BizNews Radio

Elon Musk's sale of $1bn worth of Bitcoin didn't tarnish his populist halo for long - last night Tesla shares jumped 10%, leading Wall Street higher. Crypto currencies also shook off its champion's surprise move, to recoup Wednesday's lost ground. Other news covered in this episode of the BizNews Breakfast Briefing includes the impact of sizeable interest rate increases by the central banks in SA and Europe; Peter Hain and Athol Williams get the ear of a forthright UK cabinet minister in their fight to shame SA pillager Bain & Co; and the DA's shadow energy minister exposes the ANC's Eskom 2 idea as a misguided Soviet-inspired Fantasy.

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Former UK cabinet minister Lord Peter Hain wants the British government to suspend and ban global management consultancy firm Bain and Company from doing any further work in the UK. This after two commissions of inquiry in South Africa made scathing findings against the company. The Nugent Commission's report stated: “The SARS evidence is a clear example of how the private sector [Bain] colluded with the Executive, including President Zuma, to capture an institution that was highly regarded internationally and render it ineffective.” Hain, together with whistleblower Athol Williams, who fled South Africa in November 2021 after unearthing Bain's role in the calculated evisceration of SARS, held a "positive" meeting with cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg. In a joint interview with BizNews, Hain and Williams explain their continued pressure on governments around the world to cut ties with Bain until it "comes clean".

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BizNews A-Plus Show duo Alec Hogg and Michael Appel are back with episode 12 of their weekly round-up of business, investments, news and politics banter you need to know. In focus this episode: UCT Political Science Professor Anthony Butler on the EFF being a "natural coalition partner" for the ANC come 2024; Denker Capital's Kokkie Kooyman explains why long neglected banking shares would be among the biggest beneficiaries of a business-friendly ruling coalition come 2024; Mantashe's suggestion for Eskom 2.0 "preposterous"; Counterpoint Value Fund's Piet Viljoen on the appeal of a number of SA's resources stocks; ISS chairperson on spate of mass shootings likely being organised crime; shareholder activist David Woollam demanding that the Tongaat Hulett board resign en masse.

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Tesla grabbed the business headlines overnight with better-then-expected quarterlky result - but a shock for Bitcoin investors as the company announced it has sold 75% of the $1.5bn it had in the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin's price fell on the news; Tesla's shares rose slightly. Netflix continued to boom, rising another 7% taking the week's gain to 14%, while in SA, traders are climbing into Arcelor Mittal ahead of the steel company's financials to be released on Thursday. Also in this episode of the BizNews Breakfast Briefing - excerpts from two cracking interviews from Mike Appel: first rational reasons why police chief Bheki Cele really must go; and the shock news that SA's Solidarity Fund, whose donations were drawn from SA corporates and the general public and intended to assist all Covid-impacted companies, is only disbursing cash to 100% black owned businesses.

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State Capture Inquiry Chairperson Raymond Zondo set tongues wagging when he suggested in his final report that “consideration be given to making the necessary constitutional amendments to ensure that the president of the country is elected directly by the people”. University of Cape Town Political Studies Professor Anthony Butler explains to BizNews that while it may seem like a good idea in theory, in reality it is incredibly complex and has significant pitfalls. Butler goes on to give a masterclass in electoral systems, providing some snippets of what 2024 may bring from a coalition perspective. As the author of biography, Cyril Ramaphosa: The Road to Presidential Power, Butler also has some parting words on his impressions of Ramaphosa's presidency to date and whether his "reform agenda" will be implemented should he win a second term.

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Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe's recent suggestion that South Africa should create a second power utility to foster competition in the electricity space is deemed "preposterous" by the DA's shadow minister of public enterprises, Ghaleb Cachalia. He told BizNews that the power utility's proposed tariff structure also penalises low-energy users, in particular, at a time when consumers are being asked to trim their usage. Cachalia has written to Eskom to enquire about changing the national standard governing who is exempt from loadshedding, after it emerged that government ministers living near the Union Buildings are spared from blackouts while hospitals are not.

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After two quarterly reports which Wall Street hated, Netflix gave the US markets a boost last night with a set of financials analysts really liked. The shares rose 5% setting the tone for the best day for US equities in a month with the Nasdaq, S&P and Dow now 6% above last month's lows - half of that aded last night. Also in this morning's BizNews Breakfast Briefing - Bitcoin's bounce continues; Piet Viljoen offers guidance on when to sell shares (and when not to); Kokkie Kooyman tells us why he's super-bullish on banks (and which ones); and our partners at the FT investigate why Lula da Silva, jailed for corruption, is the favourite to win the election for Brazil's presidency.

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From the deadly destruction of the July riots to South Africa's horrendous crime statistics, including a recent spate of mass shootings, the criminal justice system is failing. In this broad-ranging interview with Dr Jakkie Cilliers, chairperson of the board at the Institute for Security Studies, he tells BizNews that reactionary "gesture policing" is proving futile. What is needed is a professional police service with a police minister who doesn't confuse his role with that of a national police commissioner. Additionally, South Africa needs a functioning crime intelligence division and state security agency free from the politicisation that has characterised it for too long.

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A sizeable chunk of relief funds pledged by the National Empowerment Fund and Solidarity Fund - meant to revive businesses all but destroyed by the July riots in KZN and Gauteng - has been reserved for black business owners only. Public interest business organisation Sakeliga has filed a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to see a list "of all disbursements made, the terms of thereof, and the terms (if any) attached to donations by the Solidarity Fund". The NEF wrote in a mid-July press statement that "the beneficiary enterprises had to be owned and managed by black entrepreneurs" in order to qualify for assistance. BizNews spoke to Piet le Roux, CEO of Sakeliga, about why they oppose such a move.

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With the ANC likely be sent to the sidelines by an angry electorate in 2024, the smart money is seeking opportuntities to profit from the economic rebound a business-friendly ruling coalition would give South Africa. In this podcast, Denker Capital director Kokkie Kooyman explains why long neglected banking shares would be among the biggest beneficiaries of this exciting prospect - and highlights a couple of names worth buying now. The globally respected banking sector investor speaks to Biznews's Alec Hogg.

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