NO DUMPING AGNES
By Matthew Hill
It's unusual for a gold mine to go under the hammer - more so when it's one of SA's oldest. A trio of entrepreneurs from Australia-listed Mintails put together R16m last week to win the bidding for Agnes gold mine in Barberton, which ...

THE COST OF BANKS

Consider that one year ago the Royal Bank of Scotland paid US$100bn for ABN Amro. That seemingly impossible amount would now buy: Citibank $22,5bn (74% down) Morgan Stanley $10,5bn (-72%) Goldma...

KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS
By Desné Masie
What is Keynesian economics? Macroeconomic theories based on the views of the late British economist John Maynard Keynes, developed in his 1935 General Theory of Employment, Interest & Money. Keynesians do not see recessions (and d...

SA IN NUMBERS
By Jacqui Pile
48,7m was SA's population in mid-2008. 50,5 was the average life expectancy in 2007 (56,2 in 2000). In Australia, it's 81, in Zimbabwe, 43. R612bn ...

CONSOLIDATING AND COST-CUTTING

How is the economic downturn affecting Microsoft? At the end of Q1 in September we were in line with the guidance we provided. But we have shaved US$500m off our operating expenses. How is this downturn different from that of 2000 a...

FISHING, WALKING, FOOD SAMPLING AND JAZZ

Here is a selection of places that visitors to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg could go to at no cost over the December holidays. Cape Town The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Rd, Woodstoc...

DARE TO WIN
By David Furlonger
Most senior marketers don't understand brand value within their organisations, according to a US survey. As a result, many companies miss the opportunity to translate the strength of their brands into sales and profits. The survey, ...

TRANSPARENCY GLITCHES
By Rob Rose
A year ago, venture capital company John Daniel decided to hold its 2007 AGM on New Year's Eve. We observed then that companies with something to hide tend to do this kind of thing. CEO Harry Minnie blamed "printing glitches" for the l...

PITY ABOUT THE USB
By Duncan McLeod
The problem with carrying data around on portable hard drives is that they are inherently insecure. The last thing you want to store on them is sensitive company information. Toshiba, though, has come up with an innovative solution. It has integ...

SPORTING HAIRSTYLES
By David Furlonger
Local advertising agency TBWA has pitched successfully to produce an "African" campaign for the Confederations Cup soccer tournament - taking place in SA in 2009 - on behalf of the Adidas sportswear group. The campaign centrepiece f...

SPRINGBOK AMBASSADOR
By Matthew Hill
SA rugby supporters can be fickle. When the Boks perform well, praise is heaped on the team and coach, but when they play poorly, criticism is dished out by the bucketful. Former Springbok captain (19651970) Dawie de Villiers, who <...

A PASSION FOR HUMANITY
By Shoks Mzolo
Just a day into his new job as Limpopo province MEC for health & social development in 2004, Seaparo Charles Sekoati found himself taking the rap for a public hospital bungle he knew nothing about. "That was a baptism of fire," he says...

COMINGS & GOINGS

Simon Malone Is to step down as chairman of copper and cobalt producer Metorex in a board shake-up. CE Charles Needham will become MD on January 20. This follows problems in funding its DRC operations. Gil Mahla...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The possibility of global recession is really in front of us. We are facing an unprecedented decline in output and we have evidence of substantial uncertainty limiting the effectiveness of some fiscal policy measures" - DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-K...