TUESDAY, 4.30PM: DRAFT legislation proposing a compulsory training levy on companies was unveiled by Labour Minister Tito Mboweni in Cape Town on Tuesday. The proposed levy will be between 1% and 1,5% of company wage bills, but this may be recouped by businesses running their own training programmes. The Skills Development Bill was approved by […]

TUESDAY, 5.30PM: AFTER a slow start to the week, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange woke up on Tuesday with a strong opening on US markets boosting local industrial shares. Gold shares, however, languisehed in the doldrums. At the close the industrial index had climbed 17,3 points to 8 953, but the all gold index had slipped […]

TUESDAY, 11.00AM: THE Transvaal cricket squad to face Natal and Australia this month was named on Monday. Transvaal’s convenor of selectors, David van der Knaap, said: “There is such a positive vibe in the team and the guys know the are going to have to perform to play regularly.” SQUAD: Ken Rutherford, Clive Eksteen, Sven […]

TUESDAY, 11.00AM: GROSS foreign reserves in August rose by R3,1-billion to R25,9-billion over July’s R22,8-billion, the Reserve Bank announced on Monday evening. The gross figure was higher than expected by market analysts, but was somewhat offset by increased foreign borrowings, with about R5,9-billion in foreign credit lines used in August against July’s R3,2-billion. The fact […]

MEMORIALS FOR PRINCESS DIANA AT least two SA churches will hold memorial services for the late Princess Diana on Saturday, the day of her funeral. A memorial service will be held at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, starting at 9.30am. And Pretoria’s St Martin de Porres Catholic Church will hold a Mass of Peace […]

TUESDAY, 4.30PM BETWEEN 200 and 300 Comoran soldiers set sail on Tuesday to intervene on the island of Anjouan in the Indian Ocean republic, where a separatist uprising has broken out, eyewitnesses reported. Soldiers were seen preparing to leave for Anjouan aboard two civilian ferries during the night from Moroni port on the main island […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: SOUTH AFRICA took home half-a-dozen medals from the World Student Games in Sicily — they won two more bronze medals at the swimming events in Messina this weekend. Brendon Dedekind came third in the men’s 50m freestyle, with a time of 23,07secs. The women’s 4x100m medley team finished in 4min 15,54secs. The team […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: THE SA Futures Exchange on Monday launches options opn ordinary shares of Anglo American, De Beers, Richemont, SA Breweries and Liberty, with the intention of extending the scheme to add all the shares included in the indices on which futures are at present listed. “The equity options market of Safex will help to […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: NATAL SHARKS beat the Free State Cheetahs 23-11 in their Bankfin Currie Cup match at Kings Park Stadium on Sunday. Free State put up a good defence and Natal only managed to stay one try ahead, despite a 16-3 lead at half time. The Gauteng Lions have been beset by further setbacks as […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: WORLD and local markets are in for a hectic week amid signs that a market crash could be under way, and with the possibility of an interest rate hike by the German Bundesbank. Meanwhile, trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Friday was thin, and major indices posting losses. The industrial index plummeted […]