IN THE BAG AT LAST
By Stephen Cranston
Liberty CE Bruce Hemphill's background as a merchant banker made him ideally suited to negotiate the buyout of the holdings in Stanlib of Standard Bank and empowerment partner Quantum Leap. He secured a good price for the asset ma...

SMALL BUT COSY GLOW
By Brendan Ryan
Diversified media, entertainment and investment group HCI is moving into the coal business, attracted by the profits to be made from supplying burgeoning demand from Eskom's power stations. The group has teamed up with empowerment...

INVESTMENT OF THE WEEK
By Stephen Cranston
Who it's for: It aims to achieve medium- to long-term capital growth, investing across all sectors of the JSE. Dividends are a secondary consideration. How risky: If you think that risk is the same thing as volatility, this is ...

DIAMONDS & DOGS
By Jamie Carr
Diamond: Private equity What a great delight to see some seriously large cheque books striding around and waking up the market just before everybody slides off into the festive morass. While some local Cassandras are predi...

GETTING INTO MINING
By Brendan Ryan
The core investment issue in the link-up between Lazarus Zim and Mvelaphanda Resources (Mvela) is whether the deal flow that Zim brings will compensate Mvela minorities for the bargain price he got. That in turn goes straight to ...

TOUGH AT THE TOP
By Nicky Smith
Sometimes doing well can be bad. Take Esor, the small, listed construction company. Its popularity with investors nearly scuppered the deal in which it acquired rival Franki, taking care of its empowerment obligations at the same tim...

BREW WITH A BITE
By Andrew McNulty
Surging commodity prices, giant takeovers in the sector and hype about a "supercycle" add up to a rich brew for investors and speculators. Huge amounts of money have flowed into commodity-based assets in a three-year bull market....

SENIORS TRY UNREFINED DIET
By Stafford Thomas
Once largely the preserve of traders, commodities are now part of the investment mainstream and attracting attention even in the conservative world of pension fund trustees. And the potential of these funds to have a profound marke...