| 18 Jun 2013 |
| Finance & Insurance | Finance & Insurance, Accounting & Auditing, Banking, Credit Services, Finance, Accounting & Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, Investment Banking, Investment Management, Taxation, Venture Capital |
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Banning, a bad idea That's the message according to research released last week by Econometrix. The results show that a ban on alcohol advertising would cost nearly 12,000 jobs and almost R1.8bn in tax revenue. The government has, as expected, dismissed the findings as one-sided etc, but one has to ask whether the full implications of banning alcohol advertising, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's latest target, have been properly thought through. Econometrix senior economist Rob Jeffrey said his research also revealed that there was no statistical relationship in South Africa between advertising expenditure and the consumption of alcohol. Also on the government beat, the SA government wants an investigation into spy allegations made by a UK newspaper, which claims that SA delegates were among those who attended the 2009 Group 20 meeting who were put under surveillance. The poorest of the poor are the first to suffer when food prices rise and now Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat Pettersson says high prices are a threat to food security. Dead right - so what about doing whatever possible to not only keep commercial farmers on the land, stop landing them with wage bills they cannot sustain, and generally ensuring that we produce food here, rather than have to import it - because the latter will cost a great deal more. You know you've always wanted one, and now is your chance to get your hands on one - a GoPro, that is... with accessories, with Bizcommunity.com. Just create or update your MyBiz Profile on Bizcommunity and win an awesome GoPro camera and accessories worth over R6,000!Rod Baker, Content Director
Submit your company news to financenews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to contributors-finance@bizcommunity.com. Weekly top stories | Visa in South Africa has launched the first Visa Africa Integration Index, which measures the degree of economic integration within key trade corridors of sub-Saharan Africa, namely West Africa, East Africa and southern Africa. Read more >> |
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 | [Catherine Wijnberg] The search for job creation and economic growth solutions in South Africa has reached a state of frenzy, with all echelons of government, many corporate leaders and a raft of civil society organisations stepping forward to try to solve this vexing challenge. Read more >> |
 | [Anton Ressel] The welcome recognition by the government and other role-players that the SMME sector is indeed crucial to our collective growth and survival as a nation has had an interesting side-effect. Read more >> |
| Visa in South Africa has launched the first Visa Africa Integration Index, which measures the degree of economic integration within key trade corridors of sub-Saharan Africa, namely West Africa, East Africa and southern Africa. Read more >> |
 | Education and good health care alone are not sufficient to empower children. Solid financial health management skills are also a key factor. This is according to Tersia van Rooyen, a manager responsible for consumer education at TransUnion, one of South Africa's leading credit bureaus. Read more >> |
 | [Amanda Visser] The Metropolitan and Momentum merger has been bedded down and the group can now turn its attention to growth‚ with a huge focus on new business volumes‚ said MMI Holdings chief executive Nicolaas Kruger on Thursday (13 June). Read more >> |
 | [Phakamisa Ndzamela] South Africa's SA's second largest short-term insurer‚ Mutual & Federal‚ has appointed Raimund Snyders‚ a veteran in the Old Mutual Group‚ as its new chief executive following the resignation of Peter Todd‚ the company said on Monday (10 June). Read more >> |
 | [Phakamisa Ndzamela] Standard Bank‚ Africa's largest bank by earnings‚ has set aside an undisclosed amount as an investment in a customer rewards programme aimed at retaining and acquiring new customers. Read more >> |
First National Bank (FNB) Zambia recently launched their Solwezi branch in a ceremony attended by the Minister of North Western Province, Nathaniel Mubukwanu, who officiated as the guest of honour. Read more >>
 | [Peter Harvey] Businesses that process credit card transactions are under increasing pressure to comply with global Payment Card Industry (PCI ) security standards - and if our experience at PayGate is anything to go by, the journey is likely to be a painful one. Anybody considering it should prepare themselves for at least two years of intense effort. Read more >> |
 | Fraudsters continue to wreck innocent people's lives by stealing their personal data and using it to commit fraud. This kind of criminal behaviour costs financial institutions R1 billion a year. Read more >> |
 | Visa's International Barometer of Women's Financial Literacy has ranked South African women at 23 out of 27 countries surveyed for financial literacy. Read more >> |
 | According to some economists, as the rand weakens against the US dollar, the potential for local manufacturers to compete with imports grows. However, the situation is not that simple, says Lance Rabbie, financial director at Blue Strata, a South African integrated end-to-end import and working capital specialist. Read more >> |
 | First National Bank (FNB) is the first South African bank to support peering, having leveraged its telecommunications licenses, skills and internal ISP, FNB Connect, to join the NAPAfrica platform. Read more >> |
 | [Tendani Mantshimuli] Investing can seem limitless when you have excess money at your disposal. But debt unfortunately chokes your financial ability to save or invest, no matter what the amount may be. Every household should have an investment strategy and one that includes consultations with an accredited financial adviser year-to-year. Read more >> |
 | Construction of West Coast One, a 94MW wind farm near Cape Town, is expected to start as soon as the project's developers reach financial closure. Read more >> |
 | [Nick Hedley] The Nigerian hotel market is experiencing a corporate travel boom and although a difficult market to operate in, it offers attractive opportunities for major operators, according to a report released by professional services firm PwC. Read more >> |
