It was tough trading in 2007
[Melvin Chagonda] 2007's trading has been tough across the board. Interest rates are at an all time high, putting huge pressure on consumers. The National Credit Act has also restricted credit sales.

Generator sales soar amid load shedding
[Luyanda Makapela] While the country experiences intermittent power outages and Eskom attempts to deal with increased demand, businesses selling generators are reporting massive increases in sales.

Wheat, fuel costs influence bread price – Tiger Brands
[Janine du Plessis] Tiger Brands raised its bread price on Monday, along with many an eyebrow, in an apparent effort to absorb the increased wheat and fuel costs. However, some industry experts don't consider these factors significant enough for the hike.

Green Cross takes new growth in its stride
[Nicola Mawson] Comfort shoe manufacturer Green Cross has plans to expand its store count to 30.

Business Unity South Africa expresses concern over power outages
In a statement issued today, BUSA says the ongoing load-shedding in the country has negatively affected the business community in the country. It has cost business, especially SMME's, millions of rands with no “end in sight”, leading in despondency and pessimism.

The Camel-in-a-kiosk confrontation
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] It has been claimed that the installation of a display kiosk in a Western Cape Spar shop caused sales of cigarette rival Camel to drop.

Computer company gets creative with camera
This is the new Sahara Digital Camera, which the company says is a complete digital hand-held camera solution to allow the user to record and store material in both photo/still shot and motion video format.


There's plenty more CRM to do
By now, the case for SaaS is not only well established, but also growing stronger, as analysts incorporate intangible benefits into their ROI models. So, it is welcome to hear at least one blogger question whether the model is applicable to every situation.

The 3 Ts of people development
[Howard Badler] Just about every company has people development on their agenda for 2008. How are you going to implement it? Well I have termed it the 3 Ts of people development – Training, Talking and Teaching – which will assist you in obtaining this objective.

Bakers take another slice from reeling consumers
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] Far from keeping the bread price at the present level, given the fact that they were recently fined R99 million for their role in colluding on the price of bread, Tiger Brands was expected yesterday to raise the price by about 40c a load, adding to the already heavy burden on the poor. And another price rise could be in the offing.

Outdoor cooling a misty business - Right Stuff
For those who have to brave the heat to attend an outdoor wedding or corporate event Right Stuff offers some "mistifying" options in the outdoor cooling market. The Portable Shade and Parasol now incorporate a refreshing misting system as an optional extra to give you the best of both worlds – shade and cooling in an outdoor environment.


A diamond is Kelly's best friend
Kelly Cumming from Kensington, Johannesburg, currently studying Occupational Therapy at the University of Witwatersrand, was the lucky winner of a diamond in Oral-B's power toothbrush promotion last November. A delighted Kelly (right) bought the winning Oral-B power toothbrush at Clicks in Eastgate and received the diamond from Oral-B's assistant brand manager Thandeka Ngoma.

Zimbabwe's disappearing dollar
Faith in the Zimbabwe dollar has withered in rural areas where the local currency is being sidelined in favour of foreign exchange and barter trade.

Public called to send in annual "Tips for Trevor"
[Michael Appel] The National Treasury has invited all South Africans to send in their tips to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on what they think should be included in his Budget Speech next month.

Groupe Bank of Africa expands into Tanzania
In a move that will give another banking and financial option to SA companies and individuals doing business in Tanzania, Groupe Bank of Africa has announced the opening of BOA Bank-Tanzania).

KickOff.com enters Ghana market
KickOff.com, South Africa's biggest stand-alone soccer website, has announced a new addition to its online stable in the form of www.KickOffGhana.com.

Make the most of mineral make-up
DV8 [expressions] has introduced a range of 100% pure mineral make-up that offers women the freedom to select their own distinctive colour make-up palette from a selection of the most vibrant natural colours and provides them with a single product that has eight different applications.


Mr Price quarterly sales up
Mr Price said that that sales increased by 14.6% in the quarter ended December, with comparable sales growing 5.2%

Stop animation now in tea advertisement
Freshpak will be launching a new television commercial early in 2008, which aims to entrench the brand's identity and positioning as a healthy, natural option, with a selection of variants that fall beneath it: rooibos, herbal and green teas.

Some cheer for underprivileged children
[ActivRetail] Primedia@Home donned Santa's hat during the 2007 festive season, as part of its national Learning for Life initiative, to cheer and support underprivileged children countrywide.


