Fixing SAA and SA tourism: ditch Beijing, promote 50p beers to travel-hungry Brits

When you’re Proudly South African, the silly economic decisions big state-funded enterprises and government ministers make get under your skin. South African CEO Chris Brewer, a popular blogger, takes aim this week at some of the moves – or lack thereof – by SAA and other South African tourism players.  There are so many fantastic … Read more

Active managers beat the market – some of them, some of the time, when risk adjusted

The debate over which is better – high-impact, actively managed collective investments, or low-cost, passive collective investments – is a hot one. On the one hand, people cite long histories of index outperformance – over the long term, there is little evidence that fund managers can consistently outperform indices; in other words, few unit trusts … Read more

Alexx-Zarr - BizNews.com

Collectivism is as dead as the dodo

Sometimes, the debate between those who favour a free market system, and those who favour state-led development gets oversimplified. The debate is caricatured as a binary choice: Wild West, unregulated free markets on one side, and intrusive, Soviet-style government control on the other. But as this contribution from Alex Zarr argues, this is a false … Read more

Juicy investment: Company which beat Shell to best slice of massive Karoo Shale Gas deposit

 Inventions enabling gas to be liberated from shale deposits through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has transformed the US energy equation – and with it the psyche of those living in the world’s largest economy.  With gas and electricity prices having already halved in price, America is embarking on a strategy of “Re-shoring” of manufacturing, bring back … Read more

New university offers degree in BS detection

From Reuters By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Offering a twist on the learn-from-anywhere convenience of Internet classes, a new university is asking freshmen to take a large leap of faith. Minerva Schools of KGI, a radically experimental university in San Francisco, is sifting through applications for its first class, starting this fall. The … Read more

Clem Sunter: South Africa needs to create 1m new businesses (with video)

The sharp disparity between rich and poor remains an embarrassing blight on the South African landscape. Shanty towns continue to mushroom on the periphery of towns and cities while some live in suburbs behind high-tech security in comfortable homes. Politics has failed to address the daily hardship faced by most South Africans, so how do … Read more

Namibian rhino hunting permit to fetch $1m

The debate between conservationists and hunters is likely to ratchet up a few notches after disclosures a Texan hunting club secured a permit to hunt a Namibian rhino – and expects it to sell for up to $1m.  The news has led to extreme outbursts, some so threatening that the FBI has been called in … Read more