15 Oct 2013

Finance & Insurance

Ramphele: Drop BEE

Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele has called for SA to abandon empowerment, which, she says, has not worked. A great many people would agree with her. She also said that under an Agang government, officials found guilty of corruption would be jailed for a minimum of 15 years. Do we hear calls of "More!" "More!"?

Our education system is generally considered by quite a few people to be in a shambles, so it's not surprising that it's bleeding teachers. According to Angie Motshekga, some 14,000 teachers left the education department in the 2012/13 financial year. Of these, 6,272 resigned. If one reads media reports of teachers being assaulted, disruptive pupils and what-have-you, the only real surprise is that there are not more teachers taking the gap and taking up less onerous jobs in which they will have the respect they deserve... from all quarters.

We need entrepreneurs here, but Canada plans to lure SA entrepreneurs to Canada with a Start-up Visa. So what are we going to do to keep our budding entrepreneurs and future employers here?

Come fly with me - but only if you have a bit of cash... Rob Baker (no relation, as you can see he's far better looking than I am) makes some points about what the role of a state-owned airline should be, and also, what the state should not do that might stifle competition.

Rod Baker, Content Director

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Weekly top stories

Gordhan named sub-Saharan Africa's Finance Minister of the Year
PRETORIA: Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was on Saturday evening, 12 October 2013, named the Finance Minister of the Year (2013) in the sub-Saharan Africa category by Emerging Markets. Read more >>

Finance & Insurance
Global Wealth Report indicates nearly 40% rise in next five years
The fourth annual Global Wealth Report 2013, from Credit Suisse indicates that wealth is to rise by nearly 40% in the next five years, reaching US$ 334 trillion by 2018 and emerging markets are to increase their share of global wealth to 23% by 2018, with China alone expected to represent over 10% of global wealth. Read more >>


Actuarial & Insurance
Ignorance about retirement funds problematic‚ OM survey shows
[Evan Pickworth] Households are looking to external sources such as the government or working children for support after retirement as the economic squeeze continues. Read more >>


Accounting & Auditing
Mid-tier audit firms prepare to make most of shake-up
[Max Gebhardt] Mid-tier audit firms are in a race to bulk up as they look to gain market share from the big four accounting firms amid a regulatory shake-up in the audit profession. Read more >>


Banking
Mineworkers fail to gain from share plans
[Carol Paton] Employee share ownership plans (Esops) in the mining industry - viewed five years ago as a way to spread the benefits of empowerment to workers - have all but failed, with minimal benefits flowing to lower-end employees now that the schemes have begun to vest. Read more >>

FNB named best large company innovator
[Evan Pickworth] First National Bank (FNB) was named SA's best large company innovator and Paperight, which is in the print-on-demand business, the best small company at the inaugural Accenture Innovation Index in SA. Read more >>


Markets & Investment
Rand softer on US fiscal impasse
[Madeleine van Niekerk] The rand remained on the back foot in Monday afternoon trade (14 October) due to the situation caused by the US debt-ceiling conflict. This has put some pressure on global markets‚ with emerging market currencies bearing the brunt of it. Read more >>

Maize bit firmer on expectations of little rain
[Madeleine van Niekerk] Local grain futures ended the Monday (14 October) session slightly firmer due to a softer rand and low expectations of rain. Read more >>

Rand directionless amid US fiscal indecision
The rand on Monday morning (14 October) remained in the tight ranges in which it traded for most of last week‚ as the US fiscal indecision and government shutdown extended into its third week. Read more >>

Rand steady after strong overnight rally
[Fifi Peters] The rand was little changed from its overnight close on Friday morning (11 October)‚ after strengthening by almost 5c to the dollar in late trade on Thursday‚ following improved global risk appetite and an end to the local platinum strike. Read more >>

Strikes slow August manufacturing growth
Manufacturing production growth moderated significantly in August‚ reflecting the results of strike action in vehicle manufacturing sectors and supporting views third quarter economic growth will be weaker than the second quarter's. Read more >>

Private equity delivers favourable returns
The asset class continues to deliver steady returns that compare favourably with those reported for listed equity. This is according to the latest RisCura SAVCA South African Private Equity Performance Report for the second quarter of 2013. Read more >>

UIF set to extend benefit payment period
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is on the verge of expanding the period of benefit payments from eight months to 12 months, says the fund's commissioner Boas Seruwe. Read more >>


Taxation & Regulation
DA bemoans hurdles for 'urgent' youth wage bill
[Linda Ensor] Considerable obstacles stand in the way of the adoption by Parliament of the draft Employment Tax Incentive Bill‚ which is required urgently to address the crisis of youth unemployment‚ the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday, 15 October. Read more >>

Divisions over 'aggressive' tax planning
[Amanda Visser] Tax authorities are being more aggressive in challenging companies' tax practices, but this is leading to a disparity over what tax practitioners and politicians consider aggressive tax planning. Read more >>