Billion Group's R5bn boost for Buffalo City
[Roux van Zyl] Developer wants to turn EL into 'golf tourism mecca'.

Naming rights for Green Point Stadium on market
The City of Cape Town has taken the first step in selling the naming rights of its new Green Point stadium.

Soweto gaming duo win Branson accolade
An innovative video gaming venture, has seen two entrepreneurs win the Branson School of Entrepreneurship Soweto 2007 Business Plan competition.

New flight to where the leopard leaps
Effective 11 February 2008, Airlink will be introducing an additional Monday to Thursday early morning return flight departure between Johannesburg (JNB) and Phalaborwa (PHW).


Fraser Lamb takes over at Y&R
Young & Rubicam Advertising Group has appointed Fraser Lamb as Group CEO for South Africa. Formerly the MD of Wunderman, Lamb succeeds Yossi Schwartz with effect from January 2008.


AV Brands to carry Amarula and Durbanville Hills stateside
Distell announced last week that it will strengthen ties with US wine and spirits importer AV Brands in an effort to increase focus on the US market. The closer relationship means that in addition to representing two of Distell's global lifestyle wine brands, Two Oceans and Obikwa, AV Brands is to carry Amarula Cream Liqueur and Durbanville Hills, formerly with Brown-Forman.

Auto 2010: Petrol, diesel or hybrid?
USA - Toyota Motor will produce a small fleet of plug-in hybrids by 2010, the Japanese auto maker's president, Katsuaki Watanabe, said Sunday.

Beijing ready for English menu revolution before Olympics
Beijing - A set of fixed English translations for Chinese menus is set to be published before the Spring Festival in February, the Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau said.

Significant trends to impact business planning future
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has asked leading newspapers executives to identify the current trends they believe will have an impact on the future of their businesses. The list of 66 trends will serve as the centrepiece for a "scenario planning" workshop, to be held in January 2008, and published by the WAN Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project.

The rise of home networking in Europe
What triggered such impressive gains in home network adoption in Europe? The answer is in the patterns of growth. The number of households gaining a home network between 2004 and 2006 far exceeded the number stating an intention to do so at the beginning of 2005. This pattern held true across the world.

Consumers fear 2008 global recession
[ActivRetail] Rising oil prices, the spread of the sub-prime credit issue in international markets and the slow down in the US economy are all taking their toll on the confidence of the world's consumers. SA consumer's cite their main concern as the rise in interest rates.

‘Super tax' on wheat imports may go
[Mathabo le Roux] The government is reviewing import tariffs on wheat and wheat flour in a move apparently triggered by high bread prices.

Business, trade tops SA, Ireland discussions
[Michael Appel] One of the main purposes of the Irish trade mission to South Africa was to continue strengthening relationships in business and trade, says Irish Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Michael Martin.

US$32 million boost for Maputo port
[Eric Lubisi] Mozambique's Maputo harbour has received a US$32 million boost from Global port operator, Dubai Ports World (DP World).

Lucas takes to the road
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline recently repeated a one-year contract with outdoor advertising contractor, ComutaNet to promote Aquafresh. Local soccer hero Lucas Radebe will once again lend his face to the campaign.


On the road to enchantment
Enchanted, a Walt Disney motion picture classic, had a high profile on Primedia Outdoor billboards to strengthen its above-the-line advertising campaign in time for its Ster-Kinekor launch on December 21.


Love is in the air
Cadbury P.S., one of South Africa's favourite chocolate brands, is spreading the lurv in 2008, kicking the year off with an exciting and interactive competition that invites South Africans to ‘holla yo lurv'.


Quo Vadis meets high demand for communication courses in 2007 and plans for 2008 - Quo Vadis Communications
Well-known for its on-hands training methodology in corporate communications, Quo Vadis Communications will shortly announce dates for a new series in 2008. This follows another successful year in which the company earned high praise from new clients who attended the courses and expanded established business relations.

Pirated movies and games worth millions destroyed
Approximately 82,000 discs containing pirated copies of films, TV series and console and PC games were destroyed by SAFACT at a facility in Kyasands.


Pretoria suburb home of movie pirates raided
Following an investigation into the illegal copying and selling of movies a complaint was laid by SAFACT with the Commercial Crime Unit of the SAPS in Pretoria.

Sheriff to attach Kwik Spar properties
The Johannesburg Labour Court has instructed the sheriff to attach properties of two Bloemfontein Kwik Spar outlets, for auction to recover over R400,000 in outstanding employee salaries.

