BizNews Thought Leaders - Economic & Financial News Contributors

Eskom shake-up: Inside South Africa’s electricity provider

23rd July 201421st July 2014

Things are moving behind-the-scenes at Eskom, thanks to the new crop of government ministers. Lynne Brown, who heads up public enterprises, and Tina Joemat-Pettersson, now in charge of energy, are rolling up their sleeves to set in motion a much-needed shake-up at the nation’s electricity provider. This will be music to the ears of anyone who … Read more

Making money out of insects: Small business ideas

18th July 201419th July 2014

Johannesburg entrepreneur Irvine Green has the ability to imagine business possibilities in just about everything he looks at, sees and smells. You might reach for the insect spray when you spot a line of ants marching through your kitchen, but Irvine welcomes them in and then thinks about how there might be a way to … Read more

Union violence is linked to extending bargaining council agreements – Mashaba

17th July 201417th July 2014

Herman Mashaba is never afraid to speak his mind, and in this statement, he makes what I think is an interesting and compelling point. Basically, he argues that because wage agreements are automatically extended to entire sectors, workers have an incentive to use violence and intimidation to make sure that wage agreements are as high … Read more

SA skills shortage: Headhunters can’t find senior managers with IT acumen

16th July 201416th July 2014

If you’ve ever wondered why so many successful businesses have gone down the tubes after their leaders failed to spot the seismic shift to an economy heavily dependent on technology, here is your answer. Risk-averse boards continually opt for senior managers who have already been doing a similar job, rather than taking a chance with … Read more

Three questions to ask yourself when pursuing a dividend investing strategy

15th July 201416th July 2014

By Felicity Duncan Earlier this year, one of the bright lads at Old Mutual Investments Group South Africa (Omigsa) suggested that in an uncertain environment like the current one, it is wise to pursue a dividend investing strategy. Essentially, dividend investors focus on acquiring stocks that have a higher-than-average dividend yield – the idea being … Read more

Are entrepreneurs born or made? Brilliant insights from an entrepreneurial star

17th July 201415th July 2014

Do you have what it takes to successfully run your own business? In what is quite possibly the best article I have read yet on whether entrepreneurs are born or made, South African entrepreneur Allon Raiz says look instead to whether five specific conditions are present in your life for clues on whether you can … Read more

Clawing money back from SARS: R&D tax incentive works 150% – tax expert

14th July 201414th July 2014

There aren’t many opportunities to lighten a tax bill these days, but here’s one. If your business is involved in, or has plans for, spending money on research and development, you can effectively get taxpayers to foot the bill. Louwtjie Venter, a tax expert with Cape Town-based Hobbs Sinclair Advisory, says the revised Research & … Read more

Can the JSE head upwards forever? (Spoiler – it can’t)

11th July 201414th July 2014

By Felicity Duncan A few days ago, I was playing around on the Financial Times website, and I ended up on the page containing data on the JSE All Share Index. I looked at the charts, and noticed something that I think is a little concerning – the JSE has been on a bullish, ever-upward … Read more

Must read: Solidarity’s Gideon du Plessis on the games unions play

10th July 20149th July 2014

The most apt description for Gideon du Plessis’ excellent piece is, ‘must read’. The quagmire of variables that dictate South Africa’s unionised labour force is complex. It is the very reality of competing forces, with hidden agendas and politicised motives that has created a dangerous environment where unions have ended up holding the South African economy … Read more

Are good businesses good investments? How to assess – analyst

9th July 20149th July 2014

Should you buy good investments or good businesses? Should you buy a good business at any price? For insights on how value investors size up shares for inclusion in their portfolios, take a look at Linda Eedes’ explanation of how asset management company RECM has assessed some of the companies in its global flexible fund. … Read more