SMART EDGES

Learnership- Finance Administrator_Centralised Invoice Receipting

2013-02-05T07:57:00.002-08:00

Learnership- Finance Administrator_Centralised Invoice Receipting > Close Date: Not specified

Summary

Job Title	Learnership- Finance Administrator_Centralised Invoice Receipting
Company	MultiChoice
Location - Country	South Africa
Location - Province	Gauteng
Location - Town / City	Randburg
Job Type	Internship/Learnership
Equity Status	African, Coloured and Indian candidates
Number of Positions	5
Special Requirements

Job Advert

Equity Statement

We are committed to Employment Equity when recruiting internally and externally. It is company policy to promote from within wherever possible. Therefore, please be aware that internal applicants will be considered first before reviewing external applicants, provided that this supports achievement of our Employment Equity goals.

Obama a skeet shooter? See new White House photo

2013-02-03T09:44:00.002-08:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two days before President Barack Obama's first trip outside Washington to promote his gun-control proposals, the White House tried Saturday to settle a brewing mystery by releasing a photo to back his claim to be a skeet shooter.

Obama had set inquiring minds spinning when, in an interview with The New Republic magazine, he answered "yes" when asked if he had ever fired a gun. The admission came as a surprise to many.
"Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time," Obama said in the interview released last weekend, referring to the official presidential retreat in rural Maryland, which he last visited in October while campaigning for re-election. Asked whether the entire family participates, the president said: "Not the girls, but oftentimes guests of mine go up there."
Obama never mentioned skeet shooting prior to that interview.

The White House photo released Saturday is dated Aug. 4, 2012. The caption says Obama is shooting clay targets on the range at Camp David. Obama is seen holding a gun against his left shoulder, his left index finger on the trigger and smoke coming from the barrel. He is wearing jeans, a dark blue, short-sleeved polo shirt, sunglasses and earmuffs.

The National Rifle Association, which has rejected Obama's proposals, scoffed at the photo.
"One picture does not erase a lifetime of supporting every gun ban and every gun-control scheme imaginable," said Andrew Arulanandam, the organization's spokesman.
The NRA opposes Obama's call for Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and says requiring background checks for all gun purchases would be ineffective because the administration isn't doing enough to enforce existing gun laws.

Asked at Monday's press briefing how frequently Obama shoots skeet and whether photos existed, White House press secretary Jay Carney said he didn't know how often. Pictures may exist, he said, but he hadn't seen any.

"Why haven't we heard about it before?" Carney was asked.
"Because when he goes to Camp David, he goes to spend time with his family and friends and relax, not to produce photographs," Carney said.
Obama is accompanied almost everywhere by at least one White House photographer.
Carney declined to comment on the decision to release the photo, which he had announced on Twitter. The release appeared to be part of a strategy to portray Obama as sympathetic to gun owners and opponents of his gun-control measures who argue the proposals would infringe on an individual's Second Amendment right to bear arms.
A top official with the National Skeet Shooting Association said the photo suggests Obama is a novice shooter.

"This isn't something he's done very often because of how he's standing, how he has the gun mounted," said Michael Hampton, executive director of the San Antonio-based association.

Hampton said Obama's remark about "skeet shooting all the time" and the White House photo would have met less skepticism had the president's spoken about his hobby months before this new debate over guns in the U.S.
"Once it becomes controversial and there's problems, to talk about it then, that's where it becomes very debatable and is not being received as well as if he would have done this six months ago," Hampton said.

In interview, appearing in The New Republic's Feb. 11 issue, Obama said gun-control advocates should be better listeners in the debate over firearms, which was sparked by the December killing of elementary school pupils in Connecticut. He also declared his deep respect for the long tradition of hunting in this country.

"I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake," Obama said. "Part of being able to move this forward is understanding the reality of guns in urban areas are very different from the realities of guns in rural areas. And if you grew up and your dad gave you a hunting rifle when you were 10, and you went out and spent the day with him and your uncles, and that became part of your family's traditions, you can see why you'd be pretty protective of that."

"So it's trying to bridge those gaps that I think is going to be part of the biggest task over the next several months. And that means that advocates of gun control have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes," Obama said.

His gun control measures also have met resistance on Capitol Hill.

In Minneapolis on Monday, Obama plans to make remarks and discuss his proposals with local and law enforcement officials during a stop at the police department's special operations center. He's also expected to hear from community members about their experiences with gun violence.

Obama announced his proposals in mid-January, about a month after the Dec. 14 shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

___
Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

Bafana greatful for support

2013-02-03T09:24:00.001-08:00

Timothy Molobi - City Press

Durban - Under-fire Bafana Bafana captain Bongani Khumalo said the team was grateful for the support the nation has given them.

Bafana played their last three games in front of a packed Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Khumalo, who has come under a lot of flak for his performance in the team, said they were touched by how the supporters have rallied behind them and said this inspired and motivated them to work hard.

Khumalo said there was a lot of positivity around the team, despite being knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations by Mali.

“Now the challenge is to build from here because we will need this support going forward. We really appreciate the kind of support we have been getting and everybody is happy,” Khumalo told City Press.

