Rational Perspective

Facebook is standing first in the firing line of criticism of the big tech companies who are accused of selling users private data, channelling propaganda and fake news and damaging democratic elections. More countries around the world are now starting to talk about regulating Facebook and other social media platforms. Zuckerberg did not help his case by refusing to appear before a Parliamentary committee in the United Kingdom which concluded that Zuckerberg failed to show leadership or personal responsibility over fake news on Facebook. This forced the country’s Digital Minister, Jeremy Wright to fly to San Francisco to see Zuckerberg about their concerns. Following that meeting, Facebook has announced that controversial far right-wing British agitator, Tommy Robinson also known as Stephen-Yaxley-Lennon would be permanently removed from their platform. In Britain there is overwhelming support for tougher regulation: 80% of people surveyed by a private data security firm Eskenzi PR wanted tighter government c

In today’s global business headlines… Pound Sterling gained more than one percent against the US Dollar yesterday after fears of a No Deal Brexit evaporated. On the other side of the Atlantic, US president Donald Trump is about to be publicly accused of criminal conduct by his long-time lawyer and confidant Michael Cohen. Pop star Michael Jackson’s “Neverland” ranch, where he lived for 15 years, is now being offered for sale at an almost 70% discount to the $100m it was listed at in 2015. In South African related news, well sort of, the country’s most famous entrepreneurial export Elon Musk yesterday slammed the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission after it accused him of breaking an agreement made last year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six presentations across South Africa in 10 days is about as intense a programme as I've had. But the message from Davos and afterwards was certainly heard: this remarkable country is on the mend and the smart money is already paying attention. We kicked off the post-Davos talks in Durban, and as tends to happen, the audience was settled a long time before the 6pm start. There was a flipboard in the room which, ahead of the formal proceedings, allowed me to informally share on the four quadrants of change which we must all progress through: Rejection; Resistance; Acceptance; Commitment. South Africa is changing. But as with any other change, each one of us moves through these quadrants at our own speed - the most fortunate have always been those who get to Commitment first and reap the rewards by adjusting their circumstances ahead of the crowd. Given the interaction both during and after these talks, information shared assisted some attendees in that process. Have a listen/read the transcript of the final pr

JOHANNESBURG — Many people in South Africa may have never heard of Lobster Ink before. It's a company that's quietly gone about its business providing online video training to staff in the hospitality and tourism sector. From small beginnings in South Africa, Lobster Ink has grown rapidly to service the world's biggest hotel groups from Africa to the Middle East and the US. But even more impressively, Lobster Ink was recently acquired by Ecolab for an undisclosed sum. US-headquartered Ecolab is a global provider of water, hygiene and energy technologies and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets. In this interview then, Fasie Malherbe, the President of Lobster Ink, tells us the story of his company. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

