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Economics
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Ex-Goldman Exec, Greg Smith, Secures $1,5 Million Deal To Write Book
30 Mar 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Greg has done it. He is now earning more than he would have been earning if he hadn’t exposed the rotten core of ethical detachment at Goldman Sachs. There was a bidding war for the rights to publish Greg’s memoir, and a division of the Hachette Book Group, Grand Central, outbid Penguin to get them.
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Ex-Goldman Sachs Employee, Greg Smith, Shopping For Book Deal
26 Mar 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Greg Smith, the South African-born ex-Goldman Sachs executive who resigned this month, and went on to launch a scathing attack on Goldman’s culture in the New York Times, is seeking a deal to write a book about his experiences there.
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Goldman Sachs Starts Scanning Emails For The Term “Muppet”
22 Mar 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
After South African-born Greg Smith sent a scornful resignation op-ed to the New York Times last week, Goldman Sachs will now undertake a company-wide email review. They’ll be searching for terms like “muppet”, and other things that may help to reveal disgruntled employees.
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First Goldman Sachs, Now JPMorgan Chase; Second Honest Banker Shows Himself
16 Mar 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
This really is quite something. One might even say a “trend” is occurring. Following the publication of a whistleblowing letter by an ex-Goldman Sachs employee in the New York Times, a second honest banker has emerged. He works at JPMorgan Chase, and wrote his letter to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
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South African Goldman Sachs Exec Exposes The Rot In His Firm
15 Mar 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Goldman Sachs lost $2,2 billion of its market value yesterday after Greg Smith – a South African-born Goldman “big shot” in Europe – chose to resign and write an opinion piece letter about Goldman’s corporate culture to the New York Times.
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Visa Study Shows South African Consumers Have High Awareness Of Fraud, But Still A Need For Education
14 Mar 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
In an effort to increase awareness around debit and credit card safety, Visa and First National Bank (FNB) have teamed up to highlight the importance of card security to better educate consumers and protect them against fraud. Through an annual campaign running this year from the 13 – 16 March 2012, the Visa FNB Card […]
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Mandela And Zuma To Face Aurora Music
06 Mar 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The liquidators of Aurora Empowerment Systems, which is accused of asset-stripping bankrupt Pamodzi Gold, amongst other dubious activities, will lay charges of fraud this week against Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Zondwa. President Jacob Zuma’s nephew should probably also look forward to facing some music.
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The 2012 Budget Speech – Broken Down For You, The Consumer
24 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Every year at Budget Speech time, South Africans get concerned with how much we’ll have to cough up for petrol and beer in the year to come. These are worthy concerns, but there’s much more to the budget says Karin Muller, Head of Growth Market Solutions at Sanlam. For starters, tax changes affect how much […]
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Beware The ‘Googlighting’ Stranger, Microsoft Vs Google [VIDEO]
23 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Microsoft has launched a fascinating attack on Google Apps. In this instalment, Microsoft uses the American television series, Moonlighting, which aired during the mid 1980’s, to give us the spoof: Googlighting. Microsoft asks: “What happens when the world’s largest ad sales business tries to sell productivity software on the side?” It’s Microsoft Office versus Google Apps.
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The 2012 Budget Speech – Translated For Your Understanding
21 Feb 2012 by Seth Rotherham / 3 Comments
Every responsible adult knows it is their responsibility to listen to the annual Budget Speech delivered by the minister of Finance at the Opening Of Parliament, and to understand the changes to national policy and ramifications of said speech. Despite this, Minsters of Finance the world over stick to an unspoken rule – make the […]
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D-Day For Greek Bailout
20 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Today, Euro zone finance ministers will meet to decide whether Greece has done enough to warrant a huge bailout loan of €130 billion. Greece needs the loan in order to avoid bankruptcy midway through March, when a massive repayment on its governmental debt must be completed.
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Murray And Roberts Will Build Cape Town’s Tallest Building
16 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
Cape Town’s new tallest building is set to start taking shape as construction group Murray and Roberts have been awarded the R1,6 billion contract to build the Portside Project. It’s set to stand at 130 metres tall, comprising of 32 floors, and will house 52 000 square metres of office space for 3 000 people.
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SAA: Please May We Have R6 Billion?
15 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
South African Airways has asked the government, sorry, the taxpayer that doesn’t get a say, for a recapitalisation of about R6 billion to fund operational costs, growth strategy and a fleet renewal for the coming future. Why? Because it would post a loss this financial year if this doesn’t happen, and growth is important.
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Google’s Motorola Purchase Pretty Much Approved
14 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
American and European regulators have approved Google’s purchase of handset maker Motorola Mobility. The deal is worth a reported $12,5 billion and Google is said to be pleased at acquiring 17 000 new patents, and a further 7 500 patent applications as part of the deal.
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Indian Politicians Caught Watching “Porn” During Parliamentary Debate
09 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Three Indian politicians, among them a women’s affairs minister, resigned after two of them were caught watching what was thought to be porn on a mobile phone belonging to another minister during a session of state parliament on Tuesday. They’re also members of one of the more morally conservative parties.
