In today's business headlines: - The week ahead will be dominated by the budget speech by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni who has to convince that a rescue plan for Eskom is on track, and that the government is ready to take measures to curb rising debt, narrow the budget deficit and fuel economic growth; - Mboweni and this team were not spared from loadshedding and had to adjourn due to the lights going off as they were preparing his speech, which the minister described as 'frustrating' to his followers on Twitter; - Statistics South Africa has approached the Treasury again for cash and held talks yesterday with Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu to appeal for funds' - Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille announced that her department has released hundreds of parcels of land as part of the government’s commitment to land reform, redistribution and restitution; - Even without a single confirmed case, sub-Saharan Africa may be the region hardest hit outside of Asia by the spread of the coronavirus with lobster catchers in the Western Cape being unexpected casualties of lower Chinese demand.

These days, getting and keeping a job isn’t just a matter of impressing your boss – it also means impressing the artificial intelligence (AI) technology that has penetrated all aspects of the workplace. In this episode, featuring content from The Wall Street Journal’s The Future of Everything podcast, Felicity Duncan takes a look at how AI is getting involved in our jobs, from hiring to performance reviews to retirement. As you’ll learn, the growth of new technology may mean the end of retirement as we know it. New tools allow us to live – and work – longer than ever. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It depends on how you feel about your job and the machines you work with.

Marcus Weldon, corporate chief technology officer at Nokia, Virginie Maillard, head of technology field simulation at Siemens, and Joe Miletich, senior vice president of R&D at Merck discuss the future of work from the campus of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey.

In today's business headlines: - President Cyril Ramaphosa says those who have stolen money from South Africa needed to be tracked down no matter where in the world they are; - Goldman Sachs new head, Jonathan Penkin says investors would be delighted to jump back into South Africa if the government made progress on structural reforms that would enable Goldmans to help draw foreign capital to the country; - Anglo American’s full-year profit climbed 9% before EBITDA, rising to $10bn in the year to December from $9.16bn a year ago; - De Beers posted the lowest profit since the end of the diamond monopoly with profits down 50% in 2019; - The share price of Discovery rose by almost 7% yesterday after a drop of 8% earlier this week when the group warned profits would drop by as much 13%; and - Woolworths reported a 17.7% drop in half-year earnings dragged down by weak womenswear sales and a poor Black Friday showing.

Ecsponent is a company that has attracted billions of rands in investments from individuals looking to generate higher income than they could get elsewhere through preference shares. But, as investment company entrepreneur and popular personal finance journalist Magnus Heystek told BizNews founder Alec Hogg in a podcast recently, they may have lost their savings. Not so fast, says Dave van Niekerk, a former shareholder in Ecsponent who sold a business, MyBucks, to the troubled company. Van Niekerk, who cofounded microlender Blue Financial Services (BFS), explains how Ecsponent might simply be facing a temporary liquidity crunch rather than heading for a firesale situation. - Jackie Cameron

Discovery's visionary co-founder and CEO Adrian Gore downplays the mere suggestion. But the hyper growth being posted by its Chinese partner Ping An offers some parallels to Naspers' enterprise transforming investment in internet giant TenCent. Ping An is already generating over R25bn in annual premium income through providing health insurance on 16m lives, and its management is now targeting R250bn in API. While it carries the most potential, Ping An is only part of Discovery's globalising of the Shared Value philosophy upon which its proven business model is built. With a setback in the UK dropping the share price back to 2014 levels, the obvious question is whether Mr Market has overdone the Vitality Life. I caught up with Gore this afternoon for a private session after he'd presented interim results to investment analysts. - Alec Hogg

The coronavirus has forced China, the world's second -biggest economy, into lockdown. The Wall Street Journal's Yoko Kubota explains how that has disrupted business around the world, including companies like Disney and Apple.

In today's business headlines: -- The US has weighed in on the land expropriation debate again with Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo saying that the South African government’s plans would be disastrous for the economy; - South Africa’s inflation rate rose to a seven-month high in January driven by higher fuel prices. Consumer-price growth quickened to 4.5% from 4% in December. - The department of Mineral Resources and Energy has received hundreds of responses to a call for 3,000 megawatts of emergency power that it estimates could be brought online within two years; - Gwede Mantashe says the royalties paid by mining companies to the state could be used to start the sovereign wealth fund; - Grand Parade Investments has agreed to sell its Burger King chain to Emerging Capital Partners as it looks to spin off businesses and return cash to investors. ECP wants to double the number of stores in SA.

Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist and head of client portfolio management at Federated Investors on why markets seem so complacent about the coronavirus. And Annie Massa, Bloomberg investigative reporter on Franklin Templeton buying Legg Mason to create a $1.5trn active-management investing giant. Hosted by Paul Sweeney and Lisa Abramowicz.

Former co-Chief Executive Officer of Comair, Gidon Novick brought the low cost airline business to South Africa. But he grounded himself in 2011, headed Vitality for three years and became an entrepreneur in the tourism sector, that he believes still has immense untapped potential. In an interview with Alec Hogg, he has also weighed in on the debate on whether it makes any sense in holding onto the ailing national airline South African Airways and whether he would consider stepping in to run SAA. – Linda van Tilburg

Biznews has covered the story of financial advisor David Melville who found himself on the wrong side of Sanlam bureaucracy. The life insurer was also in the spotlight for a practice of backdating new life policies - even though it wouldn’t pay out for a death if that occurred before the official starting date of a life insurance policy. This has prompted ex-Sanlam employee, Alfred Perry to contact us; he said he came up against a brick wall when Sanlam lowered his pensionable age from 65 to 60 when he had to retire because of a medical condition. Sanlam came back with a quick response saying it cares greatly for the company’s retired advisers, the rules in terms of retirement are clear and Perry can lodge a formal complaint. - Linda van Tilburg

It is the stuff of legends; those feats that separate some people from the rest of us. They are the humans who appear to be fearless and scale the highest mountains, cross oceans or tackle what seems to be the impossible. 26-year-old John Dempster, a student from the University of Cape Town joined their club this weekend when he completed a solo race across the Atlantic Ocean in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which is regarded as the toughest rowing race in the world. You may wonder what drives these super individuals to take on the cold, the wet and other challenges encountered on a race across an ocean. John tackled the nautical 3,000 mile race from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua & Barbuda, which included Christmas Day alone on the boat to fight the stigma around mental health issues. – Linda van Tilburg

In today's business headlines: * South Africa’s rising country risk is putting upward pressure on interest rates, even as inflation expectations decline, with credit-rating companies contributing to the negative sentiment, according to the central bank, says Bloomberg. The rand fell through R15 to the dollar as the news was absorbed; * Elon Musk’s SpaceX will fly up to four paying customers aboard its Crew Dragon under an agreement that opens the way for private space tourism; * Musk is having a Twitter spat with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, as he is disappointed after Gates bought a Porsche Taycan instead of a Tesla electric car. A Taycan exploded in a Florida garage this week, so perhaps Gates is having second thoughts; * Climate change and rock-bottom gas prices are taking a toll on Glencore’s coal business, but it's not going to cut loose from the energy source as BHP and Anglo American are planning to do; * Apple shares fell on Tuesday after the company confirmed that the coronavirus crisis has knocked its sales targets this quarter; * Investors look set to lose millions as Ecsponent, a company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, runs into trouble.

Apple warns it will miss quarterly revenue forecasts due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle. reports. Plus, facing hundreds of pending lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct, the Boy Scouts of America file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. More from the WSJ's Andrew Scurria. Charlie Turner hosts.

Ecsponent is a company that is listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange, which helped to give it the veneer of credibility. Ecsponent's board also included an impressive line-up of business movers-and-shakers, not least of all Richard Connellan whose experience includes serving as the Executive Director of the Takeover Regulations Panel (TRP) and on the King III Committee on Corporate Governance. But Connellan has resigned, just as the muck hits the fan at Ecsponent, which promised good returns on the back of investments in small businesses. Top financial journalist and broadcaster Alec Hogg, founder of BizNews, and leading personal finance commentator and investment professional Magnus Heystek unpick the details of the latest developments at Ecsponent. - Jackie Cameron

In this special podcast, Bright Light Solar director Michael Faber discusses the most important electricity-related aspects of last week's State of the Nation Address. With the 12J company's Prospectus closing next week (25th Feb) potential investors need clarity on whether the opening up of the market would help or hinder the Bright Light prospects. Faber explains why they are positive for the company and re-iterates that the projected 21% after tax return is supported by the most recent developments.

In today's business headlines: * Pakistan could be put on an international black list for moneylaundering, with evidence that one of its banks took on as a client Duduzane Zuma - the former president's son who worked for the Gupta brothers; * The UK's Vodafone has identified a $2 money spinner in Africa, which includes nano-loans in Kenya and funeral cover in South Africa; * The Zimbabwe economy continues to implode, with warnings that more businesses are set to close as inflation shoots past 500% and the European Union continues to warn that human rights abuses must be investigated; * The huge need for infrastructure in Africa has a silver-lining for banks, which are making a good business out of debt sales; * The Amplats share price perked up, even as Chris Griffith, CEO of Anglo American Platinum, one of the world’s largest sources of the metal, and a veteran in the Anglo American stable, resigned unexpectedly; * The Discovery share price was a big loser on the Johannesburg stock exchange, after the group said its profit would plunge at its UK arm VitalityLife.

