The young man in the checked yellow shirt and khaki shorts stood out from the army of grey-haired and smartly dressed pensioners who made up the bulk of the Shell investors. But his message to the oil company at its annual meeting this week — that it was ”astonishingly hypocritical” — was far from unique.
Recently the JSE lost 6% of its value in just three days. While there has been a subsequent recovery, it highlights the fact that market volatility is increasing dramatically. Wayne McCurrie, deputy MD of Advantage Asset Managers, says such high levels of vola-tility are indicative of a market that is abnormally valued.
European officials are under mounting pressure to tighten the pollution limits on European industry in the second phase of its flagship emissions trading scheme. Such a move is essential, critics said, to restore the scheme’s credibility and to make a meaningful contribution to tackling climate change.
Gold is through an ounce for the first time in a quarter of a century. Platinum prices have gone through the roof. Copper is now so expensive that the metal in a two pence coin is now worth three pence. Oil is trading at between and a barrel. But beware, it is a time of extreme danger for the unwary, with all the sadly familiar tell-tale signs of trouble ahead.
National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi will not cooperate with KwaZulu-Natal Premier S’bu Ndebele’s commission into alleged police bias because he does not want to be drawn into a provincial ANC power play. Sources at South African Police Service headquarters suggested that Selebi saw the commission as part of a turf war between Ndebele and provincial minister of safety and liaison Bheki Cele.
A Namibian friend once told me a story about going into a German-owned restaurant in the old Windhoek and ordering a sandwich. He was given bread and polony. When he asked if he could have butter on the bread to make it more palatable, the proprietress told him: ”No butter for natives.”
Martina Hingis will be hoping that recent history repeats itself as she returns to Roland Garros for the first time in five years after winning the Rome Masters. The 25-year-old Swiss capped her remarkable return to tennis and set her sights on the French Open after overcoming late resistance from Dinara Safina to lift her first title since reversing her retirement last January, winning 6-2, 7-5 on Sunday.
The Falcons pulled off somewhat of a surprise when they beat the fancied Wildebeest 25-17 to claim the Vodacom Cup trophy in Brakpan on Saturday. Playing in front of a vocal crowd, the under-rated Falcons players lifted their game to outplay a lacklustre Wildebeest.
South Africa’s famous Soweto township is undergoing an economic metamorphosis as more and more blacks join the middle class, creating a demand for top quality consumer goods. Plans are afoot in the township to build a world-class shopping mall as well as an upmarket hotel.
Federal customs agents seized a Mercedes-Benz from an army reservist who said the armour-plated, bulletproofed luxury car probably belonged to Saddam Hussein. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents said on Thursday that the car, which was also equipped with loudspeakers and hidden microphones, was being treated as a ”possible war trophy”.