Dial Business 911 – unpacking business rescue
Business rescue is a term that has become synonymous with the economic lockdown of 2020. Barely a day goes by without another headline proclaiming a well-known company to have entered business rescue. The most high-profile examples of companies in business rescue include Edcon, SAA and more recently Comair. The first two were broken long before COVID-19 arrived. People make the …
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Cry, the beloved Cape Town economy
I have lived in the two most economically important cities in South Africa: Johannesburg and Cape Town. The coffee is different. The weekend activities are different. The night life is incredibly different. Like all cities, they both offer positives and negatives. Nowhere is perfect. Most of all though, the economies are completely different. One is a banking, corporate and industrial powerhouse, …
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Imperial is almost a pure-play African business
There was an interesting announcement out of Imperial Logistics (JSE:IPL) today, especially considering JSE companies were scrambling for “hard currency exposure” just a few years ago. ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????? “???????????????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????????” Conglomerates have been out of fashion for a while. Investors prefer pure-play businesses that allow them to take specific exposure to an …
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Land Bank: the SOE crisis outta nowhere
Another day, another SOE crisis, right? This one is a little different. Before delving into the reasons for the current crisis at the Land Bank, let’s take a brief look at its background. the_ad id=”3223″ Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) DFIs are set up to support private sector initiatives in key sectors. Certain sectors are of such importance to a country …
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South African stimulus and the risk of stagflation
The word “stimulus” has been on everyone’s lips. Simply put, economic stimulus is an attempt by a government to kick-start growth during a recession. There are various ways and means to do this, using monetary or fiscal policy or a combination of the two: Examples of monetary policy: Lowering interest rates Quantitative easing (central banks buying longer-term securities in the …
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Finance FAQs edition 1: JSE | Working Capital | Emerging Markets
People use financial terms all the time, but rarely have a proper understanding of them. Simple terms aren’t always so simple. There’s no such thing as a stupid question, but people are still nervous to ask. From time to time, I’ll deal with a set of unrelated topics or questions in the finance world. Feel free to submit ideas for …
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Reviewing the COVID-19 financial support for South Africans
- South Africa
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Banks, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Debt Relief Fund, Growth Resilience Facility, Oppenheimer, Rupert, South African Future Trust, Sukuma Relief Programme, UIF TERS, Unemployment Insurance Fund
- April 18, 2020
Lockdown is supposed to be over, but it isn’t. In fact, it’s just getting weird now, with increasingly strange decisions coming out of government. I’m sure nurses and doctors really appreciate the nonsensical ban on frozen prepared meals when they get home late at night. At least Fikile Mbalula can be proud of his Easter road death toll statistics, which …
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Coronavirus has the oil world over a barrel
We should be thanking our lucky stars every day that South Africa’s fortunes aren’t dependent on the oil price. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq are enormously dependent on oil. Saudi Arabia’s petroleum sector accounts for over 40% of GDP. Closer to home, countries like Angola and to a lesser extent Nigeria also count the oil price among their …
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To offshore or not to offshore?
To offshore or not to offshore? That is the question on everyone’s lips. With the Rand behaving like a yo-yo, it’s a reasonable question. I’m just not sure the answer is as obvious as everyone thinks it is. I can’t suggest what you should do with your money, as I’m not your financial advisor and I don’t know your personal …
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The debt virus is tough to treat
Investment analysis is hardly ever as simple as it initially seems. People are too quick to assume that an entire sector is going to do very well from a specific event. Let’s take healthcare as a topical example. With hospitals overflowing and medical infrastructure buckling under pressure in many countries worldwide, one may be quick to assume that companies in …
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