Magnus Heystek is a household figure among South Africans with an interest in personal finance and investing. He has his name on a a string of personal finance books and has probed various investment scams over the years, ringing the alarm for the broader community. When he first encountered the preference shares on offer from Ecsponent, a company listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange, something didn't smell right. The returns were too good to be true, and it was not clear what Ecsponent was doing to ensure a steady flow of money back to investors. So, Heystek discouraged the clients of Brenthurst Wealth Management, his firm, from taking up the offer. Recently, it emerged that Ecsponent had got into difficulty, reneging on redeeming R188m of preference shares. In this podcast with BizNews founder and editor-in-chief Alec Hogg and Heystek, Ecsponent's boss George Manyere pours cold water on concerns that investors will lose their money. Manyere outlines his plans to fix the problems at Ecsponent. - Jackie Cameron

In 2018 energy experts Tobias Bischof-Niemz, of the CSIR, and Johan van den Berg, CEO of the South African Wind Energy Association, suggested "a simple way to stabilise electricity prices, cast off Eskom’s crippling debt and boost South Africa’s credit rating, while maintaining public sector control of critical assets in the electricity sector". In a nutshell, selling off Eskom power stations. Their ideas, published on BizNews at the time, resonate with Greenpeace as well as local analysts who have put forward ideas to fix Eskom. Chris Logan of Opportune Investments speaks to BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg about why the Bischof-Niemz, Van den Berg proposal is a smart idea to fix the utility, which is a drag on economic growth. - Jackie Cameron

There are many people with good or even genius ideas, but to transform that idea into a successful venture takes more than a couple of scribbles on a napkin. Even if one has built a prototype spaceship in their back yard, there's no guarantee that it will turn into a successful business. Only two of every ten venture capital firms turn into star companies. Most entrepreneurs battled in the early years to commercialise their ideas and to find financial backers. And this is where the entrepreneur incubator, Endeavour comes in, to help entrepreneurs turn their Big Ideas into viable businesses, which can also help to transform economies around the world. Endeavour Global was started in 1997 in the US and its South African branch was established in 2004. Managing Director Alison Collier spoke to Biznews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg. - Linda van Tilburg

The Dow falls more than 2,000 points, the biggest single day loss since 2008. The Wall Street Journal markets reporter Akane Otani explains the connection between Monday's steep oil price decline and the broad market selloff. WSJ's Alison Sider discusses the effect of coronavirus fears on the airline industry. JR Whalen hosts.

The coronavirus that erupted in Wuhan, China and has spread across the globe, most recently bringing Italy to a standstill, will hit South Africa hard. According to Jabulani Debedu, a consultant at BDO's tourism specialist unit, has tallied the costs of previous diseases that have knocked the tourism and travel industries in South Africa and cautions that the sector is likely to see a drop in visitors by anything from 7-15%. This follows a tough 2019, with fewer tourists travelling to SA from Africa and elsewhere. Nevertheless, avoid panic as this, too, shall pass, is the message in this interview with Alec Hogg, BizNews founder and editor-in-chief. - Jackie Cameron

After a long search, André de Ruyter, former CEO of Nampak, was appointed as CEO of troubled power utility Eskom. His appointment came as a bit of a surprise. His name was whittled down from a list of more than 140 and he scored the top job at Eskom following an interview. But there are questions about whether he is the right person to save Eskom - which ultimately means improving business conditions in South Africa, as Eskom's drag on the economy is widely regarded as one of the country's biggest challenges. BizNews founder and editor-in-chief Alec Hogg spoke to Erik Smuts, De Ruyter's Nampak successor - and long-time Nampak colleague - for insights on whether De Ruyter really has the business acumen needed to successfully pull off a major restructuring. Hogg also asks the uncomfortable questions about unusual accounting items in Nampak's financial reports that have raised eyebrows among the investment community. - Jackie Cameron