South African mining boss and recently appointed Barrick CEO Mark Bristow yesterday launched gold mining’s biggest ever hostile takeover bid. Once universally admired American conglomerate General Electric last night announced a major step towards breaking into smaller chunks by agreeing the $21bn sale of its life sciences business. Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett admitted during an interview with CNBC yesterday his company overpaid when helping to buy food company Heinz in 2013. In South African related news, independent UK telecoms infrastructure business Helios Towers yesterday announced it will double up on its recent South African investment by building 1 000 towers in the country during the next three years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHANNESBURG — In 2016,  a consortium comprising dealmakers at RMB Ventures, Pan-African Capital Holdings, MIC Capital Partners and Smit Amandla Marine employees acquired Smit Amandla Marine from a Dutch maritime group. Known as African Marine Solutions Group (Amsol), the new venture that emerged from this deal embarked on a journey of transforming the maritime business into a South African owned entity that would seek to empower its workers as well as driving transformation. In this interview, Mbongeni Madonsela, a private equity transactor at RMB Ventures and Paul Maclons who is the CEO of Amsol talk about their journey thus far. - Gareth van Zyl  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Facebook is in trouble again, this time after an investigation by the Wall Street Journal revealed it is harvesting deeply personal material from people who don’t even have an account with Mark Zuckerberg’s creation. US private equity group KKR is being tipped as the likely buyer of Walmart’s British supermarket chain Asda after the UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority spiked its proposed £7bn merger with Sainsbury. Warren Buffett, the world’s most successful investor, was in the news over the weekend after disclosing that for the first time in decades Berkshire has started buying back its own shares. In South African related news, president Cyril Ramaphosa last night accelerated the process of recovering plundered state resources by establishing a Special Tribunal chaired by Judge Gidfonia Makhanya. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's global headlines... Samsung has revealed its new foldable phone that resembles a conventional cellphone, but it folds open like a book to reveal a small tablet of 18.5 cm. Warren Buffet is on the hunt for ‘elephants’. No not the big 5 variety, that is what he calls large acquisitions. Barclays Bank is in the black again as it reported a full-year net profit of  £1.4bn for 2018. The Catholic Church is finally addressing a decade of scandals that rocked the church in a landmark summit on child sex abuse. Anglo American posted stronger than expected results driven by higher copper and coal prices with EBITDA rising 4% to $9.2bn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHANNESBURG — BizNews doesn't only keep its readers up-to-date with the latest happenings in the business world, but it can even inspire new entrepreneurs to kickstart their own exciting ventures. This has been the case with Henco Wiid and Francois Liebenberg who - after listening to Alec Hogg interview the now late Professor Matthew Lester about the 2017 National Budget  - decided to start their own business to help the so-called 'missing middle' with paying their family members' school or university fees. Wiid and Liebenberg subsequently launched 'SmartFunder' which now helps around 70 companies with reducing their employees' educational expenses through an innovative form of tax relief that forms part of national legislation. Take a listen to my interview with these innovative founders to find out more. - Gareth van Zyl  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s business headlines… The Minutes of last month’s US Federal Reserve interest rate meeting, released yesterday, disclose that members agreed to pause the tightening phase until there is more clarity on emerging risks to economic growth. Swiss bank UBS has been fined a record $4.2bn for encouraging wealthy French citizens to evade tax by helping them launder undeclared money. Global miner Glencore, the last major group to swim against a carbon energy tide, has finally caved in to pressure from environmental activists. In South African related news, global business publications are giving prominence this morning to the Ramaphosa government’s $5bn Eskom bailout in yesterday’s Budget. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — The question being asked by economists tonight is whether Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has managed to avoid a ratings downgrade by Moody’s. At the news conference before the budget speech, Reserve bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago said the banking system had planned for this scenario and that the system will be able to withstand a downgrade, while Minister Mboweni said the conversations with the ratings agencies were difficult, but he believed the practical steps taken by the Government should be seen as positive. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has drawn the battle lines with Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane. At a news conference before his budget speech in Parliament, Mr Mboweni came to the defence of his Director-General Dondo Mogajane saying that he is reviewing the report of Mkhwebane that ‘Speedy Dondo’ as he called him, should be disciplined because he did not disclose a criminal record for a speeding fine. The Public Protector has since responded, expressing ‘disquiet’ at Mr Mboweni’s effort to trivialise the matter. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — Finance Minister Tito Mboweni warned the cash-strapped state owned enterprises and Eskom in particular at a news conference before his budget speech that the government will not allow the SOEs to continue wasting tax payers money. Shortly after the conference, he unveiled that Eskom will receive an annual grant of R23bn from taxpayers over the next three years. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — Many of the state owned enterprises in South Africa became synonymous with state capture and can be blamed for the economic crisis that the country finds itself in. Looting and sheer incompetence at Eskom, the SABC and SAA pushed them to the brink of financial collapse. At a media conference before his budget speech, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the future of the state owned enterprises could be debated at a summit… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — The man accused of being involved in smuggling cigarettes and falsifying documents, Adriano Mazotti found himself to be in the firing line of a new drive by SARS to clamp down on the illicit economy. High Court Sheriffs attached and removed all movable property from his house and a warehouse in Johannesburg. SARS says Mazotti, who is a known backer of the Economic Freedom Fighters, owns the taxman R71.9m. In a news conference before Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s budget speech, acting SARS Head, Mark Kingon did not want to comment on the Mazotti case, but warned that it is not only the tobacco space that they will be focusing on. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced in his budget that the government will offer early retirement to civil servants which will reduce the public sector wage bill by R20bn over the next three years. He said at a news conference before the speech that early retirement will be offered without pension penalties. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — There was an acknowledgement by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni that many of South Africa’s economic woes are self-inflicted. At a news conference before his budget speech in Cape Town, he gave the backdrop of his budget and says the Government was taking steps to fix the problems and “go back to the plum years.” And there was a warning to those not paying their taxes… ”Ceasar can break your bones!” - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a difference a year makes. South Africa's recently appointed minister of finance Tito Mboweni was in great form this morning addressing a packed press conference where he fielded questions around taxpayers' R23bn a year capital injection into Eskom (Tito doesn't like it being called a "bailout"); what would happen if Moody's were to downgrade SA; the need for some South Africans to shed their Soviet Union mindset; why he'd prefer to put money into railways and taxis rather than SAA and the SABC; the troubles at the PIC; and a whole lot more. Have a listen - it's fun and serious, focused and rambling. But without doubt a masterclass in communications from the South African cabinet's most active user of Twitter (that gets a mention too). - Alec Hogg     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's headlines... On Twitter last night anti-establishment politician Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy to become American President in 2020. Retail giant Walmart yesterday calmed the nerves of investors worrying about a slowdown in the US economy, announcing a 4.2% rise in revenues for the three months to end December. The fashion business is today mourning the death of Karl Lagerfeld, the pony tailed, dark glasses-wearing icon who dominated the industry for decades. In South African related news, the AMCU trade union yesterday called on its members working across the mining sector to join those who have been on strike for over three months at Sibanye’s gold mines. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s global business headlines… The UK yesterday experienced its biggest political split in almost 40 years when seven members of the Labour Party walked away from the official opposition, which is led by the controversial Jeremy Corbyn. Still in the UK, the country’s struggling motor manufacturing sector took another blow yesterday with news that Honda’s 160,000 vehicle a year factory in Swindon will close. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison says that his country has managed to see off a cyber attack by a foreign state whose hackers attempted to extract confidential information from computer systems in parliament. In South African related news, the Mozambique government has belatedly moved against those involved in the $2bn Tuna Bond corruption, ordering a series of high-profile arrests this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.