He said they were disappointed that their tournament came to an abrupt end on Saturday but it was not the end of the world. He said the players learnt a lot in this competition.

“We hope to use this experience going forward as there is still a long way to go. It was a good tournament for us as not many gave us a chance but tonight we showed we could play and match the best in the world.”

Khumalo had a decent tournament as Bafana conceded only three goals in four matches.

His partnership with Siyabonga Sangweni was key to the team’s survival but there were still some question marks over his overall display.

Learnerships at sasol, Apply before 10 February 2013

2013-01-31T23:58:00.003-08:00

JOB DETAILS

All applicants must apply on line via the Career Website. Only applications submitted via the website will be considered.

Learnerships (Ref No. 10975)

Closing Date:	10 February 2013
Business Unit:	Sasol Mining
Location:	Secunda, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Reports to:
Job Type:
Level of Experience:	None

Position Summary
Purpose of the job: To train and develop a learner to become a qualified artisan according to the requirements of Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA). Note that correspondences will be done through cell phone sms system. To apply for LEARNER MINER: sms the word MINER to 33808. To apply for LEARNER ELECTRO MECHANIC: sms the word ELECTRO to 33808. You will then be asked questions which you will need to answer. SMS' cost R1.50 each at a maximum of 17 sms'. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY APPLIED UNDER THE PREVIOUS ADVERT PLEASE RE-APPLY AGAIN TO ENSURE YOUR ELEGIBILITY.
Job Requirements
Required outputs: Functional -Execution and delivery of defined engineering and technology tasks -Application of the appropriate engineering and technology so as to deliver the desired result -Actively assist both departmental and section management with the development and implementation of procedures, guidelines and best practices -Ensure that the applicable draughting and engineering codes of practice and standards are adhered to Qualifications and expertise should include: Miner: • Grade 12/N3 with: * English/Business English * Mathematics SG (minimum “E” symbol) (does NOT include Maths Literacy, Additional Maths, Functional Maths, Commercial Maths, Applied Maths) • Good communication skills • A proactive approach • Previous relevant experience would be an advantage Qualifications and expertise should include: Electro-Mechanic: • Grade 12/N3 with: * English/Business English * Mathematics SG (minimum “E” symbol) (does NOT include Maths Literacy, Additional Maths, Functional Maths, Commercial Maths, Applied Maths) * Physical/Engineering Science (No other Science) minimum “E” symbol) • Good communication skills • A proactive approach. • Previous relevant experience would be an advantage
Personal Attributes
Competencies (skills, knowledge and characteristics): -Good communication skills -Be pro-active and initiative -Be a team player as well as independent worker -Self motivated -Flexible -Realistic -English proficiency

Apply

Singer Lady Gaga has had 156 million views struck off her official YouTube account, just one month after the online video provider reduced the play counts of many major label acts by two billion views.

2013-01-29T18:38:00.000-08:00

According to NME, at the time of the first purge in December 2012, a YouTube spokesman told Billboard magazine that the removed views occurred when YouTube cleaned out all of the views that had once been uploaded to individual artists YouTube channels but had subsequently been replaced and were showing up on their VEVO channels instead.

However, the Lady Gaga view removal did not affect her YouTube channel with all 156 million views being removed from the star's VEVO channel.

Speaking at the time of the initial removal, a YouTube spokesperson stated the reasons behind the clear-up.

"This was not a bug or a security breach. This was an enforcement of our view count policy."

The move came after the site conducted an audit of its viewing figures and suspected view count building techniques from hackers, who were allegedly artificially boosting views on certain videos.

A source familiar with and close to Gaga shot down the notion that Gaga falsifies her social media stats.

â€œLady Gaga is not involved with any fake YouTube views. She is not involved with any fake Twitter followers. She spends hours a day with her charity and performances. She is also recording a new album which people say may be one of the biggest albums in history. She has far more important things on her mind than manipulating YouTube and Twitter,â€ a source told Examiner.

VEVO is a music video website owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment and UMG inside YouTube. Artists affected by the clear up besides Lady Gaga include Michael Jackson, Chris Brown and Beyonce©.

The authenticity of a letter purportedly sent to President Jacob Zuma by the department of public works in 2010 was questioned on Tuesday

2013-01-29T18:30:00.002-08:00

Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi's legal adviser Phillip Masilo said the department could not comment on the letter and its contents.

"Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi is on record that he has not seen this correspondence nor is it in possession of DPW (department of public works)," he said.

"Perhaps the people in possession of the letter can shed light on it."

A copy of a letter titled "Nkandla: security installations at the private residence of his excellency President Jacob Zuma" was electronically circulated to the media by Democratic Alliance Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko.

The letter appears to have been signed by the then Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, her deputy Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, director-general Siviwe Dongwana, chief operating officer Ashraf Adam and deputy director-general Rachard (SUBS: CORRECT) Samuels on November 5, 2010.

It was addressed to Zuma.

"Having assumed duty as the minister of public works on the 1 November 2010, I have taken the view that it is prudent to update you on the progress of the above prestige project," the letter reads.

"The fast-track nature of the project necessitates the daily updating of the project plan and for alternate planning methodologies to be employed in order to meet the target date of 30 November 2010."

The upgrades, to be completed by that date, are listed in the letter.

