Last week’s fresh fears prompted by the Brazilian debacle were replaced by a sigh of relief from world markets when Brazil allowed the real to float against the dollar. Indices and stocks which had surged after the new year and went into a dizzying tailspin when the failure of a minor Brazilian province to repay […]

postponed Mungo Soggot The sacked rector of the Vaal Technikon, Professor Aubrey Mokadi, has told the institution’s council he is suffering from an “anxiety disorder” that justifies a postponement of his appeal against the disciplinary probe which fired him. Mokadi has sent the Vereeniging technikon a copy of a clinic’s letter that states he is […]

economy, stupid Beneath the triumphalism and euphoria, a deep unease pervades Middle America, argues Robert Kuttner Yes, in many respects life in the United States has never been better. But there are four notable soft spots in the American utopia: insecurity, holes in the welfare state, inequality and stress. First, insecurity: social critic Richard Sennett […]

Friday night: Brandon Edmonds Summers in Durban are like David Lean movies: long, epic and strangely alluring. They make you dream about backstroking through molten lava. At least dressing is pared down to essentials. Basically, as little as is decent. That most clubs and bars stick to Ralph Laurenesque colonial decorum, read “no shorts”, is […]

Irene Krechoweicka Taking a break gives you renewed energy and motivation, enabling you to gain the most from your working life. Breaks made with an employer’s support are by far the easiest to mend. Here’s how to persuade your boss to give you some time off: l Prepare a strong case. Enlightened employers can be […]

Johnny Masilela A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE by ES Madima (ESST) Tenda Madima, a journalist and the author of an as-yet- unpublished novel in English as well as a screenplay, has taken it upon himself to translate his father’s celebrated TshiVenda novel into English. Academic MC Neluvhalani writes in the preface that he is convinced this […]

SARAH BULLEN, Johannesburg | Friday 7.30pm. ANGLO American Corporation subsidiary, Zambia Copper Investments, on Friday afternoon formally announced it is to acquire the assets of state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines for a beefed up $90-million. This brings to an end speculation over the price AAC would finally acquire ZCCM’s lucrative copper mines following reports that […]

THE international competitors were struggling as the first round of the $1-million South African Open kicked off in blistering heat at the Stellenbosch Golf Club on Thursday. Leading the field as the early starters neared the end of their rounds, were Pretoria’s Justin Hobday and Ron McCann, a South African who has lived in the […]

GOVERNMENT is due to issue a discussion paper in June on electronic commerce — e-commerce — in an attempt to bring commercial law up to date with developments in e-commerce technology and practice. The paper will propose legal and regulatory guidelines for e-commerce and to promote technology. The discussion paper is the first step in […]