BizNews Radio (OLD)
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
PP hit in the pocket; Eskom cash injection; Denel without pay; PIC lost $333m in oil
In today's business headlines: Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane must pay about R900,000 out of her own pocket for the Reserve Bank’s legal costs. Eskom is getting additional support of R59bn over two years The Publice Investment Corporation lost $333m after a “poor investment” in Erin Energy Corp. Denel staff face…
PP Judicial Review; Boris 1/33; UK/Iran red zone; Naspers SA tax R6.9bn
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has requested an urgent judicial review into a report by the country’s Public Protector which he termed “fundamentally and irretrievably flawed.” Britain’s decision to seize an Iranian tanker off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this month is snowballing, dragging the country deeper into an escalating…
Moeletsi Mbeki tears into BEE, ANC economic policy
Moeletsi Mbeki is not scared to speak out against the policies of the party that his father Govan Mbeki built with Nelson Mandela and that his brother Thabo represented as President of the country. He has called the ANC and EFF policies of land expropriation without compensation an attack on…
Repo rate cut; rand rallies; Richemont rides online wave; property market optimism; Eskom Bigwig wanted
In today's business headlines: The benchmark repurchase rate has been lowered by 25 basis points to 6.5% per annum. The Rand rallies by 10 cents to the dollar on the back of the news. Richemont online retails sales soar. Estate agents hopeful after rate cut. Platinum producers eye gold miners…
Flash Briefing: Bitcoin breaks $10k; Naspers delays Prosus listing; Luno on hiring spree; Ethiopian coup foiled
Late on Friday, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin traded above $10,000 for the first time in over a year, riding a wave of optimism about the future of digital currencies. Over the weekend, Ethiopia’s reformist government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, foiled a coup attempt that killed several senior…
Flash Briefing: Slight rise in inflation; Eskom has to be saved; Steinhoff seeks extension; Zuma allies get Parly posts; MultiChoice’s African expan..
In today's business headlines: Inflation is up slightly in May rising to 4.5% mainly driven by a 3.3% rise in fuel prices. South Africa simply has to rescue Eskom, even though it can’t afford to. That is the opinion of Bloomberg analysts. Steinhoff International Holdings is seeking another extension to…
Roelf Meyer: Ramaphosa can put South Africa back on the high road
There were many businessmen, politicians and even journalists who disengaged emotionally and some even geographically from South Africa during the Zuma years as it seemed impossible to stop corruption threatening to engulf South Africa. One of them was former National Party cabinet minister and negotiator for South Africa's new Constitution,…
Flash Briefing: Trillian's R600m state capture hit; Ramaphosa to rescue Eskom; Old Mutual fires Moyo; PIC Naspers jitters
In today's Biznews Flash Briefing: The Old Mutual share price jumped on news that its board has decided to fire its CEO Peter Moyo. The Naspers share price moved up about 2% on Tuesday. The Public Investment Corporation is encouraging its fund managers at the Government Employees Pension Fund to reduce…
More SARS red tape for overseas Internet purchases
President Cyril Ramaphosa is eager to create an investor friendly climate in the country but it seems that customs clearance and exchange rules imposed by the South African Revenue Service is having the opposite effect. Recently a health science start-up company told me how their overseas investor eventually decided to…
Flash Briefing: SABC faces blackout; SAA pilots strike-ready; JSE probes Deloitte, Sygnia; Has Musk dumped Twitter?
In today's Biznews Flash Briefing: The South African Broadcasting Corporation is in serious trouble and faces a blackout. The financial position of the SABC has been worsening as it awaits a decision on its application for a R3.2bn financial support from the government. At SAA, another state-owned entity that has…
Flash Briefing: Bumper day for mining stocks, Naspers; Platinum producers face showdown; SARB rate cut expected; oil price surge
In today's business headlines: South African mining stocks were driven to an almost 11 year high; However mining production decreases in April; South African platinum producers are preparing for significant wage demands as workers eye windfall earnings; The Governor of the Reserve Bank Lesetja Kganyago says there may be room…
Flash Briefing: PP snotklap for Cyril, Rand; retail sales soar; FX rigging case setback; plant Lego hits brick wall
In today's business headlines: The Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has set a 21 June deadline to President Cyril Ramaphosa to answer to allegations that he violated the constitution; The Rand falls to the lowest level against the dollar since beginning of the year; Retail trade sales increased by 2.4% in…
Flash Briefing: SA manufacturing growth spurt; Cape Town property plunge; Naspers' big fintech deal; Deloitte, KPMG face national ban
In today's Biznews Flash Briefing: South Africa's manufacturing sector has perked up, with more cars, electronics, metal products and furniture produced than expected. Cape Town property prices have been falling. The latest data from FNB shows that house prices have been plunging in the most expensive suburbs and at best…
Treasurer who stood up for toxic Transnet feared for her life
Mathane Makgatho, the former Transnet Treasurer told the Zondo Commission that she eventually resigned in 2014 from the state-owned enterprise because she felt her life was at risk and with four young children, she could not play Superwoman. She told the commission that several other officials at the Transnet followed…
Flash Briefing: Tongaat suspended on JSE, LSE - Deloitte in crosshairs; gold excites; Trump ignites
In today's Biznews Flash Briefing: Trading in Tongaat Hulett's securities on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange has been been suspended. Questions are again being asked about the integrity of accountants at Deloitte, which were auditors to Tongaat and Steinhoff - another South African multinational involved in financial…
Flash Briefing: Gold still gaining; Big Tech backlash; Eskom needs more cash; Sasol, Naspers
The gold price is on its longest winning streak in almost a year and a half, rising for the eighth consecutive trading session on Friday. The global backlash against Big Tech intensified over the weekend when G20 Finance Ministers said they have agreed to new rules to tax companies like…
Flash Briefing: SA rates likely to drop - Moody's; Trade wars power up gold stocks; African swine fever to hit SA consumers
Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has said it expects South Africa's interest rates to fall. It’s not just South Africa that is struggling to turbo-charge its economy. Amid concerns that a global recession looms, the European Central Bank has kept low-rates unchanged, reports Bloomberg. The FTSE/ JSE Gold Mining Index has…
Exasperated Mboweni’s rebuke to reckless Reserve Bank underminers
There are few people that enjoy their tweets as much as Tito Mboweni, well maybe President Donald Trump. But Trump’s social post can cause jitters in markets. This week’s Mboweni’s posts were meant to calm a storm. When the ANC Lekgotla concluded that the Reserve Bank should consider “quantitative easing”,…
Koons' silver bunny has new owner - at "living artist" record of $91m
A three foot tall stainless steel bunny called "Rabbit", one of four cast in 1986 by Jeff Koons, last month became the highest price ever received by a living artist. The other three replicas are housed in art museums in Los Angeles, Chicago and Qatar. The piece, auctioned by Christies,…
Flash Briefing: Blame Eskom - SA just got poorer; Ramaphosa pays tribute to journalists, media freedom; investors queue for Khula Sizwe
In today's headlines: South Africans are reeling from the news that the economy shrunk in the first quarter of this year. Analysts have blamed Eskom power cuts for hammering manufacturing, mining and agricultural output. Eskom has more than $30bn in debt and is believed to be the biggest threat to…