Rational Radio

The Editor’s Desk: SA’s watershed election – will the ANC win it?

South Africa is headed into election season and the stakes are high. After months of testimony at various commissions of inquiry, the full scope of Zuma’s maladministration has been laid bare. There can be no illusions that the ten years of Zumanomics were anything other than a disaster for the…

9 Mar 2019 18 min

Flash Briefing: Nersa gives Eskom less; Ramaphosa mum on Bosasa; Fast charging Musk; Euro bank stimulus

In today's global headlines: Shock Eskom hike of 9.4% in electricity prices approved by Nersa with more rises in the pipeline. Tesla is updating its charging networking claiming a charge in 15 minutes just as competition is starting to move into the electric vehicle market. Ramaphosa again declines to say…

7 Mar 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Jooste's reckoning approaches; Zim ends local ownership; France taxes Big Tech; Record US trade deficit

In today’s global business headlines… In a year when President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on a range of imports to cut his country’s trade imbalance, the United States posted its largest deficit since 2008. Pressure on the US’s big tech giants rose a notch yesterday as the French government introduced…

6 Mar 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Tesla tanks on Musk blog; Ghosn leaves jail; US Unis hacked by China; SA 2018 GDP 0.8%

In today’s global business headlines….. The price Tesla shares continued to fall last night, taking its fall in the three trading sessions of March well into double digits. Although hopes are high for a deal to end the trade war, tensions between America and China are sure to be tested…

5 Mar 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Huawei hits back at US, Canada; Bristow's $18bn deal "egocentric"; Eskom pulls in private sector; AT&T to slash jobs

In today’s global business headlines… The $225bn telecoms and media giant AT&T dominated global business headlines last night after announcing a major overhaul of its operations. China’s telecoms equipment supplier Huawei retaliated yesterday after months of being on the back foot over allegations that it is collaborating with the Chinese…

4 Mar 2019 4 min

Deconstructing Angelo Agrizzi, Bosasa kingpin turned State Capture canary

For nine days at the end of January, on a live televised broadcast of South Africa's Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, Angelo Agrizzi unburdened himself of 19 years of nefarious deeds. His testimony had the nation riveted. Here was a self-admitted criminal kingpin providing the proof, naming the names…

4 Mar 2019 25 min

Flash Briefing: Edcon rescues 30,000 jobs; SA climbs in Fraser mining index; MSCI pushing China shares; Vale CEO resigns

In today’s global business headlines… Chinese share prices, which have risen by a third this year to become the world’s best performers for 2019, have further upside according to a couple of investment heavyweights. January’s deadly slimes dam burst in Brazil, where 186 people are confirmed dead and another 122…

3 Mar 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Manuel says Eskom is an albatross, Mbulala felt 'violated'; Netanyahu to be charged; 'fantastic' progress in US/China trade talks

In today’s global business headlines… Negotiations on the US trade war with China is going so well that it has been described as “fantastic” by National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow. In the UK, Rolls Royce’s troubles with its Trent 1000 engines led to a £2.9bn pre-tax loss compared to…

28 Feb 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Glencore spills Gupta beans; Trump called "a conman"; Six Africans among world's richest; Metrobank shares plunge 26%.

In today’s global business headlines….. US president Donald Trump was described as a conman, a racist and a liar by his personal lawyer of 10 years, Michael Cohen in testimony before Congress yesterday. Six Africans feature on Bloomberg’s list of the world’s 500 richest people released yesterday. The share price…

27 Feb 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Musk swings back at SEC; Jacko's Neverland at 70% discount; Trump's ex-lawyer exposes criminality; Brexit "No Deal" scotched

In today’s global business headlines… Pound Sterling gained more than one percent against the US Dollar yesterday after fears of a No Deal Brexit evaporated. On the other side of the Atlantic, US president Donald Trump is about to be publicly accused of criminal conduct by his long-time lawyer and…

