BizNews Radio (OLD)
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
Infections at a Chinese restaurant prove Covid-19 aerosols CAN spread the virus
We’re learning more about how the virus that causes Covid-19 is spread from person to person. For the most part, it happens when we’re in close contact with an infected person, who emits tiny liquid particles by coughing, sneezing, speaking or singing. You get sick by inhaling the droplets, or having…
SA success story: FirstRand's founders share their secret sauce with BizNews community
FirstRand is one of South Africa’s largest financial services groups and includes Rand Merchant Bank, First National Bank and WesBank. The group was built by partners GT Ferreira, Laurie Dippenaar and Paul Harris, who share their story with BizNews community members in a webinar hosted by BizNews founder Alec Hogg…
Excruciating choice for parents - are schools too high a Covid-19 risk?
There is much SA can learn from the experiences of other countries. Among them the US which has the scale and sophistication to test numerous options. With the start of US's school semesters fast approaching, institutions from elementary schools to colleges are rushing to reinvent themselves for the coronavirus era…
Cyril’s tough Covid-19 rules encourage wealthy to invest outside SA
David Shapiro and BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg have another spirited exchange in this Rational Radio interview. Referring to the reinstated ban on the sale of alcohol, the current circumstances in South Africa are compared to the prohibition in the United States in the 1930s when bootlegging was rife. Shapiro explains…
Inside Covid-19: Interview with Dr Anthony Fauci; Two perspectives on Ramaphosa's Booze Ban shock. Ep 59
In episode 59 of Inside Covid-19, we package highlights from some of today's top virus-related interviews that have relevance to South Africa headlined by a fascinating discussion with the US’s coronavirus doctor Anthony Fauci. There are two perspectives on last night’s controversial new regulations imposed by SA president Cyril Ramaphosa…
Foschini buys Jet stores; booze ban will wipe out more jobs, warn employers; Ghana glitters for FirstRand; Tesla
In today's headlines: * The Foschini Group is to buy Jet stores from Edcon, in business rescue. * Employers warn that South Africa's reinstated ban on alcohol sales will hit businesses hard and lead to further job losses. * The FirstRand group has spotted potentially lucrative opportunities in Ghana, which…
Booze ban: Thousands face economic ruin, says Taverners' leader Lucky Ntimane
The government places the blame on alcohol for violence-related hospitalisations that are clogging up hospital beds. But there is a school of thought that there is something other than Covid-19 containment and treatment concerns behind the ANC decision to prohibit the sale and distribution of alcohol yet allow people to…
America's Covid-19 Doctor Anthony Fauci: Lessons for SA in fighting the pandemic
America's best known scientist, Dr Anthony Fauci, speaks to our partners at the Wall Street Journal about the serious situation being faced by the US after a surge in Covid-19 cases. The leader of the White House's coronavirus task force also shares his ideas on how to get the virus…
BCG vaccine trial update, with Professor Andreas Diacon
Stellenbosch University Professor Andreas Diacon is the force behind a 500-person clinical trial aimed at determining whether the BCG vaccines many South Africans got as children to protect against TB are indeed a shield against Covid-19. The trial involves revaccination of BCG that’s been universally applied in South Africa since…
Booze ban back, curfew, strict face-mask rules; ANC plan to grab your pension fund assets; Old Mutual Zim crisis
In this snapshot of the headlines: * South Africa has reintroduced the ban on the sale and distribution of alcohol, is imposing a curfew and enforcing stricter face-mask rules as hospitals come under pressure from Covid-19. Listen to his key points. * The ANC has released its plan to get…
Cyril Ramaphosa: Here's why SA needs a booze ban, curfews and compulsory face masks
The National State of Disaster has been extended to 15 August. Although the country will remain at level three of the lockdown strategy, some strict measures have been reintroduced - including bans on the sale and distribution of alcohol and family and other social visits - and everyone will be…
Allan Gray's new chief investment officer Duncan Artus on plans to improve investment performance
Duncan Artus is stepping up to become chief investment officer for Allan Gray - an investment company that has attracted huge funds on the back of past superior performance but that has disappointed its clients in recent years. In this interview with BizNews founder Alec Hogg, he picks up on…
ANC wants pension funds to take over restructured Eskom assets - here's its plan
The ANC unveiled its plan for economic recovery post Covid-19 and although its plan has some of the broad measures suggested by B4SA; it includes a proposal that pension funds should take over restructured assets of Eskom. - Linda van Tilburg
SA's R3.4 trillion 'parachute' plan, the 'last chance saloon' - Martin Kingston, B4SA
South Africa's economy was under pressure before Covid-19. Now it is in a very dark place. For B4SA it is over a cliff and it needs a "parachute". B4SA has provided the details of a plan it believes can get SA back on track. Listen to Business Unity SA's spokesperson…
The Editor’s Desk: Was lockdown a mistake (and should insurers pay for it)?
The decision to impose lockdown has come in for a lot of criticism these days, especially as the economic costs of the lockdown continue to mount. In this episode, Felicity Duncan and BizNews editor Jackie Cameron discuss the rationale behind lockdown, looking at the accuracy of Covid-19 predictions and the…
SA epidemiologist warns Covid-19 will leave many ‘alive but permanently impaired’
Epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes warns about another scary side of the Covid-19 story: many of us will be left alive, but permanently impaired. In this interview with BizNews founder Alec Hogg, she picks up on a heated debate about flawed Covid-19 statistics, saying that the focus on death rates is…
Covid-19 jumps in Gauteng; FSCA to act against insurers in business interruption scandal; JP Markets
In today's news headlines: * Gauteng, the richest province in South Africa, has become the centre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak; * South Africa’s manufacturing output fell 49.4% year on year in April during a nationwide lockdown, says Reuters; * The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has filed an urgent…
Kisby Fund: A life-saving option for SMEs - Mark Barnes
The Kisby Fund is a tech-savvy financial approach to assisting small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Its charismatic chair Mark Barnes tells BizNews founder Alec Hogg that the secret to economic dignity is well-funded small enterprises that foster job creation. Barnes is a well-known visionary, widely credited for the financial and…
Early Covid-19 SA sufferer Old Mutual exec Andrew McPherson: 'I still can't smell'
Old Mutual’s Andrew McPherson was among the first South Africans to test positive for Covid-19. He reflects on what life is like three months later and says he still has problems, for example he has not recovered his sense of smell. Although he has suffered from Covid-19, and wears a…
Inside Covid-19: Back to school anxiety; revisiting Dr Jo Barnes, Prof Andreas Diacon and Andrew McPherson. Ep 58
In episode 58 of Inside Covid-19, we assess the anxiety about sending children back to school and media reports the coronavirus is now airborne; we revisit with two of our medical experts, forthright epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes who sees a bright side for the nation after the very hard road…