Rational Perspective

At the end of April this year, the Competition Tribunal approved, subject to conditions, a merger involving Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH) and Vumatel, bumping up CIVH's shareholding in the fibre-broadband provider. The deal means that Johann Rupert-linked CIVH now has sole control of Vumatel in what is a major local technology play. Interestingly, Rand Merchant Bank had a pivotal role to play in this transaction. The bank's Business Development Director, Jessica Spira, explains more in this interview. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former UK foreign secretary and London mayor Boris Johnson has emerged as the strong frontrunner to succeed British Prime Minister Theresa May, who steps down on June 7. The South African Treasury last night released details of the long anticipated Carbon Tax proposals which have now been signed into law by the president. Late on Friday evening, ratings agency S&P, one of the US’s Big Three, left South Africa’s sovereign debt ratings unchanged at below investment grade. South African stocks closed last week slightly firmer, offsetting a sharp decline in gold shares with the major indices ending a quarter percent better on Friday.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The bear case for South Africa has been right for nearly ten years. Those who bet on SA Inc when Jacob Zuma took the presidency would be feeling the bite with nothing much to show for the last decade. But, as investment labels constantly warn us, past performance does not guarantee future results. After all, anyone watching China for most of the 20thcentury would be forgiven for writing the Middle Kingdom off as a basket case. But those who bet on China’s future have been richly rewarded. South Africa is not China, of course, but that’s not to say that there isn’t a bright future ahead for the country. In this week’s episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss Alec’s interview with Magnus Heystek, who has long held a bearish view on the SA outlook. While there’s no doubt that Heystek’s perspective is a reasonable one – especially given his job managing other people’s money – there is nevertheless a bullish response to the bear case. It takes all sorts to make a market, after all, and in this episode, Alec

JOHANNESBURG — Well-known South African interior designer Nthabi Taukobong - who is the Founder and Managing Director at DITAU - African Luxury Lifestyle has just published a book highlighting her 23-year career in the space. Taukobeng has been a trailblazer, thanks to her work for several high profile people and establishments on the continent. In this interview, she opens up about her life journey and her new book, 'The Real Interior'. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Independent financial advisor Magnus Heystek was featured as the first interview on last night's Rational Radio Live show - chatting with Alec Hogg about his hard-hitting blog published on Biznews today. It's a fun discussion between two old friends with a serious undertone - Hogg explains why he is a believer in SA's New Dawn while Heystek tells us he requires tangible proof. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHANNESBURG — Cape Town-based Frank Solomon is famous around the world for being a big wave professional surfer and for having featured in a popular Red Bull film dubbed 'Let's be Frank - the double life of Frank James Solomon'. Frank has been described by some as breaking the stereotype of surfers by having never really been sponsored and having first gone to university before taking on the world's biggest waves. But he's started breaking new ground by also launching something called 'The Sentinel Ocean Alliance' - a programme which helps underprivileged kids learn more about the ocean, surfing and even enabling them to become lifeguards. In this interview, Frank tells us all about the initiative. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's news headlines: Massmart announced on Thursday that it had hired an American heavy hitter, Mitch Slape, as CEO. Brait’s share price hit a 7-year-low on news that the net value of its assets has fallen sharply. There was another development in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s strategy to root out corruption in government yesterday when Deputy President David Mabuza asked to delay his swearing in. Steinhoff faces a mass investor lawsuit in Germany. The rand closed at R14.47 to the US dollar on Thursday. The SA Reserve Bank also announced earlier that interest rates would remain unchanged at 6.75%. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the inaugural edition of Alec Hogg's Rational Radio Live, market veteran David Shapiro explains why the share price of Sasol has dropped almost 20% in the last two days - and the reasons behind the double digit drops today of once fashionable Brait and Massmart.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to world happiness, it probably comes as no surprise to South Africans, that we are low on the list. The latest United Nations and Gallup poll put us 106th behind other African countries like Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, Burundi and Benin. You would think that all that lovely sunshine and some of the most beautiful natural spots in the world, would improve our sense of happiness. Surprisingly one of the coldest, darkest countries in the world, Finland topped this year’s list. So, what would it take to increase our sense of happiness? More income, better relationships, a better government - is there a magic formula to happiness or are we just a bunch of grumpy sods at the southern tip of Africa? In a new book titled the Algebra of Happiness, Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business, explores what could make us happy and he does not have any kind words for the social media giants and their role in the deteriorating state of mental health across the world. He speaks

