Financial Mail articles from December 2011

Financial Mail archives from December 2011

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Applying his expertise. Paris Mashile.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Larry Claasen WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Applying his expertise Former Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) chairman Paris Mashile has not retired quietly or let his Icasa experience go to waste. Mashile, who holds degrees...

AFRICA CELLULAR TOWERS. TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Larry Claasen AFRICA CELLULAR TOWERS TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT Price: 4c 6m Aug T/O (Rm) EBT (Rm) EPS (c) DPS (c) Mkt cap: R14,8m 2011 109,1 -53,4 -15,2 PE: 2010 102,7 -86,2 -21,4 Sector PE: t s +6% This group should just be shut...

NICTUS. GENERAL RETAILERS.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Marc Hasenfuss NICTUS GENERAL RETAILERS Price: 265c 6m Sep T/O (Rm) EBT (Rm) EPS (c) DPS (c) Mkt cap: R141,0m 2011 273,0 10,8 19,24 PE: 6,3 2010 194,5 3,8 6,41 Sector PE: 13,9 t s +40% +184% +200% This small Namibian company has a...

Did you hear?
December 23, 2011... According to a survey in the UK by Gocompare, a fifth of Brits would sell their partners for GBP1m or less. Fourteen percent of men would sell their other half for GBP100000 and 9% of women would take just GBP100000 or less, given the...

Lessons from 2011.
December 23, 2011... Byline: NAZMEERA MOOLA Lessons from 2011 As the end of the year rushes towards us, there are three economic lessons from 2011 that stick in my mind. First, I learnt that central banks do matter. While monetary policy may be irrelevant in the...

Bring on a shake-up.
December 23, 2011... Byline: BARNEY MTHOMBOTHI Bring on a shake-up It is customary at this time of year to cast an eye backwards, to pontificate about what's happened in the past 12 months as if other people slept through them, and then go on to predict the...

Executive Moves.
December 23, 2011... David Brown has been appointed an independent nonexecutive director of mobile operator Vodacom and will be a member of the audit, risk & compliance committee and the remuneration committee. Brown is CEO of Impala Platinum. Dawn Marole has...

Hoping for a good new year.
December 23, 2011... Hoping for a good new year Zuma and other ANC leaders can be expected to play to the gallery, up to a point. But they have limited room to do so Over more than four years, much of the world has learnt to live with a continuing crisis. The...

Blueprint could fly.
December 23, 2011... Byline: JAC LAUBSCHER Blueprint could fly The National Development Plan (NDP) challenges the New Growth Path's blind faith in the state as the key role-player in the quest for economic advancement. The NDP, put forward by the national...

Strike up the band.
December 23, 2011... Byline: DUNCAN McLEOD Strike up the band A reading of a detailed draft plan by the telecommunications regulator to license radio frequency spectrum for next-generation wireless broadband networks shows it wants to entice new entrants,...

Another week.
December 23, 2011... A girl carrying salvaged material walks through debris and flood waters in Mindanao, Philippines, a day after Typhoon Washi struck, killing nearly 1000 people. President Benigno Aquino declared a national calamity. European Central Bank head...

Another Week.
December 23, 2011... Another Week AFRICA Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila is sworn in for a second term in Kinshasa, amid tight security to prevent protests. Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi maintains he won the poll and says he will swear...

Negative rates, no growth.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Mark Robertson Negative rates, no growth Brian Kantor's piece (On My Mind December 16) arguing that the Reserve Bank should focus on short-term growth above inflation is interesting and erudite. However, one might argue with equally...

COMINGS & GOINGS.
December 23, 2011... COMINGS & GOINGS Stanley McChrystal. Siemens Government Technologies in the US has named the ex-commander of US forces in Afghanistan as chairman. Ex-US Army Lt-Gen John Sylvester and ex-GE executive Robert Coutts also join the board....

CAPITALISM. Don't break it - fix it.(Company overview)
December 23, 2011... Byline: Jean-Francois Mercier CAPITALISM Don't break it fix it argues that capitalism is not dead. But a reassessment of its fairness is needed WHAT IT MEANS. Greater regulation of the financial markets. Voters are prepared to accept...

BRICS. Rewards of pragmatism.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Martyn Davies BRICS Rewards of pragmatism looks at the future of capitalism for SA in the emerging global economic order WHAT IT MEANS. Governance determines economic success. A disconnect between the state and business Without...

THE EAST. Enter the dragon.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Michael Power THE EAST Enter the dragon takes a look at how the rise of the Asian economies will affect SA WHAT IT MEANS. Loosening of Asia's monetary policy in 2012. Better outlook for commodity prices Over 2010 and 2011, Hong...

MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE. Yet another helping hand.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Razina Munshi MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE Yet another helping hand Having burnt its fingers on previous programmes, government believes its most recent initiative to boost the development of infrastructure at municipal level will be a...

TRENDS. Changing rules.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Roxana Gorecki TRENDS Changing rules Next year may be set to mark an Apocalypse at least according to the Mayan calendar but that's only on December 21 and until then it's nice to know what to expect for the year ahead. The rules for...

ART MARKET. The full picture.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Gabrielle de Saint Clair ART MARKET The full picture The SA art market has come under pressure and there are concerns that inflated reserve prices have hobbled sales WHAT IT MEANS. Still demand for quality works. Some record...

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. Bargains abound.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Joan Muller RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY Bargains abound Residential property prices are not set for a recovery just yet. But chances are that prices won't fall any further either. So if you're a cash-flush investor, now seems a good time to...

CONSUMER SPENDING. Running out of rope.
December 23, 2011... CONSUMER SPENDING Running out of rope The SA consumer has proved resilient this year, continuing to spend and to buoy up economic growth at a time when mining and manufacturing have exerted a heavy drag on the economy. Yet, according to the...

CORRECTION.(Correction notice)
December 23, 2011... CORRECTION In last week's FM (Features December 16) it was reported in the article Profits on skids that Europcar had made about 1000 people redundant. This is incorrect. Rather, the company employs 1100 people in the SADC region and earlier...

COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY. A joined-up world.
December 23, 2011... COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY A joined-up world The global technology sector is taking off. Though the outlook for the world economy is clouded, the growing need for connectivity, especially in emerging countries, is the silver lining. Forrest...

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY. Tenants' market.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Joan Muller COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Tenants' market To let signs continue to mushroom in many of SA's business hubs, creating opportunities for companies to negotiate lower rentals and more favourable terms with landlords when lease...

PHILANTHROPY. Shoring up support.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Prakash Naidoo PHILANTHROPY Shoring up support Philanthropic giving around the world is slowly beginning to recover after falling dramatically during the economic downturn and recession. However, South Africans proved more resilient...

MINING RIGHTS KUMBA IRON ORE. Two rights make a wrong.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Charlotte Mathews MINING RIGHTS KUMBA IRON ORE Two rights make a wrong A massive positive boost for sentiment towards SA and the protection of shareholder rights ABDUL DAVIDS Some of the country's top legal minds will spend their...

ZAMBIA . Winds of change.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Tony Hawkins ZAMBIA Winds of change President Michael Sata's new Zambian government, which took office over two months ago, has hit the ground running with ideas, rulings and promises that are giving foreign investors cause for...

Fuel cell. 101.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Roxana Gorecki What is a fuel cell? It is a device that generates electricity through hydrolysis, which is the combination of hydrogen (the fuel of the cell) and oxygen, aided by a catalyst, with water as a by-product. The most common...

Out of the Frozen North.
December 23, 2011... DEAL OF THE WEEK Out of the Frozen North Julian Roberts CEO, Old Mutual Skandia business in Nordic region sold for GBP2,1bn. Skandia Liv, the mutually owned sister company, is the buyer. Proceeds will be used to pay debt In a surprise...

ENTREPRENEUR. Cables to success.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Roxana Gorecki ENTREPRENEUR Cables to success Lemao Motaung, founder and CEO of Medupe Electrical Supplies, has clinched one of the five spots on the SAB Foundation's Grant Capital Investment programme, which is run in partnership...

GIMME. Raring to go.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Max Gebhardt GIMME Raring to go There are some days designed for riding. Blue skies and a breath of wind, not too much to hinder but enough to push you along when needed. The Velocite Magnus is a bike for those occasions. It is...

MINING. New sparkle.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Nick van der Leek MINING New sparkle WHAT IT MEANS. No workers & x003D; higher sticker prices. No workers & x003D; higher sticker prices After a 42-year shutdown the Jagersfontein mine, 130km southeast of Kimberley, has...

PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES. Rattling with remedies.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Xolile Bhengu PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES Rattling with remedies Health and wellness company OTC Pharma SA is the latest acquisition by the Litha Healthcare Group aimed at boosting its pharmaceutical business. The purchase price was not...

Food prices in numbers.
December 23, 2011... Food prices in numbers 10,6% was the inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic drinks in SA for the year to October 2011, compared with CPI of 6%. 11,9% was the food inflation rate for China, the only country among 10 compared with SA to have...