 | [Thabiso Mochiko] Telkom is reviewing its Internet business outside SA‚ its property portfolio‚ non-core assets in SA and staff numbers‚ as part of a full review of its business. It is urgently seeking ways to return the company to profitability. Read more >> |
 | [Hugo Malherbe] It's not often that a rising market comes with negative association. After all, exposure to market growth logically leads to growth in your investment value. Read more >> |
 | A decline of business confidence in the manufacturing sector adds credence to calls for decisive leadership‚ the Manufacturing Circle said on Wednesday (12 June). Read more >> |
 | [Melvyn Lloyd] A lot has been said and asked about property's poor performance during the last week of May. Property is a hybrid asset class with a high positive correlation to bonds. This basically means that when bond yields, for example, rise, then property yields will follow suit, although not necessarily to the same degree. Read more >> |
 | [Imraan Jakoet] The recent movement in the rand saw the currency move to multiple year lows (or highs depending how you look at it) to the US dollar and subsequently rebounded last week. Movements like these don't only impact the cost of forex for your overseas holiday next month, but also impact on your local and international investments. Read more >> |
 | [Wade Witbooi] In recent times there has been escalating interest surrounding index investing. Although index investment funds have been around in the industry for a while, they have recently caught the eye of the investor, primarily due to their beneficial cost structures and an inability of a large portion of active managers to beat their respective indices. Read more >> |
 | [Jackwell Feris] The South African mining industry has, over the past few months, received a significant amount of bad publicity, inter alia, on the nationalisation of mineral resources, socio-economic concerns and the dangerous labour unrest, which all seems to have added to the fact that South Africa's ranking as an attractive mining investment destination has dropped even further according to the latest report released by the Canada-based Fraser Institute. Read more >> |
 | [Shehryar Qureshi] As predicted by real estate experts, 2013 is proving itself as the year of profound and robust recovery for the UAE real estate sector in general and that of Dubai in particular. The UAE has been showcasing an overall bullish market trend driven by the recovery of its property market. Read more >> |
 | On 11 June 2013, FirstRand Limited (FirstRand) added a fourth financial services franchise, Ashburton Investments, to its portfolio, which includes FNB, RMB and WesBank. Ashburton Investments is set to offer new-generation investment management services. Read more >> |
 | All taxpayers are strongly advised to ensure that the tax practitioner they choose is compliant and registered with a recognised controlling body, otherwise they could face a nasty surprise come the opening of the 2013 tax filing season on 1 July. Read more >> |
 | The start of the tax season is fast approaching on 1 July 2013. Submitting a tax return is a source of stress for many as taxpayers must navigate pitfalls and potential penalties. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, since SARS, tax practitioners and online services such as TaxTim are ready to lend a hand throughout the process. Read more >> |
 | [Ernest Mazansky] The much-anticipated renegotiated double tax treaty with Mauritius was recently signed and disclosed to the public. The new treaty, which is expected to come into effect in 2015, will impact on several existing tax structures. Read more >> |
 | The National Empowerment Fund (NEF), an agency of the DTI mandated to grow Black economic participation in South Africa, has invested R36,2m to aid the introduction of the commercial radio station Power FM, which has launched officially today, 18 June 2013. Read more >> |
 | Private equity firms are injecting capital into developing African infrastructure. According to Erika van der Merwe, CEO of the South African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA): "Infrastructure gives private equity investors access to the strong African growth story, an exceptional theme in a structurally low-growth world." Read more >> |
 | LE BOURGET, FRANCE: Airbus led rival Boeing on Monday (17 June) in the opening battle for orders at the world's biggest air show, where Brazil's Embraer launched its new jets amid a range of different deals. Read more >> |
 | SAN FRANCISCO,USA: Yahoo! has bought GhostBird - a startup that makes picture-taking applications for iPhones - to enhance its Flickr photo service. Read more >> |
 | WASHINGTON, USA: At least 92% of music festival goers are more likely to take a smartphone to an event than cash or and identity document, but many fail to guard against loss or theft, an industry survey released on Wednesday (12 June) showed. Read more >> |
 | WASHINGTON, USA: The US Senate approved a sweeping, nearly US$1trn farm bill that sets out agriculture policy for the next five years, including expansion of crop insurance and reduction of food stamps. Read more >> |
 | TOKYO, JAPAN: SoftBank said Tuesday (11 June) it is increasing its bid for Sprint Nextel to US$21.6bn, the latest twist in a high-stakes bid to trump a rival offer and grab a chunk of the lucrative US mobile market. Read more >> |
 | CHICAGO, USA: A French electric car share programme has set its sights on the home of one of the top US racing events, Indianapolis. Read more >> |
 | NEW DELHI, INDIA: Car sales in India slid by over 12% in May, data showed Tuesday (11 June), marking an unprecedented seventh month of decline as an industry body warned that layoffs now loomed in the once-booming sector. Read more >> |
 | WASHINGTON, USA: Google captured more than half of the US$8.8bn spent on mobile internet advertising worldwide last year and is expected to boost its share in 2013, a market watcher said on Thursday (13 June). Read more >> |
More International
The North West Provincial Government has announced that it will write off over R42m for the benefit of young people from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds who had studied through the Office of the Premier Bursary Scheme. Read more >>
More Government news
 IT AuditingTechno Hype ICT Pty Ltd - 25 Jul 2013 to 26 Jul 2013 Johannesburg
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93 pages