I see that union members are striking over what they perceive to be an unfair wage increase offer of around 7%…they want somewhere between 11 and 20% (depending on who you read) while the official inflation rate is closer to 4%. On the face of it their demand seems unreasonable and their rejection of the increase which is already 3% more than inflation also seems ungrateful…or is it? The problem we have (and that the Reserve Bank...

Heard a radio ad this morning for RSA Retail Bonds…it went something like this…“There’s no fees or commissions therefore it’s a great way to save”. I disagree strongly with this statement – it is not a great way to save. It is a great way for people to generate income – at 7.25% for 2 years it is still the best rate out there, but as a long term savings product it is pretty poor. Even at 8.25% the 5 year rate is...

“Do I need a haircut?” is not a question one normally asks a barber. Of course the answer will be yes. Likewise, “do I need insurance?” is not a question one normally asks an insurance salesman, especially when his/her income is derived from the sale of product. Among the clients I meet there is traditionally a deep suspicion of insurance sales people and often (in my opinion) this is appropriate. All the statistics...

It may be mid-Winter and it may be cold but there is a lot of heat being generated by all the media coverage the Malema is currently getting. Not sure whose agenda it is serving but someone is surely behind it all. In the light of this, there was an excellent interview with Professor Steven Friedman on 567 Cape Talk last night: “Professor Steven Friedman says while much of the public debate portrays Julius Malema as an immensely...

I remember reading earlier this week that people are now spending 78% of their disposable income on servicing debt…apparently these are record numbers for SA and this in a record low interest rate environment. Also forgot to mention that I was talking to someone who has connections with one of the large loans companies in SA – they are currently writing over R400million worth of loans each month! There has been much speculation...

Imagine that the body that regulates medical doctors (or any other profession) went to the doctors and said something like this to them: “We are terribly sorry but (due to a whole lot of reasons) we have let a whole lot of people who have not been suitably qualified as doctors, practice as doctors. And now as a result of this we need all of you to write (more) exams so that we can try to ensure at least some minimum kind of...