A group of experts gathered in Johannesburg last weekend to talk about mind control, teleportation and the future of the human race.
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/ 3 November 2011
Fiery unidentified flying objects over the Free State have left star gazers puzzled, the <em>Volksblad</em> newspaper has reported.
Big business triumphs while SABC and government languish.
Rubber soles won’t electrically isolate you from the ground, and the metal of your car is what keeps you safe.
Beware when the thunderheads start to gather, writes Phillip de Wet.
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/ 10 February 2010
After weeks of uncertainty, Toyota SA has announced the recall of just over 50 000 vehicles in SA, for what it stresses are pre-emptive repairs.
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/ 29 September 2009
It’s no coincidence that most of those who are obsessed with population growth are post-reproductive wealthy white men.
First there were security estates, then golf estates,
then polo estates and more recently farm estates.
Small companies are learning that there are potential rewards in catering for Muslims.
The charter industry is in decline but the rich can still
afford private planes
The Johannesburg Development Agency goes where private property developers fear to tread — and then make those areas irresistible to investors.
Orania is often dismissed for the most obvious reasons — but maybe its community currency deserves a second look.
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/ 13 December 2008
Still trying to figure out how to tackle your giftlist? Top tech writer Phillip de Wet and fashionista Bianca Resnekov have recommendations.
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/ 4 December 2008
If the American government went bankrupt, it would effectively bankrupt the world with it.
Will MTN buy into the second national operator (SNO), which is due to start competing with Telkom over the next year? History and some pointers say yes. MTN isn’t saying. JSE Securities Exchange analysts think probably not. A minority stake held by MTN would be a boon for consumers, however.
Under South Africa’s old regime the Afrikaans magazine market was fiercely contested territory. Rich, white, homogenous; the coloured community was ignored and it was an advertiser’s dream. Naspers built a mighty empire out of serving it, and over the years many others shared in the loot.
MTN’s share price plunged nearly 10% this week, devaluing the company by more than R7,6-billion, as investors punished the company for sitting on their money. MTN released spectacular annual results as expected late last week, much like the results Telkom released days before.
Telkom’s share price hit an all-time record high this week as the company reported massive profits for its last financial year. Shareholders — who will be getting a R9 dividend for shares some bought for less than R30 — were delighted. Politically, the results were more ambiguous, with Telkom customers grumbling about being overcharged and the Democratic Alliance calling the results "embarrassingly good".
A group led by current CEO James Whitehouse has been selected to buy movie company Sasani’s remaining assets for around R130-million. The deal still requires regulatory and shareholder approval but could be concluded shortly. Sasani announced recently that the Whitehouse consortium was the preferred bidder for its assets.
The new SABC chief will be either Sentech head Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane or Altron executive Dali Mpofu, Afrikaans Sunday paper <i>Rapport </i>said on the weekend. Without citing any sources, the newspaper said the shortlist of possible replacements for Peter Matlare had been narrowed to those two names and that the SABC board would have to choose between them.
Both Telkom and MTN will announce that they made bucketloads of money in the past financial year. Neither will be able to entirely convince shareholders that the good times will continue indefinitely. Telkom plans to present its results on Monday.
A reduced version of Afrikaans Sunday paper Die Wêreld will be published on Sunday after all, but the future of the paper still looks shaky. Editor Maryna Blomerus today confirmed that a smaller than usual print run will be distributed only in Gauteng, but could not say exactly how many copies would be printed.
Staff at Afrikaans Sunday newspaper <i>Die Wêreld</i> have not been paid their salaries for May and unless a white knight is found, the paper will not be published this Sunday. <i>Die Wêreld</i> published its first issue in mid-April and has been moving towards being a fairly traditional tabloid.
Movie company Sasani could announce a final deal to dispose of its remaining assets within a week to ten days, closing the book on its short existence as a JSE-listed one-stop-shop for the film industry.
The massive South African Airways (SAA) advertising account is likely to come up for tender some time this year and – if rumours hold true – incumbent HerdBuoys McCann-Erickson may find the going tough. The SAA account is one of the largest and most prestigious in the country. Pitching for it has been a close-run thing in the past.
Threatened legislation meant to discourage whistle-blowing or to punish those who release information that causes public panic is unlikely to pass muster, lawyers say. But the media has reason to be afraid of the shoot-the-messenger thinking behind the concept.
The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) hopes to appoint an editor for a planned bi-monthly magazine by the end of May and could be distributing around a million magazines by September. The as-yet unnamed magazine will aim to "disseminate information about economic opportunities to those who need to improve their lives".
What does the demise of <i>ThisDay</i> tell us about the daily newspaper model in South Africa? Phillip de Wet analyses the reasons behind his former employer’s downfall and asks whether the remaining crop are comparatively healthy.