South Africa's Institute of Race Relations, the country's oldest think tank, will celebrate a century of existence in 2029. Based on classically liberal lines, speaking truth to power and challenging perceived wisdom comes with the territory - as does weathering populist storms initiated by political actors. But criticism has never deterred the IRR, so there should be little surprise to witness its spirited resistance to the ruling ANC government which despite the huge risks and ruinous Zimbabwean experience, remains determined to impose Expropriation of land Without Compensation. While politicians are soft-soaping the potential impact of EWC ambitions, the IRR warns that at its core this is an attack on property rights, which are the foundation of any successful democracy. In this podcast the IRR's Terence Corrigan warns against complacency, claiming that while farmers might be most at risk, confiscation of residential property cannot be discounted. - Alec Hogg

In the latest episode of Rational Radio, SA's favourite market commentator David Shapiro wonders whether the horse has bolted from the Investec Asset Management stable - questioning the poor timing of the renamed Ninety One's split from its mother ship. He is also unconvinced that SA's listed property stocks offer value, urging caution to bargain hunters, and explains why JSE-listed Ecsponent, whose share price has collapsed 80% in the past year, may well get away with reneging on R188m in preference share debt. - Alec Hogg

In this week's episode of Rational Radio: * David Shapiro on Ninety One, the asset management spinoff from Investec; SA's property sector, Cannabis stocks, and the Ecsponent disaster; * Gidon Novick, the former Comair CEO, provides a perspective on the chaos and uncertainty around SAA - and whether it can (and should) be rescued; * Magnus Heystek assesses JSE-listed Ecsponent which last week reneged on paying preference share dividends - is there any hope for shareholders? * Dave van Niekerk, whose former business MyBucks is 42% owned by the troubled Ecsponent explains his relationship with the defaulting company; * Michael Faber of Bright Light Solar with perspective on SA's opening up for electricity suppliers, and whether it affects 21%pa promised by his company; and * Terence Corrigan of the IRR unpacks the latest EWC shock - why residential properties are at risk but even if expropriated, mortgages must still be paid.

In a win for Amazon, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Pentagon's cloud contract award to Microsoft. The Wall Street Journal's John McKinnon discusses. Plus the Wall Street Journal's Charley Grant talks about Tesla's planned $2bn stock sale. Charlie Turner hosts.

In today's business headlines: - The Battle between Old Mutual and its sacked Chief Executive Officer Peter Moyo is not over yet after Moyo filed an urgent court application for an appeal which suspends the company's recruitment drive for a new CEO; - South African Airways received a boost as insolvency cover by Travel Insurance Consultants and Bryte Insurance Company have reinstated insolvency cover on SAA tickets while Flight Centre lifted its stop-sell; - The name of Duduzane Zuma, the son of former President Jacob Zuma has popped up in a probe in irregularities at Pakistan’s top bank. The Habib Bank’s UAE operation is alleged to have skirted rules when they opened an account for Zuma Junior; and - President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ambitions of trimming the state’s wage bill to get the nation’s shaky finances under control have run into opposition from the outset with Cosatu. 30,000 jobs and a three wage freeze is proposed by the Government.

It’s no secret that South Africa is facing a potential economic crisis. Debt has been rising unsustainably and economic growth is too low to keep up with our debt obligations. This means that the prospect of an IMF bailout is becoming ever-more likely. While South Africans are – rightly – afraid of this prospect, a debt crisis doesn’t have to mean the end of the line. The experience of other indebted emerging markets around the world can offer some important lessons for SA. In this episode, featuring content from Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, Felicity Duncan takes a look at what we can learn from the experience of other nations that have faced economic headwinds similar to ours.

Harley Finkelstein, chief operating officer at Shopify, discusses the group's earnings and outlook. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the Shopify share price has jumped over 200% in the past year. Plus Kevin Tynan, senior autos analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, on Tesla's latest $2bn stock offering with Paul Sweeney and Lisa Abramowicz.

Runners wearing versions of Nike's Vaporfly show have smashed marathon records, leading to questions about whether the shoe offers an unfair advantage. The Wall Street Journal's Rachel Bachman explains the controversy.