They include: a cattle culvert, perimeter fence, inner high security fence, guard house, tuck shop, refuse and electrical rooms, electrical supply, sewer treatment plant, relocation of families, upgrade of water supply, helipad, excavation for clinic, entrance by-pass, services to park-homes, entrance road, tunnel, safe haven, bullet proof glazing and high impact glazing.

On Sunday, Nxesi said the government spent R206 million on security upgrades and consultants for Nkandla. Included in this amount was R135 million for the "operational needs" of various government departments, R71 million for consultants, and security features such as bullet-proof windows, security fencing, evacuation mechanisms, and fire-fighting equipment. Also included in the total was R26 million to make changes to the project (variation orders).

However he said no houses were built using public money.

Nxesi, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele were part of a task team investigating the costs of the upgrades to Zuma's residential complex after it caused an outcry last year.

Nxesi said Zuma's home, like those of former presidents and former deputy presidents, had been declared a national key point. Cwele said neither Zuma nor his family had any input on the security upgrade.

Zim diamonds trade tops $600m

2013-01-29T17:42:00.000-08:00

Harare - Zimbabwe sold almost $685m worth of diamonds last year and wants to more than double output from the country's controversial gem fields this year, a top mining official told AFP Tuesday.

"We got $684.5m from diamond exports in 2012," Goodwills Masimirembwa, chairperson of the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) said.

Masimirembwa said Zimbabwe hopes to increase exports this year to 16.7 million carats from the eight million carats sold in 2012.

He accused the United States of blocking Zimbabwe's diamond sales globally by issuing threats to potential buyers.

"Last year sanctions (against Zimbabwe trading companies) were biting. The US threatened purchasers of Zimbabwe diamonds which resulted in low diamond sales in countries like India that normally buy from us," Masimirembwa said.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti has accused diamond mining companies of not remitting revenue to the government last year, saying out of some $600m expected from diamonds, only $40m had made its way into the central purse.

"I don't know what the finance minister will be saying but what I know is that diamond mining companies have always been paying 15% of the royalties to government," Masimirembwa said.

An Ottawa-based watchdog, Partnership Africa Canada, last year said around $2bn worth of diamonds were pilfered out of the country over four years by a network of government ministers and military officials aligned with President Robert Mugabe.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which regulates global diamond trade, lifted tight monitoring of diamond sales in Zimbabwe last year after judging the country compliant with minimum standards, a move that was criticised by rights groups claiming serious rights abuses have taken place at the Marange diamond mines.

Rights activists have said 200 miners were killed in the 2008 crackdown, and the country was briefly suspended from the so-called Kimberley Process (KP), an 80-member group that certifies global sales of "conflict-free diamonds".

Miners strike in South Africa

2013-01-29T10:08:00.003-08:00

Johannesburg – Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR] and unions are closer to finding a solution to re-opening the Kusasalethu mine in Carletonville, the mining company said on Tuesday.

Harmony met the National Union of Mineworkers, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, Solidarity and Uasa on Tuesday.
They discussed the situation in terms of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, which codifies the requirements for retrenchment.
The mine said the unions accepted its reasons for issuing the section 189 which could lead to the possible closure of the mine and retrenchment of all employees.
Harmony chief executive Graham Briggs said: "The mine remains closed until an agreement has been reached, and all the conditions of re-opening it have been agreed upon and committed to by all the unions and other stakeholders involved."
Kusasalethu had been temporary closed due to safety and security reasons. Harmony and the unions would meet again on February 6. Bilateral discussion between the parties would continue in the interim, the company said.

On January 3, the mine gates were closed and workers were told that the mine was shut down until further notice. About 500 miners were denied access to the hostel. Many slept outside the gates.
The company closed its operations at the end of December, but said it would continue to pay the basic salaries of workers.
The mine employs 5 193 workers and another 990 contractors

DJ EDMAN Underground as it sound (Set 1)

2012-09-01T01:06:00.001-07:00

DJ EDMAN Underground as it sound (Set 1)

STEROIDS

2011-12-13T02:58:00.000-08:00

Beware of ETFs on Steroids

The tools traders use to play the market are getting more powerful—and potentially dangerous. Investors have long been able to buy leveraged ETFs, exchange-traded funds that aim to magnify the daily returns of the indexes they follow. On Dec. 1, Direxion Funds upped the ante by converting its “two-times” funds to provide triple the return of the indexes they track. Supersizing has been good business for Newton (Mass.)-based Direxion, which offers more than 40 leveraged ETFs, up from eight three years ago, according to Chief Marketing Officer Andy O’Rourke. Yet some critics say the pumped-up investment vehicles are adding to daily volatility and scaring off general investors from the market.

Laurence D. Fink, chairman of BlackRock (BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, has called leveraged ETFs “toxic.” At an investor conference on Nov. 16, Fink said he was surprised that some were approved by U.S. regulators. He compared them to the financial engineering of complex securities that ultimately led to the collapse of the U.S. mortgage market. “I do believe we have some responsibility for making sure that the market does not morph itself, the same way when I started in the mortgage market 35 years ago, watching a great market morph into a monster,” he said.