In today's headlines: * South African stocks plunged to a more than four-year low on Monday, joining a global sell-off in riskier assets as oil prices collapsed more than 30%, hitting chemical and energy firm Sasol the hardest. It shed nearly 50% of its value; * US stocks extended losses back past 7%, as a full-blown oil price war rattled financial markets already on edge over the spreading coronavirus. Treasury yields plummeted, crude sank more than 30% and credit markets buckled; * The S&P 500 sank the most since the May 2010 flash crash and is now down 18% from its Feb. 19 all-time high, threatening to end the record-long bull market that began 11 years ago to the day, reports Bloomberg; * The plunge in international oil prices has a potential upside for South Africa’s debt-stricken state power utility Eskom - lower costs; * Sasol’s record share plunge on Monday, coming as the oil price slumped and just days after the company's credit rating was cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service, is raising concern among investors that it may need to hold a rights offer as it struggles with an about $8bn debt burden; * The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in sub-Saharan Africa climbed to 16 as the continent’s two biggest economies announced more people tested positive for the disease; * Irish authorities canceled the nation’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, as concern around the coronavirus outbreak escalated. The St. Patrick’s parade scheduled for March 17 in Dublin has been shelved; and * South Africa’s rand plunged by almost 8% against the dollar on Monday, touching its weakest level on a closing basis since January 1980, as investors fled riskier assets,

The world appears to be more polarised with a general perception that political and value systems that we inherited after the Second World War are being eroded. With populists in power in many countries, including the United States of America, it does appear that the world is in crisis. All this is amplified by social media, where people post their knee-jerk reactions with scant observation of deeper reflection. When an epidemic or pandemic like the coronavirus enters a system that is already prone to overreaction; it easily becomes mass hysteria. And it appears that financial markets that are often too sensitive to investor sentiment are following, which could be a bigger danger to the world economy than the actual virus. There are many theories of how the virus outbreak will pan out. Clem Sunter, the well-known scenario planner spoke to Biznews founder Alec Hogg about three possible routes that the world could follow. The ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ route, or as young people would say, ‘Whatever’; the last straw that breaks the camel’s back and the adaptable route of the fox, in which businesses and citizens pull together to implement “the best things to do.” He expressed the hope that the coronavirus could help the world realise that “we all live on the same planet and we need to create a shared destiny.” - Linda van Tilburg

Financial intermediaries and stock brokers have been inundated with calls from anxious investors who have watched their investments rocketing back and forth amid panic around the fall-out from the spread of coronavirus. But, as respected South African stock market commentator David Shapiro points out: now is a good time to put together a "hospital" type portfolio of companies that have had their values harshly judged by investors who have cut loose. ArcelorMittal, Tongaat, Hulamin, Nampak, and PPC are going for fire sale prices and you can "buy South Africa for nothing", he says. But not Sasol - yet. Shapiro was speaking to BizNews founder Alec Hogg after stocks in the US and elsewhere plunged on the back of an oil price war and jitters over coronavirus. - Jackie Cameron

A bumper lineup on this week's Rational Radio: * New Nampak CEO Erik Smuts; * SA's favourite market commentator David Shapiro on Sasol, Anglo, Pioneer and more; * Acting CEO George Manyere gives his side of the Ecsponent story; while Brenthurst Wealth's Magnus Heystek pokes a few holes; * First Avenue's Hlelo Giyose on the group's innovative recruitment policies; * BDO's Jabulani Debedu on coronavirus and the impact on travel; * Scenario planner Clem Sunter unpacks three potential coronavirus outcomes; * Alisson Collier, the MD of Endeavour SA on supporting the country's entrepreneurs; and * Chris Logan on Nampak and the sale of coal fired power stations.

In today's news headlines: -The number of positive coronavirus cases in South Africa has risen to three, after the wife of the Kwazulu-Natal man who was the first case of the disease in South Africa, also tested positive. A second case in Gauteng is also linked to the couple. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said there was no reason to fear the virus; - President Cyril Ramaphosa said there was also no need for South Africa to implement travel bans related to countries affected by Covid-19 at this stage because there were only a few cases so far; - Rating’s agency Moody’s has cut South Africa’s 2020 growth forecast from 0.7% to 0.4% saying the country’s growth prospects are at risk because of the coronavirus outbreak; - The mining sector has put in place an action plan to deal with possible cases of the coronavirus as it acknowledged that there could be a high degree of exposure in the industry and is ready to mobilise large-scale medical facilities; and - Eskom, despite not implementing loadshedding since the 22nd of February, warned that it may have to implement blackouts ‘on short notice.’

