David Melville is an independent financial adviser. he shared his pearls of wisdom on the BizNews Power Hour, unpacking the hidden investment gem unique to South Africa, the Krugerrand.

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha joined BizNews founder Alec Hogg to address allegations that Eskom is implementing Stage 6 load shedding and announced that 'it is going to be a very cold winter as load shedding will continue.'

In die potgooi gesels ek met Professor Johan Fourie van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch oor sy nuwe boek, ‘Our long walk to economic freedom’. Ek lees baie, en dit is my ervaring dat meeste boeke nie regtig mens se kosbare tyd werd nie. Maar dié boek is beslis. In ‘n modern wêreld van “fake news”, relativisme, en ‘n gebrek aan ‘n basiese kennis van die geskiedenis glo ek Professor Fourie se boek is ‘n broodnodige en baie waardevolle hulpbron.

A quick wrap of your daily headlines.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host Steven Nathan, Eskom's Sikonathi Mantshantsha, energy expert Ted Blom on SA load shedding, Langa Madonko on the sale of Burger King, Kevin Lings, Mike Schussler and Steven Nathan provide insight into Q1 GDP figures and the BizNews Power Hour team.

Economists Kevin Lings and Mike Schussler together with 10X founder Steven Nathan give insights into the better-than-expected GDP figures which were released earlier today. Although domestic consumption was the driving factor behind this surprise, the experts say the lack of fixed capital investment - the main driver behind long-term economic growth - is concerning. Steven Nathan unpacks the parallels, or lack thereof, between the economy and the stock market.

Energy expert and mining consultant Ted Blom is never one to shirk from controversy and hasn't been doing so recently. While South African's shudder at the thought of load shedding, Blom reckons that Eskom isn't telling us the entire truth. He spoke to BizNews founder Alec Hogg about the reality of load shedding in SA. Blom tweeted earlier in the week that there was a shortfall of 5,136 megawatts. Blom says this would require Level 6 load-shedding to handle this.

Southern Africa Venture Capital and Private Equity ("SAVCA") director Langa Madonko unpacked the adverse ruling handed down by the Competition Commission on Grande Parade's sale of Burger King to private equity buyer Emerging Capital Partners ("ECP"). The transaction was blocked due to concerns related to the BEE credentials of the the private equity fund. Grande Parade, listed on the local bourse, had obtained shareholder approval for the sale of the fast-food outlet. The ruling was not blocked on the basis of anti-competitive practices. All things considered, Grande Parade shareholders should feel aggrieved. This is also a concerning precedent going forward for similar type transactions.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host David Shapiro, Denker Capital's Kokkie Kooyman on FNB's booming update, Thungela CEO July Ndlovu on new JSE listing, William Saunderson-Meyer on Zweli Mkhize's options and the BizNews Power Hour team.

Africa's most valuable financial services group, First Rand, today announced in a voluntary trading update that conditions have unexpectedly improved to the extent that it has reversed billions set aside to meet anticipated lickdown-related losses. In this podcast our go-to man on the sector, Denker Capital's Kokkie Kooyman, helps investors put the news in perspective - for FirstRand itself and other JSE-listed banking stocks.

* 75% of youth in South Africa are unemployed, reports The Times of London. * FirstRand sees profit rising more than expected, and by at least 35%, after the South African economy rebounded strongly from the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. * Anglo American South African coal mines, which will be listed in a new vehicle this week, are worthless given the scale of environmental clean-up costs, according to a research report from short-seller Boatman Capital. * The rand’s value was helped as offshore investors bought South African stocks and bonds. * El Salvador may become the first country to make bitcoin legal tender, President Nayid Bukele has announced. * Former finance minister Trevor Manuel, in an interview with the IMF, says the decade under Jacob Zuma wasn’t just ‘lost as though everything was static...the country regressed'.

The rand is strong - and quite possibly as strong as it is likely to be for some time - which makes it a great time to diversify investments outside South Africa. Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE, says you may be disappointed if you wait for further rand strength. Even if you took funds offshore at R16 and R17 to the US dollar, keep moving money outside South Africa so that you lower the average cost. He was speaking to Jackie Cameron, in this week's episode of the BizNews Currency Focus. * This podcast is proudly brought to you by TreasuryONE, South Africa's leading treasury solutions company that unlocks financial value for your business.

