With the local equity market having had a spectacular run, fund managers believe that the developed offshore markets are offering better value for South African investors. But investing offshore does not mean that you have to go through the whole hassle of getting permission from the Reserve Bank to use your R2-million foreign investment allowance.
As a result of interest rate hikes in the past year, a homeowner with a bond of R500 000 is paying an extra R1 000 a month to his or her bank. Where does that extra mortgage payment go each month? Who benefits from the billions of extra rands that are paid by homeowners? The short answer is: the savers.
I will be resigning from the public service at the end of June 2007. Please advise me on what I should do with my pension. Should I open a retirement annuity, according to this week’s article? The article also spoke of the split, which is transferring half of the money into the annuity and cashing the rest, writes reader Phuti.
Applying for a home loan through a bond originator has become almost automatic in the past few years. Using a bond originator saves you time and paperwork and often means that banks’ turnaround time is reduced, so that you get quotes faster. Often, your estate agent will pass your name on to a mortgage origination company, meaning that you don’t even have to make the phone call; they’ll call you.
What is a common factor in ensuring that women do not marry too young, do not have more children than they can cope with, do not die giving birth — and contract HIV in smaller numbers? The answer is men. That is the message for World Population Day 2007, which is being marked on Wednesday under the theme <i>Men as Partners in Maternal Health</i>.
Thousands of pregnant women have been tested for HIV since Liberia introduced a programme to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmissions eight months ago, according to the National Aids Control Programme.
With global diversified mining major Xstrata having met its 2014 targets in respect of ownership by historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs), and making good progress on employment equity, you would expect them to be happy with the status quo. Not entirely, writes Erik Ratshikhopha.
A cheeky, speaking vegetable is just weeks away from bounding on to Chinese cinema screens. When <i>The Magic Gourd</i> opens at the end of this month, the Chinese-language film will mark a departure for Walt Disney and a step-change in its charm offensive in emerging markets.
Contamination of the Aids drug Viracept created panic among HIV-positive Zambians on antiretroviral therapy. Roche, the Swiss manufacturers, announced that some batches of Viracept had been accidentally contaminated with mesylate, prompting a recall of the product.
Small businesses find themselves in a catch-22 when it comes to BEE verification. Officially, they are exempt from the heavy red tape and costs involved in scoring a business’s BEE compliance. But, increasingly, they find that they have to submit to red tape and costs just to prove that they are indeed exempt.