This section houses interviews conducted by Biznews, both video and audio, and other interesting inputs sourced from Third Parties.
One of the things I really like about Peter Major is his ability to succinctly say exactly what needs to be said. In this interview, he gives a quick and apt takedown of a proposed solution to the ongoing platinum strike that would involve the police protecting those miners who wish to work. As Major … Read more
Sometimes things just work out. Often when it isn’t planned that way. That happened here when one guest arrived really early; just as I was about to start talking to another one. The overly-prompt interviewee was John Mauldin, Texas-based investment guru, a superstar of the new media age. His influential emailed weekly newsletter has almost … Read more
It’s Michael Jordaan’s 46th birthday today. A day he’s sure to be spending with wife Rose and their daughters at the family’s wine farm in the Western Cape. The man who was appointed CEO of FNB at 37 and drove the organisation to becoming the most innovative bank in Africa, was in Johannesburg last night … Read more
Adcock has been in for a crazy ride over the last few months, with a bidding war that pitted Bidvest against Chilean drugmaker CFR, the bitter resignation of CEO Jonathan Louw, the ascent of Brian Joffe as chairman of the Adcock board, and a great deal of publicity. However, things seem to be settling down … Read more
South African leaders are always talking about the importance of promoting entrepreneurship, and dozens of programmes seek to give would-be entrepreneurs the skills they need to start businesses. Yet despite this, South Africa has a very low rate of entrepreneurship. As GIBS’ Jonathan Marks tells us below, even among those who choose to do an … Read more
When Tharisa Minerals announced its listing on the JSE, the question that immediately sprang to most minds was: why on earth would anyone list a platinum company on the JSE in April 2014? It’s not exactly a fantastic environment for the sector right now, with crippling strikes and horrible labour relations making the platinum industry’s … Read more
Many, many South African companies have tried to make a go of things in Australia, and very, very few have succeeded. Despite their best efforts, Australia has simply proved to be a tough nut to crack. Yet Woolworths has decided to take a giant gamble on the country, purchasing luxury retailer David Jones. It’s an … Read more
It’s time for South African investors to make some tough decisions. The JSE has enjoyed a very strong run, but as rates rise and the US Fed begins to cut back its quantitative easing, emerging markets like SA are going to come under huge pressure, which will ultimately translate into weaker corporate earnings and thus, … Read more
Investment companies like Brimstone, companies that don’t make or sell anything but exist only to hold stakes in other companies, are an interesting breed. They can be tricky to value – they may be worth more or less than the sum of their parts, depending on what you think of their particular assets and management … Read more
With the news that Nigeria is officially Africa’s largest economy, South Africans are taking a renewed interest in their neighbours to the north. For a long time, South Africans had a sense of superiority – we thought we were doing a better job than our African peers, and that there was nothing to learn from … Read more