Rational Radio

SABC's 3-month cover; Comair gets SAA boost; Rand breaks 14; Glencore wants Rio's aluminium; more SARB fire dousing

In today's business headlines: With only three months of salaries secured for the SABC, its COO says its future now lies with the banks; A sharp increase of more than 20% is expected in Comair’s earnings thanks to a court settlement; The rand strengthened to below R14 to the dollar…

4 Jul 2019 4 min

Paul O'Sullivan: Corrupt Eskom managers took their cue from rotten CEO

A corporate fish might rot from the top, but once the disease sets in it spreads far beyond what most would anticipate. On Rational Radio this week, Forensics For Justice founder Paul O'Sullivan shared the story of an Eskom manager with signing power on contracts up to R750m who abused…

4 Jul 2019 10 min

A chat with big spending King Price founder Gideon "42 pitches" Galloway

On Rational Radio this week, we caught up with persistent financial services entrepreneur Gideon Galloway after he had sealed the R140m acquisition of Stangen. It was a fascinating conversation as Galloway explained how a presentation by a BMW executive got him started towards creating the disruptive short-term insurer King Price…

4 Jul 2019 8 min

Trevor Manuel's winning libel lawyer Dario Milo on SA's mushrooming defamation suits

On Rational Radio this week, SA's pre-eminent media lawyer Dario Milo spoke about the recent mushrooming of libel cases including Independent Newspapers chairman Iqbal Surve's R100m suit against former activist and labour journalist Terry Bell. Milo, who is usually on the side of media defendants, successfully represented SA's former finance…

4 Jul 2019 13 min

Miners pollute Mpumalanga water; Naspers gets SA CEO; No QE in SA; Business Confidence ticks up

Coal miners accused of polluting water in Mpumalanga; Business confidence ticks up slightly; Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo says the government will not consider quantitative easing; Naspers appoints Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa as CEO of its South Africa business; Tesla returns to growth mode; and Nestlé ditches plastic for paper.

3 Jul 2019 5 min

David Shapiro in NYC: Soaking in US mood, a Nasdaq listing, what to buy

On Rational Radio this week, Biznews.com's Alec Hogg caught up with SA's favourite market commentator who is visiting family in New York City. David talks about the mood in the US, witnessing his first Nasdaq listing and what he has learnt about the stocks South Africans should be buying -…

3 Jul 2019 14 min

Rational Radio 3 July - O'Sullivan, Shapiro, Milo, Galloway and Markets

In this producer's cut of the Rational Radio show for Wednesday July 3, Biznews's Alec Hogg gets in depth with this week's guests: Unpacking corruption at Eskom with Paul O'Sullivan; Entrepreneurship with King Price founder and CEO Gideon Galloway; the mood in the US, a Nasdaq listing and investment picks…

3 Jul 2019 54 min

World Bank backs Eskom; Zim pays Eskom some; Steinhoff targets Jooste’s assets; SA miners want 48%

The World Bank says SA will save Eskom. Details of a R230bn rescue package are due to be unveiled soon, says Bloomberg. Zimbabwe has paid back some of the money it owes for electricity provided by Eskom. South African retail giant Steinhoff wants its former CEO Markus Jooste to repay…

2 Jul 2019 5 min

Moyo dishes dirt on Manuel; Trade war talk boosts rand; Eskom coal plants face closure

The battle between Old Mutual’s sacked CEO Peter Moyo and the life assurer’s chairman, Trevor Manuel, has intensified, with Moyo claiming that he was fired in a tit-for-tat type move after raising a red flag about Manuel’s conflicts of interest. South Africa's rand started the week stronger after the United…

1 Jul 2019 4 min

Trade war "off"; US shares 1H surge; Anglo's $8.5bn to SA; King Price swoops; Transhex rebounds

The year long on-off-on trade war between the US and China is apparently off again after the countries’ leaders lunched for an hour and a half on Saturday.  On Friday, international mining company Anglo American plc disclosed in its 2018 tax and economic contribution report, that South Africa remains the…

30 Jun 2019 4 min

The Editor’s Desk: Discovery Bank is on to a winner & where to for Tiso

Discovery has long been one of South Africa’s most innovative companies, and it looks like Discovery Bank is no different from, say, Discovery Health. Biznews recently caught up with Discovery founder Adrian Gore to talk about the company’s plans for the banking sector. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity…

29 Jun 2019 19 min

Adrian Gore: R6bn invested, pilot done, Discovery Bank moves to next level

Super entrepreneur Adrian Gore has plenty on his plate, such is the lot of someone building a disruptive global business. But over the past few months much of his focus has been on the financial services group's new South African bank - a project into which R6bn has already been…

28 Jun 2019 10 min

Oilgate: Glencore caves on steps of the court as cost to SA exceeds R4.5bn

Stefanie Fick, the chief legal officer at OUTA, has been keeping a close eye on the allegedly illegal sale of South Africa's strategic oil reserves - the cost of which is now over R4.5bn. On Rational Radio this week she unpacked the story, including the last minute caving by sale…

27 Jun 2019 10 min

James Edward: How to get your SA inheritance if you're living abroad

On Rational Radio this week Sable's SA head of forex James Edward James unpacks the process for those living abroad who inherit from SA trusts and deceased estates. Edward has 35 years of banking experience, 15 of these intimately involved in international trade finance, including eight years as head of…

27 Jun 2019 6 min

Tiso Blackstar billion rand deal with Lebashe; Glencore shares drop; Recession fear but investment flows in; Fuel price

In today's business headlines:  Tiso Blackstar has sold its media, broadcast and content businesses to the Lebashe Investment Group Glencore shares fell sharply as at least 19 miners are killed in the DRC  The South African economy is stuck in a long downward cycle but investment is starting to flow…

27 Jun 2019 4 min

Bloemfontein teen racer Stuart White setting his sights on Formula 1

In motorsport circles in South Africa, Stuart White has been called the Bloemfontein Bullet, White Lightning, even Baby Vettel or Stuwie. White is a 17 year old teenager from Bloemfontein who has been taken on by Sauber Motorsport earlier this year where so many great drivers like Kimi Raikkonen and…

27 Jun 2019 7 min

SA entrepreneurs open Orbvest to others, US medical property fund at 8% yield

In this week's episode of Rational Radio, Martin Freeman, a successful South African entrepreneur and now New York-based CEO of Orbvest, unpacks the strategy behind the $200m fund that's yielding 8% a year.    

27 Jun 2019 15 min

Wendy Machanik: Buyer's market for SA homes - and banks are loosening up

In this week's episode of Rational Radio, South African property guru Wendy Machanik unpacks the state of the residential market - buyers have the whip hand and banks are getting more aggressive in their lending.

27 Jun 2019 4 min

Steinhoff wants R850m from Jooste; Dodgy bookkeeping at municipalities; SOE rescue plans; Bitcoin keeps soaring

In today's business headlines:  Steinhoff wants R850 million back from the company’s former CEO Markus Jooste.  Irregular expenditure at municipalities has reached R25 billion in the 2017/18 financial year with only 7% returning clean audits.   Eskom unveils restructuring plans to London investors while Treasury indicates saving the power utility…

26 Jun 2019 5 min

Grow investments in a slow economy: Think like a wealth ecologist - Dawn Ridler

Johannesburg-based money expert Dawn Ridler swapped a scientific career studying the environment for strategising around personal finances. In this interview, Dawn shares what a wealth ecologist is and how you can harness some ecology ideas to grow your savings and investments in a struggling economy. - Jackie Cameron

26 Jun 2019 10 min