In this BizNews Personal Finance podcast, Johannesburg money expert Dawn Ridler chats to Jackie Cameron about how to start getting your personal finances in order. Ridler sets out some of the obstacles to growing wealth, including the huge returns you need to make to generate a decent return when investment costs are so high.  Dawn has a real knack for simplifying the world of money, so this podcast is essential listening for anyone who wants to get their personal finances into better shape.

Moody hasn’t said it, but investors already think it: South Africa’s credit is junk. That’s according to Bloomberg, which says the market is pricing in a downgrade. The risk premium has climbed since mid-July, when the government announced it would increase borrowing to support Eskom. Monday was a hairy day on the JSE with some shares dramatically up and some dramatically down. With four of top losers of the day in the healthcare sector - including market darling Discovery - analysts say this is linked to the NHI bill and what it actually means for these stocks. The Rand weakened to a new 11-month low as political uncertainty and a bleak economic outlook was worsened by uncertainty over the chances of a resolution to the trade standoff between Beijing and Washington, reports Reuters. Investment bankers used to be in demand, commanding huge salaries. But, as the Financial Times of London reports, global investment banks are shedding tens of thousands of jobs as falling interest rates, weak trading volumes and the march of automation create a brutal summer for the sector. Almost 30,000 lay-offs have been announced since April at banks including HSBC, Barclays, Société Générale, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. Meesho, an online marketplace that is revolutionising e-commerce for Indian entrepreneurs and consumers, announced today the closing of a $125m fundraise led by Naspers. Facebook and existing investors SAIF, Sequoia, Shunwei Capital, RPS and Venture Highway also participated.

The storm around Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidential campaign funding ratcheted up a level as a weekend newspaper disclosed names of contributors, mostly well-known business personalities. The South African Rand extended its longest losing streak in two years on Friday as the currency dropped to R15.25 against the US Dollar - 50c worse than where it began the week. America’s disgraced former financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell yesterday after apparently having taken his own life. South African mobile phone company MTN hit the front page of the Wall Street Journal over the weekend after Friday’s publication of solid financial results for the half year to end June.

The SA office of global law firm Hogan Lovells is fragmenting after a sustained assault on them by forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan and British peer Peter Hain. The firm, accused by the activist duo of facilitating State Capture, is to shrink to a quarter of its former size, with 71 lawyers spinning off into an independent operation. But an unplacated O'Sullivan isn't buying the re-engineering exercise, warning that until the lawyers involved pay back hefty fees generated during the Zuma era, he will keep up the pursuit "like a hyena tracking a kudu...". On Rational Radio this week he also provided an update on the corrupt practices in South and East Africa by Italian multinational CMC di Ravenna; and on global consultancy Bain, sharing that Lord Hain is now applying pressure on both in the UK Parliament. O'Sullivan says SA owes Hain a huge debt. The same could be said about the fearless founder of Forensics for Justice. - Alec Hogg

Former pilot turned airline founder Miles van der Molen personifies the courage and persistence of a blue blooded entrepreneur. He's needed every ounce of it to keep the 23-aircraft Cemair afloat after predatory pricing by the State's heavily subsidised SA Express and what the court described as an "irrational" grounding order by SA's Civil Aviation Authority. On this week's episode of Rational Radio, Van Der Molen explains how he's still standing despite overwhelming odds. Inspirational. - Alec Hogg

In the country's latest bestseller, author Pieter du Toit tracks the first public mention of "The Stellenbosch Mafia" back to a decade and a half back when David Shapiro used the reference in one of our interviews. But as SA's favourite market commentator used it in a benign, almost admiring way - a far cry from the unlamented ex-Bell Pottinger inspired campaign which painted them as a malignant force of greedy Hoggenheimers. On Rational Radio this week Shapiro offers his perspectives on the Stellenbosch-based billionaires, what is causing renewed volatility in global investment markets - and why long-suffering Aspen shareholders should now dump the stock. - Alec Hogg

