Alec Hogg’s regular column covering investment, economics, moneycraft and, occasionally, something very personal.
Now that the infamous Nkandla Security Upgrade report is in the public domain, I’ve set some time aside today to have a thorough read. If you want to beat me to it, you can get to the summary by clicking here, and the 51 page PDF by clicking here. It’s always dangerous to draw conclusions … Read more
During my decade and a half creating and then directing Moneyweb, I encountered three cases of corruption. Sadly, none of the perpetrators landed up with anything more serious than a scare. First there was a former newspaper editor who stole funds by diverting income from our Canadian partner Infomine into his Mauritius bank account (his … Read more
Divine intervention. That’s what big spending Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea FC was up against when it lost last night to the Premiership’s current bottom team Sunderland. A club whose shirt sponsor is South Africa’s own Bidvest, the company involved in a battle of its own with Chilean-based CFR. Â That’s Pope Francis himself holding up … Read more
The study is my favourite room. Mostly because it houses books accumulated over decades. Old friends and new. Treasure chests of knowledge with the power to change lives. Mine included. We learn much from reading. But not everything. Some things you need to actually do. Especially in the field of Leadership. Books, especially biographies, offer … Read more
The fallout around the fake sign language interpreter at the Nelson Mandela Memorial service continues to grow. Suddenly the world has stopped laughing about it (although not everyone – see the video right at the bottom). Those with long memories will remember the last known insane individual to slip through SA’s security system was Parliamentary … Read more
Ever since family-owned Chilean group CFR expressed interest in acquiring underperforming SA group Adcock Ingram, some leading shareholders urged it to put a cash-only offer on the table. Â With hindsight, had the Weinstein family done so a month back, they would now be preparing to taking their Adcock “bride” home. Instead, over the weekend the … Read more
During our CNBC Africa Power Lunch programme this week, market commentator Brigid Taylor suggested South Africans could learn from the death of Nelson Mandela. In future, she said, we should weigh up decisions with “What Would Madiba Do?” The sceptic in me reacted instantly. Yes, it would be nice. But it all seemed too caught up … Read more
Tuesday’s SENS announcement that Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste (52) had sold R309m worth of stock gave some of the group’s shareholders the jitters. The share price has been on a rip this year, rising from R24 in June. It closed at R42.80 on Wednesday. Was the CEO signaling that after a 78% surge in six … Read more
My turnabout after Friday’s visit to Capitec hasn’t resonated everywhere. An investment analyst I respect shot me a mail to argue that no matter how much I buy into the bank’s business model, the facts haven’t changed. In his view, Capitex is over-extended having granting big ticket unsecured loans over terms of up to seven … Read more
I should have been with my pals at CNBC Africa last Friday. But by the time the sleep was wiped out of the eyes, I was on an aeroplane to Cape Town for a pre-arranged visit with Capitec’s CEO and founder Riaan Stassen. It all worked out for the best in the end. CNBC produced … Read more