THE TEST OF 2009

What important lessons have you learnt as an SA company in the centre of the financial crisis? Perspective. Everyone in the world is vulnerable at the moment, no matter how strong they are. But this phase allows for unconventiona...

DEALING IN UNCERTAINTY
By David Furlonger
Barely a year after creating a specialist dealer network to handle its luxury brands, General Motors SA (GMSA) is having to reconsider its future. GMSA launched the dealer network last year to sell Cadillac, Saab and Hummer vehicles...

US RECESSION IN NUMBERS
By Razina Munshi
12 months ago, in December 2007, the US officially sank into a recession, says the National Bureau of Economic Research. 0,5% was the contraction in th...

FOR THE WELL-HEELED
By Matebello Motloung
For many women, shoes and not diamonds are a girl's best friend. Ask Penny Mubaiwa, owner of Amaranth Exclusive, an upmarket shoe boutique that specialises in imported footwear from Brazil. Born in Umlazi, KwaZulu Natal, Mubaiwa started Amaran...

AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE
By Zohra Mohamed
It touts itself as a leading hotel and boasts "uncompromising service and hospitality" as Durban's "finest" city hotel. But the Royal Hotel is in reality a dying institution a far cry from the sophisticated hotel of yesteryear wh...

N97 CALLING
By Duncan McLeod
Finally! Nokia has unveiled a touch-screen phone - the N97 - that could give Apple's iPhone 3G a run for its money. Though many thought the company's upcoming 5800 XpressMusic would be a potential iPhone killer, it's nothing of the sort, lacking the ...

AN ENERGETIC CAREER
By Sasha Planting
When Allen Morgan retired and moved to Erinvale in Somerset West, he thought he'd be playing golf five times a week. These days he's lucky if he gets in two rounds. The former Eskom CE keeps his finger on SA's energy pulse through his...

COMINGS & GOINGS

Greg James Steps down as CE of Central Rand Gold (CRG) and is succeeded by the company's finance director, Johan du Toit. James stays on as a non executive director of CRG SA, CRG's operating company. Doug Blackmur DRDGold...

SOUNDS OF SUCCESS
By Zohra Mohamed
They're known as SA's "singing ambassadors", and travel the world to perform. The Drakensberg Boys' Choir is made up of 103 boys, aged between nine and 15, who are enrolled in the school in the central Drakensberg. They move on to ...

LESOTHO HIGHLANDS PHASE 2 WATER PROJECT
By Matthew Hill
What is the Lesotho Highlands phase 2 water project? The R7,3bn project includes a new dam in the mountain kingdom, hydro-power generation and a network of tunnels to carry water from Lesotho to the Vaal River system. The Vaal system s...

PAPER-SAVING INK
By Duncan McLeod
The paperless office is far from being achieved - despite the growth of digital media, e-mail, e-books and the Web. However, ways of reducing paper use have to be found - not only to save the environment but to help companies cut co...

STEER CLEAR OF A JAM
By Duncan McLeod
Are you looking forward to your December break but dreading the traffic chaos on the national highways? Then plan around the snarl-ups by driving at times when the roads won't be clogged. The SA National Roads Agency and road safety campaign Arri...

WINNERS & LOSERS

WINNER Don MacRobert The trademark consultant of local firm Adams & Adams was runner-up for the prestigious world intellectual property lawyer award by professional peers at an awards function held in London recently. LOS...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

DIRK HERMANN, SOLIDARITY deputy general secretary, on the union's report which says 32 companies have retrenched 22 000 employees since July, and up to 310 000 more workers stand to lose their jobs in the next six months ...