Author of The Stellenbosch Mafia, Pieter du Toit, is almost made for the job. A graduate of the town's famous Paul Roos Gymnasum and Stellenbosch University, having breathed its air for so many years, Du Toit has insights that outsiders can never acquire. He applied this advantage together with his access to media-shy billionaires to very good effect into what instantly became South Africa's best selling book - and is likely to stay top of the list for some time. Superbly written, Du Toit also exposes some unreported ugliness, including the sordid tale of the corruption tainted CEO of the South African Rugby Football Union, Jurie Roux, an associate of the disgraced Markus Jooste who retains his powerful role despite being sued for more than R30m by his former employer, Stellenbosch University. - Alec Hogg

In today's business headlines: Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has lost his Constitutional Court case over his R30 million pension. Eskom wants the majority of its R440bn of debt transferred to the South African government. Moody’s says Eskom urgently needs to action a turnaround plan, or it will collapse under mounting debt. South African business confidence fell in July. Glencore is closing a copper and cobalt mine due to drop in cobalt prices. and the Rand drops but gold glistens.

On Rational Radio this week, founder of Accountability Now Paul Hoffman revisits his nuclear attack on South Africa's embattled Public Protector. After launching an application at the Legal Practice Council to have the PP disbarred, Hoffman explains that this could take some months - so he has opened the attack on two more fronts. This week Accountability Now laid criminal charges against Ms Mkhwebane for perjury and defeating the ends of justice - and has reported her to her own Public Protector office. - Alec Hogg

In this special podcast, RMB Infrastructure Transactor Sindisiwe Mbuli takes us into the deal which combined four previously independent BEE entities into iThokazi, a 100% black owned renewable energy company. iThokazi owns six solar PV projects and two wind farms which together generate 300MW of much needed electricity for South Africa. They also bring in active engineering and construction arms specialising in the renewable sector. iThokazi is well positioned for the South African government's next round of bidding to deliver renewable energy. - Alec Hogg

Banks are taking strain, with the weight of bad news about the economy knocking JSE listed shares. Bloomberg reports that the index has dropped 15% since President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged a relentless focus on growth in his June 20 State of the Nation address. South Africa's biggest financial union is threatening to disrupt the country's banking industry by leading its 73,000 members on a strike next month, in what would be its largest industrial action in almost a century, says Bloomberg. Credit Ratings agency Moody’s warned on Tuesday that Eskom urgently needs a turnaround plan as its capital structure is unsustainable. The Moody’s report sent the rand to a two-month low, reports Reuters. Business Unity South Africa's President Sipho Pityana is reportedly "underwhelmed" by the appointment of Freeman Nomvalo to lead the turnaround at Eskom. The Steinhoff scandal rumbles on, with fresh details that point to its former bosses taking advantage of confidential information to make money through share trading. BusinessLive columnist Ann Crotty reports on how a friend of former CEO Markus Jooste appears to have been given the heads-up that the company share was about to plummet. Steinhoff International Holdings NV is considering an initial public offering of Pepkor Europe, its fastest-growing unit, Bloomberg reports. The scandal-hit South African retailer seeks funds for the next phase of its recovery plan, people familiar with the matter said.

I learnt just the other night from a geologist family friend that most of the world’s very finite lithium deposits lie in the salt pans of Bolivia - and that he’s spent years prospecting for rock-based lithium deposits just north of Upington while employed by a major parastatal. It’s pretty obvious with the inexorable electric car revolution that within a decade or so, extracting any local lithium deposits may become hugely financially viable, even though there’s a built-in environmental paradox in how it would be extracted. Cyanide is apparently the extraction chemical of choice when it comes to rock deposits. So, on the one hand we mitigate pollution by slowly converting to electric cars and on the other… I guess that’s why they’re sticking to the more extraction-friendly salt pans right now. Hopefully the environmental equation in South Africa won’t leave us between a rock and a hard place. Biznews founder Alec Hogg interviews a South African-born global expert on natural resources, Gavin Montgomery, who provides some fascinating insights about the knock-on effects of the incipient transport industry transformation. - Chris Bateman

Over the past four decades, Cape Town property icon Johnny Rabie has built a solid reputation in his hometown - culminating with the development of the 250ha Century City project. After being approached by his new Portuguese partner, Rabie is now applying skills learned in South Africa into the LX Living project in Lisbon. With 120 if the 150 units in the e90m development sold out, Rabie is now investigating two more projects in the European capital, whose praises he seems unable to sing highly enough. He was a guest on Personal Finance Live. - Alec Hogg

