So BRICS have agreed to use local currencies rather than the US Dollar for issuing credits or grants to one another. This is a step towards trying to limit the use of the USD (and probably Sterling, Yen as lesser reserve currencies over time) for international transactions. I wonder whether those involved are aware of…
BusinessLive (I’m sure they’re not alone this morning) has a story about the non-implementation of the new Companies Act on the scheduled 1 April 2011 date. Some key snippets: Manoko said that, while the new Companies Act was meant to be implemented tomorrow (Friday, April 1), he was “uncertain when it will go through”, based…
Different size, different growth prospects, different issues and decidedly different league. South Africa, in its current state with current policies and current trajectory is in no danger of making BRIC become BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). This recent article shows some relevant and credible people agree. Goldman Sachs Asset Management chairperson Jim…
Debt Relief, mostly for third world countries, gets a fair amount of airplay from time to time. Less so now that the developed world has realised maybe it could do with a little debt relief itself. Debt relief can make sense from a few different directions, arguably for good reasons such as: As a form…
Most people are, most of the time, apathetic and a little prone to nervousness about their financial security. Runs on banks occur when there is a loss of confidence in the bank’s ability to return depositors’ money. They don’t happen when a rich ex-footballer tries to whip the population in a frenzy of retribution. They…
It seems the taxi industry is unhappy with the proposed AARTO rules where traffic law infringements will earn drivers demerit points and eventually possibly licence suspension. One of the reasons given is: Satawu previously warned that Aarto will result in job losses, as drivers will lose their licences once the maximum amount of demerit points…
A speed-camera that automatically enters those driving below the speed limit into a lottery? Interesting idea, more carrot than stick so to speak. Have they considered that this attracts people to drive by it slowly rather than attract people driving past it to drive slowly? Â Instant congestion. Economics is all about incentives and often about…
Bain performed research on current and likely future demographics of e-reader users. The current situation: early adopters of digital reading devices and multipurpose tablets mostly are already heavy readers. In numbers, they are more often men than women. They also describe themselves as more affluent than average and tend to be in their 20s and…
