BizNews Radio
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
Can De Ruyter rescue Eskom? Alec Hogg, Erik Smuts probe his Nampak performance
After a long search, André de Ruyter, former CEO of Nampak, was appointed as CEO of troubled power utility Eskom. His appointment came as a bit of a surprise. His name was whittled down from a list of more than 140 and he scored the top job at Eskom following…
JSE plunges; Covid-19, oil price war chase away global bulls; Eskom; Sasol; rand
In today's headlines: * South African stocks plunged to a more than four-year low on Monday, joining a global sell-off in riskier assets as oil prices collapsed more than 30%, hitting chemical and energy firm Sasol the hardest. It shed nearly 50% of its value; * US stocks extended losses…
Much ado, camel’s back or foxy unity – Clem Sunter flags three roads for coronavirus
The world appears to be more polarised with a general perception that political and value systems that we inherited after the Second World War are being eroded. With populists in power in many countries, including the United States of America, it does appear that the world is in crisis. All…
David Shapiro on the coronavirus panic portfolio - it's all about deep value
Financial intermediaries and stock brokers have been inundated with calls from anxious investors who have watched their investments rocketing back and forth amid panic around the fall-out from the spread of coronavirus. But, as respected South African stock market commentator David Shapiro points out: now is a good time to…
Rational Radio: New Nampak CEO; Ecsponent from two sides; Coronavirus scenarios; Sasol and more
A bumper lineup on this week's Rational Radio: * New Nampak CEO Erik Smuts; * SA's favourite market commentator David Shapiro on Sasol, Anglo, Pioneer and more; * Acting CEO George Manyere gives his side of the Ecsponent story; while Brenthurst Wealth's Magnus Heystek pokes a few holes; * First…
Three Covid-19 cases; No need for travel ban; Moody's lowers forecast; Mining preps for virus; Short notice blackouts
In today's news headlines: -The number of positive coronavirus cases in South Africa has risen to three, after the wife of the Kwazulu-Natal man who was the first case of the disease in South Africa, also tested positive. A second case in Gauteng is also linked to the couple. Health…
Coronavirus fact vs. fiction – should we blame open borders?
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about the coronavirus. In this podcast, which features content from The Wall Street Journal What’s News podcast, Felicity Duncan separates fact from fiction, and takes a look at what we know for sure so far. The episode also addresses the question of open…
Cyril Ramaphosa warns about coronavirus effect on the economy
President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the outbreak of the coronavirus in South Africa will hurt tourism and the economy. He was speaking to journalists at the Waterkloof Airforce base in Pretoria after it was announced that a South African from Kwazulu-Natal, who returned from a trip to Italy, had…
CR on coronavirus: Don’t panic; Eskom targets Trillian; current-account deficit; Old Mutual, Rand
In today's business headlines: - President Cyril Ramaphosa urges the country not to panic as the first case of the coronavirus was identified in a man from Kwazulu-Natal who returned from a trip in Italy. Minister Zweli Mkhize outlined the steps the government is taking to limit the outbreak; -…
LISTEN: Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on steps SA is taking to contain coronavirus outbreak
A man in Kwazulu-Natal who had been travelling with a group of people to Italy is the first case in South Africa that has been tested positive for the coronavirus. Addressing Parliament this afternoon, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said a tracer team has been deployed to the province with epidemiologists…
WSJ Tech News Briefing: Google's 'Project Nightingale' plus tips for working from home
In November, The Wall Street Journal uncovered Google's 'Project Nightingale', the company's secret partnership with healthcare giant Ascension. Now, months later, Google has been evading senators' requests for more information about the project. Reporter Rob Copeland explains where things stand. Plus, personal tech columnist Joanna Stern shares tech tips for…
Rate cut unlikely; No SA coronavirus bans; Govt wants more domestic SAA routes; Nedbank pay freeze; Anglo/Sirius; Rand
In today's business headlines: - South Africa’s weak economic growth is due to unsustainable policies and monetary policy alone can’t fix that, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said at a public lecture in Bloemfontein after calls for an interest rate cut; - The government is not considering a travel ban…
$10bn lost annually as illicit financial flows ride through South Africa - Rowden
South Africa is combatting a scourge of illicit financial flows out of the country. In 2015 former President Thabo Mbeki released a report in which he said that illicit financial outflows from South Africa far outstripped official development aid. Even Jacob Zuma raised the alarm about ‘the scourge of illicit…
SA's KFC entrepreneur Burt Gunning: How to build a business from zero to 41 stores
Chicken and chip meals are a South African favourite, so it's little wonder that KFC is a massive presence on the tip of Africa. But there's more to running a successful KFC business than demand. One of South Africa's successful entrepreneurs, Burt Gunning, tells BizNews founder Alec Hogg how he…
WSJ Tech News Briefing: Coronavirus misinformation circulating online
False information about the coronavirus has been circulating online, despite big tech companies' attempts to stamp it out. The Wall Street Journal's reporter Sebastian Herrera joins to explain. Kateri Jochum hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Investors give Bright Light Solar boost to shine
With the problems at Eskom, ever resilient South Africans dig deep into the ‘Boer maak ‘n plan’ philosophy and come up with their own solutions. And when it came to investing into another round at 12J company Bright Light Solar, which invests in solar and efficient renewable energy, they were…
SA enters recession; Nigeria economy overtakes SA; Ramaphosa fears Covid-19 threat to SA growth
In today's news headlines: * South Africa’s economy slumped into a second recession in consecutive years as power cuts weighed on output and business confidence dropped; * Nigeria's economy is on rocket fuel, expanding as South Africa's contracts, which means Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product is the largest in Africa; * Coronavirus, or Covid-19 as…
SA's first Cannabis stock Labat Africa - a two year project for Brian van Rooyen
Those who chuckled when analysts considered the prospect of turning South Africa into the global epicentre for a mushrooming cannabis industry are surely thinking differently after hearing the references by president Cyril Ramaphosa in last month's State of the National Address. The official sanction is no surprise to serial entrepreneur…
Meet Stafford Masie - Google to WeWork, SA tech whiz still running at 100mph
When in the company of 100mph-thinker Stafford Masie, it's best to listen closely. A computer scientist by training but an entrepreneur by persuasion, Masie has a string of successful startups to his credit. The man who opened Google's first Africa office recently returned to a US-based multinational, now helping office…
Meet Dawid Potgieter: Researching consciousness to treat pain and mental health
When South Africans go out into the world, we like to hang on to them and remind ourselves that we come from the same soil. Elon Musk is probably the best example of this, but there are many others. In the sports world; typical South African surnames pop up in…