Rational Radio

Flash Briefing; Sudan, Algeria celebrate end of dictators; Aspen, Investec, Absa gain; SpaceX seeks $500m; Goldman profits reverse.

Last week’s ousting of Sudan’s supposed president for life, 75 year old Omar al-Bashir, is ushering in a raft of new democratic freedoms. Despite the controversy that surrounds his erratic actions at electric car maker Tesla, South African born and raised entrepreneur Elon Musk still possesses plenty of money pulling…

15 Apr 2019 4 min

The Joburg hedge fund manager behind English soccer's latest fairlytale

Retired hedge fund manager Clive Nates is not your average celebrity. But in the soccer-mad English city of Lincoln there's nobody more loved right now than the introverted hedge fund manager from Johannesburg. Nates, formerly of Peregrine Capital, became involved with the Lincoln City football club three years ago. That…

15 Apr 2019 31 min

Flash Briefing: Jet Airways faces bankruptcy; Mzi owes millions; EOH heps plunge; Shoprite shines

* Indian-owned Jet Airways, a discount airline which flies 600 domestic and 380 international routes, cancelled all flights over the weekend stranding thousands of passengers.  Controversial South African entrepreneur Mzi Khumalo’s gold mining company Metallon has halted production at three of its four Zimbabwean mines because of debt that exceeds…

14 Apr 2019 3 min

The Editor’s Desk: Chris Steyn, Brexit & the tale of Lincoln City

DUBLIN – Lost Boys of Bird Island co-author Chris Steyn has been under fire since publishing her explosive book. This week, Steyn was driven to take a polygraph test to defend herself from accusations that she fabricated the story. The furor is reminiscent of the anger surrounding Pieter-Louis Myburgh's Gangster State –…

14 Apr 2019 24 min

Flash Briefing: Public Protector goes after Gordhan; Americans want Assange; Britain in limbo; SA fintech gets thumbs-up; South Africans help film bla..

In today's business headlines:   Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has been subpoenaed by the Public Protector to submit an affidavit related to the so-called SARS rogue unit. Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange is facing extradition to the United States after he was evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Global Economist…

11 Apr 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: Sibanye shares tank; JSE wants Ayo audited; Bibi wins in Israel; Mr Price, Banks; Platinums.

South African gold and platinum producer Sibanye has announced that it had raised R1.8bn ($130m) in cash through selling the equivalent of 5% of its equity at R16.50 a share. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange has urgently requested that the external auditors of Ayo Technology Solutions investigate the company’s reported financials…

10 Apr 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: IMF drops SA growth rate; Debenhams; S&P; Richemont; Brimstone; SA retailers

The International Monetary Fund yesterday cut its forecast for South Africa’s economic growth in 2019 to a pedestrian 1.2% and a modest 1.5% in 2020, both down 0.2% from projections made six months ago. Debenhams, the 241 year old British retailer whose initial boost came from dominating the sale of…

9 Apr 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: CIO claims Ayo "manufactured" financials; Gold, Plat shares surge; Strong Pick n Pay results; Tuna Bond scandal.

The former Chief Investment Officer of JSE-listed Ayo Technology Solutions yesterday told the commission of inquiry into the PIC that the company manufactured financial statements to secure a R4.3bn investment from South Africa’s State pensioners. The $2bn Tuna Bond scandal which involves state officials and Credit Suisse bankers, took an…

8 Apr 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: Added pressure on Magashule; Steinhoff results delayed; Brimstone lines fishing merger; Trade talks positive.