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS. Slicker city. Mike Sutcliffe.(Interview)
December 23, 2011... Byline: Zohra Mohamed Teke QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Slicker city spoke to outgoing eThekwini city manager Mike Sutcliffe who leaves office this week after an SA record of nine years in the job What have been your main achievements as city...

GLOBAL MARKETS. Torrid 2012.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Maarten Mittner GLOBAL MARKETS Torrid 2012 Investors have a deeply entrenched negative view of 2012, believing it will be a year of below-trend growth and deflation, the most recent global fund manager survey of Bank of...

ISLAMIC BONDS. SA makes its move.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Stafford Thomas ISLAMIC BONDS SA makes its move In a move that could position SA at the forefront of the global Islamic Sharia law-compliant sukuk (bond) market, national treasury has called on banks to submit proposals for the issue...

MINIBUS TAXIS. Skills drive.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Stafford Thomas MINIBUS TAXIS Skills drive Training minibus taxi drivers to be responsible road users may appear to be a futile effort to the average motorist who is confronted daily by the kamikaze-like antics of taxi drivers. But...

RETAIL. Up against the wall.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Marc Hasenfuss RETAIL Up against the wall Not long after persistent objections to US retail giant Walmart's presence in SA have been in the news, a local company has endured a tough introduction to the ways of the Walmart empire when...

Ailing public health sector.
December 23, 2011... Byline: RJ Dunn Ailing public health sector One of the most striking features of our public health sector is the continual chorus of complaints from nearly every sector. This barrage is interrupted only when someone suggests a different...

Farming fraternity.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Peter Gordon Grant Farming fraternity Now that our friend Julius Malema is going cattle farming, has he become one of us, namely a farmer/boer? Is the supposed struggle song still applicable? , Molteno, Eastern Cape

CINEMA. The blood-dimmed tide. Brighton Rock.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Peter Wilhelm CINEMA The blood-dimmed tide This remake of Graham Greene's classic novel is a tale of murder and poisoned love Brighton Rock Screenplay and direction by Rowan Joffe Lead roles: Sam Riley; Andrea Riseborough; Andy...

CRICKET. Testing times for Proteas.
December 23, 2011... Byline: David Williams CRICKET Testing times for Proteas Those who run world cricket still hanker after a world test championship, but this has now been postponed to at least 2017. The delay is to be welcomed. We must hope that in the interim...

JAZZ CD REVIEW. That swinging sensation.(Sound recording review)
December 23, 2011... Byline: Don Albert JAZZ CD REVIEW That swinging sensation The following are among my top 10 jazz CDs of 2011. Live at the Library of Congress by Eddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway is top of the list. The two have an empathy for each other's...

FOOD FOR THOUGHT. A law unto himself. 95 Keerom.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Justice Malala FOOD FOR THOUGHT A law unto himself JUSTICE MALALA **** 95 Keerom 95 Keerom Street, Gardens, Cape Town. Tel: (021) 422-0765 **** Madiba!; **** Excellent; *** Good; ** Jeff Radebe; * Willem Heath To be in the inner...

PHOTOGRAPHY. Snappy executives.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Hilary Prendini Toffoli PHOTOGRAPHY Snappy executives Some of SA's top business people have an unexpectedly artistic side, as discovered It's not the stuff of business headlines. Yet out there in the corporate world lurks a bunch of...

7 questions for ... Charlotte Crosse.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Hilary Prendini Toffoli 7 questions for... Charlotte Crosse, who organised the Everard Read exhibition on behalf of Hospice FM: Why did you organise it? Crosse: The fun of offering amateur photographers the opportunity to share their...

THE PLACE TO BE OR NOT TO BE. High on the hog. THE PEPPER CLUB.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Claire Bisseker THE PLACE TO BE OR NOT TO BE High on the hog THE PEPPER CLUB. Where Cape Town. Style. Lofty When you live in a rural area there is nothing better than an occasional dose of big-city bling. We had our fix recently...

WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS WEEKEND. Service with a smile.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Lindo Xulu WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS WEEKEND Service with a smile Sam Motsuenyane, businessman, founder of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and a former SA ambassador to the Gulf states, talks to On Christmas Day my house...

ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Facing the Axe?
December 23, 2011... Byline: David Furlonger ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Facing the Axe? A funding crisis threatens the future of the ASA just when it says the industry needs it most WHAT IT MEANS. Industry bodies withdrawing levies. CPA puts added...

GREEN INVESTMENT. Carbon remains a risk.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Lise Pretorius GREEN INVESTMENT Carbon remains a risk The world will move towards a low-carbon economy by pricing carbon to reflect the true costs of production. But are SA investors thinking about how this could affect companies'...

