Mining guru Peter Major is the go to man for anything and everything resource-related, with the veteran mining director cautioning investors on a day where Sasol, Northam and Impala Platinum announced results and earnings guidance. Major noted that the drivers of Sasol's earnings - chemicals, was largely unexpected by the market given the robustness in the oil price since the beginning of the year. Major also gives credit to the resource counters management, stating that this is the most disciplined the management teams have been since he got to South Africa in 1982. Lastly, BizNews founder Alec Hogg and Major talk about the imminent corporate action with BHP Billiton's petroleum unit, which is a significant contributor to the bottom line of one of the world's largest mining companies.

In this podcast Charl Botha interviews South African investment legend John Biccard. He takes us on a deep dive of two of his top 10 portfolio holdings - Anglo Gold and Murray and Roberts. Along the way, he drops a number of investment pearls of wisdom. Don't miss this one.

In hierdie eeste episode van twee gesels ek met Wilhelm Hertzog van Rozendal Partners oor Invicta

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host Piet Viljoen; crowdfunding for Olympian medalists with Mike Sharman; Paul O'Sullivan unpacks the Digital Vibes saga; Michael Jordaan on Bank Zero's launch, Phil Craig on Cape Independence and the BizNews Power Hour team.

One of South Africa's in form fund managers and Thursday's BizNews Power Hour regular co-host, Piet Viljoen is the man to talk too in the midst of reporting season on the JSE. MTN's results, which is one of the largest holdings in the Counterpoint Value Fund, was well received by the market with the share hovering around the R120 level almost 4% up on the day. Another talking point was Cashbuild's proposed acquisition of Pepkor-owned The Building Company falling through as the Competition Commission blocked the transaction on anti competitive grounds. Lastly, with South Africa's premier coal producer Exxaro having released it's bumper results earlier this morning, Piet explains the reasons for the stark contrast in valuation between ESG-related renewable energy businesses vs its non-renewable peers, despite the ESG theme being somewhat overdone.

Dreams came true at the Tokyo Olympic Games last week for two of our own. Tatjana Schoenmaker won the gold medal and set the world record in the 200-metre breaststroke and also won the silver medal in the 100-metre breaststroke, while Bianca Buitendag won the silver medal in the women's shortboard competition. These extraordinary achievements fueled uproar from South Africans upon the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s announcement on Monday - Women’s Day - that these incredible athletes would not be paid bonuses for their medal wins. In response to this announcement by SASCOC, Mike Sharman - the founder of MatchKit - took to Twitter saying that in “2016 Wayde van Niekerk earned R500,000 for winning gold and an extra R150,000 for breaking a World Record and Chad Le Clos earned R200,000 for a silver. By this standard, Tatjana Schoenmaker should be rewarded with at least R850,000 and Bianca Buitendag R200,000.” A rational response and one which led to a vigorous crowdfunding campaign which raised R100,000 in the first hour - a testament to the South African spirit. BizNews spoke to Mike Sharman, whose passion was nothing short of infectious.

News headlines: *President Cyril Ramaphosa’s testimony at the state capture commission has exposed deep tranches of the ANC’s ‘shadow state’ – a set of parallel party practices that are often obscured from public view. *It could cost R2 billion and take 2 years to repair the damage done to the Medupi unit that exploded at the weekend, CEO Andre de Ruyter says. *The rules allowing licence exemptions for the generation and operation of 100 MW of power have been gazetted by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

Joining the BizNews Power Hour is Phil Craig of the Cape Independence Advocacy Group. While various people on both sides of the Cape Independence debate have plenty of opinions on the matter, Craig has done a poll in order do obtain hard facts. Many people in the Cape were interested in at least having a referendum, but Craig told BizNews founder Alec Hogg that research conducted has found that 58% of people in the Western Cape want a referendum on Cape independence."

Denker Capital’s banking oracle Kokkie Kooyman is the go to man when it comes to the financial services industry, on a day that South Africa’s fifth largest bank by market capitalisation Nedbank released its interim results. Nedbank, along with all the major banks, have enjoyed a great run over the last twelve months or so as one of the industries most affected by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Business and consumer confidence has recovered somewhat, but Kooyman believes this is key to enable the banks to continue the momentum of the past year despite the lenders being ‘cheap’ on a fundamental basis. BizNews founder Alec Hogg and Kokkie also touch on Quilter’s interim results (ex-Old Mutual Asset Management) and the new talking point within the South African financial services space, Michael Jordaan’s baby - Bank Zero.

The Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute (SAFCEI) sent an open letter to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this week because the industrial scale approach to food production, which is championed and funded by Gates throughout Africa, is having seriously destructive and unintended consequences. "We write out of grave concern that the Gates Foundation’s support for the expansion of intensive industrial scale agriculture is deepening the humanitarian crisis," the letter reads. Francesca de Gasparis of SAFCEI joins the BizNews Power Hour to shed some light on the NGO's concerns. "Our message is, can you just pause for a minute and have a conversation with us? Can you actually listen to us who are witnessing what's happening on this continent and happening to farmers so that you can actually take stock of the system that's working?"

Dr Leon Schreiber is the DA Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration. He joined the BizNews Power Hour to discuss cadre deployment - a hot topic that's on the lips of many, including the Zondo Commission. President Cyril Ramaphosa has been testifying at the commission, with Schreiber telling BizNews that "what happened today, essentially, is that the Zondo Commission acceded to a request that the DA had submitted at the beginning of the year, where we asked the commission to obtain minutes and records of decisions taken by the cadre deployment committee. Our reasoning was that if you really want to test the influence of this committee on the appointment of various individuals, then you really have to look and see what was discussed. That way, you can cross reference it to what President Ramaphosa - who was the former chairperson of this committee - says during testimony."

Regular BizNews co-host and Brenthurst Wealth Management co-founder Magnus Heystek joins Alec Hogg to talk all things topical on this Wednesday, namely Cape Independence, chaos at Medupi and Cadre deployment. The main topic of conversation centred around Magnus' 10-day trip to the Western Cape, which he says is a new country in itself. Magnus says that the rest of the country should take a page out of the Western Cape's book with the Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl triangle becoming the new area of growth and prosperity for the region.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host Magnus Heystek; energy expert Ted Blom on Medupi blast; DA's Leon Schreiber on ANC's cadre deployment policy; Denker Capital's Kokkie Kooyman talks Nedbank, Quilter and Bank Zero and the BizNews Power Hour team.

Following an 18 month period during which South Africa sorely needed a reliable and incorruptible leader at the helm of our National Department of Health, now former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has been exposed as having been intricately linked to a corruption saga involving communications firm Digital Vibes. In May, news broke of a scandal involving a R150m contract awarded to Digital Vibes by the SA Health Department - upon which Mkhize’s once-revered reputation as ‘one of the good guys’ in the ANC started to splinter. An affidavit by Rajendra Chunilall, a Principal Forensic Investigator and the Lead Investigator in the Special Investigating Unit’s investigation into the scandal, officially eradicates the remaining embers of hope we may have been holding onto regarding Mkhize’s involvement in the corruption scandal. BizNews Founder Alec Hogg spoke to ace forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan to unpack the details set out in the affidavit.

Ted Blom has been following the Eskom saga intensively for the last 14 years. In light of the recent explosion at the Medupi Power Station, Blom joined the BizNews Power Hour to discuss how the blast occurred. The Power Station - which was delayed and launched very recently - has sustained notable damage. The setback will not only be expensive (and take time to fix) but also has the potential to push SA into record-high load-shedding. Blom and BizNews founder Alec Hogg weigh in on the subject.

Over half a million new businesses were registered in 2020, an increase of more than 30% from the previous year, according to Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) reports. This seems counterintuitive given the economic destruction that has been caused as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. John Dludlu, chief executive officer of the Small Business Institute talks about the hardships and pain experienced by many in the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) sectors in South Africa following the data released by the CIPC. Dludlu explains that many of these businesses are being opened due to pure desperation as many look to regain their livelihoods. Dludlu unpacks the tough operating environment experienced by SMMEs over the past twelve to eighteen months, with availability of funding and lack of government support a headwind for the sector.