Crime on the move
Armed attacks in rest of the country rocket as crime spreads beyond Gauteng, writes Henriëtte Geldenhuys.

Retail chain headline turnover up 21.8% to R23.3bn
[Nicole Rego] Shoprite said in a trading update that its turnover for the six months ended 31 December 2007 increased by 21.8% to R23.3bn.

Novel idea helps your advertising cash in at the cashier
A new advertising concept puts cashiers' conveyor belts to work as an advertising medium – and your target customer is right there… watching your advertisements.

Power cuts hit dairy industry
Eskom's power cuts are costing dairy farmers a fortune with many having to buy up to three generators to ensure they can continue milking.

Agri dept notes French ban on GMO maize variety
The French government recently placed a ban on the cultivation of Monsanto's MON 810, a genetically modified maize cultivar resistant to the European maize stalk borer.

UN helps poor countries with high food prices
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has launched a multi-million dollar fund for import-dependent poor countries to help adapt their farming industries quickly to cope with high global food prices.

Five steps to compliance: Avoiding the pitfalls of software licensing
Last year alone, software giants - Adobe, Oracle, Microsoft, SAP and many others - made hundreds of changes to their licensing rules and regulations. Keeping up to date with enterprise software licenses is not only a challenging task but also the most important step to remaining in compliance and protecting your IT budget.

New battery tech that could let you talk for days
Standard lithium-ion batteries use graphite anodes that are capable of holding only a limited amount of charged lithium particles. The graphite anodes' limited capacity is chiefly responsible for the relatively brief charge life of lithium-ion batteries. Replacing the graphite anodes with silicon nanowires would increase the battery's charge storage capacity, Stanford researchers found.

Space gears up for climate change study
A record 17 satellites are to be launched in 2008 in the largest-ever concerted global effort to monitor the impact of climate change over the next few decades, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which is leading the initiative.


Apple's new movie rentals: Mostly awesome
[Chris Maxcer] At Macworld Tuesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a new movie rental model, iTunes Movie Rentals, that's designed to work with iTunes, Apple TV, iPhones and iPods. While it's not yet fully operational, the basics are available now.

Electronic prepaid services go to under-serviced communities
Psitek has launched Kazang - a solution that takes electronic prepaid services to previously under-serviced communities in South Africa.

New move to promote innovation
The announcement of the Centres of Expertise (CoE) Pilot Program at The Innovation Hub, Africa's first internationally accredited Science Park, includes a Call for Proposals from prospective consortiums to promote collaboration between industry, research, academic institutions and government in projects from the Aerospace, Information Communications Technology (ICT), and Biotechnology sectors.

Is hidden open source code putting your apps at risk?
The most overlooked open source security vulnerabilities, according to Palamida researchers, occur in Apache Geronimo, JBoss Application Server, Libtiff, Net-SNMP and ZLIB. "The most popular projects appear in every test. This always surprises companies. There is from three to 10 times the use of open source code [in software enterprise uses] than companies realize," said Theresa Bui-Friday, cofounder of Palamida.

Studies show how monitoring and smart appliances cut home energy bills
Being able to see a readout of power consumption can lead to consumers using significantly less electricity, according to results from a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory experiment in the United States. In a similar PNNL study, home appliances equipped with technology to briefly shut them down automatically at peak moments of consumption also played a part in noticeably cutting participants' electricity bills.

How iPhone touched the gadget industry
Touch-screens have been around for years, but gadget-makers have begun putting them into more and more devices. The iPhone played a big part in the trend by incorporating its multi-touch technology in a smartphone. It's not just handsets that are getting into the act, however. Cameras, gaming units and tablet PCs are only a few of the categories in which touch is growing in presence.

Sustainability issues are now an important consideration for IT management
There is a need for the IT manager to look beyond the ‘Green' marketing hype of the vendors and get to grips with the environmental challenges being faced by the organisation and the IT industry.

Testing, testing Vista SP1
[Walaika Haskins] Windows Vista users who have been chomping at the bit to join the beta test of its first service pack (SP1) can now download the software thanks to an apparent reversal late last week by Microsoft.

PC games go extreme
Sahara Computers, local suppliers of digital lifestyle technology, has released its Extreme Gaming PC, built with the latest in high-end graphic, sound and processor technology.

Dept awards 25 bursaries for agriculture and land courses
[Sydney Masinga] In Mpumalanga, 25 matriculants have been given bursaries to study towards various careers in the fields of agriculture and land administration.