With five more weekly newsletters to go, and just a few more sleeps until you find yourself pushing and shoving in a crowded shopping mall searching for that one last gift, the news flow is yet to slow! All
26 of our industry newsletters are jam-packed with what's what with the who's who.
The annual
Checkers/Shoprite Toy 4 Toy campaign launched this week, so if you have any new or used toys laying about that little Susie's outgrown, why not donate them to a less fortunate child. The campaign runs until early December.
After Randall Abrahams handed over the SAMA CEO baton to Nlanhla Sibisi, the
2013 MTN South African Music Awards is now open for entries. Look out for a few category changes here and there, and have your entries in by 30 November 2012. As my father recites whenever buying his
tata ma chance ticket, you have to be in it, to win it...
Still on the topic of winning, well done to the KZN-based African Centre for Crop Improvement for
scoring its first award! Conferred by A Green Revolution for Africa for "exceptional contributions to food security in Africa", the ACCI received its award from Nobel peace prize laureate Kofi Annan.
Lastly, in an endeavour to keep our coasts clean and our marine life protected, the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape coasts will soon have
bins in which fishermen can discard broken or used line. The project, successfully implemented along the Overberg's Gansbaai shoreline, uses PVC pipe as bins for fishing line. According to John Kieser, sustainability manager of Plastics|SA, the project has received plenty of support from the public and fishermen have also welcomed the initiative. Well done to all involved!
Sindy Peters: Group Head, Content
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When Tile Africa recently decided to consolidate its outlets and sell its property with its large warehouse adjacent to N1 City in Cape Town, it was snatched up by Proventus Property for R9.9 million, who now plans to upgrade the property. 
Paul Henry, managing director of Rawson Developers, has drawn attention to an analysis published by the FNB Property Economist, John Loos, an underlying message of which is that house prices in the urban areas, although undoubtedly affected by the recession, will be enhanced by one unfortunate trend in the coming years - a noticeable decline in government spending on the infrastructures of South Africa's big cities. 
Prospective buyers must do their homework thoroughly before they buy into secure gated estate. If they don't, their lifestyle dream could turn out to be a nightmare. That is the advice to first-time estate buyers from Jeff Gilmour, president of the Association of Residential Communities (ARC). 
Listed property loan stock Ascension Properties Limited have announced that its proposed acquisition of a R1 billion commercial property portfolio from Capital Property Fund is now unconditional. 
There have recently been a number of cases where do-it-yourself sellers, dispensing with the help of an estate agent or in some cases advised by an untrained agent, have accepted offers from buyers - and even allowed them to take occupation - only to find that they were not in a position to buy, says Bill Rawson, chairman of the Rawson Property Group. 
House prices continued to show a moderate year-on-year growth of 3.8% to R854 740 in October, according to the latest statistics from ooba, South Africa's biggest bond originator. 
