🔒 Alec Hogg: Caster Semenya blocking study “corrected”

Two weeks ago I received a sharp email from a MultiChoice executive who accused Piet Viljoen of being “sensationalist and incorrect” in an article we published. The exec added he had “seldom seen positives” on BizNews about Naspers/Prosus. Unfortunately, the angry gent is about to receive more grist for his mill.

In our weekly discussion yesterday (click here), the deeply rational money manager warned there is still massive risk in owning Tencent, the company upon which Naspers/Prosus’ share price is based. Viljoen recently bought a small position in Tencent on the view that the market has discounted the bad news. I’m not so sure.

As you’ll read in the piece below from our partners at the London Financial Times, Chinese tech companies received another body blow this morning when Beijing’s announced it has passed one of the world’s strictest data privacy laws. China’s official state news agency says the sweeping law, the country’s first on national privacy and aimed at curbing data collection by tech companies, will take effect on November 1.
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Still with China, respected UK publication The Economist has jumped into the debate over Covid-19’s origins after an in-depth analysis of what the world needs to know to prevent a repeat. The piece exposes how the WHO’s widely parroted report which concluded a lab leak was extremely unlikely had been “riddled with compromises and sloppiness”.

A Danish member of the WHO’s study team is the latest to claim that conclusion was reached after Chinese pressure and deliberate obfuscation. It’s worth recalling not long ago anyone questioning the WHO version of coronavirus “science” was bullied through public ridicule.

Adding to the woes of science-claimed official narratives is a bombshell in the Wall Street Journal this morning that SA athletics champion Caster Semenya should never have been barred from competing in the Olympics. The WSJ reports that British Journal of Sports Medicine has “corrected” its study that was the basis of testosterone regulation on women’s track event – and the basis of Semenya’s ban.

The publishers of the influential study, sponsored by the governing body of world athletics, admit they “overstated” the apparent competitive advantage. Have a read here. A shocker of note. One also sure to raise broader questions on official narratives, especially as vaccine manufacturers ring up massive profits and raise prices.

Another South African in today’s global headlines is far-sighted entrepreneur Elon Musk. His electric car maker Tesla’s Autopilot has been subjected to intense scrutiny by the authorities – including requests by two US senators to investigate whether the company has oversold its capabilities. Undeterred, Musk is doubling down on Artificial Intelligence.

Finally today, the BizNews portfolio cornerstone stock, Amazon, is adding lots of bricks to its clicks. The WSJ reports this morning that Amazon is to open several large physical stores.  We’ll discuss this and other aspects of the portfolio in the monthly update on Tuesday at noon – a week earlier that usual because of our conference in the Drakensberg at the end of the month. Click here to sign up for the webinar. 


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