From Agence France-Presse Heineken announced Sunday it has rejected a bid by SABMiller to acquire the Dutch brewing giant, without revealing the offer price. The majority shareholding Heineken family informed the British-based rival SABMiller “of its intention to preserve the heritage and identity of Heineken as an independent company”, the Dutch brewer said in a … Read more
One of the reasons I love Nassim Taleb’s Fooled by Randomness is the way it pokes fun at pontificating pundits who keep making forecasts despite pathetic records. Lucy Kellaway (right) follows a similar line in this week’s column, taking a caustic view of super-expensive management consultancy McKinsey’s forecasts of the world half a century hence. … Read more
As a Friday treat we thought that we would add some cheer to your life as the weekend kicks off. Nando’s most recent ‘No Blue Light Brigade’ ad has reached over 500,000 views, having had the nation in hysterics. Nando’s has been producing quality comedy advertising for years now, and each one of their ads … Read more
South Africa’s political leadership has the ability to espouse wonderful ideals. But its ability to execute is pathetic, a fact reflected in the slide in just about every measurement matrix imaginable. From global agency downgrades to the ever sliding exchange rate; stagnant economic growth to the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report, the trend clear. For everyone, … Read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Champions Manchester City will have to rectify a poor away record at Arsenal if they are to bounce back from a surprise Premier League defeat by Stoke before the international break. They have won only one of 17 previous Premier League games away to the Gunners – a 2-0 win in 2013. … Read more
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – A Springboks victory over New Zealand in the fourth round of the Rugby Championship would go a long way towards changing the mindset of both teams with next year’s World Cup fast approaching, according toSouth Africa lock Victor Matfield. The All Blacks top the southern hemisphere competition table and are unbeaten in … Read more
An imbongi is the African version of the medieval court jester. Except that instead of occasionally poking fun, this clown dances and shouts praises about his employer, usually when the boss enters a gathering. The human equivalent of those accursed blue light convoys infecting South African cities. But sometimes imbongis can go to far. As did the Deputy Minister … Read more
Investors in what until Tuesday is the JSE’s only listed pure asset management company, Coronation Fund Managers, have had a wonderful ride. The share price is up almost 20-fold since 2009. As a result, there’s plenty of excitement around the arrival of next week’s debutant Anchor Capital, a mini Coronation. Its founder, Peter Armitage, has … Read more
Enjoyed the company of two really smart cookies during CNBC Africa Power Lunch today. Gary Herbert is the co-founder of Investment Solutions, a financial services pioneer that’s now a key profit contributor at Alexander Forbes. His colleague Dominic Liber is an actuary, one of a dozen that work at Leapfrog, the $535m private equity fund … Read more
The JSE all-share index is trading flat today in lacklustre trade with financial and industrial indices having given up 0.18% and 0.07% respectively, while the resource index has added 0.21% in trade today. In company news, Taste Holdings released a trading statement ahead of its interim results. Earnings per share and headline earnings are expected … Read more