tesla powers Zim
In today's business headlines: Sea Harvest Group reported a surge in first-half sales and profits; While RCL Foods reported a 60.8% drop in full-year profit hurt by a poor performance in its sugar and chicken divisions; Vox Telecom SA shareholders including Rand Merchant Bank agreed to buy out fellow investor…
Steinhoff dumps Deloitte; IDC wants R157m from Moyo; HK protests escalate; Trump raises China tariffs
The business ethics of Old Mutual’s former CEO Peter Moyo are back in the spotlight after a dynamite disclosure that the iDC wrote off a R157m loan to his private company shortly before it paid Moyo and other directors fat dividends. Violence flared up in Hong Kong over the weekend…
Massmart slides while Woolies steadies; Phuthuma Nathi bonanza; August stock blues; Unions torch Tito plan
In today's business headlines: Massmart is pinning its hope on a new CEO, Mitchell Slape to stop the slide at the Walmart controlled retailer; Full year earnings from Woolworths showed signs of improving performance and is pulling other retailers up; Black shareholders of MultiChoice South Africa are benefitting from a…
When you are DEEP in debt. How to deal with loan sharks, banks. Listen!
One of the earliest money lessons I received was to borrow money from the bank when you don’t need it - because, when you do need urgent financial help, the bank will not give you funds. So: set up an overdraft, but don’t use it unless there is an emergency;…
David Shapiro: Justifiable concerns around Discovery's "aggressive" accounting
On the Rational Radio show this week, SA's favourite market commentator David Shapiro was in top form, sharing his forthright opinions on the three big investment stories of the moment - Discovery's apparent valuation hole; Sasol's massive overspending on its US chemicals plant; and Naspers' pending listing of its global…
Tekkie Town's Bernard Mostert: How Jooste duped us out of R3.3bn
As the entrails of the corrupt Steinhoff empire become exposed, bruised investors are realising how little defence they have against a sociopathic CEO supported by crooked auditors. But spare a thought for Braam van Huyssteen, his CEO Bernard Mostert, and Tekkie Town which invested two and a half decades building…
Jared Watson: Shining new light on Gavin Watson's untimely death
For some time, chartered accountant Jared Watson had been working with his uncle, the late Gavin Watson of Bosasa fame, on a submission for a confidential SARS tax inquiry. They were together on Sunday evening and were to meet the next morning to drive together to put the final touches…
Alan Knott-Craig: How arranged marriage with SA becomes love affair - commitment
Within a couple days of it being published on Biznews.com, Alan Knott-Craig's think piece on how to live happily in South Africa was read by more than 50,000 people. That's an exceptional number for what; after all, is a clear diversion from the usual mass market fare of doom and…
Mboweni master plan to save SA; Eskom R450bn plant sale; strikes hammer Sibanye; Moyo-Manuel battle latest
Tito Mboweni has unveiled an economic rescue plan for South Africa. Late on Tuesday, the National Treasury released a massive policy document aimed at boosting economic growth by between 2-3% and creating 1 million additional jobs. In a statement along with the release of that document, Minister of Finance Mboweni…
ANC shock over Watson death; Bell Pottinger man dies; SA tax revolt risk; Northam profit soars; Naspers’ Prosus worth $100bn
The ANC has expressed shock at the death of corruption-accused Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson, who died in a car accident near OR Tambo International Airport on Monday. A case of culpable homicide has been opened by the police, reports News24. Lord Tim Bell, the spin doctor linked to the Gupta…
RMB helps funnel global investment of $650m into African infrastructure
RMB transactor Lwandile Nene unpack's the bank's role in assisting the Africa Finance Corporation to close $650m Eurobond debt issue at an attractive interest rate. As a result of interest generated ahead of the issue, demand was so strong that the interest rate was cut from an indicative 4.75% to…
Eskom split in 3-5 years; Trade contracts further; Pensioners fight prescribed assets; Naspers targets machine learning
Eskom says it will take three to five years to fully effect a proposed split into three units after which its sole monopoly will be managing the national transmission infrastructure. The CPB World Trade Monitor compiled by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis reports that world trade volumes contracted…
Personal finance: How to grow wealth from small investments in ETFs
In this BizNews Personal Finance podcast with Jackie Cameron, a leading Johannesburg investment specialist shares how Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a useful vehicle to grow wealth. Dawn Ridler, of Kerenga Wealth Ecology, explains the key characteristics of ETFS, how they differ from collective investment schemes like unit trusts or…
Meet James Styan, author of SA's new bestseller The Bosasa Billions
Part-time bureaucrat James Styan's fourth book is his best selling yet, with the initial print run sold out within days of The Bosasa Billions hitting the shelves. On Rational Radio this week he shared the back story of researching a tale that has made household names of the now bankrupt…
Old Mutual fires Moyo - again! Mr Price plunges, Italtile shines; Mboweni tightens belts; France Brexit blow for Boris; KPMG in Hong Kong protest scan..
Old Mutual has fired its CEO Peter Moyo - again. Moyo has been involved in a bitter dispute with Old Mutual chairman Trevor Manuel in connection with private business dealings that were declared when Moyo first took up his role at the helm of the life assurer. Moyo was suspended…
View from London: Even with half current debt, Eskom not sustainable
The global head of credit research at Debtwire, Nick Saville-Smith, joined us on Rational Radio this week to provide a City of London perspective on the latest financials released by Eskom. The good news is that it could have been a lot worse had Cyril Ramaphosa not gotten the nod…
Ram Ottapathu: Embattled Choppies founder reckons he'll be proven right
Ram Ottapathu, founder of Botswana's leading retailer Choppies, has been under heavy attack of late after a forensic and legal audit into the JSE-listed company accused him of malfeasance. But Ottapathu admits that although governance was slack, no money is missing and no fraud was committed. He intends setting the…
GG Alcock: Time to recognise millions in SA's flourishing informal economy
GG Alcock's unique background - raised by anti-apartheid activists who lived their values by relocating to SA's poorest area to live like locals - provided him with a very different thought process to his fellows. And he has put it to good use by researching and writing about the country's…
Inflation slows; JSE, Rand gain; Sars IT head suspended; Arms deal ruling white-washed; Growth could see outages
In today's business headlines: South Africa’s headline consumer inflation slowed to 4% year-on-year in July; The inflation figures helped a recovery on the JSE and in the value of the Rand; SARS has suspended its controversial IT chief Mmamathe Makhekhe-Mokhuane following serious allegations of misconduct; South Africa’s High Court has…