26 Feb 2019 4 min

Premium: Full transcript, audio of Alec Hogg's post-Davos SA presentations

Six presentations across South Africa in 10 days is about as intense a programme as I've had. But the message from Davos and afterwards was certainly heard: this remarkable country is on the mend and the smart money is already paying attention. We kicked off the post-Davos talks in Durban,…

26 Feb 2019 1 hr 05 min

Flash Briefing: Saffer launches $18bn hostile takeover; Helios Towers investing $100m into SA; Buffett admits over-paying; GE in $21bn biopharm exit

South African mining boss and recently appointed Barrick CEO Mark Bristow yesterday launched gold mining’s biggest ever hostile takeover bid. Once universally admired American conglomerate General Electric last night announced a major step towards breaking into smaller chunks by agreeing the $21bn sale of its life sciences business. Berkshire Hathaway…

25 Feb 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Facebook caught cheating (again); KKR tipped for ASDA; Eskom plunderers attacked; Buffett's share buybacks

Facebook is in trouble again, this time after an investigation by the Wall Street Journal revealed it is harvesting deeply personal material from people who don’t even have an account with Mark Zuckerberg’s creation. US private equity group KKR is being tipped as the likely buyer of Walmart’s British supermarket…

24 Feb 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Foldable Samsung; Buffett goes elephant hunting; Anglo stronger than expected; Barclays Brexit provision

In today's global headlines... Samsung has revealed its new foldable phone that resembles a conventional cellphone, but it folds open like a book to reveal a small tablet of 18.5 cm. Warren Buffet is on the hunt for ‘elephants’. No not the big 5 variety, that is what he calls…

21 Feb 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: Eskom bailout in world headlines; UBS hit with record fine; Glencore caves to activists; Dynamite in US Fed Minutes

In today’s business headlines… The Minutes of last month’s US Federal Reserve interest rate meeting, released yesterday, disclose that members agreed to pause the tightening phase until there is more clarity on emerging risks to economic growth. Swiss bank UBS has been fined a record $4.2bn for encouraging wealthy French…

20 Feb 2019 3 min

Flash Briefing: AMCU wants sympathy strikes; Sanders for President; Walmart best 4Q in 15 years; Fashion mourns Lagerfeld.

In today's headlines... On Twitter last night anti-establishment politician Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy to become American President in 2020. Retail giant Walmart yesterday calmed the nerves of investors worrying about a slowdown in the US economy, announcing a 4.2% rise in revenues for the three months to end December…

19 Feb 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Split in UK Labour Party; 8 arrests in $2bn Mozam Tuna Bond scandal; Aussie Parly hacked by hostile state; Honda closes in UK

In today’s global business headlines… The UK yesterday experienced its biggest political split in almost 40 years when seven members of the Labour Party walked away from the official opposition, which is led by the controversial Jeremy Corbyn. Still in the UK, the country’s struggling motor manufacturing sector took another…

18 Feb 2019 4 min

Flash Briefing: Eskom fears sabotage; Europe ignores Pence; Citi's Brexit boost; Uber growth slows

In today’s global business headlines… Fault lines continue to widen between the United States of America and its traditional western allies. In Germany over the weekend, US vice president Mike Pence’s call to ratchet up pressure on Iran was brushed off by the Europeans. Brexit supporters are celebrating yesterday’s news…

17 Feb 2019 4 min

Meet Mike Sharman: Advertising visionary helping to spark a revolution.

Marketers have long known that we listen more carefully to the advice of those we trust than messages from corporates trying to sell us their wares. So, for decades they’ve drawn on endorsements by celebrities, primarily movie stars and athletes, to generate additional sales for their clients. The digital age…

17 Feb 2019 27 min

Flash Briefing: CR trying to charm Eskom unions; Airbus pulls plug on A380; Amazon abandons NYC; AliBaba buys big in UK

In today’s global business headlines… Within three years European aircraft builder Airbus is to abandon its $16bn project which produces the A380, the world’s biggest plane. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s February got even worse yesterday when his group buckled to political resistance and dropped plans to build a new HQ…

14 Feb 2019 4 min