Banking group Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of Firstrand Bank, on Thursday announced the creation of Makalani Holdings — a company dedicated to mobilising capital for empowerment and development investments. Makalani will offer an alternative source for mezzanine funding, RMB said in a statement.
Financial services group Alexander Forbes said on Thursday that although there has been a strong operational performance across most of its businesses, it expects to record headline earnings per share of between 108 and 115 cents for the year ended March 31 — down 15% to 20% compared with the previous year’s restated 135 cents.
Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) on Thursday said the planned strike action by a group of workers at its parts warehouse in Gauteng will have no effect on the main manufacturing plant in Uitenhage, where more than 6 000 people are employed. The workers want outsourced packing activities to be performed by VWSA employees.
Nike, long the target of sweatshop allegations, on Wednesday produced the most comprehensive picture yet of the 700 factories that produce its footwear and clothing, detailing admissions of abuses, including forced overtime and restricted access to water.
In a turbulent and emotional day in the Michael Jackson sex abuse trial, the mother of his teenage accuser told the court on Wednesday that the singer and his associates persuaded her that her family was in mortal danger from ”killers” after the broadcast of the Martin Bashir documentary, Living with Michael Jackson.
It’s make-or-break time for defending champions ACT Brumbies in their return home for the showdown with shaky front-runners New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday. The Brumbies have slumped to fifth spot with five matches left to next month’s playoffs after losing their last three games on the road.
Attention this weekend turns to the FA Cup and the battle for survival in the Premiership. With Chelsea 11 points clear with six games to go, Arsenal, who take on Blackburn, and Manchester United, who face Newcastle, know that the Cup offers them their only remaining chance of silverware this season.
Lieutenant General Godfrey Ngwenya is to be promoted as the third chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) from June 1, the Cabinet announced on Wednesday. Ngwenya succeeds General Siphiwe Nyanda, who is taking early retirement.
Sixty years ago, 24-year-old Dick Williams set off through the woods of northern Germany in search of a ”refugee” camp. The previous day, a German officer had agreed to hand the camp over to the advancing British. With only a map reference to guide him, Williams crossed the German frontline by jeep and turned left down an unmarked track.
A United States contract worker kidnapped in Baghdad on Monday appeared in a video on Wednesday night begging for his life and for US troops to leave Iraq. Jeffrey Ake, the head of a company which makes equipment for bottling water, read a prepared statement from behind a desk while two masked gunmen stood over him, one pointing an assault rifle at his head.