ETFs are baskets of securities that track an index and trade throughout the day like stocks. Leveraged ETFs use derivatives such as options and futures to deliver a multiple of the daily return of an index. Another variety, leveraged inverse ETFs, seeks to give some multiple of the opposite return for an investor who wants to bet against the market. ProShares’ UltraShort Financials ETF aims to move twice as much as, and in the opposite direction of, the Dow Jones U.S. Financial Index. If that index falls 2 percent, the fund is designed to rise 4 percent. If the index gains 3 percent, the fund should fall 6 percent.

ETFs account for 35 percent to 40 percent of trading on U.S. stock exchange volume, according to research firm Morningstar (MORN). While leveraged and inverse funds make up just 3 percent of ETF assets, they account for 14 percent of total ETF trading, and investors hold leveraged and inverse ETFs for an average of three days, compared with 16 days for plain-vanilla ETFs, Morningstar says. Sharon Snow, chief executive officer of Metropolitan Capital Strategies, a $100 million ETF-based asset manager in Manassas, Va., credits leveraged and inverse ETFs with helping the firm achieve 10 percent annualized returns over the past five years. “We love them and use them as they are intended, as short-term trading vehicles,” she says. “They help you be tactical and manage risk.”

Critics contend that ETFs exacerbate market swings by lumping into one security assets that are alike but not the same. In the past, buying 50 stocks required 50 decisions, now it’s just one. In September, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into whether amplified ETFs contributed to the market’s unusual volatility in August. The SEC declined to comment for this story. In an October Senate Banking subcommittee hearing, Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said critics have referred to leveraged ETFs as “new weapons of mass destruction that are turning the market into ‘a casino on steroids.’ ” Others, he said, “believe they are a more efficient, modern, and tax-advantaged method of investing.”

Eileen Rominger, director of the SEC’s Investment Management Div., told the panel that since March 2010 the staff has deferred approval of new ETFs that make heavy use of derivatives while it examined their effect on market volatility and other issues. (Companies that had approvals already are able to bring out new ETFs.) In August 2009 the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the SEC issued a warning to retail investors about the risks associated with leveraged ETFs—including the possibility of large losses and poor tracking of the underlying index over longer periods because the funds are designed to generate their targeted return over a single trading day.

The agri-business

2011-12-10T01:41:00.000-08:00

A cautionary announcement by fruit marketing and logistics services group Capespan late last month certainly got tongues wagging in the Western Cape agri-business sector .

The announcement was released shortly after news that the major shareholder, Total Produce Plc, had increased its stake in the unlisted company from 15% to 20%. (See FM Fox November 25.)
Total Produce is now the second largest shareholder in Capespan. It is wedged between PSG-controlled Zeder (with over 40%) and Brian Joffe’s Bidvest (around 7%), which have both begun to build major equity positions in the company. Initial speculation centred on possible developments among Capespan’s three major shareholders. Some market watchers even punted a possible JSE listing .

Some might view an acquisition as a damp squib compared with the three- way tussle for influential shareholdings in Capespan. But even a small acquisition would serve to remind investors that Capespan, now headed by former Senwes boss Johan Dique, is a business in transition. There is much talk about the potential of the company’s logistical services in ports and inland terminals (which is probably why Bidvest, with strong logistics leanings, is chasing Capespan).

Dique turned an ailing Senwes into one of SA’s strongest agri-businesses between 2000 and 2010. He has been widely tipped to bring operational traction to Capespan.
Over the past decade, its performance has been inconsistent.
The smart money will be betting on Dique making a bolt-on acquisition for the logistics division in a bid to offer clients integrated logistics services.
Last month Capespan — which has an inferred market value of around R800m — sharpened its focus on its fruit marketing and logistics services when it sold off fruit technology business ExperiCo to Farmsecure Agri Science.

Learn one or two things about the RSA economy

2011-12-09T04:12:00.000-08:00

South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is the 18th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting a relatively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. At the end of 2007, South Africa began to experience an electricity crisis. State power supplier Eskom encountered problems with aged plants, necessitating "load-shedding" cuts to residents and businesses in the major cities. Growth was robust from 2004 to 2007 as South Africa reaped the benefits of macroeconomic stability and a global commodities boom, but began to slow in the second half of 2007 due to the electricity crisis and the subsequent global financial crisis' impact on commodity prices and demand. GDP fell nearly 2% in 2009. Unemployment remains high and outdated infrastructure has constrained growth. Daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty, lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, and a shortage of public transportation. South Africa's former economic policy was fiscally conservative, focusing on controlling inflation, and attaining a budget surplus. The current government largely follows the same prudent policies, but must contend with the impact of the global crisis and is facing growing pressure from special interest groups to use state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth. More than a quarter of South Africa's population currently receives social grants.

What's a good SA stock to invest in?

2011-12-06T05:32:00.000-08:00

Johannesburg - Analysts believe the local market is currently trading at fair value, making stock picking more necessary. Three well-known analysts have told Fin24 in a snap survey that they prefer cheap stocks, shares that are defensive and those that have rand hedge qualities.

Cheap stocks are those that have low price to earnings ratios. Defensive stocks are those that outperform even in tough economic times because their products are always in demand. The rand hedge shares perform well even when the local currency weakens.