VITAL NUMBERS ON DECEMBER 20 2011. Capitec. Eurozone.
December 23, 2011... VITAL NUMBERS ON DECEMBER 20 2011 Capitec Share price (c) 17730 Market cap (Rbn) 17,60 P:e ratio 19,48 Earnings yield (%) 5,13 Dividend yield (%) 1,86 Eurozone GDP growth 2011 (% y/y) 1,5 Budget deficit 2011 (% of GDP) -4,1 Gross debt 2011 (% of...

GOLD MINERS. Time for a gold watch.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Charlotte Mathews GOLD MINERS Time for a gold watch SA gold shares fail to offer the returns of their overseas competitors but some offer a healthy dividend WHAT IT MEANS. SA gold companies lag behind competitors. Invest in...

HULAMIN. On a rand roll.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Stafford Thomas HULAMIN On a rand roll Hulamin shareholders will have greeted the rand's slump against the US dollar with relief. Though it began too late to benefit results in the six months to June, a weaker rand could provide a...

LEVERAGE. Less risky than you think.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Lindo Xulu LEVERAGE Less risky than you think Since the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the use of leverage has come under sustained criticism from regulators and politicians. But is it necessarily risky? Broadly, leverage is largely...

REGULATION 28. Rules is rules.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Stephen Cranston REGULATION 28 Rules is rules There was a six-month reprieve, but on January 1 the revised regulation 28 under the Pension Funds Act comes into effect. This not only brings in new investment limits, it also expects...

ROYAL BAFOKENG HOLDINGS. Tunnelling into the bank.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Maarten Mittner ROYAL BAFOKENG HOLDINGS Tunnelling into the bank After years of not taking Royal Bafokeng Holdings' financial ambitions seriously, the market has woken up to the possibility that the BEE group could eventually become...

SCARY STOCKS. Dry mouth or salivating?
December 23, 2011... Byline: Andrew McNulty SCARY STOCKS Dry mouth or salivating? Many listed companies can inspire enthusiasm. They may be quality businesses, run by outstanding managers, and appear to have excellent growth prospects. Others may have been...

SEKUNJALO. Putting on weight.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Marc Hasenfuss SEKUNJALO Putting on weight The market initially took little notice of empowerment group Sekunjalo's participation in the recent empowerment deal announced by Pioneer Foods. Sekunjalo, perhaps perplexed by the lack...

SUSPENDED SHARES. Investments left dangling.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Marc Hasenfuss SUSPENDED SHARES Investments left dangling There is more than R1,5bn in limbo on the JSE if the collective market value of its 19 suspended companies is tallied up. The figure includes the suspended market...

UNIT TRUSTS. New kids on the block.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Stephen Cranston UNIT TRUSTS New kids on the block With close to 950 funds at the beginning of the year you might expect that there would be limited scope for even more unit trusts. There were a few signs of a long-awaited...

UNIVERSAL COAL. Too much uncertainty.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Charlotte Mathews UNIVERSAL COAL Too much uncertainty Reasons for the scepticism evident in the share price of Australian-listed coal junior Universal Coal are not hard to find. The company is listed only in Australia and has no...

PLATFIELDS. PLATINUM & PRECIOUS METALS.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Charlotte Mathews PLATFIELDS PLATINUM & PRECIOUS METALS Price: 6c 6m Aug T/O (Rm) EBT (Rm) EPS (c) DPS (c) Mkt cap: R47,38m 2011 -5,9 -0,74 PE: 0,55 2010 -78,1 -5,55 Sector PE: 18,22 t s Even if platinum prices rise, Platfields...

WG WEARNE. BUILDING MATERIALS & FIXTURES.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Razina Munshi WG WEARNE BUILDING MATERIALS & FIXTURES Price: 12c 6m Aug T/O (Rm) EBT (Rm) EPS (c) DPS (c) Mkt cap: R33,1m 2011 176 -9,4 -11,89 PE: 2010 227,2 11,4 0,05 Sector PE: t s -22% High gearing and a negative liquidity...

ZAPTRONIX. ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Larry Claasen ZAPTRONIX ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT Price: 3c Yr Aug T/O (Rm) EBT (Rm) EPS (c) DPS (c) Mkt cap: R11,3m 2011 27,8 -9,4 -2,31 PE: 2010 33,1 1,9 0,52 Sector PE: t s -16% The turnaround this group managed to produce last year was...

CARBON PRICES. In decline.
December 23, 2011... CARBON PRICES In decline On the back of pressure from environmentalists, politicians have been trying to reverse the six-month decline in carbon prices. The EU parliament's environmental committee has voted to withhold 1,4bn allowances in the...