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about the coronavirus. In this podcast, which features content from The Wall Street Journal What’s News podcast, Felicity Duncan separates fact from fiction, and takes a look at what we know for sure so far. The episode also addresses the question of open borders and the role that they have played in the spread of the virus. Plenty of people are saying that the virus is a sign that the world has become too integrated. But calls to reverse globalisation to prevent the spread of new illnesses are short-sighted and ignore the potential costs of a less-connected world.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the outbreak of the coronavirus in South Africa will hurt tourism and the economy. He was speaking to journalists at the Waterkloof Airforce base in Pretoria after it was announced that a South African from Kwazulu-Natal, who returned from a trip to Italy, had tested positive to COVID-19.

In today's business headlines: - President Cyril Ramaphosa urges the country not to panic as the first case of the coronavirus was identified in a man from Kwazulu-Natal who returned from a trip in Italy. Minister Zweli Mkhize outlined the steps the government is taking to limit the outbreak; - The Rand fell by almost 2.5% against the US dollar after the first confirmed case of the coronavirus in South Africa, trading at R15.53 cents and R20.24 against the British Pound as analysts indicate that the markets are nervous with many questioning the ability of the government to deal with the outbreak; - Eskom is going to institute liquidation proceedings against the Gupta companies, Trillian Management Consulting and Trillian Capital Partners in the North Gauteng High Court in an attempt to recoup money owed to it; - South Africa’s current-account deficit narrowed to a nine-year low in the fourth quarter as outflows decreased; and - Old Mutual, locked in a prolonged spat with its fired chief executive officer Peter Moyo, said earnings from its operations probably fell as much as 5%, weighed down by a stuttering local economy.

A man in Kwazulu-Natal who had been travelling with a group of people to Italy is the first case in South Africa that has been tested positive for the coronavirus. Addressing Parliament this afternoon, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said a tracer team has been deployed to the province with epidemiologists and clinicians to test all the people he has been in contact with. He outlined plans the government is taking to contain the spread of the virus. - Linda van Tilburg

In November, The Wall Street Journal uncovered Google's 'Project Nightingale', the company's secret partnership with healthcare giant Ascension. Now, months later, Google has been evading senators' requests for more information about the project. Reporter Rob Copeland explains where things stand. Plus, personal tech columnist Joanna Stern shares tech tips for listeners working from home during the coronavirus outbreak. Kateri Jochum hosts.

In today's business headlines: - South Africa’s weak economic growth is due to unsustainable policies and monetary policy alone can’t fix that, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said at a public lecture in Bloemfontein after calls for an interest rate cut; - The government is not considering a travel ban because of the outbreak of the coronavirus and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize indicated that no international events would be cancelled and that ports of entry to the country would be kept open; - Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has expressed the hope that some of the domestic routes cancelled by South African Airways could be reinstated sooner rather than later because he did not want the airline to lose market share; - Nedbank has frozen the salaries of 50 executives which include the group’s executive committee and its retail and investment bank divisions following a share price slump; - Shareholders in Sirius Minerals, Britain’s biggest mining project in the North Yorkshire, have voted in favour of Anglo American’s £450m bid to buy the fertiliser maker; and - The Rand firmed early yesterday pushed by the surprise rate cut by the U.S central bank after a sharp drop when data showed that the SA economy was in recession.

South Africa is combatting a scourge of illicit financial flows out of the country. In 2015 former President Thabo Mbeki released a report in which he said that illicit financial outflows from South Africa far outstripped official development aid. Even Jacob Zuma raised the alarm about ‘the scourge of illicit flows” just before he departed and said South Africa signed several international treaties to exchange information. It is not always easy to come up with exact numbers of what the extent of the problem is, but a Washington based company, Global Financial Integrity has identified a $8.7trn gap in global reported trade. The GFI has indicated that $1 of every $5 that is sent out of South Africa in trade, is actually done illicitly, which means Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is missing out on an eye watering sum of trade taxes. The GFI’s Rick Rowden, a senior economist told Alec Hogg that they have developed a data tool that can analyse the individual transactions of companies. – Linda van Tilburg