Rajay Ambekar, a portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management, picked two stocks, Anglo American [JSE:AGL] and MTN Group [JSE:MTN].

ANGLO AMERICAN

Ambekar says the global mining giant is already discounting a significant fall in metal prices. He believes the most relevant "valuation metric" is price to book and Anglo is trading at about 1.1 times its book value.

"Going back in its recent history, the only time it has traded at this level was 2002, which proved to be a great buying opportunity," Ambekar says. Book value is the value of an asset as it appears on the balance sheet.

MTN

Ambekar says the cellphone giant is a good example of a defensive rand hedge stock. "Its earnings are not cyclical, given that they are similar to a utility and approximately 70% of their earnings are derived from outside SA, making it a reasonable hedge against a weakening rand," Ambekar says.

He believes mobile voice penetration in the company's non-South African operations is still relatively low. "We see an excellent opportunity for them to grow their mobile data revenue streams," he says.

Alwyn van der Merwe, a director of investments at Sanlam Special Investments, picked Old Mutual [JSE:OML], Astral Foods [JSE:ARL] and Wilson Bayly Holmes - Ovcon [JSE:WBO].

OLD MUTUAL

Van der Merwe says the international wealth manager has a 40% discount to embedded value (EV), which is good by any standards. The EV of a life insurance company is the present value of future profits.

ASTRAL

He says the food producer is in the right sector, which has done well in the recent past. "They are good quality and have held very well."

WBHO

He says the construction company has value because the sector has already been hit hard by the recession. "This means the margins have already been off," says Van der Merwe, implying the only way for the stock is upward.

Steve Meintjes, a senior analyst at Imara SP Reid, picked Discovery Holdings [JSE:DSY] and DRDGOLD [JSE:DRD].

DISCOVERY

Meintjes says the health insurer has turned around all its problematic UK units. "Their earnings in the local operation have also been very positive."

DRDGold

Meintjes says the fourth-biggest gold producer is good because it is in the gold mining business. "Gold is a special kind of commodity. It benefits from volatility," he says.

E-commerce consulting with SurfRite South Africa

2011-11-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

SurfRite is the South African e-commerce consulting enterprise, its services range from e-commerce to graphic designing for local clients. I was impressed by the graphics which were designed by this enterprise and decided to share this good news with everyone whose interest is in graphics and or small business owners who still want to expose their businesses to the ultimate corporate world filled with giants.

SA economy still mired in difficulty

2011-11-11T05:26:00.000-08:00

Johannesburg – The South African economy is doing better than it did this time last year, but worse than in the first half of 2011.

The Sake24 and BoE Private Clients provincial barometers for September, which measure economic activity in five provinces, showed declines everywhere over the past three months – although each province had different reasons for the reversals.

“We have to take care not to be overly negative about our economy but despite lower unemployment, the positive effect of lower interest rates and consumers' strong willingness to buy, we are now experiencing the most difficult period since the recession,” said Mike Schüssler, director at Economists.co.za and compiler of the barometers.

The winds of the foreign debt crisis are starting to blow towards the South African economy and there are signs of the business environment feeling the pressure, particularly on the growth side of the economy.

“We can see it in the unexpected decline in the mining indices and this will ripple through the manufacturing and the construction sectors, which are both currently performing erratically.”

The Eastern Cape barometer tumbled the fastest of all five provinces. In the past three months it fell 5.6% and it was the only province that also declined year-on-year (y/y) – by 2.8%. The decline owed much to a contracting construction sector (33.1% down y/y).

The Western Cape (8.1% up y/y) and the Free State (9.3% up y/y) fared best among the provinces, but they too fell back over the past three months. In the Free State the construction index (31% down y/y) is looking wretched.

In Gauteng (6.1% up y/y) the mining index began to slide and was 10.2% down on the comparative period last year.

Schüssler said although economic stress factors are less oppressive than a year ago, growth is still not satisfactory, making the business environment challenging.

“Now it is more essential than ever for government to spend on the appropriate things, things that can stimulate growth, and for South African businesspeople to receive the proper support – not necessarily financial, but through the creation of a positive business environment."

SA 'easing out of recession'

2009-09-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Johannesburg - Retail sales figures released by Statistics South Africa on Monday provided more evidence the country was easing out of a recession, economists polled by Reuters said.
"Retail sales for July are much better than expected and this number points to the economy exiting recession during the third quarter," said Peter Attard Montalto, emerging markets economist at Nomura.

The figures supported Nomura's above consensus gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for 2009 "based on a faster bounce back in the economy", said Montalto. Retail sales fell 3.9% year-on-year in July at constant prices, compared to a revised 6.9% contraction in June, Statistics South Africa said on Monday.

Retail sales growth has cooled sharply over the past year after a number of years of strong growth that helped lift expansion in the overall economy to around 5%.
Retail sales are expected to stay under pressure in 2009 due to job losses and a recession, despite the 500 basis point cut by the SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) since December.
"This data point will be important for Sarb given their concentration on consumption," Montalto.
"Key is that whilst South Africa's recession is indeed lagging the rest of the world it is not going to necessarily be of greater length than similar emerging markets," said Montalto.
"It seems like the pace of the deterioration in retail sales has improved somewhat. One can expect the lower interest rates to filter through and improve consumers' ability to spend - although consumers are still under pressure," said Salomi Odendaal, an economist at Citadel. "Wage increases, specifically in the private sector, have been mostly below inflation."

