BizNews Radio
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
There are NO angels in tobacco industry: just bag snatchers, robbers - Van Loggerenberg
Growing up, I never thought I’d be a smoker. My parents were smokers, one of my grandmothers died of a smoking-related cancer and I hated the haze of passive smoke that hovered throughout our home. But, at Rhodes University, I found myself sampling free Benson & Hedges at various university-hosted…
Buffett buys Berkshire shares; Huawei booms in China; Multichoice competitor folds.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed over the weekend that it bought back $440m worth of its own shares in the three months to end June. The world’s number two smartphone maker Huawei Technologies is reaping an unexpected benefit from continued attacks by US president Donald Trump and his allies. In…
Big banks threatened by fintech, smaller nimble banks - Kokkie Kooyman
It is a fact of modern life all over the world that the days when you actually go in to a bank for transactions are officially over, apart from those big moments for a mortgage or a big loan which requires a branch manager and even that is a maybe…
Unilever whistleblower on terrible cost he has borne for speaking out
It's an understatement to say whistleblower Juan Lerena has borne a terrible cost for exposing abusive practices by his former employer Sime Darby and fellow multinational Unilever. Forced into defending himself in a court action where top legal firm ENS represented Sime Darby, the judgment against Lerena (which we published…
Rand battered by Powell; BAT smoking hot; Woolies takes Aussie hit; Discovery blocks Liberty; Post Office CEO quits
In today's business headlines The Rand has been battered by the dollar after the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell ruled out extending the cycle of rate cuts; British American Tobacco shares jumped by more than 8% as smoking alternatives cushioned the decline in cigarette sales; Woolworths has taken a…
Magnus Heystek: Tips, traps on property investment in Mauritius
I love the idea of owning a small place overlooking the ocean - perhaps a mobile home or a little flat. But when would I get to use it? Not often, I suspect, because I wouldn't be able to take enough time off from work. That means the property would…
David Shapiro: Why I'm backing Old Mutual in its fight with CEO Moyo
David Shapiro has earned his title as South Africa's favourite market commentator through his forthright contributions. And on Rational Radio this week he didn't disappoint when asked to unpack the public ruckus between financial services giant Old Mutual and its former CEO Peter Moyo. Even though Moyo won a court…
Govt yields climb; Glencore copper production falls; Moyo in the OM building; Eskom’s new restructuring boss; PP, Ramaphosa in court
In today's business headlines: South African government yields climbed after the National Treasury said it will increase the amount of debt sold at weekly bond auctions. Glencore has reported a 2% fall in second-quarter copper production. Shares in UK property companies have plunged. There was stand-off between axed CEO Peter…
SA jobless rate soars; Nedbank sheds jobs; social grant fraud hurts taxpayers; Shoprite profit plummets; losses hammer Massmart; Brexit plagues pound
South Africa’s latest unemployment figures make for grim reading. The unemployment rate has jumped in the past three months by about 2% to 29%. Highlighting the challenges facing South African employers, Nedbank Group has confirmed it is in talks with about 1,500 employees over potential job cuts in retail and…
Booming demand from SA investors brings pressure onto Orbvest's US property acquisitors
South Africans who are actively seeking offshore portfolio diversification have warmed to the niche-focused entrepreneurs who are building Orbvest into a billion dollar powerhouse. They are taking experiences learned in the specialised SA's medical property sector and applying them in the US market, with CEO Martin Freeman having relocated there…
Unpacking the motives (and failures) of legal attacks on Pravin Gordhan
Former SARS spokesman Adrian Lackay has been driving the strategic communications strategy for his former boss, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan. Lackay shares his insights from a front row seat, unpacking what has happened at his alma mater - "the legacy of Tom Moyane" - and the motive behind legal…
Paul Hoffman: SA must throw overboard its PP, "loose cannon" Mkhwebane
Accountability Now's founder Paul Hoffman, who in 2006 left the bar after 26 years, is gunning for fellow advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane. He describes her as a "loose cannon" who is rolling around the deck of the ship of state and needs to be "thrown overboard". In this podcast Hoffman explains…
Investors ditch SA assets; Mabuza's two Eskom hats; Rupert emigration chatter grows; Brexit weighs on pound
Foreigners are ditching South African assets at the fastest pace on record as concern mounts that the government will lose its last investment-grade rating. Eskom’s over-worked chairman Jabu Mabuza has just had an extra role added to his job description - acting chief executive of troubled power utility Eskom. Solidarity…
Sasol SA plants threatened; Gvt panel's EWC recommendations; Zille joins IRR; Trade talks resume
South Africa’s oil-from-coal and chemicals multinational Sasol disclosed over the weekend that some of its plants in Secunda and Sasolburg are under threat because of the need to comply with stricter sulphur dioxide emission standards. Trade talks between the US and China begin again in Shanghai this week, but with…
Moody’s hits Rand; Sasol's R18bn writedown; Tesla stalls; new ‘corporate’ PIC chair
In today's business headlines: The Rand weakens as Moody’s says Eskom is “credit negative” Sasol has written down asset values by R18.1bn; Tesla shares plummet by 13% after worse-than-expected losses; Reuel Khoza is the new 'corporate' PIC Chair; The Legal Practice Council is probing the ombudsman while she launched another…
Fasie Malherbe: Chef who turned training idea into business worth billions
Here's the Rational Radio interview with Fasie Malherbe, co-founder of Lobster Ink. He and three partners started the business in 2006 with seed capital of R22,000. After years of bugging Econet, they eventually sold the business to this major multinational for "a handsome multiple of its $26m annual revenues". Malherbe,…
Cynthia Stimpel: Whistleblower who saved SAA R250m - and got hounded out the airline
This is a riveting interview with whistleblower Cynthia Stimpel, a 60-something grandmother who refused to look the other way when corruption was being perpetrated at South African Airways. The former treasurer at SAA was dismissed for intervening in a corrupt deal that would have cost the airline R250m. She shares…
Inflation steady; SA credit risk falls; Matjila defends AYO deal; Richard’s Bay liquefied gas hub; Namibia’s green strategy
In today's business headlines: South Africa’s consumer inflation remained unchanged in June at 4.5%; Investors say the Eskom rescue plan is better than no plan at all; A sharp drop in mining shares led losses on the JSE; Former PIC Chief Dan Matjila says the R4.3bn AYO investment was above…
David Shapiro on profiting from electric car boom, Naspers and fuel cells
South Africa's favourite market commentator David Shapiro takes a closer look at the impact of the electric car revolution and lets us in on what he is thinking about investable opportunities right now - and why he is soon going to sneak away to read the full Naspers annual report…
Icebergs to Cape Town is gaining traction - Nick Sloane
When Nick Sloane, a seasoned salvage operator published his plan of guiding icebergs from Antarctica to Cape Town to solve the city’s acute water problem; many people thought it was a far-fetched idea. It didn’t help that the first story was released in Sunday newspapers close to April fool’s day. …