ABUSING PARENTAL PRIVILEGES
By Rob Rose
It seems Anglo Platinum's cash-strapped 79%-parent, the UK-listed Anglo American Plc, has arrived at its offspring's house intent on mooching as much cash as it can. For a minority shareholder concerned that Anglo American isn't ab...
ATTRACTIVE AND DANGEROUS
By Matthew Hill
Hedging can be a corporate killer. But it doesn't kill like a slick assassin - rather it takes out companies by beating them repeatedly with a blunt instrument. Just ask Pamodzi Gold, which is bruised and battered beyond recognition...
IN ONE DOOR OUT THE OTHER
By Stephen Cranston
Life assurance is often seen as a sunset industry in structural decline. And asset growth has been lower than for competing industries such as unit trusts. While unit trust industry assets were flat in 2008 at R647bn, the life indus...
ROOM AT THE TOP
By Stephen Cranston
For the first time, the job of head of Old Mutual SA has been advertised in the national media, including the FM. In the past, succession was automatic and predictable, with Paul Hanratty succeeding Roddy Sparks in 2006, who ha...
IN LOW GEAR
By Andrew McNulty
As the downturn deepens, some local companies are flush with cash, while others are burdened with debt and large investment projects. This could make the difference between a mild earnings slowdown and a severe decline or loss, w...
NO BUY-IN FROM BANKS
By Shoks Mzolo
Iqbal Survé is still sulking over how inflexible banks are when it comes to empowerment funding models. The Sekunjalo chairman and founder says the financial institutions' stance could stall the agenda to transfer wealth to those on t...
SHOULD IT BE ENFORCED?
By Razina Munshi
If society fails, business fails, and if business fails, investments fail. It is this principle that social investment gurus say the investment world needs to acknowledge. After decades of resistance, principles underpinning socially r...
NEW INTEREST IN LICENCE
By Matebello Motloung
Listed fixed-line operator Telkom's decision to pull the plug on its pay-TV venture, Telkom Media, has resurrected interest in its operating licence from two black-owned communications firms. The decision has two implications - the ...
WIN SOME, LOSE SOME
By Sasha Planting
In a classic case of you win some, lose some, in the same week that AVI announced the settlement of its tax dispute with the SA Revenue Service (Sars), Oceana announced its new CEO to be Francois Kuttel, the man who oversaw the turnaround of AVI's ...
CRISIS WATCH
By Rob Rose
It remains a curiosity, up there with the popularity of Spur restaurants among the childless, that Gordon Brown has any moral high ground on which to stand: he is just as culpable as any other finance minister for the economic mess. Th...
THE UGLY DUCKLING
By Larry Claasen
STEFANUTTI STOCKS $ 1. Cash positive $ 2. Revenue up $ 3. Share ignored $ 4. Dividend paid $ 5. Profitab...
DIAMONDS & DOGS
Jamie Carr's picks of the week
Diamond Capitec Capitec can be forgiven for launching its results announcement with the biggest crow since Peter Pan hung up his boots. It points out that while the world's fanciest bankers have brought the global economy to the brink of dis...
INVESTOR'S NOTEBOOK
By Stephen Cranston
It was the right decision for the Redefine shareholders to accept the proposed merger with Madison and ApexHi. It will form a property company of substance, tradable enough to attract foreign investors. The next step for Brian Azizoll...
