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BusinessLIVE - For Your Ear

Listen to the latest BusinessLIVE articles from the news desk of Business Day, Financial Mail and the Business Times.

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Daily English South Africa Business News · News
12,931 Episodes
448 – 468

LETTER: What is the value of EL Bateman?

On September 15, shareholders of 129-year-old EL Bateman will be asked to approve its delisting from the JSE after 69 years, and minorities offered R2 a share. But even without 90% acceptance at this meeting, the resolution passed in May 2020 to authorise the sale of unissued shares could enable…
30 Aug 2020 1PM 2 min

MIAMI HERALD: Florida finally gives nod to medical marijuana edibles

In 2015 a small group of Florida department of health employees, including chief medical marijuana regulator Christian Bax and then surgeon-general Celeste Philip, hopped on a plane to Denver. They linked up with the Colorado department of public health to tour cannabis production facilities and see what a nascent marijuana…
30 Aug 2020 11AM 2 min

Economy will probably go from bad to worse before ANC engages with IMF

Growth paths are elusive as our economic debates are warped by politics, while repairing the debt trajectory requires astute restructuring and policy reforms. The IMF’s advantage is that it deciphers economic woes and governance failures dispassionately. But will the lender of last resort deem SA’s politics incorrigible? Global integration, and…
30 Aug 2020 11AM 5 min

LETTER: Flawed thinking around sustainable investing

The upheaval of life as we know it as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has escalated calls for the application of environmental, social & governance (ESG) principles across all industries, to build a better world. This has been particularly evident in financial markets, which have seen the wreaking of…
30 Aug 2020 11AM 5 min

Cities cut carbon; the suburbs, not so much

I’m writing this at 4.30am in 69m2, shared with my gynaecologist spouse, Siri, and two kids. The timing is a necessity, thanks to the utter US failure to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The size was a choice. We moved from an already small apartment — small, that is, by…
30 Aug 2020 1AM 5 min

'Abenomics' era ends as premier calls it a day

Japan's Abe Shinzo said on Friday he was resigning because of poor health, ending a tenure as the country's longest-serving prime minister in which he sought to revive an economy stricken by deflation and push for a stronger military. His abrupt departure triggers a leadership battle in his Liberal Democratic…
29 Aug 2020 9AM 3 min

Here are Abe’s likely successors — but major policy changes are unlikely in Japan

Tokyo — Although Abe Shinzo has resigned over health problems, few are anticipating drastic changes from the next Japanese prime minister. His most likely successors may only tweak Tokyo’s approach to everything from China ties to monetary policy. After taking power in 2012, Abe touted unprecedented monetary easing and a…
29 Aug 2020 2AM 5 min

Covid-19 escapes detection in children unless extensive testing is done

Melbourne — Most children develop very mild SARS-CoV-2 infections that risk escaping detection unless extensive testing is done to find cases, South Korean researchers said. The Asian country used mass testing of suspected Covid-19 cases, patient isolation and contact tracing to control the pandemic virus. Still, about 70% of children…
28 Aug 2020 12PM 3 min

JACOB ZUMA: Dear Mr President...

Mr President Ramaphosa, as one of the members of the ANC, I have also received your open letter, written to all members of the ANC. This is indeed an unusual act by the leader of our movement. Given the nature and seriousness of the matters raised in your letter, I…
28 Aug 2020 11AM 15 min

KwaZulu-Natal ANC tells members facing criminal charges to step down

In what could be seen as a pre-emptive strike ahead of the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the weekend, the party's KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive says all its members who faces criminal charges should step down from their responsibilities, both in the party and in the state. The party…
28 Aug 2020 10AM 2 min

Home affairs services remain limited under lockdown level 2

The department of home affairs will continue to offer only limited services under level 2 of the Covid-19 lockdown, restricting the number of people visiting its offices. “During each lockdown level, we analyse the number of people who normally visit our offices and determine which services we can offer safely…
28 Aug 2020 8AM 3 min

Basa says Covid-19 business relief loans likely to reach R40bn in January

The Banking Association SA (Basa) said on Friday that it expects disbursements to struggling businesses under the R200bn Covid-19 loan guarantee scheme to reach R24.4bn by January 2021. Even the best-case scenario in which the industry lobby group expects loans to total R43bn would not come to close to the…
28 Aug 2020 8AM 1 min

DINNER PARTY INTEL: Rocky outcome for Rio Tinto CEO

1. Covid makes comeback Hong Kong researchers have reported what appears to be the first confirmed case of Covid-19 reinfection, after a 33-year-old man who was first infected in March contracted the virus again while travelling in Europe four months later. There have been other reports of Covid-19 reinfection, but…
28 Aug 2020 7AM 2 min

LETTER: SAA returns as politicians perk up

I note that one of the perks of being a member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, which Zandile Gumede will now enjoy while out on bail, is 24 free flights. Now, I presume these are return flights on SAA, perhaps to anywhere. If you add up the numbers of all those…
28 Aug 2020 7AM 1 min

LETTER: Treat them mean and rob them blind

Justice Malala (At Home and Abroad, August 13-19) ( said it all, as did your cover story on Zimbabwe ( in the same edition: African lives in Africa don’t matter. Zimbabwe is an utter basket case. Ruling party Zanu-PF has completely captured every ministry, as well as every strategic resource…
28 Aug 2020 7AM 2 min

Closing the digital gender divide in ICT

This year, SA’s Women’s Month falls during one of the most challenging periods in our history – the global Covid-19 pandemic. As we emerge from the lockdown, we find a country facing greater inequality than ever before. However, we have also seen the power of information and communication technology (ICT)…
28 Aug 2020 7AM 5 min

LETTER: Collective responsibility

It is not a far-fetched possibility that cabinet could have reviewed its stance on the ban on alcohol sales in terms of the severity of the circumstances. However, the arrogance and holier-than-thou attitude displayed by SA Breweries, Heineken (, FM editor Rob Rose and former Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson (…
28 Aug 2020 7AM 1 min

BREAKING NEWS: Constitutional Court dismisses Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s Estina appeal bid

The Constitutional Court has dismissed public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s attempt to appeal against the damning judgment that invalidated her report on the Gupta-linked Estina Dairy Project scam. The full court found Mkhwebane’s application for leave to appeal against the scathing rulings given against her by Pretoria high court judge Ronel…
28 Aug 2020 7AM 2 min
448 – 468