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In this week's episode of Rational Radio, in order of appearance host Alec Hogg speaks with: David Shapiro, who unpacks similarities between Tongaat and Steinhoff, assesses SAA and explains Discovery founder and CEO Adrian Gore's R1.4bn share option transaction. Chris Logan of Opportune who has been on the Tongaat management case for the past five years so is well placed to explain how the tragedy occurred. Tracey Davies of shareholder activist NGO JustShare who reports back on the Sasol and FirstRand AGMs. Johann van Loggerenberg, the crimefighter who paid heavily for his efforts, tells us why Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is on the money when calling for "intrusive" investigative units at SA Revenue Services. Duncan Artus, director of Allan Gray, applies his mind to Sasol, Naspers, Impala Platinum and the man who interviewed him for his job, the late Allan Gray himself. Azar Jammine, chief economist at Econometrix, explains why the IMF sent a surveillance team to SA last month and why their findings are hugely relevant - and a timeous warning that economics must trump politics this time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the details of the alleged accounting fraud at Tongaat Hulett emerge, former Tongaat executives are being targeted for criminal and civil charges. It’s refreshing to see managers being held accountable for their actions – all too often they seem to walk away unscathed, leaving pain and loss in their wakes. But it’s also a reminder of what RECM’s Piet Viljoen reminds us of: the danger of companies run by managers, for managers. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss the Tongaat scandal and its fallout and take a look at why so many companies seem to operate with so little accountability. They also take aim at South Africa’s institutional fund managers, who seem to be asleep at the wheel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a week of contrasts. First, there was good news for shareholders as Remgro and RMH announced plans to unbundle a 40% stake in FirstRand. Then, more bad news for taxpayers as S&P revised its outlook for South Africa to negative, suggesting an additional downgrade is in the pipes. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss the reasoning behind the unbundling and the implications of SA’s worsening debt position. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode of Rational Radio, guests in order of appearance were: SA's favourite market watcher David Shapiro on ESG investing, Sasol and Naspers/Prosus; Econometrix chief economist Azar Jammine warns that the S&P rating report on SA has major implications for long-term interest rates; SABC chairman Bongumusa Makhathini attacks the Sunday Times's weekend report by defending his board's call to engage with the State Security Agency; Forensics for Justice founder Paul O'Sullivan explains why he's gunning for Absa accused of aiding and abetting money launderers; Tracey Davies, director of shareholder activist Justshare previews the questions she will be posing to Sasol and FirstRand at this week's AGMs; and RECM founder Piet Viljoen talks about former boss Allan Gray's passing, former employer Investec Asset Management's renaming, the FirstRand unbundling, and the disaster called Tiger Brands. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

after a short break, Alec Hogg's weekly Rational Radio show is back. In today's episode: David Shapiro on Sasol, Eskom, SAA and the markets. Jared Watson explains why he laid criminal charges against former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi - and got landed with a defamation suit for his trouble. Jean-Pierre Verster takes a close look at the latest news from Steinhoff and explains why Richemont's planned assault on China won't work. Magnus Heystek tells us why the Rugby World Cup victory might have been one of the worst things to happen for SA's financial future. Perry Feldman explains how the Free Market Foundation has intervened to get 8 500 title deeds to give under-privileged South Africans ownership of the houses they have occupied, sometimes for decades.     Independent financial advisor David Melvill explains why he is at war with an unyielding Sanlam threatening to have him debarred because he employed his errant (but since officially rehabilitated) son as a personal assistant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After hosting a webinar with Orbvest, Alec Hogg had a number of questions from the community. In this episode, he explains why Biznews does these webinars and what the relationship with Orbvest is all about. He and Felicity Duncan also discuss the strike action at SAA and the reasons why the company finds itself in the place it is in. Workers are bearing the brunt of the punishment for years of mismanagement and corruption and they’re speaking out about it. They also talk about Felicity's spat with the IRR’s Frans Cronje and where the DA is headed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, the Lebashe Investment Group announced the launch of its new media entity, Arena Holdings. More importantly (for us) it has signed a strategic equity partnership with BizNews. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan talk about Lebashe’s acquisition of Tiso Blackstar’s media assets, the strategic thinking at Arena, and why Biznews signed on the dotted line. They also explore what this deal means for Biznews and our community. And, of course, they couldn’t resist saying a few words about South Africa’s masterful World Cup performance.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the specific tale of Comair’s acquisition of Metaco is unique, the story of failed acquisitions is as old as corporations themselves. Most mergers fail to deliver on their promises and end up costing more than they produce. