Shirley Kemp Recent changes to Morgan Stanley Capital International’s (MSCI) Standard All Country World Index (ACWI) have resulted in the formation of a new “provisional” ACWI Index. Fifty percent of the new index will be phased in during November, with the rest to be implemented in May. The implications for emerging markets are negative on […]
He is at his lowest ebb for a decade and his French Open campaign was a disaster. Jim White talks to the once invincible American embarking on his last realistic attempt at a Wimbledon title Sitting up in the stands surrounding the main court at Queen’s Club in west London, Pete Sampras is watching a […]
John Aizlewood CD OFTHEWEEK As Freaky Girl settles into its jogging groove, Orville “Shaggy” Burrell growls over The Kraft’s Stakhanovite vocal legwork and lets slip a chuckle. In an instant, its good-natured lasciviousness encapsulates the unlikely but undisputed king of reggae. Shaggy’s shtick on Hot Shot (MCA) is straightforward but appealing. His love songs girl […]
Deon Potgieter boxing As the only boxing world champion in South Africa holding one of the “big three” sanctioning bodies’ world titles, Lehlohonolo “Hands of Stone” Ledwaba carries a lot of responsibility on his shoulders this weekend. He makes the sixth defence of his International Boxing Federation junior-featherweight title as the main supporting bout to […]
Mboniso Sigonyela The Reserve Bank’s interest-rate surprise will provide a further fillip to buoyant house prices especially in Gauteng. This is good news for owners as houses are in most cases an individual’s biggest asset. But property economist Erwin Rode warns buyers to be careful of an interest-rate trap. “Most people will rush into the […]
Joel Avni ROCKS OF AGES: SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN THE FULLNESS OF LIFE by Stephen Jay Gould (Jonathan Cape) THE PLEASURE OF FINDING THINGS OUT by Richard PFeynman (Penguin) Religion and science seem to have dominated intellectual discourse for centuries. Ironic, isn’t it, that two of humanity’s main intellectual systems come up with such contradictory […]
This one-time glamour stock has fallen from R22 to R1. But is it a fundamentally sound business and is it offering value at these levels? Belinda Anderson Nicolaas Vlok, the CEO of Idion, has successfully managed to turn what was once a family business into a global software group. The catalyst was the purchase of […]
Harry Viljoen finally admits Montgomery is a flop as the Boks’ on-field general Andy Capostagno It would be easier to believe Springbok coach Harry Viljoen’s assertion that he is building for the 2003 World Cup if he had not made five changes to the starting line-up for the second Test against France in Durban on […]
Reality TV is controversial, lucrative and very popular. Sylvie Kerviel examines a cultural phenomenon In 1999 the Dutch “reality television” show Big Brother, in which a group of contestants was isolated from the rest of the world and kept under 24-hour surveillance, was an instant hit. It was so successful that it immediately spawned similar […]
Paul van Eeden in San Diego There can be no doubt that the United States faces a serious deflationary threat. More than $4-trillion has been lost in the stock market and, regardless of how you spin the numbers, that money is gone. Even though Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan has been inflating the money supply […]