IT'S ALL IN THE MARGIN
By Sasha Planting
When prices of food and general merchandise fall faster than a company's expenses, achieving profits is difficult. In the past six months, disinflation (slowing price increases) in food and deflation (declining prices) in general merchandise hit...

TAKING YOUR OWN ADVICE
By Matthew Hill
Where to draw the line between interests can be as clear as mud. Take Bernard Swanepoel's case, for example. His consultancy To the Point Growth Solutions owns 48% of Village Main, one of the oldest companies on the JSE. The company also consults ...

PRESSURE MOUNTS
By Razina Munshi
When finance minister Pravin Gordhan told parliament in his budget speech that SA's infrastructure spending would rise, the construction and building materials index promptly gained 4,2%. One day later, Murray & Roberts (M&R) releas...

A LONG WAY FROM PASTURE
By Stephen Cranston
In global retailing there is a phenomenon known as the category killer: a chain such as Home Depot or Toys R Us that is so strong it is hard for anyone to compete in its sector. Discovery Health is in such a position in SA medical aid....

RENEWED PURPOSE
By Stephen Cranston
There is no question that the shock loss in the first half of the year (Cover Story August 21 2009) has revitalised the Liberty management. It clearly pulled out all the stops to ensure that the R1,2bn loss in the first half wou...

SWORDS CROSSED OVER PRICE
By Charlotte Mathews
The department of trade & industry (DTI) hinted this week it would be taking another look at the way steel is priced locally. But it rejected reports that it might get involved in the commercial dispute between Kumba Iron Ore and ArcelorMittal SA (A...

LONG-TERM VIEW
By Andrew McNulty
Imperial Holdings was among the first of the large local industrial groups to show a sharp deterioration in its financial performance as markets turned downwards more than a year ago. It is now proving to be among the first to recover...

RECESSION PROOF?
By Larry Claasen
Technology group GijimaAST has neatly sidestepped the recession. A 3,6% decline in revenue to R1,4bn did not stop operating profit from rising 68% to R134m for the half-year to end-December. The group, which sells computer hardware ...

BAD RUN OF LUCK
By Matebello Motloung
Sun International Hotels & Gaming will be hoping for a better financial performance in the remainder of its financial year. This follows the group's disappointing performance in the six months to December 2009, during which overall ...

NEW SET OF CHALLENGES
By Larry Claasen
MTN Group CEO and president Phuthuma Nhleko is leaving the company in a year but there is already speculation over who will replace him. The board, chaired by Cyril Ramaphosa, will have a difficult job replacing someone who was at...

CHICKEN UP FOR THE CUP
By Shannon Sherry
Agricultural services group Afgri's strategy to grow leaner and meaner by stripping out non core businesses to focus on its grain value chain and expansion further into Africa will move into a second phase this year as even some of it...

FROM CANDY TO CARS
By Shannon Sherry
Tongaat Hulett CEO Peter Staude is hopeful that world climate-change talks in SA next year will focus minds on the need for legislation on renewable energy. The sugar industry would receive a fillip from such legislation, and Staude...

CRISIS WATCH
By Andrew McNulty
One positive aspect of the recent recession is that large companies, in the main, held sufficiently strong balance sheets when conditions started deteriorating, and we haven't seen the corporate collapses that occurred in many previou...

THE UGLY DUCKLING
By Larry Claasen
UBUBELE HOLDINGS 1. Cash positive - yes 2. Revenue up - yes ...

DIAMONDS & DOGS
Jamie Carr's picks of the week
Diamond - Discovery The biggest problem in presenting Discovery's latest results must have been to find a thesaurus big enough to provide the torrent of superlatives accompanying each division's performance. Heal...

INVESTOR'S NOTEBOOK
By Stephen Cranston
What exactly is the role of a chief investment officer? Is it like the old joke about the economist, who is much like a necktie, completely useless but nobody at a reputable financial institution would be seen without one? I certainly...

PLATINUM UPSIDE?

The JSE platinum miners' index has enjoyed a strong rally from the lows of October 2008. Since the start of this year, the platinum miners have been pulling back. A lot of the recent weakness has been caused by a pullback in the platin...