When a woman locates herself with her daughter to South Africa after a successful career opening gastropubs and Wagamamas in London; she is bound not to sit still for long. She is Amanda Maidman who found herself in Ballito looking for an idea for a business when her daughter suggested ice cream, Scoop was started. Like everything else Amanda has tackled in the restaurant business, she has jumped in boots and all and now Scoop is the place to go to and buy delicious homemade ice cream in Kwazulu-Natal, and she has gone from home kitchen to opening up a factory. Maidman believes in empowerment through work and she has a team consisting mostly of people who were formerly out of work. Amanda told Biznews that she has her eye on more than two Scoops. -  Linda van Tilburg

Another government entity is at the centre of a money scandal - this time SA Express, which has sucked up more than R1.5bn in taxpayers' funds to cover losses. The Free Market Foundation crunches numbers that will make your eyes water. President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team have more work cut out for them to fix the broken economy, with the latest purchasing managers index confirming that the private sector is taking more strain. Trade war talk between China and the US has unnerved global investors. The rand has reflected concerns, while investors have been snapping up safe-haven assets like gold. JSE-listed gold mining companies have benefited from volatility on global financial markets, and were the big movers at the beginning of the week.

For centuries, it seems, South African culture has divided public and private sectors into "us" and "them". Partly for historic reasons, but also because of disrespect for the other side, mostly born from ignorance. It doesn't have to be that way, as countless examples from elsewhere in the world has proven. Among the best examples is Japan where close co-operation between companies and bureaucrats is regarded as the reason for the nation's ability to rebuild from the nuclear bomb ashes of the Second World War. Prodded on by Toyota Europe's boss - a South African - the country is starting to follow that example through the PPGI - the Public Private Growth Initiative, which brings role players in more that 20 sectors together. One of the drivers of the project, GIBS founder and former dean Nick Binedell, provides insights and an update on progress. - Alec Hogg

Growing up, I never thought I’d be a smoker. My parents were smokers, one of my grandmothers died of a smoking-related cancer and I hated the haze of passive smoke that hovered throughout our home. But, at Rhodes University, I found myself sampling free Benson & Hedges at various university-hosted parties. Before I knew it, I was hooked. Big tobacco might no longer be able to play dirty games to get young people addicted to their products, but they still play dirty in other ways. Just ask Johann van Loggerenberg who has suffered at the hands of sinister operators in a cut-throat industry. Van Loggerenberg, a former South African Revenue Service corruption buster, spoke to Alec Hogg about his latest book, Tobacco Wars. - Jackie Cameron

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed over the weekend that it bought back $440m worth of its own shares in the three months to end June. The world’s number two smartphone maker Huawei Technologies is reaping an unexpected benefit from continued attacks by US president Donald Trump and his allies. In a related story, after brief and unproductive talks last week, the US/China trade war ratcheted higher on Sunday when US president Donald Trump over-ruled his advisors by deciding to ramp up tariffs. Zimbabwe’s economic crisis has reached a new level with Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announcing he is to black out inflation statistics for the next six months. 

It is a fact of modern life all over the world that the days when you actually go in to a bank for transactions are officially over, apart from those big moments for a mortgage or a big loan which requires a branch manager and even that is a maybe. For most transactions you do not need a physical building and in many countries around the world, you don’t even use cash; you can pay by swiping a card, your phone or even the watch on your wrist. It may not be long before the car guard offers you a swipe machine as many cities in the world now have techie beggars sporting their own card machines. You are also increasingly more likely to be addressed by a chatbot than someone standing on the other side of the counter. It means that banks need less staff and if they don’t keep up with digitisation, they risk losing customers to new entrants into the market, who have embraced all the tech. Kokkie Kooyman from Denker Capital told Biznews in an interview on Rational Radio that the decision by Nedbank to retrench 1,500 staff members is due to digitisation and smaller, more nimble players coming into the market.- Linda van Tilburg

