NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET
By Sasha Planting
The differing strategies embraced by SA's three big furniture retailers are becoming more distinct. Two years ago they all sold furniture at low margins, earning revenue from expensive hire-purchase loans and insurance on those loans. But in 2...

SIZE COUNTS
By Sasha Planting
When it comes to medical aid schemes, bigger is certainly better. With this in mind, SA's 10th- and 11th-biggest schemes have merged. Combined, the Liberty and Medicover medical schemes, whose merger will take effect from January, ...

THE BOOT FOR CHRISTMAS?
By Matthew Hill
Getting booted from the Simmer & Jack Mines board probably doesn't feature on management's Christmas wish list, but that's what they just might get. The biggest shareholder, Vulisango, has called for an extraordinary general meeting...

BACK FROM THE BRINK
By Matthew Hill
Terence Goodlace makes Lazarus's back-from-the-dead trick look like a piece of cake. When he joined Metorex as CEO in March, it was a company drowning in debt in the wake of the market collapse. Making matters worse was that shareho...

NOT A SMALL PROBLEM
By Larry Claasen
When Huge Group released a statement a few weeks ago saying its embattled CEO James Herbst and executive chairman Anton Potgieter had "the full support of the board ", it was not entirely accurate. The statement pertained to the boa...

MORE SWEET THAN SOUR
By Shannon Sherry
A 28-year high in world sugar prices sweetened Illovo's results for the six months to end-September, but the upside was stymied, at least partly, by the strength of the rand. "The world sugar price has been driven by a significant p...

SAB SQUEEZES EVERY DROP
By Sasha Planting
SABMiller has always had a reputation for being a lean and efficient operator. But now the global beer giant has a plan to shave another US$300m/year off operating costs. It plans to achieve this by running back-office systems such as finance and...

AVUSA FEELS THE HEAT
By Matebello Motloung
Media group Avusa is under pressure after reporting its worst financial results in recent years for the six months to the end of September. Since announcing that revenue fell 5% to R2,2bn and operating profit slumped 56% to R77m fr...

THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS
By Larry Claasen
Investors and analysts have taken a shine to Business Connexion (BCX). This is despite a decline in profit and a reduction in operating cash flow in its latest set of results. A slowing economy and a corporate sector that is relucta...

DIAMONDS & DOGS
Jamie Carr's picks of the week
Diamond - Trustco Group There are some encouraging rumbles coming from our sandy neighbour Namibia, not just those caused by the powerful combination of Germanic cuisine and strong lager. With core businesses in micro insurance, micro fi...

CRISIS WATCH
By Andrew McNulty
For most companies and investors, any talk about crisis is linked mainly to the international credit crunch and recession. It started in the US property and financial sectors and spread to other parts of the world through a collapse in...

THE UGLY DUCKLING
By Larry Claasen
ROLFES TECHNOLOGY 1. Cash positive - yes 2. Revenue up - yes ...

INVESTOR'S NOTEBOOK
By Stephen Cranston
In my recent research into the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) I was struck by how isolated it is from the issues that concern those of us in the private sector. Practices that are compulsory in the private sector are not nece...

TAKE A BREATH

The 53% rally on the JSE from its March lows has surprised many. But some believe the pace is not sustainable. The graph shows the current level of the JSE all share index is the place where the rally may run into stiff resistance. ...