The Reserve Bank started a two-day meeting on Monday to decide the next move on rates, and analysts polled by Reuters expect the key repo rate to stay on hold at 7.0% on inflation worries.

SA futures end tad weaker on profit-taking

2009-08-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

SOUTH AFRICAN futures ended marginally lower today on the back of profit-taking. However, losses were pared by gains in the Dow after better than expected US consumer inflation data which boosted risk appetite.

The near-dated Alsi contract ended 80 points, or 0.35%, weaker at 22,735.
The rand was last bid at R7.79/$ from R7.77/$ when the market closed yesterday. Gold was quoted at $947.25 a troy ounce from $952.10 at the previous close.
A total of 38,245 contracts changed hands today compared with 24,253 yesterday.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that a strong reading of consumer confidence boosted investors' mood today, pushing US stocks higher.

The market rallied modestly at the opening bell on news of the reappointement of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and data showing rising home prices. That was followed by the 10 a.m. EDT release of the Conference Board's monthly confidence index.
When the local derivatives market closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 62 points, or 0.7%, at 9568.91, helped by gains in 24 of its 30 components. The S&P 500 was up 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4%.

Today's developments came as many participants were growing wary of a possible market correction after the recent rally and worries that US economic recovery might be further off than expected.
"The data are confirming that the economy is probably already out of recession," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York. "But, look, the market is still up a lot and it is going to run into resistance."

Consumers more price sensitive

2009-08-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Johannesburg - South African consumers have become increasingly price sensitive, listed retailer Shoprite said on Tuesday.

This was as a result of job losses and the high cost of living, the group said as it released its results for the 12 months ended June 30, 2009.
Shoprite said difficult trading conditions had been exacerbated by a worsening security situation.
"Escalating crime has forced the group to greatly increase security measures to safeguard our assets and ensure customers shop in a safe environment," it said.
Nevertheless, the retailer said trading profit rose 28.1% to R2.94bn for the period under review.
Turnover was up 24.5% from R47.65bn to R59.31bn while diluted headline earnings per share rose 30.9% to 390.8 cents.
Looking ahead, Shoprite said it expected trading conditions in its new financial year to be "challenging".
"There is as yet no substantial evidence that South Africa is starting to move out of the recession and even if that were to be the case, such a recovery will take time to work through the economy as a whole."

Shoprite said it was concerned about the increasing number of unemployed people, now at nine million, and about the government's ability, "in the light of lower tax revenues", to continue supporting the poor through social grants to the extent it did at present.

Shoprite keeps aim on Africa

2009-08-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

Johannesburg - Food retailer Shoprite will continue to expand its operations in oil- and mineral-rich African countries despite the continent's infrastructural difficulties, said CEO Whitey Basson.

Shoprite's African footprint includes operations in Nigeria, Angola and Botswana. The group has constantly expanded its presence on the continent since it opened its first African store in Namibia in 1990.
However, in the year to end-June 2009 Shoprite managed to add only five new stores, while closing three others "due to the endemic lack of suitable trading space", said Basson.
He said property developers in targeted countries such as Nigeria experienced difficulties in securing funds to build shopping malls and other trading centres, which put a damper on Shoprite's expansionary plans.

In the period under review Shoprite grew its turnover from operations outside SA by a whopping 39.9% in terms of SA rand, making a 13% contribution to the group's total turnover, which was up 24.5% to R59.3bn.
However, Funeka Beja, investment analyst at Afena Capital, attributed most of this growth to SA's weak currency in the second part of the reporting period.

More affordable food in pipeline

"Although the African operations' revenue grew 39.9% in rand terms, a large portion of that number can be attributed to the rand weakening against other African currencies," she said. "The constant currency revenue growth is much lower, due to slowing space growth in the second half of the reporting period."

Among other highlights in the results is a 1.5% increase in trading space for Shoprite at the expense of rival food retailers Woolworths and Pick n Pay.
While analysts have said that high food inflation (at 15.8%) was one the main reasons for Shoprite's top line growth, Basson said food inflation started coming down in the second half of the year, culminating in 7.4% in July.
"Inflation has been expected to fall, particularly in the second half of this calendar year," said Beja. "What it means for consumers is that food will become more affordable, as long as the growth in their disposable incomes is higher than food inflation. It certainly does not mean that food prices will become cheaper."

US can learn from SA

2009-08-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Johannesburg - South Africa displays "sound" economic policies, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Johannesburg on Friday.
She was addressing a Business Unity SA function in Sandton.
"Your banks are free of the bad loans that the US has had to deal with. We can learn a lot from your example," she said.

While the global economic crisis had created "dangerous instability" everywhere, Clinton said South Africa's underlying economic fundamentals put it in a promising position to "move forward when we come out of the crisis".
South Africa was a member of the G20 and one of the most important emerging economies in the world - it was also well-positioned to propel growth throughout Africa, she said.

