Negative headlines about the rand at the start of the week are overdone. That's the message from TreasuryOne currency strategist Andre Cilliers, who explains why the rand has lost some of its recent strength against the US dollar. There has been much good news in South Africa which is likely to play into strengthening the rand's value. He was speaking to Jackie Cameron, for BizNews, in this week's Currency Focus.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host David Shapiro; Sygnia's Magda Wierzycka on her Twitter wars with Elon Musk; Phil Craig of Cape Independence Advocacy Group; Tshepo Mahloele on SAA going private and the BizNews Power Hour Team.

As is customary for a Monday, veteran portfolio manager David Shapiro unpacks the important investment matters at hand for the week ahead. Markets aside, David also shares his thoughts on electric vehicles, themes from the G7 summit and all things Magda Wierzycka.

Last week, our partners at Bloomberg reported that South Africa had agreed to sell a majority stake in the country’s grounded national carrier to a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm. The news was received with a collective sigh of relief, as SAA has been a drain on state finances for far too long. A consortium comprised of Johannesburg-based Global Airways, which owns recently launched domestic airline Lift, and private-equity firm Harith General Partners will take a 51% shareholding in South African Airways. Tshepo Mahloele, the Chief Executive Officer at Harith, is one of the originators of the $630m Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund. Mahloele has partnered with Gidon Novick, the co-founder of Lift, who has stepped back into the industry he was born into nine years after stepping down as CEO of Comair. With these two at the helm, SAA may just have a fighting chance. BizNews founder Alec Hogg spoke to Tshepo Mahloele about their newest venture.

* South Africa will dispose of 2 million Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines following a US ruling that ingredients for the country’s doses may have been contaminated during production, says Bloomberg. * Alexander Forbes Group Holdings has agreed to sell its Life business to Sanlam as part of its strategy to focus on its core retirements, savings and investments business. * Fulvio Tonelli has been elected chairman of South Africa’s Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors, the Ministry of Finance says. * South Africa born founder Elon Musk has hit back at South African financial services entrepreneur Magda Wierzycka over allegations, in a BizNews interview, that he manipulated the price of Bitcoin for his own purposes in a pump-and-dump tactic.

Phil Craig is one of many individuals rooting for Cape Independence. The spokesperson for the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) joined the BizNews Power Hour to discuss the idea - and possibility - of Cape secession. Craig tells Alec Hogg that CIAG wants "outright independence secession", while parties like the DA "are not there yet, but have moved heavily towards autonomy." He also weighs in on the Private Members Bill, explaining what it is and where it began.

Founder and Executive Chairman of the Sygnia Group and one of the world's most coveted businesswomen, lashed out at Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, calling his market moving social media activities unacceptable. This made its way onto twitter, where Musk called Wierzycka's comments 'incorrect'.

From Monday, 14 July 2021, the BizNews Power Hour is available free-to-air on ChaiFM from 7pm Monday to Thursday. ChaiFM broadcasts on 101.9FM with a footprint covering the greater Johannesburg area. In this podcast, ChaiFM's breakfast show host Howard Feldman talks to BPH anchor Alec Hogg about what listeners can expect to hear.

In today's headlines: *South Africa agreed to sell a majority stake in the country’s grounded national carrier to a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm, ridding the government of an entity that has long been a drain on state finances, reports Bloomberg. *A number of South Africa’s top asset managers have teamed together against the complex shareholding structure and lack of management alignment in South Africa’s two largest businesses – Naspers and Prosus. *South Africa’s government criticised the United Arab Emirates for failing to cooperate with its requests for assistance in bringing to justice people suspected of being involved in corruption.

In this episode of the Festive Friday BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg spoke to four of the 36 Naspers shareholders questioning the share swap and management alignment; Anthony Sedgwick - Director at Abax Investments, Shane Watkins - CIO of All Weather Capital, Asief Mohammed - CIO Aeon Investment Managers and Delphine Govender - CEO of Perpetua Investment Managers, Carrie Adams with her guests David White and Rob Bastrop, and the BizNews Power Hour team.

Many South Africans have applauded President Cyril Ramaphosa for announcing steps to fix the country’s electricity crisis, but two of South Africa’s leading lights in the investment industry warn that his moves signal a deeper problem. Sygnia executive chair Magda Wierzycka, one of South Africa’s most successful asset management entrepreneurs, and Magnus Heystek - founder of the flourishing investment firm Brenthurst Wealth Management - share their views on some of the big news developments this week. Wierzycka reveals how much of the news carried in the mainstream media this week about her and her company is riddled with errors and distorted as she has become ‘clickbait’. Listen in on the conversation, with BizNews editor-at-large Jackie Cameron.

After being postponed last year, the Tokyo Olympic Games is going ahead in July, under the cloud of the Covid-19 pandemic. Locals in Japan are wary and athletes are anxious - but for the rest of us, this the event we need to lift our spirits after a dreadful year. One team that will be followed with bated breath is the 4 x 100 metre relay team. SA sprinters Gift Leotela, Thando Dlodlo, Clarence Munyai and Akani Simbine - all from the Tuks Athletics Club - managed to clinch a gold medal at the World Athletics Relay Championship in May. BizNews caught up with team coach Paul Gorries, to find out how they are preparing and ask him what he thinks the team's chances are.  He also reveals what one of our biggest hopes for medals in the Olympics, superstar Wayde van Niekerk, has been up to.

