In today's news headlines: * South Africa’s biggest trade union group, COSATU, urged members to stay away from work on Wednesday to protest about job losses, wage curbs and corruption cases; * Sentiment in South Africa’s services sector bounced back from an all-time low in the third quarter but remains weak even as restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic were gradually eased; * Scientists of global standing have come together to create The Great Barrington Declaration - and have the support of some prominent South Africans; * Consumer inflation is likely to remain within the target range of between 3% and 6%, allowing the SA Reserve Bank to keep an “accommodative” rate stance for at least the next two years, deputy governor Fundi Tshazibana; and * Supermarket chain Pick n Pay said on Wednesday first-half profit is expected to fall as much as 60% due to trading restrictions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and once-off costs.

The US EB-5 visa provides a government-approved and straightforward route for foreign investors and their families to obtain a US Green Card. The fundamental purpose of the EB-5 visa is to stimulate the US economy through job creation and capital investment. In return, foreign immigrant investors are granted all the benefits of US permanent residency. In this webinar Sable International are going to be providing an overview of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Programme as well as look at some of the best value-for-money investment opportunities currently available. EB-5 Investor benefits: The right to live and work anywhere in the USA; Permanent residency for you and your immediate family, including children under 21 with no future re-qualifications/renewals required; The ability to nationalise as a US citizen after five years; Visa-free travel to 185 countries; The USA has no restriction on dual nationality.

Co-authored by three medical experts, the Great Barrington Declaration has proposed an alternative to the lockdowns that multiple governments are imposing on their citizens and economies. The declaration believes that those who are at low risk of dying from Covid-19 should be allowed to live their lives and enjoy freedoms that are now restricted. Children should be able to go to school, adults to work – and the non-vulnerable should be able to partake in extracurricular activities. However, this is not to the detriment of the vulnerable, with the declaration also outlining a plan to protect the sick, elderly and those with underlying issues. Three prominent South Africans, Nobel winner Dr Michael Levitt, financial services entrepreneur Magda Wierzycka – of Sygnia – and Nick Hudson of thinktank PANDA have already expressed their support for the declaration.

In today's news headlines: * More explosive evidence of the role of former president Jacob Zuma and his friend, Dudu Myeni, in Eskom affairs has emerged unfolding at the Zondo inquiry into state capture; * In another report on Eskom, energy expert Chris Yelland, managing director, EE Business Intelligence, has lifted the lid on a scam involving R5bn worth of Koeberg generators; * The Covid-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for investors with cash to snap up property assets at low prices, like JSE-listed Sun International's Sun Carousel; * Volatility in emerging market currencies will not let up in the next six months as US presidential election jitters mount and domestic economic growth tapers off, a Reuters poll of market strategists showed; and * As President Donald Trump recovers from Covid-19, he has again likened it to the less dangerous seasonal flu, urging Americans to learn to live with Covid-19 while overstating the number of annual flu deaths.

Kevin Hedderwick, Supreme Wealth Creator, is our guest in episode eight of The Alec Hogg Show. Hedderwick has had a spectacular career and in this podcast, he openly discusses what happened with the acquisition of Gourmet Burger Kitchen in the UK, his business relationship with Brian Joffe, how he started out with the iconic Halamandaris family at the family's small Steers Group and, of course, Famous Brands. 

In today’s news headlines: - Cosatu is planning a one-day national strike on Wednesday to protest against Covid-19 corruption; - Canal+ buys significant stake in MultiChoice; and - Petrol prices to go down on Wednesday.

Generosity of spirit has been displayed by many South Africans with news surfacing of hungry communities in the country being plunged into deeper poverty as Covid-19 has taken its toll on the economy. People have pitched in to raise money for food and do-gooders have swooped in to distribute bags of donations across South Africa. One woman from Johannesburg has realised that all this giving is not enough. She is Marilyn Bassin, who has relentlessly sought to find the deep rural areas that others may have missed, and she has trawled the internet to find charity organisations who may need help. Bassin started ‘Save a Soul’, a charity focused on hunger during the Covid-19 lockdown, with Rose Kransdorff to provide e-Pap - a porridge that provides nutrition in small portions - to impoverished communities. She told BizNews that she found communities who had not received any help, in a heart-wrenching story about how Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on many people.