In this podcast, South Africa's favourite market watcher David Shapiro provides perspective on the three big stories of the moment - drawing on the wisdom earned through decades of experience in the markets.

This morning's debut by new JSE listing, coal mining group Thungela Resources, was tarnished by a research report claiming the company has massively understated liabilities and is essentially worth zero. Tungela's share price lost 10% from early trading levels. The parade-rainer came in the form of a 39-page research report from Boatman Capital, which reckons SA's new legislation on mining rehabilitation will swallow more that the Anglo American coal division spinoff is worth. In this podcast, Thungela CEO July Ndlovu argues the Boatman report is fatally flawed because it assumes draft legislation will be enacted in its current form. He says neogtiations with government, which have already lasted six years, are far from finalised. Veteran mining analyst Peter Major also weighs in.

News agency Bloomberg quotes two reliable sources that SA's health minister Zweli Mkhize has been given three options by his boss: resign; step aside while the corruption probe continues; or be fired in the next reshuffle. In this podcast, political commentator and Medical Brief editor William Sanderson-Meyer provides background to the R150m scandal and suggestions on what is likely to happen next.

Dawie Roodt, bekende markkommentator en hoof ekonoom van die Efficient Group verduidelik vir Charl Botha wat monetêre en fiskale beleid behels en hoe dit werk. Luister gerus, Dawie ken sy storie.

In today's headlines: *Mantashe denies that he was involved in the evaluation of the bids for emergency power, the lion’s share of which went to Karpowership. *The European Union and the U.K. opened formal antitrust investigations into Facebook Inc.’s classified-ads service Marketplace, ramping up regulatory scrutiny for the company in Europe. *South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is considering resigning over an investigation into a tendering scandal, two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. *The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has warned that thousands of doctors will leave the country ahead of the planned introduction of the National Health Insurance (NHI).

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Jackie Cameron is joined by Satrix CEO Helena Conradie who is stepping down after 8 years at the helm, Grace Harding CEO of Ocean Basket, while wine guru Carrie Adams chats to Woolworths specialist wine buyer Rebecca Constable and James Diack who is opening a new wine bar in Parktown North, and the BizNews team.

Auditors in South Africa and elsewhere are under the spotlight for failing to expose corporate frauds. South African multinational Steinhoff teetered on the brink of collapse after German authorities revealed they were investigating irregularities in late 2017 - yet well-established elaborate schemes underpinned the financial jiggery-pokery. And, SA taxpayers have been wondering where the auditors were in the state capture years under former president Jacob Zuma. Earlier this year, finance minister Tito Mboweni dissolved the country’s scandal-wracked audit body watchdog, Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors - which was run by audit professionals who failed to notice irregularities under their noses. Earlier this week, Deloitte Africa CEO Lwazi Bam hosted a fireside chat with Sir Donald Brydon, author of the Brydon Report, which is influential in debate on audit reforms globally. Sir Donald Brydon was at pains to note that it is not only up to auditors to spot fraud: shareholders, directors and regulators should take more responsibility. Chairman of the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants and Deloitte CEO Lwazi Bam spoke to Jackie Cameron, for BizNews, about the Brydon report and what it might mean for detecting fraud at listed companies in future.

groundWork's Robby Mokgalaka, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights, unpacks the High Court ruling against the Khanyisa coal power station.

TreasuryOne currency analyst Andre Cilliers breaks down the driving forces behind the rand's momentum since the beginning of the year. The commodity super cycle has played an integral role in that and if the commodity boom can continue, the rand has legs to drive even stronger.

Pandemics analytics and data (PANDA) co-founder Nick Hudson was the flagship guest of last night's BizNews Power Hour, outlining the hidden agendas that have been at play within governments and institutions since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic.

Local and offshore market movements and recap for the day.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg is joined by co-host Piet Viljoen, PANDA co-founder Nick Hudson on the leaked Dr. Fauci emails, Andre Cilliers from TreasuryOne on rand strength and where to from here and Robby Mokgalaka from groundWork on the high court level regarding the Khanyisa coal power station.

* The ANC plans to change the constitution to make it easier to seize land without paying but this week hit a stumbling block, reports Bloomberg. * S&P Global has affirmed SA's rating, three notches below investment grade. * The UK Government has requested extra doses of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine developed against the South Africa variant. * The National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) on Thursday said it applied to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to assist with the execution of arrest warrants for two Gupta brothers and their wives, reports EWN.