Turning to Zimbabwe, Clinton said President Barack Obama took the conditions in that country personally.
"You have three to four million Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa," Clinton said.
"It's a cost to you," she said.
"In Zimbabwe services need to be delivered to the people and we'll be working closely with South Africa when it comes to Zimbabwe."
Clinton said Africa needed to tell a positive story about countries such as South Africa and Botswana - "and then we must improve conditions elsewhere in Africa".
The US Secretary of State is on an 11-day trip to the continent.

She has already visited Kenya and after South Africa she will travel to Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.

Mandela, Zuma plan to list gold firm

2009-08-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

SOUTH African investors can expect a new resource listing, with one of the assets within the new group being the Orkney gold mines Aurora Empowerment Systems is buying from provisional liquidators for R215m.

Aurora, which counts as its directors two men of the most politically connected families in the country, will invest a further R150m in Orkney to bring production up to 250kg/month, with the first target of 200kg/month of gold set for April 2010.
Aurora is headed by anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa as managing dirctor and Khulubuse Zuma, the nephew of ruling president Jacob Zuma, as chairman. Michael

Hulley, who worked as Jacob Zuma’s lawyer is a non-executive director of the company.
Also on the board as an executive director is Raja Dato’ Zainal Alam Shah, a Malaysian who has a strong banking background. He is affiliated with a private equity fund called Am, which is underwriting Aurora’s resources ambitions.

The upfront funding comprises R15m cash and the balance of R200m to be raised via a rights issue underwritten by the Kuala Lumpur-based Am. The second tranche of R150m has been arranged by Am and this would mean the Malaysian fund taking an unspecified stake in the company, said Mandela.

Mandela said the plan was to shortly list a resources company focused on precious metals and diamonds on the JSE and that the Orkney assets would be housed in that vehicle. He gave no further details.
The market can expect in the identity of the proposed company, the listing time line and its assets within 10 days.

Louis Bezuidenhout, who has worked as general manager at Orkney since March this year, said the mine would break even at production of around 190kg/month of gold at a metal price of R240,000/kg.
Of the R150m, half would be spent over the first year of operations on developing the mine, including developments at the seven and four shafts, he said.
Orkney’s provisional liquidators are urging Aurora to start mining soon under their supervision. Bezuidenhout said the deeper portion of Two Shaft had deteriorated badly since the mine was put into care and maintenance in March this year. The shallower portions of the mine were in acceptable condition, he said.

The transaction is conditional on the preferred creditor, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) giving its approval. The unions have backed the proposal.
The liquidators say plans by Pamodzi Gold management to secure R626m in funding from the China Africa Development Fund will not derail the sale of Orkney nor the sale of Pamodzi's Free State assets to Harmony Gold.

There are four bidders for the remaining East Rand assets. Aurora is being persuaded by the provisional liquidators to put in a bid for those mines too, said Enver Motala, one of the liquidators.

The bottom line in these times is: prepare to pay more...

2009-08-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Matthew Lester: Tax talk

Tax collections are going to come up far short of the 2009-10 budget of R700-billion. But who is going to have to carry the can?

We need to start considering what fundamental changes could be made to the Income Tax Act that may bring in some meaningful money without completely stuffing up the taxpayer.

First, we can exclude corporate taxes from the debate. It has taken 10 years to create something like an internationally competitive tax regime. Only complete plonkers would go back on that now. If anything, we should be accelerating the implementation of dividend tax to replace secondary tax on companies (STC). And that will cost another R5-billion in lost tax collections.

Forget about increasing VAT — we don’t need a national strike. And anything more than inflationary adjustment to sin taxes, customs and excise and the fuel levy just is not going to happen either.

Bravo Matthew! You have just excluded about two-thirds of the tax base from making any form of contribution. That’s the stark reality of tax; when times get tough it all lands on the individual taxpayer. And now, post-Polokwane, we are not about to nail the lower end of the tax spectrum, are we? So we have to go back to the fundamental principles of Rob the Rich to feed the Poor.
I think we are starting to look at increasing super tax beyond 40%. Vavi and Malema will love it. And I don’t think the Shaiks, Sexwale or Ramaphosa will raise too much opposition.
Perhaps we should look at a fundamental change to the tax brackets with the introduction of a new super-super tax bracket. So we would leave the 40% rate at somewhere around R525000. But then only implement 42% from, say, R1-million.
And then there is the great mystery of capital gains tax. Like crime rates, we still don’t really have any CGT statistics because the collections are hidden within individual tax receipts. We need to know more.

Maybe we could cut a deal on CGT and other taxes. Perhaps we could do away with death duty and donations tax and all the rocket science that goes with them.
That would not cost more than R1-billion a year. And this could easily be replaced by increasing the CGT inclusion rates to pay a bit more tax on windfalls during our lifetime.
We could live in the comfort that our estates won’t get shredded by the taxman. And SARS would benefit by getting more, earlier.

The downside is that we would have to retrench the rafts of nerds who make a living out of trust administration. Jokes aside, there would still be plenty for them to do in estate planning, they just would no longer have estate duty as the “unique selling point”.
Perhaps those who could no longer “hack it” could relaunch their careers by concentrating on small business tax compliance. That’s a bit dull, but that’s tax!

