A decade of difficulty: reasons for South Africa to be fearful and reasons for hope

South Africa’s economic performance is highly correlated with that of our traditional economic partners, including Britain, Western Europe the US and Japan.  Evidence of the extent of this economic inter-relatedness follows from the fact that each time Europe has gone into recession in the last two decade, South Africa has followed.  Thus, whilst internal factors – such as the political landscape, considerations of nationalisation, currency volatility and stability of electricity supply – will matter to South Africa’s economic performance in 2012, external factors will matter at least as much.  

An Introduction from the Average Single Guy

You walk in; chest is out… you are ready to roll. You have a bit of a bounce in your step as you walk through the door giving the random ticket-lady at the door a courtesy nod of the head as your right-wrist gets smacked with some barely visible ink stamp.

Bad Investments: Pimping Your Ride

In the market for a new or used car? Be very careful of “over accessorising” your car. You could end up losing thousands of rands when the time comes to sell.

This warning comes from Darryl Jacobson, managing director of Burchmore’s. “Car buyers are often tempted into buying alluring or sexy accessories – anything and everything from spoilers to fancy sound systems. There is a common misconception that, when the time comes to sell, this will improve the resale value of the car. But that’s simply not true!” he stresses.

Unimog to the rescue; moving commemorative heavy artillery

Since re-introduction into the Southern African market the Unimog U4000 and U5000 have performed well in demonstrations for a number of industry segments, including mining, forestry, civil engineering and even some private entrepreneurs, who use their Unimog for recreational activities.

When the retired Defence Force members of the GEM Village in Irene, Tshwane, were donated a 25-pounder field gun...

Which country’s economy grew the fastest over the last decade? No, it’s not China

Almost 10 years since the Angolan ceasefire, the country’s economy has risen like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes. Adrian Saville, CIO of Cannon Asset Managers, reviews Angola’s ten year of independence as its anniversary approaches in April 2012.

When Angola gained independence from Portugal in the mid-1970s, the country was the fourth largest coffee producer in world.  Alongside coffee, this large, fertile country exported other cash crops,

The journey counts; the destination motivates

When we do not succeed, friends and family console us with words spoken to reassure that the journey is more important than the destination. This stands true for every sport in which we participate, where we enter to experience the journey; the race, environment and challenges. Even so, the destination – winning and prizes, the realisation of goals, competition and the finish – stands out as a key motivator.