‘Tis the season to be jolly — but consumers need to be more vigilant than ever when banking and shopping online over the festive season, warns Standard Bank, as criminals are at their most active at this time. Consumers often get so wrapped up in the joys of the festive season that they make themselves vulnerable to con artists.

Not every former coal miner and farmer dreams of taking on Citibank, but maybe they will after hearing the story of Jiang Jianqing. Jiang’s name first appeared in the local press as a result of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s (ICBC) purchase of a 20% stake in Standard Bank for R36,7-billion. This is not incidental; Jiang is ICBC’s president and chairman. But despite his power relatively little is known about him locally.

Ongoing road works on South Africa’s busy routes has resulted in a surge in reports of windscreen chips and cracks. "But, the good news for consumers is that having windscreens repaired or replaced would seldom effect their premiums and result in them losing their no-claims bonus," says Santam’s Caroline da Silva.

An Eastern Cape Parks Board dictum reads: ”We promise the Earth.” As the ruling party’s delegates pack their bags for Polokwane, the daunting question stares us in the face: what promise, if any, does the ANC hold for the Earth? Writing for Mayibuye almost 10 years ago, Pallo Jordan observed that ”while the market can very easily assess and weight the value of a host of other commodities, it finds it difficult or underestimates the value of things we cannot buy and sell.”