Lester is professor of taxation studies at Rhodes University, Grahamstown

Nokia to enter PC industry with first netbook

2009-08-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

HELSINKI — The world’s top cellphone maker, Nokia, said on Monday it would start to make laptops, entering a fiercely competitive, but fast-growing market.
Nokia has seen its profit margins drop over the last quarters as handset demand has slumped, and analysts have worried that entering the PC industry, where margins are traditionally razor-thin, could hurt Nokia’s profits further.

"We are fully aware what has the margin level been in the PC world. We have gone into this with our eyes wide open," Kai Oistamo, the head of Nokia’s key phone unit, told Reuters.
Its first netbook, the Nokia Booklet 3G, will use Microsoft’s Windows software and Intel’s Atom processor — offering up to 12 hours of battery life, and weighing 1,25 kilograms.

Netbooks are low-cost laptops optimised for surfing the Internet and performing other basic applications. Pioneered by Asutek in 2007, other brands such as HP and Dell have also pushed out their own lines since then.
Research firm IDC expects netbook shipments this year to grow more than 127% from 2008 to over 26 million units, outperforming the overall PC market that is expected to remain flat and a phone market which is shrinking some 10%.
"Nokia will be hoping that its brand and knowledge of cellular channels will play to its strengths as it addresses this crowded, cut-throat segment," said Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight.
"At present we see Nokia’s foray into the netbook market as a niche exercise in the context of its broader business."
Nokia said it would unveil detailed specifications, market availability and pricing of the device on September 2.

A source close to Nokia said the new netbook would use the upcoming Windows 7 operating system. Microsoft says a stripped-down version of Windows 7 will be introduced to netbooks the same time as its general release on October 22

Eskom loses billions to keep lights on

2009-08-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

Eskom has gone billions of rands into the red after pouring money into keeping the lights on in South Africa, the power utility will report this week, but it is confident it can raise the funds needed for its build programme this year, and will not have to turn to the government for cash.

Business Day reported on Monday that the market expects operating losses at Eskom, which reports its financial results for the year to March on Thursday, could be as high as 6 billion rand, mainly because of the huge amounts Eskom spent to rebuild its coal stockpiles and turn around the performance of its power stations in the wake of last year’s power crisis.

To the operating losses will be added several billions of rands in paper losses on embedded derivatives related to the special pricing agreements Eskom has with aluminium and ferrochrome smelters.

Eskom CE Jacob Maroga declined last week to discuss figures.

But he said Eskom’s operating losses were better than he had budgeted for in June last year, after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) agreed to an additional tariff increase.

Losses were in the context that there had been no load shedding since last April.
The country said Eskom must keep the lights on. It is more important than the bottom line. Keeping the lights on is the most important bottom line for the country, Maroga said.
The release of the results has been delayed by about a month, but Maroga said there was nothing sinister about this.
Eskom had been waiting for final details of this year’s tariff decision from Nersa so it could include this in the going concern statements in its annual report.
It also needed to brief Cabinet ministers.
Maroga said Eskom was in talks with the government on a funding model for its build programme, and this would be finalised by the end of next month.
Choices would have to be made, but there was no "bail- out", and Eskom, which is receiving 60 billion rand of equity from the government over three years, had not asked the government for more cash, Maroga said.
Eskom is spending more than 385 billion rand over the next five years to build the new infrastructure it needs to meet demand and lessen the risk of further power crises, but it is still unclear what mix of tariff increases, borrowings and equity it will need to fund this - hence the talks on a funding model.

Still on Excel 2007: Other numbers and how to enter them..

2009-08-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

Fractions:

To enter fractions leave space between the whole number and the fraction, e.g 1 space 1/8.

To enter a fraction only, enter zero first, ie 01/4. If you enter 1/4 without the zero, Excel will interpret the number as a date, January 4.

If you type (100) to indicate a negative number by parentheses, Excel will display the number as -100.
The next topic will be about QUICK WAYS TO ENTER, EDIT DATA AND REVISE WORKSHEETS.

Context	Processing suppliers’ invoices for the whole of MCSA group
Customers	MCSA Group companies
Outputs	Ensure that suppliers’ invoices are processed accurately and timeously: • Analyze the status open PO report for invoices goods/ invoice receipted. • Analyze supplier statement for outstanding invoices/ credit notes • Liaise with suppliers for outstanding invoices/ credit notes • Liaise with customers (MCSA group companies) for POs to be goods receipted. • Check that invoices agree with SARS requirements of valid tax invoice • Accurately process invoices i.r.o. amount, account, period, number, PO. • Accurately account for vat • Resolve supplier and customer queries • Filling and ad hoc duties as and when required
Education & Experience	•Minimum B Com degree with Accounting and Tax •SAP experience would be an advantage •Excellent Computer skills (Word, Outlook, Excel and Power Point
Competencies	•Ability to work quickly and accurately •Ability to work under pressure •Deadline driven •Accuracy and attention to detail •Excellent interpersonal skills •Great communication skills •Good co-ordination and administrative skills •Effective problem skill •Time Management •Multitasking skills •Takes initiative •Flexible and adaptable •Will be required to work long hours where needed. APPLY