Tolls are like toilets says Peters
[Adam Wakefield] The user-pays principle to be implemented on Gauteng's freeways was comparable to paying to use a toilet, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said on Thursday (10 October). Read more >>

Cell C takes bigger rivals to Competition Commission
Cell C announced on Wednesday (10 October) that it had formally lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission against the dominant incumbent mobile operators‚ MTN and Vodacom‚ for anti-competitive conduct. Read more >>

Cosatu to continue fight against e-tolls
The Supreme Court of Appeal's dismissal of the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance's (Outa) challenge to e-tolls makes no difference to Cosatu's campaign, the trade union federation said on Wednesday. Read more >>


International

Facebook buys Israeli start-up Onavo
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL: Onavo, a Tel-Aviv-based firm that makes applications for users to manage mobile data costs, particularly when travelling abroad, has been bought by Facebook for between US$100m and US$200m. The final price was not disclosed. Read more >>

Vodafone now owns Kabel Deutschland
LONDON, UK: British mobile phone company Vodafone said Monday, 14 October, that the group has now completed its €7.7bn purchase of Kabel Deutschland. Read more >>

New app aims to keep tabs on mobile wallet
SAN FRANCISCO, USA: For those who use a mobile wallet, a new app helps them keep track of how much electronic cash the wallet contains. Read more >>

Twitter overtakes Facebook among teens: survey
NEW YORK, USA: Twitter has overtaken Facebook as the most popular social network among US teens, according to a new survey. Read more >>

India car sales post steepest drop in decade
NEW DELHI, INDIA: India's car sales fell nearly five percent year-on-year in the first half of the financial year due to the weak economy. This is the steepest drop in a decade, according to data released on Tuesday (8 October). Read more >>

Intu bets on Spanish rebound with purchase of shopping centre
[Nick Hedley] Intu Properties‚ the largest property company on the JSE by market capitalisation‚ on Monday (7 October) announced a partnership agreement to buy one of Spain's "top 10" shopping centres. Read more >>


More International


Government

Gordhan is Finance Minister of the Year
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was on named Finance Minister of the Year (2013) in the sub-Saharan Africa category by Emerging Markets. Read more >>

Dti to launch informal sector scheme
The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) will launch an informal sector scheme, which will give grants to the country's informal sector, dti Director General Lionel October said on Wednesday, 8 October. Read more >>

More needs to be done for SMMEs says Thabethe
Although there has been progress on policy and the development of support infrastructure for small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs), more still needs to be done, says Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Elizabeth Thabethe. Read more >>

SA is only Brics nation without maritime policy
[Linda Ensor] SA was the only country in the Brics bloc that did not have a maritime policy or strategy and that owned no ships‚ Transport Minister Dipuo Peters noted in the annual report of her department. Read more >>

Patel reports funding records
Industrial funding disbursements and a crackdown on cartels was at a record high in the 2012/13 financial year, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Tuesday (8 October). Read more >>

Beat the rush for e-tags urges Sanral
Gauteng drivers should register for e-tags now to avoid the rush when e-tolling begins, the SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) said on Tuesday, 8 October. Read more >>


More Government news


New accounts


Fintech signs Stone Soup PR - more info



Jobs offered

Financial Manager - Scan Display - Johannesburg
Scan Display's Johannesburg office is looking for a financial manager to oversee the company's accounting and admin function. Previous financial management experience in advertising/manufacturing is advantageous. Read more >>

Learning Facilitators - North West
Due to the growth within Metropolitan Retail, these challenging and exciting positions for learning facilitators have arisen in North West. Read more >>

Project/Cost Accountant - Kuilsrivier
Vital Health Foods is looking for a qualified CA to take the role of its project/cost accountant - Kuilsriver. You'll be responsible for the overall stock and costing management. Read more >>



New events to diarise

Nkonki Annual Audit Committee Conference 2013
Nkonki Inc. - 21 Oct 2013 to 22 Oct 2013 Sandton
Effective Financial Report Writing
Paton Training - 25 Oct 2013 Johannesburg
The Future of Cash Conference 2013
Trade Conferences International - 6 Nov 2013 to 7 Nov 2013 Johannesburg
SMEs Banking Conference
Mogorosi Communications Consultancy - 19 Nov 2013 to 20 Nov 2013 Boksburg


Upcoming events

Prof Malcolm McDonald
The Marketing Association SA - 16 Oct 2013 Johannesburg
Banking Channel Fraud Management Conference 2013
Trade Conferences International - 16 Oct 2013 to 17 Oct 2013 Johannesburg
Banking Segmentation Competitive Product Analysis
Trade Conferences International - 16 Oct 2013 to 17 Oct 2013 Johannesburg
Nkonki Annual Audit Committee Conference 2013
Nkonki Inc. - 21 Oct 2013 to 22 Oct 2013 Sandton


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