A number of South Africa’s top asset managers have teamed together against the complex shareholding structure and lack of management alignment in South Africa’s two largest businesses – Naspers and Prosus. The Naspers executive team, led by chief executive Bob van Dijk, has been under scrutiny by market participants for a number of years. The discount in its share price to its investment in Chinese tech titan Tencent has widened following a number of unsuccessful corporate actions. In the email below, addressed to Koos Bekker and Hendrik Du Toit (Naspers non-executive director and chief executive of NinetyOne), the investors outline their concerns, many of which they say have only got worse since Van Dijk’s appointment. Unsurprisingly, South Africa’s three largest asset managers – Allan Gray, Coronation and NinetyOne were not part of the collective engagement. Shareholder activism is alive and well. Alec Hogg chatted to four of the investors: Anthony Sedgwick - Director at Abax Investments, Shane Watkins - CIO of All Weather Capital, Asief Mohammed - CIO Aeon Investment Managers and Delphine Govender - CEO of Perpetua Investment Managers.

Chief executive of Sibanye-Stillwater and renowned deal-maker Neal Froneman was the flagship speaker on the BizNews Power Hour, as the veteran mining executive struggled to contain his excitement regarding the easing of regulations on independent power producers. With many international institutions and foreign investors labelling Eskom as the single biggest threat to South Africa's financial wellbeing, the news is welcomed with open arms. Given the dependence of electricity generation for consumer and business confidence, the president's decision is some much needed good news to corporate South Africa.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host Piet Viljoen, Neal Froneman on Ramaphosa giving private power plants a go ahead, the chief executive of Discovery Health, Ryann Noach and the BizNews Power Hour team.

Counterpoint value fund manager Piet Viljoen joined BizNews founder for a discussion on the markets. His insight, once again, proved invaluable as he drew from both his rational perspective and wealth of knowledge. Of particular interest in the discussion were Foschini’s financial results, released today - and Sasol’s announcement on its hedging strategy. When it comes to hedging, Viljoen believes that one should ‘rather not do it or do it all of the time and just take the guesswork out of it.’  

* South Africa’s government will allow private investors and companies to build their own power plants with up to 100 megawatts of generating capacity without a license, up from a previous limit of 1 megawatt. * While South Africa has the highest number of Covid-19 infections on the continent, it is struggling to accelerate its vaccination drive. * South Africa’s government has found a strategic equity partner for state-owned carrier South African Airways, says Bloomberg. * More than 150 Oxford dons are boycotting Oriel College and refusing to teach its students in protest at its decision to keep the Cecil Rhodes statue. * A small group of workers will find something new in their 401(k) plan starting in July: the option to invest in cryptocurrency, says The Wall Street Journal. ForUsAll Inc., a 401(k) provider, announced earlier this month a deal with the institutional arm of Coinbase Global

Dr Ryan Noach is the chief executive of Discovery Health. He joined Alec Hogg on the BizNews Power Hour to discuss the surging Covid-19 statistics in SA, with officials reporting a positivity rate of 16.5% on tests conducted. Positive cases spiked to 8,881, the biggest daily increase since January. Noach discusses whether South Africa may in fact be heading into a third wave.

Corruption buster Paul O’Sullivan joined the BizNews Power Hour to discuss the news that the United Arab Emirates has ratified an extradition treaty with South Africa so that the Guptas can be brought back into the country. This could be good news given that the UAE is said to be where the Gupta brothers are living at present, but O'Sullivan is hesitant. "We're getting information now that says they might have moved, but I haven't been able to confirm it," he says. O'Sullivan explains the complexities of the process and what could happen now. - Claire Badenhorst

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host Magnus Heystek, Paul O'Sullivan on the Gupta brothers' fate, Isaac Mophatlane, Crossfin investor on EOH's sale. Kanthan Pillay weighs in on firearm ban in SA and the BizNews Power Hour team.

* South Africa is a step closer to holding the powerful Gupta family to account for corruption and state capture, with the United Arab Emirates confirming it has ratified an extradition treaty with South Africa. * South Africa will hold municipal elections in October as planned, and will institute measures to mitigate against the risk of the coronavirus spreading during the voting process, the chairman of the nation’s Independent Electoral Commission said. * Zimbabweans living abroad almost doubled the amount of money they sent home this year, bolstering the economy, Central Bank Governor John Mangudya said. * Some banks, awash in deposits, are encouraging corporate clients to spend the cash on their businesses or move it elsewhere, reports BizNews partner The Wall Street Journal.

Isaac Mophatlane is the co-founder of Business Connexion — now BCX and a Crossfin investor. EOH has announced the disposal of its subsidiary, Sybrin, in a R410m deal with a consortium led by One Thousand & One Voices Management (1K1V) and has Crossfin Technology as an empowerment partner. For the new shareholders of Sybrin, the deal presents an opportunity for them to explore new frontiers. Mophatlane spoke to BizNews founder Alec Hogg to discuss the deal.

The Institute for Race Relations has said that the proposed Firearms Control Act in South Africa is going to make things even worse for women, who are targeted individuals for violent crimes in SA. BizNews Power Hour host Alec Hogg spoke to Kanthan Pillay, who founded the Capitalist Party in South Africa. One of the party principles was the use of firearms for self-defence, with a policy on training young women to use firearms. Pillay weighs in on the matter.

As is customary for a Wednesday, Brenthurst Wealth Management founder Magnus Heystek was the co-host for the BizNews Power Hour, outlining the negative effects on business and consumer confidence following the news that Eskom was ramping up load-shedding. He says that the private sector has the money to effect change in the renewable energy sector, however, government's unpredictability turns any prospective investor the other way.

A South African living in Somerset in the United Kingdom has launched a campaign to get recognition for Job Maseko, a South African soldier and stretcher-bearer for the Allied Forces during the Second World War. Bill Gillespie believes that Maseko - who single-handedly blew up a German ship - should have been given a Victoria Cross. In this interview, Gillespie tells BizNews that he believes Maseko should have been given the same honours as other South African soldiers who fought in WW2, and he has started a petition on change.org - a cause that has received considerable support thus far.