Chicken and chip meals are a South African favourite, so it's little wonder that KFC is a massive presence on the tip of Africa. But there's more to running a successful KFC business than demand. One of South Africa's successful entrepreneurs, Burt Gunning, tells BizNews founder Alec Hogg how he built his business of KFC outlets to 41 stores, with no money of his own at the early phase of his journey. Gunning, a chartered accountant who moved out of the accounting business to develop his fast food empire, snapped up KFC stores when international investors exited South Africa in the mid-1980s. Since then, his family business has bought up outlets as he has seen the opportunities. Hogg asks Gunning to share the secrets of his success - and these include selecting the right store locations, sticking to the KFC principles and procedures, continually developing a computer programme to assist with ensuring speedy service in stores and ongoing staff training. - Jackie Cameron

False information about the coronavirus has been circulating online, despite big tech companies' attempts to stamp it out. The Wall Street Journal's reporter Sebastian Herrera joins to explain. Kateri Jochum hosts.

With the problems at Eskom, ever resilient South Africans dig deep into the ‘Boer maak ‘n plan’ philosophy and come up with their own solutions. And when it came to investing into another round at 12J company Bright Light Solar, which invests in solar and efficient renewable energy, they were keen to back a company that finds alternatives. CEO Kevin Shames told Biznews Founder Alec Hogg that there might be another round of raising capital next year but it would depend on whether the Government extended the sunset clause for 12J companies. – Linda van Tilburg

In today's news headlines: * South Africa’s economy slumped into a second recession in consecutive years as power cuts weighed on output and business confidence dropped; * Nigeria's economy is on rocket fuel, expanding as South Africa's contracts, which means Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product is the largest in Africa; * Coronavirus, or Covid-19 as the current threat is labelled, is likely to be a bigger risk for Europe than Africa say medical experts in the reputable The Lancet journal; * President Cyril Ramaphosa is worried about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the South African economy, he told journalists in a briefing after it emerged that the country is officially back in recession; and * About 10,000 more job cuts are likely as Eskom keeps the lid on economic growth.

Those who chuckled when analysts considered the prospect of turning South Africa into the global epicentre for a mushrooming cannabis industry are surely thinking differently after hearing the references by president Cyril Ramaphosa in last month's State of the National Address. The official sanction is no surprise to serial entrepreneur Brian van Rooyen as he explains in this in-depth podcast on the potential for turning unproductive crops and mills into green gold. Van Rooyen is the CEO of Labat Africa, SA's first cannabis-focused listing. - Alec Hogg

When in the company of 100mph-thinker Stafford Masie, it's best to listen closely. A computer scientist by training but an entrepreneur by persuasion, Masie has a string of successful startups to his credit. The man who opened Google's first Africa office recently returned to a US-based multinational, now helping office sharing group WeWork launch in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The local reception to WeWork has been warm with Masie's charge chalking up a list of vacancy-filling records. In this interview from the latest episode of Rational Radio, we get to know one of SA's best tech minds, plus WeWork SA's general manager provides a rare opportunity for us to look inside a company that has kept an excruciating low profile after being through the publicity wringer over the past year. With infectious enthusiasm. Masie explains how WeWork is now moving past a turbulent start-up phase into a more mature stage that will ensure it can - sustainably - continue revolutionising the world's office market. - Alec Hogg

When South Africans go out into the world, we like to hang on to them and remind ourselves that we come from the same soil. Elon Musk is probably the best example of this, but there are many others. In the sports world; typical South African surnames pop up in many other countries like the Labuschagne brother; Marnus plays cricket for Australia and who can miss the name Lappies Labuschagne who was in Japan’s very successful Rugby World Cup campaign, a team the Springbok's had to beat on the way to lifting the trophy. There is also CJ Stander who is a loose forward for Ireland. There are many South Africans who were capped in other countries including Kepler Wessels, Alan Lamb and Andrew Strauss to add to a long list. In the Bahamas, Saffer Dawid Potgieter is leading a new multi-million dollar funding initiative by the Templeton World Charity Foundation to try to find out one of the fundamental aspects of existence, our consciousness; a concept that science has not been able to explain. The aim of the research project is, as Dr Potgieter explained, is not only to find an explanation or a theory, but it is to determine whether machines could be conscious and to try find better answers to treating pain or mental health problems. – Linda van Tilburg