In today's news headlines: * The Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index is on an upward trend, with purchasing managers cautiously optimistic about the future; * Details on the new travel restrictions, with tourists from countries that are ‘high risk’ not be allowed to enter South Africa; * Sasol announced on Friday that chemical company LyondellBasell Industries has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in a unit of its US-based business for $2bn, helping the petrochemicals company reduce its debt from $10bn to $8bn; and * Mpumi Mandisa who was announced as Bidvest’s CEO Designate in March last year, has finally taken the helm. She is the first female CEO of the group and one of only two female black CEOs of JSE Top 40 companies.

BizNews has documented the efforts of South Africans who have responded to food needs in the country. One of the projects was driven by Kate Crossland, a British woman, who lived in South African for a number of years. It was a Facebook post about broken promises of the government that people would have food and water during the lockdown, that spurred her into action.  With the help of Crossland, Kelly Szabo - who used to work for a health non-governmental organisation - and her former housekeeper Lydia Mashapa, a local elder in the community of Allemansdrift B near Vaalbank, the community was not only fed, but now have a borehole and are planning a resource centre. Crossland spoke to Biznews about how a post on Facebook and the generosity of people overseas with connections to South Africa not only in the United Kingdom, but as far as Australia, set the wheels in motion to help an impoverished community.

The biggest pandemic in a century reached a milestone this week: a million deaths around the world. In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we speak to South Africans who were in China when the virus emerged - and also lost a family member to Covid-19 in South Africa after he contracted it from another source. The two teachers from Durban, Andy and Gary Cronjé told how it was like living in the Zombie Apocalypse when Covid-19 broke out in China. Also coming up, a special report from our partners at the Wall Street Journal on six months of living through a pandemic. And, you will hear an update on tips to protect yourself from contracting Covid-19, from Discovery Health's public health medicine specialist Dr Geraldine Timothy.

In episode three of Inside Investing, we consider the investment case for two stocks South Africans love. The world's biggest gold miner, Barrick, and inimitable Berkshire Hathaway of Omaha. There's also thoughts from Famous Brands' former chief executive Kevin Hedderwick, on whether it's time to jump back into this fallen angel. We get to work out whether it's too late to get aboard the EasyEquities train with founder Charles Savage and catch up on progress of an ambitious agenda, with Mark Barnes of the Kisby Fund.

In today’s news headlines: - SA's Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recovers even more in September from August; - Wendy Lucas-Bull to replace Christo Wiese as Shoprite's chairperson; and - The rand was at its best level in a week.

In this episode, we look at the big changes for the tourism sector as lockdown eases. Deputy Minister of Tourism Fish Mahlalela speaks to BizNews about government plans to get business and leisure travel moving. Also coming up, Discovery Vitality Wellness head Dr Mosima Mabunda unveils new benefits for Discovery members that will also help to stimulate business activity in the leisure and hospitality sector - among other big changes. And, we hear from a world expert on steroids, Dr Bryan McVerry, a critical care specialist and associate professor the University of Pittsburgh in the US, on what science is telling us about how to treat the most serious cases of Covid-19.

In today’s news headlines: - PPC delays release of its full-year earnings for a third time; - Capitec reports a 78% slump in headline profit for the year; and - Naledi Pandor announces countries from which ordinary tourists are banned until further notice.

In today’s news headlines: - SA lost 2.2 million jobs in its second quarter; - Remgro headline earnings down 68% for the year to end-June; - NAAMSA asks government to reduce taxes on new car purchases; - State given another week to find funding for SAA; and - Petrol prices are due to be cut next week.