Pressure mounted over the weekend on the man who oversees day-to-day running of South Africa’s ruling political party. Another round of trade talks between the US and China wrapped up in Washington over the weekend with both sides happy with the progress. South Africa’s leading food group Tiger Brands is…

7 Apr 2019 4 min

From the Editor’s Desk: Brexit on the ground – an economic slow puncture

As the UK lurches ever-closer to a no-deal Brexit, the view from the ground in the UK is depressing. Business investment has slowed as companies consider their long-term future. Many are setting up shop offshore in Europe to avoid potential disruptions and maintain their European market share. Many others are…

6 Apr 2019 19 min

Flash Briefing: BP's SA environmental crime, Tesla shares fall, Ethiopia backs pilots, Magashule hits back

In today's business headlines: BP has been found guilty in the Pretoria High Court of environmental crimes in a private prosecution. Ethiopia concluded that their pilots repeatedly followed procedures recommended by Boeing. Tesla Inc. shares fell by 11% as a record decline in deliveries during the first quarter stoked concern…

4 Apr 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: Eskom to avoid dark winter, May shedding hard Brexit, ANC's integrity committee Aced

In today's business headlines: Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan told a media briefing on Eskom that there will be little or at worst only Stage 1 load shedding in the winter. Foreign investors have bought a net R6.8bn of government bonds since Friday after outflows of R81m in March. UK…

3 Apr 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: May turns to Corbyn; UK wants Big 4 breakup; Boeing upgrade not ready; Lyft shares fall below IPO; Penguin stands firm on Ace book

British Prime Minister Theresa May is going to ask the European Union for another Brexit delay and will reach to her opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn to find an end to the logjam. British MPs wants to break up the Big Four auditing companies, PWC, KPMG, EY and Deloitte. The software…

2 Apr 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: Rand, SA bonds jump; Saudis unveil Aramco; Barclays bankers jailed; Coro, Sygnia, Ayo.

Saudi Arabia’s once secretive national oil company Aramco, lifted the veil on its financials yesterday to expose that it is by some distance the biggest profit generating company on earth. Two former employees of Barclays Bank were sentenced to jail for their roles in rigging of a European benchmark interest…

1 Apr 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: Shares' best qtr since 2009; Moody's SA non event; Zuckerberg wants privacy; China manufacturing rebounding

Global stocks markets ended the first three months of 2019 in great shape with another winning session on Friday taking US shares to their best quarterly result in almost a decade. China’s Purchasing Manager’s Index, the official gauge of activity in the country’s manufacturing sector of the world’s second biggest…

31 Mar 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: Repo rate held, May's round three, profits over patients, Andile Ramaphosa fall-out

The UK Parliament may see another vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's deal today after late night negotiations with Belfast and she offered to resign to save the deal. A second Barclays ex-trader has been convicted for Euribor rigging. Another US state is suing Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family…

28 Mar 2019 2 min

Flash Briefing: Naspers pulls up JSE; Kieswetter to run SARS; China's shades of Selebi; More blood at Barclays.

Chinese president Xi Jinping’s six year anti-corruption campaign claimed one of its biggest scalps yesterday in former head of Interpol, Meng Hongwei. Bloodletting at the UK’s Barclays Bank continued yesterday with the sudden departure of corporate and investment banking head Tim Throsby, in the position for barely two years. In…

27 Mar 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: Rees-Mogg switches sides; Kumba, Old Mutual gain; Uber buys Dubai rival; PIC suspends boss

Global ride hailing market leader Uber Technologies has concluded its biggest ever acquisition through the $3.1bn takeover of Middle Eastern rival Careem Networks. Britain’s leading Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has led much of the fight against prime minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, yesterday switched sides after it became apparent that…

26 Mar 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: JSE struggles - market and stock; Lyft IPO this week; Naspers bets big; Smiles for Trump, May.

Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc will IPO later this week with investors seemingly undeterred at the Uber rival’s heavy annual losses which reached $911m last year. It has been a good 48 hours for both US president Donald Trump and British prime minister Theresa May. In South African news, the stock…

25 Mar 2019 3 min

Naspers to list assets in Amsterdam - bonanza for SA shareholders, taxman

An 18 month investigation to find a way of addressing the 40% discount between Naspers’s share price and the value of tis underlying assets reached a headline making conclusion today. The Group will hive off its global assets, including the $134bn stake in Tencent, into a new company that will…

25 Mar 2019 13 min