OIL. Modest rise.
December 23, 2011... OIL Modest rise Global oil supplies are expected to rise only modestly in 2012, with almost all of this coming from non-Opec countries and Libya. Supplies from Libya are expected to rise moderately next year as repairs to the country's damaged...

COMMODITIES. Prices at risk.
December 23, 2011... COMMODITIES Prices at risk Based on a view that the global economy will avoid a recession and that the US dollar will strengthen slightly, only moderate increases in commodity prices are expected next year. A little more than 330 on the CRB...

Diamond of the year: Capitec. Dog of the year: Eurozone.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Jamie Carr DIAMONDS & DOGS Diamond of the year Capitec It's been another cracker of a year for the man in the street's favourite brazen upstart, which has eaten so much of the big boys' lunch it may now be having to hunt for...

Market watch.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Andrew McNulty Market watch In the first quarter of 2009, investors were fleeing from Old Mutual like the proverbial rats from a sinking ship. Between the first week of February and early March, the share fell by 45%. It traded...

Investor's Notebook.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Stephen Cranston Investor's Notebook One of the most interesting things to come through my mailbox recently was the first quarterly newsletter from PSG Asset Management. Usually such publications pontificate about the world economy...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS. On a steady course.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Garth Mackenzie TECHNICAL ANALYSIS On a steady course The gold price has come under severe pressure recently. It fell from US$1750/oz to almost $1550/oz in just a week. This came on the back of a strong US dollar and a weakening euro,...

STOCK TAKE. VALUE GROUP.
December 23, 2011... Byline: Larry Claasen STOCK TAKE VALUE GROUP 1. Cash positive + 2. Revenue up + 3. Tradability + 4. Dividend paid + 5. Profitable + This transport and logistics group increased revenue 14% to R847m, pushed up operating profit 16% to R67m and...

UBUBELE HOLDINGS. Milk and honey all round.
December 23, 2011... UBUBELE HOLDINGS Milk and honey all round Agribusinesses, especially those of the unlisted variety, are prone to trading at hefty discounts to underlying asset values. Ububele Holdings, which is listed on the JSE's AltX market, also shows these...

WINNERS & LOSERS.
December 23, 2011... WINNERS & LOSERS WINNER Lloyd Blankfein. The Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO has put the firm on course to finish top of this year's global mergers & acquisitions league table, with 24% market share of all deals for the year to date, says...

CHROMETCO - GENERAL MINING.
December 16, 2011... Byline: Larry Claasen CHROMETCO GENERAL MINING Price: 34c 6m Aug T/O (Rm) EBT (Rm) EPS (c) DPS (c) Mkt cap: R62,8bn 2011 -3,6 -5,33 PE: 2010 -3,4 -2,04 Sector PE: t s The exploratory mining group plans to start mining operations at its chrome...

DID YOU HEAR?
December 16, 2011... Only the French could manage to find a sexual connotation to the efforts by UK prime minister David Cameron to carve out safeguards for Britain while remaining outside the euro at last week's meeting on a new fiscal treaty for the EU. A French...

YOU COULD WIN.
December 16, 2011... YOU COULD WIN by sending news snippets, wit and gossip to Did You Hear? Published entries win R200. Please include your name, address and telephone number or you will not be eligible. Send entries to:fmdidu@fm.co.za * BDFM employees are not...

Do what's possible.
December 16, 2011... Byline: NAZMEERA MOOLA Do what's possible Many years ago I spent a December holiday with a friend's family abroad. Her grandparents helped governments draft laws for states, provinces and entire countries. When I asked what the most important...

Mind your language.
December 16, 2011... Byline: Barney Mthombothi Mind your language Language, says Samuel Johnson, is the dress of thought. But Johnson author and critic was speaking in the 18th century. Our understanding of the utility of language has evolved and grown over time....

EXECUTIVE MOVES.
December 16, 2011... Roddy Sparks has been appointed an independent nonexecutive director of Truworths International with effect from February. Sparks was managing director of Old Mutual SA and sits on the boards of a number of companies. Marius Saaiman, Simmer...

Protect our constitution.
December 16, 2011... Protect our constitution We have drawn on some of the best practices in other democracies, while also blazing a trail for others to follow The ANC celebrates its centenary next year, rightly proud of its longevity and its achievements. This...

Aussie growth tips.
December 16, 2011... Byline: BRIAN KANTOR Aussie growth tips We have caught up with the Australians on the cricket field. We may even be able every other year to compete with them in rugby. But they continue to outplay us on the field of monetary policy. Unlike...