In today's business headlines:  The Rand gained on news that Deputy-President David Mabuza will not be sworn in as MP. Corruption busting at Prasa gathers momentum with suspensions. South Africa has decided to extradite Mozambican Manuel Chang wanted for the tuna bond scandal to his home country not the US. Sasol shares fall by almost 13% due to ballooning costs at the Lake Charles project. Eskom bond holders kept in the dark about funding and restructuring. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's business headlines:  The Rand gained on news that Deputy-President David Mabuza will not be sworn in as MP. Corruption busting at Prasa gathers momentum with suspensions. South Africa has decided to extradite Mozambican Manuel Chang wanted for the tuna bond scandal to his home country not the US. Sasol shares fall by almost 13% due to ballooning costs at the Lake Charles project. and Eskom bond holders kept in the dark about funding and restructuring. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's business headlines: Morgan Stanley sees Tesla at $10 as market for electric cars goes soft. Huawei goes to EU warning it could happen to any international company. Ex-Credit Suisse banker pleads guilty in Tuna Bond scandal. Jamie Oliver restaurants in the UK declared insolvent. JSE is flat with Rand holding on despite emerging market jitters of US-China trade war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's business headlines: Morgan Stanley sees Tesla at $10 as market for electric cars goes soft. Huawei goes to EU warning it could happen to any international company. Ex-Credit Suisse banker pleads guilty in Tuna Bond scandal. Jamie Oliver restaurants in the UK declared insolvent. JSE is flat with Rand holding on despite emerging market jitters of US-China trade war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The news that Tesla shares have dipped to below $200, which is the lowest level since 2016 this week is not the end of bad news for Elon Musk's electric car company. Morgan Stanley has slashed its worse-case scenario for the share price to just $10 over concern that the company has saturated the electric-car market. Analysts say that demand is at the heart of the problem and that Tesla has grown too big relative to near-term demand. David Kudla from Mainstay Capital Management told Bloomberg's Lisa Abramowicz and Paul Sweeney that Tesla may be shifting to insolvency. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

173 companies including footwear giants, Nike and Adidas have signed an open letter to US President Donald Trump in which they say that tariffs on shoes made in China will be a catastrophic for the American economy. They posted it on the Footwear Distribution and Retailers of America's website. This came after the Trump administration barred American companies from selling to Huawei without a US government license in what is regarded a significant escalation of the trade war with China. Michael Hirson, of the Eurasia Group told Bloomberg's Lisa Abramowicz and Paul Sweeney that the ban could derail the US-China trade negotiations. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Times are tough for South African business owners, the toughest in the nine years that Mercantile CEO Karl Kumbier has been focusing on banking entrepreneurs. So what to do about it? In this forthright podcast Kumbier provides a reality check on what happens when government and big corporates push out their invoice payment dates - and offers some sage advice for entrepreneurs struggling to ride out the storm. If you own a business or consider being one, invest some time here. - Alec Hogg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved quickly to show he is serious about cleaning up his cabinet following May 8 elections. On the JSE, Pioneer Foods was the big loser of the day. Its share price plunged about 12% after the release of its half-year results. Also dragging down the JSE FTSE All-Share Index was Naspers, which dropped about 4% on Monday. South Africa’s Naspers, with 31%, is the biggest shareholder in Hong Kong listed Chinese tech giant Tencent, which took a hit earlier in the day. Also hammering Hong Kong stocks were concerns about US sanctions against Chinese mobile phone company Huawei. The top gainers on the JSE on Monday were Liberty Holdings and Harmony, up around 3% by the end of trading. The rand was trading at just over 14 to the US dollar, and 16 to the Euro, while R18 could get you one pound. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHANNESBURG — Prepare yourself to be exposed to an hour of entrepreneurial energy, advice and wisdom. From a guy who left South Africa as a teenager to duck apartheid’s National Service; fed himself in California by playing his guitar and applying his design talents; and came home to forge a huge success in the toughest business on the planet. Restaurants are an endless juggle between innovation, logistics, staff motivation and profit margins; the hours are impossibly long; customers can be insufferably difficult; and everyone with a recipe book is a potential competitor. And then there’s the ever present existential threat of accidentally poisoning your customer. Not for the faint hearted. But this heady cocktail is also addictive, as you’ll hear from entrepreneur extraordinaire Brian Altriche, who has a net worth north of half a billion rand. He's also the man behind a business which, although not yet six years old, can already be certified a massive success. I love swapping ideas with fellow entrepren

After being behind in the polls for two years, Australia’s conservative government won a surprise victory in Saturday’s elections, taken over the line voters in resource-rich districts. The share price of JSE heavyweight Richemont rose almost 5% after Friday morning’s release of its financial results to end March. Personal finance education has gone mainstream in the United States. It was a softer end to the week for share prices around the world with South African stocks losing an average of two thirds of one percent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cyril Ramaphosa is in the driver’s seat, but the course he has to navigate is full of challenges. From Eskom to Makhanda, Ramaphosa faces a landscape marred by corruption, mismanagement, incompetence, and failure. How he and his team rise to these challenges will determine whether South Africa Inc sinks or swims. This week, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss some of the problems Ramaphosa must address and focus on one area where he seems to be making the necessary changes: The National Prosecuting Authority. The NPA was eviscerated by the Zuma regime, which didn’t enjoy the NPA’s attempts to investigate Zuma’s corruption. The first step to seeing justice done for the country is the rebuilding of this shattered institution and Ramaphosa is taking steps to do just that. And the good news is that the world is taking note – as Alec and Felicity discuss, the SA stock market is showing signs of a return to business-as-usual. This is a great development for South Africans who are thinking about their futures. Se