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.
Woolies wants you to do all of your shopping in their stores, and soon. They don’t want you to pick up a few things and then mosey on down to Pick n Pay or Spar to buy the rest of what you’re after, because it’s cheaper. Woolies have a vision: they’ll make those things cheaper because they’re opening bigger supermarkets.
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.
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.
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.
Apple announced some massive fourth quarter sales numbers yesterday. For instance, they sold virtually as many iPhones as there are people in South Africa during that period. Apple also doubled both revenue and profit year-on-year too.
Greeks are amongst the most notorious tax dodgers in the world. Currently, Greece has about 60 billion Euros in unpaid taxes outstanding – a figure equivalent to about a quarter of its total economy. Athens decided to release a list on Sunday that published the names of some of the 4 000 known dodgers.
Why does this never happen to me? Why can’t my bank make these kinds of mistakes? A man in India was recently given the shock of his life when he checked his bank balance online and found out that he was the sudden recipient of 980 billion rupees – roughly R78 billion.
We all know who Alan Knott-Craig Jnr is. He’s the guy who bought MXit, owns World of Avatar, and made it possible for you to buy Vida with your cell. His father, Alan Knott-Craig Snr, has just been appointed as the CEO of Cell C. This could mean some very interesting developments in the telecoms industry.
It’s official – after weeks of speculation on Wall Street, the once iconic and innovative film company has run out of money. Kodak filed for bankruptcy today, after failing to survive a liquidity crisis following a massive decline in the sales of the very thing it pioneered in the first place – film.
While the rest of the country was enjoying their New Year celebrations, a group of cyber hackers was also enjoying theirs. The National Intelligence Agency has launched an investigation after a cybercrime syndicate managed to steal R42 million from SA Post Office financial institution, Postbank.
How do you know if you’ve succeeded in life or in business? It’s not the Ferrari, the house in Bishopscourt or the kids in private school. It’s being invited by Black Astrum to have them make business cards for you – for the cost of R12 000. Per card. No spice.
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.
Investec has joined forces with the European Investment Bank to establish a funding facility that will promote energy efficiency and the generating of clean energy in South Africa. The venture will be rolled out to support various kinds of renewable energy projects across the country.
Back in the day, people used to send each other messages using something they called the telegram. For the singing telegram, a real person actually used to call you up or come to your home and sing to you. Money transfer giant, Western Union, is bringing the singing telegram back and plans to get users involved: karaoke-style.
From April next year, the SA Treasury will cease production of the current five cent coin and will issue a new look 10 cent coin that is more cost effective to produce.
Looks like the only bottles in da club for Lil Weezy will be the ones filled with mineral water. Following his recent conviction for drug possession, the rapper isn’t allowed to consume alcohol or associate with anyone knowingly engaged in narcotics – good luck. Let’s see if he can last longer than (Camps Bay) “twenty minutes my broda”.
The machine, devised by a company called the Gitanjali Group, was launched at a central Mumbai shopping mall for the annual Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, on Wednesday. Prices range anywhere from R400 to R5 000, just in case you have that lying around for some last minute gifts.
European leaders are secretly all doing little victory dances. The Eurozone crisis has never looked better. Leaders have agreed new deals that slash Greek debt and increase the main bailout fund to around €1 trillion. They’re basically printing money. Athens will get a new €100 billion bailout early in the new year, and existing bond debt will be cut by 50%.
Next year, the ANC will be celebrating 100 years of political activity. In the midst of the celebrations, the organisation will make various precious metals memorabilia for sale in the form of gold coins and other commemorative items. The most expensive of these will be the President Zuma one kilogram fine gold medallion, valued at over R1 million.
Being rich is hard. Especially when it comes to road trips. It’s always an issue of “The Ferrari’s too small”, or “I wish my mansion had wheels”. Enter, the Elemment Palazzo. This bad boy not only brings an element of average American retiree to your life, it also has 40” TVs, a rainfall shower and a fireplace in it.
It promises to be one of the largest strikes since the resurgence of the catastrophic violence two years ago, and will touch virtually every industry of the deeply troubled state. At least half of the four million-strong workforce is expected to partake as parliamentarians vote on a package of austerity measures demanded by international lenders.
The latest in a series of phenomenally creative, Hollywood movie style smuggling stories involves false-bottomed cars, parking meters and a total of 16 tunnels. Of course no one was caught in the act, but if you guessed that the tunnels were supposed to be filled with drugs and some very naughty Mexicans, you’d be correct.
Just before lunchtime, a rumour began to do the rounds, courtesy of Sky News, that credit ratings agency Fitch was going to bring more bad news for Britain’s banks. A credit rating downgrade of major banks was possible later in the day. Sky changed their tune and withdrew the statement on TV, but the blog post remained, and now the downgrade has happened.
After having recently bought Fosters, fresh rumours surfaced yesterday that SABMiller might itself face a takeover from Anheuser-Busch InBev, the biggest brewer in the world. SAB shares soared 7% to their highest gain in almost three years as a result.
You may recall a previous article on the three-times widowed, fantastically wealthy Duchess of Alba’s proposed remarriage to Alfonso Diez, a man 24 years her junior. I’m pretty sure the last thing anyone (especially her) wanted popping up was a topless photo of that 85-year-old struck match, on the cover of a magazine. Lawsuit, here we come. [No pics. Naughty.]
The South African media giant, Naspers, has bought the Russian version of Gumtree: Slando, for an undisclosed amount. The original founders of Gumtree, Michael Pennington and Simon Crookall, confirmed the deal overnight. The site has 11 million users, and has sold items including Stalin’s clothing, a slew of diamonds, a MIG 21 aircraft and one whole oil refinery.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has today told a small news conference that China has agreed to invest approximately R19 billion in investment projects around South Africa. He’s been on a three-day visit to China, and has avoided all mention of the constant South African headache that is deciding whether the Dalai Lama should get a visa or not.
With a name like Doña Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba, one might excuse her for looking like a struck match. Clearly someone does, seeing as the twice-widowed aristocrat is getting remarried to Alfonso Diez, a man 24 years her junior. The news was announced after she bequeathed every penny she owns, to her children.
China’s time is now. We’ve all been saying it for ages, but their time really is now. A report from Bloomberg doesn’t beat around the bush: “China is willing to buy bonds from nations involved in the sovereign debt crisis.” They already own millions of hectares of land right here in Africa, but now they want to invest.