Finweek - English

Acting Editor Jaco Visser Managing Editor Zerelda Esterhuizen Journalists and Contributors Simon Brown, Jacques Claassen, Andrew Duvenage, Johan Fourie, Moxima Gama, Mariam Isa, Schalk Louw, David McKay, Maarten Mittner, Andile Ntingi, Timothy Rangon

eras come to an end. During the recent municipal elections, the ANC – dominant in post-apartheid politics – got less than half of South Africans’ vote. The death of former president FW de Klerk is also an end of an era – although his legacy is being

before a global pandemic disrupted our lives, the most pressing worldwide question, from Davos forums to corporate boardrooms, from farmers to politicians, was simple: How do we stop climate change? And as we learn to live with the pandemic, fears ab

at the height of the electioneering season, politicians usually display the art of bamboozling voters to influence them to write down X next to the names of their political organisations on the ballot papers. On campaign trails, the over-promising an

Germany said at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow they will give South Africa €700m to help with phasing out the use of coal. The aim is to mobilise $8.5bn with the World Bank and others to promote developing renewable energy sources in the country.

The JSE closed at a new record high of 70 091 points in mid-November, following the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, among other factors. The statement depicted an encouraging fiscal outlook as a growth recovery, spike in commodity prices and an

despite relatively good prospects for rain for the 2021/2022 season, the local agricultural sector is currently experiencing mixed production conditions. This can, among other things, be ascribed to the enormous disruptions that the world is currentl

gold has been mined in South Africa for about 140 years. Now, the maturity of the resource is beginning to show. It’s costly and risky accessing the deeper levels of economic resources, and it requires labour-intensive mining practices. Wage and elec

Inasmuch as domestic investors have been selling local equity funds for several years in favour of offshore and income funds, there is a case to be made for local stocks, most especially in recent times. “The past year has been very rewarding for dif

BUY SELL HOLD Back in May, I recommended construction firm Raubex as a buy – it has gained about 20% since then. The company released solid results for the six months through 31 August on 8 November. Revenue jumped 52% compared to the same period a y

BUY SELL HOLD Private healthcare group Mediclinic International’s profits more than tripled for the six months through 30 September, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels. Mediclinic, which is based in London and has hospitals in Southern Africa, Europ

recently I had a Covid-19-compliant coffee with some investors who’d started investing around ten years ago. We were chatting about stocks, market crashes and the like but then the conversation took an interesting turn. I asked what they believed to

this year has provided several fortuitous and much-needed tailwinds for the local economy including a bounce in economic growth both globally and locally as economies around the world opened up after their Covid-19-induced slowdowns and releasing pen

global markets appear unfazed by the US Federal Reserve’s decision to commence with reducing its asset purchases in November, in marked contrast to the taper tantrum of 2013, when markets retreated, and bond yields spiked. Big technological companies

Purple Group* (owners of EasyEquities) released much better results than I had expected. The company posted its financial results for the year ended 31 August on 10 November. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) jumped 190% while funded accounts rose t

it took some time to figure out how to start this article. I must admit that it is not easy to write. I remember when I was but a young grasshopper with nothing but dreams in my head and passion in my heart. I remember how I used to buy finweek and r

in the past, when people thought of Sasfin, they saw us as a trusted stockbroker. But since our establishment in 1890, we have focused on people. This, without any doubt, stems from the entrepreneurial spirit of Sasfin as a business – from Roland Sas

the Denker Sanlam Collective Investments (SCI) Balanced Fund has delivered top-quartile performance over multiple periods since inception. Such consistent performance across market cycles and macro developments is the ideal outcome for investors. But

it goes without saying that the current state of the world, both globally and domestically, is pretty troubled, but the good news is the mutual fund industry has fared exceptionally well during the past decade in spite of market turbulence, noise and

since last year’s global market crash sparked by Covid-19, most financial markets have recovered strongly, including in South Africa. Many investors justifiably now question the return prospects going forward, and whether these gains can be sustained

in fixed income, the potential for returns – in the form of coupon payments and capital gains – is captured by the bond yield (which is the coupon amount or price). A high yield signifies a high potential return. A high potential return generally com

when domestic-oriented (SA Inc) stocks started looking promising 18 months ago, many investors continued to sit on the side-lines. They were still replaying the negative SA Inc “movie” of the last five years leading up to Covid-19, when local was not

one of the oldest of its kind available to South African investors, the Orbis Global Equity Fund has been a favourite among them for a considerable period. Domiciled in Bermuda, it has notched up an annualised 11.4% return since inception in 1990 aga

eskom’s CEO, André de Ruyter, is under attack, and it’s not just his fate which hangs in the balance. If he is removed and loadshedding stopped, the fragile electricity grid which he has battled so hard to protect may collapse, plunging the entire co

many have asked me about prospects for global equity funds during the next decade. Not an easy But as I have previously pointed out, rather more important is the quality of funds that you invest in rather than the singular performance of the overall

On 1 November, South Africans took to voting stations to cast their votes in the municipal elections. However, the result was not what either the ANC or the DA had hoped for, with 46% of the country having supported the ANC and 22% the DA. This is a

the 3rd of November 2021 was a big day for Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM). After almost four years in the making, the locally-produced Toyota Corolla Cross made its debut. As significant is the inclusion of a hybrid petrol-electric powertrain in t

Data by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 4m Americans quit their jobs in July 2021 with a peak in resignations in April. According to this data, there were 10.9m open positions at the end of July. Ian Cook and his team from Visier (a comp

there’s been enduring appeal for the cultish, Italian-bred Fiat 500. And its classic looks, heritage and quirky charm have been retained in the third generation of this iconic city car. It looks much like the original diminutive car introduced 64 yea

This issue’s isiZulu word is izinja. Izinja is dogs. The singular is inja. I don’t have izinja or any other pets. I don’t have pets because I don’t want to take care of an animal. I would never, even though my kids want izinja. I get it. But I also k