| 20 Aug 2013 |
Don't sucker Zucker A researcher who hacked into Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg's profile to expose a security flaw won't be in the money. Facebook offers rewards for people who find security weaknesses, but not, apparently, if you target the big man himself... in which case you seem to be deemed a hacker who went too far. Meanwhile, back at Armscor, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has gunned for a couple of the top people and has fired the chairman and his deputy. The dismissals at the state-owned arms procurement agency‚ which are effective immediately‚ follow delays in crucial decisions that have stalled a R9bn manufacturing production contract for a new infantry fighting vehicle by Denel Land Systems (DLS). Looking for a job? Juliette Attwell, writing this week in the BizCareers column, discusses the social media landscape and how it can affect your career. Are you in the estate agency business and if so, do you use online marketing tools to generate sales? Here we show you some simple and cost-effective ways to embrace the internet and get the most out of it for your business. And to end... Don't forget to vote in the Times' Creative Press Ad Challenge and stand a chance to win yourself a Samsung tablet. Rod Baker, Content Director
Comment online in our ed's column archive. Go mobile with apps and m.bizcommunity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Subscribe to YouTube and via RSS. Send all your industry-specific news and event invitations to financenews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive opinion pieces to contributors-finance@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com. Read "How to contribute to Biz, from op-ed pieces to news".Weekly top stories | Since the Gender Directive was passed into European Union legislature, women are paying much more for car insurance than they were a year ago. According to the new legislature there has been a ban on insurance companies using gender as a risk rating factor. Read more >> |
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A recent court battle between the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and a small group of property buyers has shown protecting property buyers from historic municipal debt is not quite so clear-cut. Read more >>
 | [Tim Wyatt-Gunning] Many of you will have been gorging yourselves on e-commerce services for a while, downloading all the music, movies, TV series and news services that you desire. A few of you might even have paid for some of them. It's brilliant, isn't it? Read more >> |
 | Insurance group Clientele on Monday (19 August) reported a 15% increase in headline earnings, up from R256m to R293.3m for the year to June. Read more >> |
 | Many consumers believe that their comprehensive motor insurance policy will cover them in the event of a mechanical breakdown, only to find that this is not the case - leaving them upset and facing a hefty repair bill. Read more >> |
 | It is surprising to see how limited Old Mutual's exposure to most of the large markets in Africa has been. For its first 160 years it focused on a few of the outposts of the British empire in East and southern Africa, with little claim to be a pan-African insurer. Read more >> |
 | [Phakamisa Ndzamela] Professional services firm KPMG said the motor insurance divisions of short-term insurers are struggling as the average costs of claims increase and there are concerns that consumers will in future have to pick up the additional costs. Read more >> |
 | Global consultancy Bain has predicted a 20% to 30% growth in the luxury brands market in South Africa over the next five years indicating the increased buying power in the country. However, owners of luxury brand items may be at an increased risk of under-insurance or even be unable to replace the item with the same brand. Read more >> |
 | Sanlam says its headline earnings per share and earnings per share for the six months to June are expected to be between 35% and 45% higher than the corresponding period last year. Read more >> |
 | Eastern Cape local government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane has called for a meeting with all the municipalities which received poor audits from the Auditor General. Read more >> |
 | Improving the audit outcomes in municipalities is top on the South African Local Government Association's agenda. Read more >> |
 | [Mpho Sibanyoni - Business Reporter] Nicholas Maweni's resignation as the Black Management Forum's managing director has strengthened the notion that the position is a poisoned chalice as the forum prepares to recruit its eighth managing director in 13 years. Read more >> |
[Kroshlen Moodley] Declining tax revenues, requirements for maintaining high levels of service, unprecedented demands for increased efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability - these are all challenges that government is facing today and the demands placed on it have never been higher as our society utilises the social platforms available to them to become more engaged, vocal and informed. Read more >>
 | [Linda Ensor] Shareholders in South African banks are to be given a greater say in remuneration policies governing the pay of top executives and directors. Read more >> |
[Laurence Smith] Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) fraud is on the rise and in South Africa this is no exception. While the spate of ATM bombings has dissipated in recent months as a result of closer collaboration between banks and the South African Police Force, there are syndicates that use sophisticated card skimmers to unknowingly defraud individuals and banks of millions of rands. Read more >>
 | [Graham Paulsen] Many newly qualified chartered accountants confidently enter the job market buoyed by reports that there is an urgent need for their skills, only to find that the reality is vastly different. Read more >> |
 | The compulsory home ownership education programme for first time home buyers applying for an FNB Smart Bond has been very successful through their new e-learning system. Read more >> |
Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday (13 August) confirmed Foodcorp's B2 Corporate Family Rating (CFR) and B2-PD Probability of Default Rating‚ as well as the B2/LGD3 senior secured bond ratings of Foodcorp. Read more >>
Mobile phone-based transactions have come of age in South Africa, with wiGroup's platform, wiPlatform, processing over half a billion rands in transaction value during the first six months of 2013. Read more >>
 | Hardboard products manufacturer Masonite (Africa) on Friday (16 August) reported a 55.7% decline in headline earnings from R16.736m to R7.428m for the six months to June because of lower profits from operations, increased costs and foreign exchange losses. Read more >> |
 | Vunani Property Investment Fund Limited increased its distribution by 19.7% to 77.25c per linked unit for the year to June. Read more >> |
 | [Zeenat Moorad] Retail bellwethers Shoprite and Massmart will release their financial results this week, when the extent of SA's consumer spending slowdown is likely to be revealed. Read more >> |
 | [Kevin Phillips] Banks, pension funds and insurance companies are the three most important pillars of our financial system, and all of them depend on large-scale participation to work effectively. The more people are invested in a pension scheme, the more capital it has to work with and the more opportunities it has to make successful investments. Read more >> |
 | [Helmo Preuss] The rand was soft on Monday morning (19 August)‚ as good US economic data continued to pressure emerging market currencies‚ with the Indian rupee falling to = a new record-worst level. Read more >> |
The 25th Annual Conference of the Institute of Retirement Funds (IRF) is currently being held at the International Conference Centre in Durban and will end on Tuesday, 20 August 2013. Read more >>
 | There's still money to be made in the highly competitive rural and township retail market if you own established, dominant malls. But it is becoming more difficult to turn a decent profit on new shopping centres, says Resilient Property Income Fund's managing director Des de Beer, one of SA's early pioneers of non-metropolitan retail developments. Read more >> |
 | [Ntsakisi Mawanganyi] Confidence among local manufacturers remains fragile and weak despite a competitive boost from the weaker rand and some signs of improving demand in economies globally. Read more >> |
Measured in real terms (constant 2012 prices)‚ wholesale trade sales increased by 7.5% year-on-year in June 2013‚ data released on Thursday (15 August) by Statistics South Africa showed. Read more >>
FNB Estate Agent Surveys since early in 2012 have pointed to a broad strengthening trend in agents' perceptions of residential demand. In terms of market segments, the story remains more a lower end one, even after higher priced areas having shown noticeable improvement back in 2012. Read more >>
[Andries Mahlangu] South African maize futures rallied on Tuesday (13 August)‚ underpinned by world prices following a bullish US crop report‚ traders said. The weaker rand added to the positive market sentiment. Read more >>
 | Most people are methodical and precise in their business lives, but often pretty haphazard with their personal affairs, according to David Knott of Private Client Holdings. Read more >> |
 | Work longer, spend less and save more, or prepare for some tough golden years. More than half of the pensioners in South Africa cannot cover their monthly costs and are running out of capital, according to statistics from financial services group Sanlam. Read more >> |
"Home is your sandcastle" is a headline which appeared in the UK's Daily Mail recently (28 June 2013). The author goes on to say that (UK) "seaside houses can be eye-wateringly pricey but they make for shrewd investments'. Read more >>
Wilderness Holdings' Integrated Report for the 2012 Financial Year scored highly in an independent assessment of the integrated reports of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The report ranked first in the JSE's Travel, Hotels and Tourism sector in the Sustainability Data Transparency Index (SDTI) and sixth overall across all sectors. Read more >>
 | [Amanda Visser] The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has seen an increase of 11% in the number of income tax returns filed during the first 45 days of the current tax filing season with more than 2m returns completed compared with the 1.8m submitted in the same period last year. Read more >> |
 | Curators have applied for a court order against EFF leader Julius Malema, the SA Revenue Service said on Thursday (15 August). Read more >> |
 | NEW YORK CITY, USA: US retail behemoth Walmart on Thursday reported a 1.3 percent increase in quarterly earnings, but slashed its full-year financial outlook amid tight consumer spending in the United States and abroad. Read more >> |
 | HONG KONG, CHINA: China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile operator by subscribers, said on Thursday (15 August) its net profit for the first six months of the year grew by 1.5%, beating analysts' predictions. Read more >> |
 | ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: Insurance company Swiss Life on Wednesday (14 August) posted a near 30% rise in first-half net profits, attributing the boost to a solid performance in all areas and to strict management of margins. Read more >> |
 | ZURICH SWITZERLAND: Swiss insurer Zurich Insurance on Thursday (15 August) said net profits fell by 17% to US$1.85bn in the first half of the year on the back of weather-related disasters. Read more >> |
NEW YORK CITY, US: A New York regulator on Monday announced a probe into virtual currencies like Bitcoin on Monday, saying they could be used by drug traffickers and gunrunners and threaten US national security. Read more >>
International brewing giant SABMiller said on Tuesday (13 August) that it had completed a US$1.1bn bond issue‚ comprising US$750m in 2.2% notes and US$350m floating rate notes both due in August 2018. Read more >>
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