Latest news and views in Brief
By Malathi Nayak SAN FRANCISCO, March 10 (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp is betting on making sci-fi combat game “Titanfall” a hit big enough to boost sales of its Xbox One videogame device, helping it catch up in terms of sales with rival SonyCorp’s PlayStation 4 console. Retailers are gearing up to get in on the buzz that … Read more
By Eveline Danubrata and Mark Hosenball KUALA LUMPUR/WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) – The so-far fruitless search for a missing Malaysian airliner entered its fourth day on Tuesday, as sources in Europe, the United States and Asia voiced growing scepticism that the flight lost with 239 people on board was the target of an attack. The massive search has drawn in navies, military aircraft, … Read more
By THANYARAT DOKSONE and JIM GOMEZ of Associated Press There was still no trace of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane Tuesday, a day after authorities questioned travel agents at a beach resort in Thailand about two men who boarded the flight with stolen passports, part of a growing international investigation. Three days after the plane … Read more
From All Out* Orange, a subsidiary of France TĂ©lĂ©com, announced its decision to pull their advertising from the website of Red Pepper on Friday, after 77,329 All Out members called on them to remove the advertisements and commit to protecting LGBT employees in Uganda. Red Pepper, a prominent tabloid, recently listed the names and, in … Read more
For most Southern Africans over 40, mentioning SWAPO brings back memories of the Namibian freedom fighting organisation that operated during the height of the Apartheid State’s defence against “total onslaught”. For Biznews.com columnist Irvine Green, though, SWAPO means Super Wide Awake Assistant to Police Officers. Unfortunately for the Cape Town police beating this unarmed man, … Read more
Entrepreneur Hassen Adams of Grand Parade Investments is negotiating to strengthen his ties to Sun International (SI). They are partners in Cape Town’s Grand West, the country’s most profitable casino. They published a joint SENS cautionary warning of  “negotiations regarding the possible acquisition by Sun International of a material interest in GPI Slots.” GPI’s Slots, … Read more
RMB Holdings (RMH) and Rand Merchant Insurance Holdings (RMI), worth over R100bn combined, have appointed former Deutsche Bank CEO Herman Bosman as CEO-designate. He will succeed Peter Cooper, who will be retiring from his executive positions at the end of 2014, after 22 years with the group. RMH owns 34% of FirstRand and in 2011 … Read more
By Luciana Lopez and Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday signaled he plans to make more large acquisitions to expand a conglomerate that posted a record profit in 2013, helped by a recovering U.S. economy. “Charlie and I have always considered a ‘bet’ on ever-rising U.S. prosperity to be … Read more
By Luciana Lopez NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) – A five-year bull market may have finally outdueled one of the U.S. stock market’s biggest bulls, and Warren Buffett will probably tell investors later today that his 43-year run of beating the Street has come to an end. By his own benchmark for performance, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc almost certainly … Read more
SA Planning Minister Trevor Manuel has been confirmed as a speaker at this year’s Discovery Leadership  Summit. Manuel has served as a minister in the South African government for almost two decades – he was the longest-serving Finance Minister and is currently Minister in the Presidency: National Planning Commission. He has served in various senior … Read more