News headlines: *South Africa faces a record year for power outages after an explosion damaged one of the state-owned electricity utility’s newest coal-fired generation units. *South African business confidence fell to a nine-month low in July, after a week of deadly riots, looting and arson cost the economy R50 billion in lost output and imperiled at least 150,000 jobs. *Former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has effectively swapped places with her replacement, Thandi Modise, with the ANC putting her name forward to take over as speaker of parliament.

In my opvolg gesprek met Etienne Roux van Truffle Batebestuur verduidelik hy hoekom hulle van Cashbuild hou.

Steven Nathan, founder of 10X Investments, joined the BizNews Power Hour as co-host for yet another fantastic discussion on what's been in the headlines. Nathan, a resident of the Western Cape, provided insight into the Western Cape’s ability to survive on its own economically - a concern voiced by Roelf Meyer in the event that the Cape independence movement becomes a reality. While Nathan admits that the Western Cape is by no means perfect, he says that ‘certainly on a relative basis, it's an enormous standout’ compared to the rest of the country. Nathan also commented on the explosion which occurred at Eskom’s Medupi power station on Sunday, saying that ‘it just shows you why state-owned entities and government, for that matter, should play a much smaller role in the economy - because their ability to deliver is just not at the level of a private sector.’

News headlines: *Power utility Eskom has confirmed that an explosion at unit 4 of Medupi power station on Sunday night caused "extensive damage" to the generator. *There has been yet another delay for Jacob Zuma’s appearance in court for corruption charges, with the former president’s legal team requesting a postponement due to Zuma’s ill health. *Sbu Shabalala, the founder and CEO of technology group Adapt IT, has resigned.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host Steven Nathan; Cape secession views with Lord Peter Hain and ANC stalwart Roelf Meyer; Ivermectin as a covid option is discussed by Dr Mdladla, Dr Ngcakani and prof Colleen Aldous and the BizNews Power Hour team.

In July, BizNews founder Alec Hogg spoke to Professor Colleen Aldous - an Associate Professor and Clinical Researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal who has boldly spoken out in favour of Ivermectin. Aldous stated clearly that she does not believe that Ivermectin is a 'miracle drug', but that there is more than enough evidence pointing towards its effectiveness. In July, BizNews published an article written by Professor Aldous in which she argued that the placement of our trust in a small group of experts who advocate against ivermectin is being done at the potential cost of human life. With the fact-based evidence in respect of Ivermectin's efficacy in the treatment of Covid-19 reaching an insurmountable level - one has to ask what the reasons are for the vehement argument against its use by institutions like the World Health Organisation. In this interview, BizNews spoke to Dr Nathi Mdladla, Dr Pinky Dr Ngcakani and Professor Colleen Aldous about the use of Ivermectin in conjunction with other alternative treatment as well as vaccination in order to treat Covid-19.

South African anti-apartheid activist Lord Peter Hain joins the BizNews Power Hour to discuss the release of his memoir, A Pretoria Boy: The Story of South Africa’s ‘Public Enemy Number One’, and what it was like growing up in Pretoria with activist parents. Hain reflects on what is happening in South Africa now and gives his honest view of Cape secession. His advice is to learn and draw inspiration from the liberation fighters of the past in order to change things for the better. "There is good in South Africa despite the bad. There is excellence, despite some of the chaos. There are incredible entrepreneurs, despite the dead hand of bankrupt and badly run state-owned enterprises. I still think the country's got great potential, and I hope the bad can be beaten by the good. But it won't be unless we do something about it. Change is only ever brought about by minorities acting. It needs mass support to deliver it, but it's only minorities who give the leadership."

In my eerste van twee gesprekke met Etienne Roux van Truffle Batebestuur gesels ons oor Pepkor

Voices from some quarters in the Western Cape including the United Liberty Alliance and the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance that the province should become an independent territory have grown louder. They claim that they could get the necessary votes in a referendum in the province. Roelf Meyer who was the chief negotiator for the ruling National Party when the country’s first democratic constitution was written has firmly rejected the idea that secession has substantial  support or could succeed. He took a deep dive into the articles of the constitution, the debates that covered issues of federalism and self-determination and whether it makes economic sense with Linda van Tilburg, who covered the negotiations in the 1990s at the World Trade Centre, to investigate whether succession could be  a viable idea.