It's an understatement to say whistleblower Juan Lerena has borne a terrible cost for exposing abusive practices by his former employer Sime Darby and fellow multinational Unilever. Forced into defending himself in a court action where top legal firm ENS represented Sime Darby, the judgment against Lerena (which we published as a right of reply) proves US president Abraham Lincoln's quip that in a court of law "he who represents himself has a fool for a client." The judgment paints Lerena as un-cooperative, and ruled that he must pay Sime Darby almost R100m. It is also used by the company to show staff and customers Lerena's allegations were groundless. Which is all very well, except that Sime Darby admitted guilt to the Competitions Commission, paid a R30m fine and promised to builtd a R130m plant to compete with Unilever - the company Lerena claims was its partner in commercial crime. In this interview on Rational Radio Lerena gives his side of the sorry saga. - Alec Hogg

In today's business headlines The Rand has been battered by the dollar after the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell ruled out extending the cycle of rate cuts; British American Tobacco shares jumped by more than 8% as smoking alternatives cushioned the decline in cigarette sales; Woolworths has taken a new hit against its Australian arm; Insurer Discovery is accusing Liberty of using its incentive program Vitality without permission; and The Post Office’s CEO Mark Barnes has resigned citing differences on a forward strategy.

I love the idea of owning a small place overlooking the ocean - perhaps a mobile home or a little flat. But when would I get to use it? Not often, I suspect, because I wouldn't be able to take enough time off from work. That means the property would incur high overheads for little benefit. There are times when it makes sense to own a bit of paradise, however. As Magnus Heystek, a well-known personal finance commentator in South Africa, explains: acquiring bricks-and-mortar in Mauritius can facilitate residency elsewhere and, if you choose with care, your peace of heaven-on-earth can generate steady returns that are higher than you might expect to earn in South Africa. Heystek spoke to Alec Hogg, on BizNews Radio, about the benefits and risks of investing in property in Mauritius. - Jackie Cameron

David Shapiro has earned his title as South Africa's favourite market commentator through his forthright contributions. And on Rational Radio this week he didn't disappoint when asked to unpack the public ruckus between financial services giant Old Mutual and its former CEO Peter Moyo. Even though Moyo won a court hearing and returned to his desk this week, Shapiro comes out strongly on the company's side - arguing in some detail during this interview that the former CEO is simply fighting for a bigger payout. - Alec Hogg

In today's business headlines:  South African government yields climbed after the National Treasury said it will increase the amount of debt sold at weekly bond auctions. Glencore has reported a 2% fall in second-quarter copper production. Shares in UK property companies have plunged. There was stand-off between axed CEO Peter Moyo and Old Mutual as he pitched up for work. The new chief restructuring officer at Eskom, Freeman Nomvalo stays on at South  African Institute for Chartered Accountants. The Heat increases on the ombudsman as she squares up to Ramaphosa in court today and a Parliamentary committee gets approval to discuss her dismissal.

South Africa’s latest unemployment figures make for grim reading. The unemployment rate has jumped in the past three months by about 2% to 29%. Highlighting the challenges facing South African employers, Nedbank Group has confirmed it is in talks with about 1,500 employees over potential job cuts in retail and business banking to cope with a struggling economy and increased competition. And, in another blow to South Africa’s economic recovery, it is reported that Eskom’s losses continue to mount. Although the power utility has been rocked by allegations of corruption and state capture, its top management team blames a net loss after tax of R20.7bn for the 2019 financial year on escalating municipal debt, a lower-than-expected tariff increase granted by the energy price regulator for the 2018/19 financial year, a decline in sales volumes, and an above inflation wage settlement with unions. South Africa’s social grant system has been ransacked by fraudsters, with a staggering 21,000 fraud cases registered by the end of June - and not a single one finalised or resolved, social development minister Lindiwe Zulu said in Parliament on Tuesday. South African supermarket chain Shoprite warned that full-year earnings are set to fall as much as 20% as forex shortages, local currency weakness and a trading loss outside its home market weigh on profit, reports Reuters. Shrugging off the bad news, its share price rose 3%. The big loser of the day in Johannesburg was Massmart, which plummeted 20% after it released a sales and trading update that took investors by surprise. Fears of a disorderly Brexit continued to squeeze the value of the British pound, with analysts warning that volatility is likely continue until 31 October - the day that the UK is scheduled to become divorced from the European Union.