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These Are Your Road Closures For The Opening Of Parliament
09 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Capetonians: it’s that time of the year again when the City of Cape Town closes many of its roads for the opening of Parliament. As part of the pompous affair and fashion extravaganza, President Jacob Zuma will also deliver his all-important State of the Nation Address.
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The iPhone Is Bigger Than The Whole Of Microsoft
06 Feb 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
In the December business quarter, Apple’s iPhone business generated $24,4 billion of revenue. Microsoft’s whole company, from Windows to Office to servers to Xbox, generated just $20,9 billion.
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Construction Will Begin On The Chapman’s Peak Office Block This Week
30 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Preparation at the site designated for the Chapman’s Peak four-lane toll plaza and office complex began last week, with official construction beginning this week. Estimates put completion of the complex to happen around Easter next year.
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You’ll Be Able To Buy Facebook Shares Soon
30 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Facebook, the world’s largest social-networking service, could file for its initial public offering as early as Wednesday this week. It’s a move that has been on the cards for some time, but the rumour pot is now starting to boil more consistently.
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South Africa Might Still Get A Warship
19 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
And guess who’s got a finger in that pie? None other than convicted fraudster, Tony Yengeni. Granted it probably won’t be a very big warship, if we can really even call it that, but it has the potential to cost even more than the four frigates we bought as part of the controversial 1999 R60 billion arms deal.
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State Owned Enterprises Battle To Be Profitable
17 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The South African Institute of Race Relations is reporting that only five of the nine state owned enterprises reporting to the Department of Public Enterprises were profitable in the 2009 – 2010 financial year. The taxpayer makes up for the shortfalls.
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British Banks Scrap Foreign Currency Debit Card Exchange Fees
20 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Banks know they make too much money, and South African banks could learn a thing or two from this. Five of the UK’s biggest banks, including Lloyds, Barclays and RBS, as well as other credit card companies, have agreed to scrap the charges associated with buying currency with a card while abroad.
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Iconic Swedish Car Maker Saab Files For Bankruptcy
19 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Saab Automobile has spent the last two years fighting to salvage the iconic brand that manufactured cars for six decades, but today announced that it had filed for bankruptcy in a Swedish district court. General Motors, who still had control over technology licenses, had disapproved of negotiations with two Chinese firms that sought to save Saab.
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Britain Goes It Alone: The “Billy-No-Mates” Of Europe
14 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
On 9 December 2011, British Prime Minister, David Cameron emerged from 10 hours of negotiations with European Union leaders, announcing his decision to reject new European Rules on behalf of Britain. It is a move that has set Britain up for a season of icy relations with its continental cousins that may last much longer than this year’s winter.
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Hungary Have Outlawed Homeless People
01 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
A new bit of legislation has just come into force in Hungary, in an attempt to deal with the large number of homeless people in Budapest. The regulation makes it a punishable offense to be homeless; the offense is punishable by a fine just under ZAR 5 000. Because, you know, that makes sense.
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Rich New Yorkers Buying Pimped-Out Vans To Camouflage Wealth
21 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
There appears to be a growing trend among rich New Yorkers in response to the increased attention being paid to “the 1%”. They’ve taken to buying cargo vans that look plain on the outside, but are opulent on the inside, tricked out with massage chairs wi-fi and widescreen televisions. Some of these guys cost upwards of ZAR 4 million.
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The Occupy Wall Street Protestors Are Being Violently Swept Out By NYPD [LIVE STREAM]
15 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
At 2am this morning the NYPD started violently clearing out Zuccoti Park, where the peaceful Occupy Wall Street protestors have been camped out. The cops are using pepper spray, they are using LRAD sound weapons, and they are actively preventing any official media from reporting on their violation of OWS members’ constitutional rights. Shit’s gotten real.
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Mininum Wage Increase In China: Everything Is Going To Get More Expensive Next Year.
11 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
Effective January 1, 2012, the minimum wage is going to increase by as much as 20% in Guangdong, the industrial province in China where most of the stuff you’ve bought in the past decade was produced. Which means you’ve got yourself a significant rise in consumer good prices worldwide incoming.
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Intelligence Report: China & Russia Hired Hackers To Steal US Secrets
07 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
A report released by U.S. intelligence agencies claims that Chinese and Russian hackers, hired by their governments, have been stealing classified data from American government organizations. Assumptions like this have been made before, but this is the first time such a report to Congress has pointed the finger squarely at China and Russia.
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Greek Referendum On Bailout Threatens New Euro Zone Crisis
01 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
George Papandreou’s shock announcement that he will put Greece’s bailout to a referendum helped the FTSE open nearly three per cent down this morning. It was interesting listening to Lindsay Williams on 2oceanVibe Radio a little earlier too. He remarked that there are more Porsche Cayennes registered in Greece than taxpayers declaring an income of 50 000 euros or more. Clearly Greeks aren’t fans of paying tax.
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