Three years ago, Allan Thomson made “an incredibly stupid decision” that led to his resignation as a director at the JSE. In his efforts to stop abusive practices by sharp traders, this highly principled, disciplined futures market expert got caught up in the chase and inadvertently broke the JSE’s strict rules on director’s trading. But … Read more
Forex specialist Brigid Taylor was an appropriate guest in our market watching slot on CNBC Africa’s Power Lunch today. Yesterday’s surprise announcement from the European Central Bank hit the Euro hard. And as Brigid suggests, there is good reason to expect further short-term weakness, including against the SA currency. A couple years back in Davos, I spent … Read more
The big stories competing for business news headlines this week were the downgrading of the big four banks in South Africa by ratings agency, Moody’s; Bidvest’s move to up its stake in Adcock Ingram resulting in a confidence boost for Adcock’s shares; and in company results the retail sector was in focus with Shoprite CEO … Read more
A tumultuous week for South African business news is coming to a close. Looking at the biggest stories is Brigid Taylor, Director at Dreadnought Capital. She lends her expert insights to the situation around Abil’s share price plummet after a dismal earning’s announcement expecting  full year losses to total $600 million. The share price has … Read more
There are fundamental issues that are currently plaguing South Africa’s economy, its position on the African continent and its potential to grow. We are a well developed country on a continent that is just now being ignited by the potential of growth – nations are driving development, they are desperate for investment. And South Africa, … Read more
Providing an articulate overview of, and prognosis on, the now Fragile Five-rated SA economy is clearly neither an easy nor a cheerful task at this stage. In this interview with Alec Hogg, Dreadnought Capital’s Brigid Taylor provides a compass reading that points to both the where-from and the where-to of our economic circumstances. It culminates … Read more
From Allan Thomson of Dreadnought Capital: I am very sad to inform you that Stuart Rees passed away last Saturday. Stuart was the first CEO of the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX.) Many of the practices we take for granted in the South African derivative markets were conceived and implemented by Stuart. He was an … Read more
The Rand has been in a slump for two weeks, added to this is what feels like a never-ending platinum sector strike, a contracting economy, weak exports and the threat of downgrades, it all certainly makes for a gloomy South African environment. One that when assessing the barrier breaking JSE in contrast, is quite simply … Read more
Brigid Taylor, regular market commentator on CNBC Africa, is an Afro-Optimist. One who walks the talk. Together with her colleague at Dreadnought Capital, former JSE executive Allan Thomson, she’s doing her bit to deepen continental capital markets. We deviated from the usual format in our Power Lunch chat today to discuss this week’s opening of … Read more
An already bad year for the controversial Gupta family got even worse today when the Constitutional Court ruled against its opportunistic attempt to secure 21.4% of the mineral rights at Kumba’s operating Sishen iron ore mine. To access a copy of Mr Justice Jafta’s full judgement, click here. The Guptas hail from a small town … Read more