It’s been six months since SA went into lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19. In this episode, we reflect on the development of the disease that has turned our lives upside down and put the South African economy into ICU, looking back at the first deaths in the country and the strict lockdown. We speak to Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Nick Hudson, outspoken member of PANDA, a thinktank of actuaries, mathematicians and other professionals who have identified holes in Covid-19 models used to inform government policy. Paediatric specialist Dr Andre Hattingh, who has been helping children who need urgent medical attention, speaks to BizNews reporter Linda van Tilburg. We also look at the people who have been infected with Covid-19 twice - and, we are reminded by Discovery’s co-founder Adrian Gore that innovation often emerges at times of crisis.

Dr André Hattingh was born and raised in Koster, a small town in the North West province. He ended up training as a neurosurgeon in America before living in Europe for a number of  years. But an earlier experience as a young surgeon in Rwanda during the genocide prompted him to return to Africa and eventually to White River in South Africa where he started the non-profit organisation Paediatric Care Africa.

In today’s news headlines: - Chinese yuan set for strongest quarter against dollar since 2008; - Traders expect large swings in US stocks; - Economists expect job losses to reach one million; and - Foot traffic in malls reaches 80% of 2019 levels.

Our guest in episode seven of the half hour Alec Hogg show is Allen Ambor, creator of the 600-store Spur restaurant group which he started in 1967 with an instantly successful steakhouse around the corner from Cape Town’s iconic Newlands rugby stadium. Eccentric, focused and opinionated, yoga teacher Allen is still living a full life. Typically, in the interview he doesn’t hold back – whether it’s on the real reason for a sudden departure from Spur or his advice to budding entrepreneurs.

The Dell Foundation has chosen Stellenbosch University as their partners in a drive to support students from deprived communities towards university graduation. The foundation’s main aim is ‘to accelerate human opportunity across the world. Here, BizNews speaks to Sarah Archer, the director of fund raising for the university, to find out more about the scholarship.

In this episode of Inside Investing, we look at Naspers in the light of hostile moves by the US towards Tencent - the Chinese tech stock that has powered the JSE stock market darling for more than a decade. We look at a property investment in Portugal that creates access to European citizenship. Also coming up: what prescribed assets in pension funds are - and why they are causing such a fuss; and why IPOs have picked up in the US. First, an update on the BizNews share portfolio, which has performed very well since inception with BizNews founder Alec Hogg’s choices of stocks positioned to benefit from the digital economy. - Jackie Cameron & Jarryd Neves

In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we look at whether vaccines are likely to save the world from Covid-19. Linda van Tilburg, of BizNews, interviews Professor William Haseltine, a Harvard professor who has played an important role in developing treatments for HIV/Aids for his insights on how we can fight coronavirus. And, we interview Dr Shaun Barnabas of Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The University is part of a large international research trial testing one of the most promising Covid-19 vaccine candidates currently available. Also coming up on this show, we hear from our partners at Bloomberg about how speaking too loudly can facilitate the spread of Covid-19.

Our guest in this episode is Leon Louw, the Marxist-turned-Free Marketeer who emerged from a conservative Afrikaner background to embrace communism before having his views reversed by a street vendor in her 70s. For almost half a century Louw has provided a clear voice of rationality in a country where economic policies have been shaped by political rather than wealth creating agendas. A riveting half hour.

European countries like Great Britain are warning of a second wave of Covid-19, and the US is also poised for more coronavirus cases as the northern hemisphere heads towards winter. In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we hear from our partners at Bloomberg how the US is preparing. Also in this episode, we examine evidence that reducing the viral dose of Covid-19 can reduce the severity of the disease. BizNews reporter Linda van Tilburg speaks to an international infectious diseases expert Dr Monica Ghandi of the University of California, about new studies that have explored whether face masks can really help to protect us from Covid-19. And, we take a look at how the creative industries are surviving, with Gwen Ansell, an Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science and a jazz specialist who speaks to us about how the South African music industry is adapting to the era of Covid-19.

In today’s news headlines: - The rand tumbles more than 3% in a day; - Trellidor reports a 66% decline in headline profit; - A MAC did not occur in the transaction between Barloworld and Tongaat Hulett; and - Attacq’s net asset value per share declines by almost 26%.