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss the lessons that can be learned from Metaco’s struggles. They also talk about IQ and what it really means – Felicity is a confirmed IQ sceptic, but there are plenty of people out there who put a lot of stock in the number.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a busy week on the corruption front. News broke that the Guptas have been sanctioned by the US Treasury, closing the net around their empire. Angelo Agrizzi sought and won a postponement ahead of a tough cross examination. And the Financial Sector Conduct Authority raided the offices of Sekunjalo Investment Holdings and African Equity Empowerment Investments, whose chairman Iqbal Survé launched a counteroffensive aimed at Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan for alleged misbehaviour. All in all, a week with plenty for South Africans to digest. Join Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan as they dive into these stories.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, Biznews issued an unreserved apology to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. In this episode, Alec Hogg explains the background to the story and why Biznews has a policy of full right-of-reply. Alec and Felicity Duncan also discuss the changes Biznews has made to its model portfolio, explaining why we’re rotating into South African stocks. Alec talks about some of the feedback he has received from the community on these changes. They finish up with a discussion on what the struggles of WeWork and Uber mean for the global investment landscape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After spectacular early successes backing AliBaba and Yahoo, Softbank's Masayoshi Son raised $100bn from investors in a matter of weeks. The Korean-Japanese behind the revolutionary VisionFund spent this money almost as rapidly, pumping billions into WeWork, Uber and their lookalikes - alongside unorthodox bets like $300m injected in to a dog-walking app. Son is on his way to raising another $100bn in Vision Fund II, claiming that he already has more than that committed by his fans.  But critics are fretting that having too much money is making Son reckless, typified by WeWork's attempted IPO where investors rejected the $47bn valuation at which Son was happy to inject billions. Have a listen to this fascinating podcast from our partners at the Wall Street Journal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The failed WeWork IPO has dominated global business headlines in recent weeks, and with good reason. It looks like the “smart money” actually really is in public markets, where investors are rejecting stratospheric private valuations for loss-making “tech” companies that are actually old-fashioned businesses wearing techface. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan deconstruct the struggles at WeWork, Uber, and other businesses that have found public markets a little too rational. They also look at the strange tale of ousted Sasol chief David Constable.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this edition of Nutshell, Jared Watson tells Biznews about the files he released on Bosasa. While we are all wondering when we are going to see people in handcuffs for corruption, Forensics for Justice's Paul O'Sullivan leads the way and tells us why he is like a terrier who does not let go.  We explore the story of the U.S Democrats who think that this time they may have found a way to nail President Donald Trump and impeach him with Bloomberg News White House Reporter Justin Sink weighing up what the chances are of an impeachment.  As another unicorn CEO bites the dust before IPO, we look at WeWork with Bloomberg technology columnist Shira Ovide assessing what will happen to WeWork and other similar tech companies.   And there is an interview with a woman from KZN , Nonhlanhla Gumede who believes in a collaborative approach with her neighbours to make a success of land restitution. - Linda van TilburgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three forthright personalities feature in this episode of Rational Radio. In order of appearance: Paul O'Sullivan, founder of Forensics For Justice, reports back after a morning at the courts where he is defending himself in a harassment charge levelled by a businessman he accuses of paying R60m in bribes to land R4bn in contracts from Eskom. South Africa's favourite market commentator David Shapiro applies his mind to the prospect of SA's highly rated Capitec Bank eyeing its UK lookalike Metrobank, whose market value has plummeted 95% in just over a year to a very affordable £300m. Shapiro also looks at similarities in the fall from grace of the WeWork and Uber CEOs. Chartered accountant Jared Watson joins the dots in the Bosasa Files, explosive documentary evidence which his uncle Gavin was due to hand to the authorities in the week he died. Watson also shares his views on Zondo Commission "whistleblower" Angelo Agrizzi's cosy relationships with leading officials in the DA and News24 editor Adriaan Basson. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve had a couple of weeks of important economic policy news and in this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss how the policy picture is changing. They spend some time on the proposed Prescribed Assets Requirements and talk about resistance to the policy ideas put forward in Tito Mboweni’s economic growth proposals. They also explore offshore investing, and Alec has some words of caution for South Africans venturing their money abroad without doing their due diligence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a week where South Africans have been told they can't smack their children and we all rejoiced in the success of the Ndlovu Youth Choir, South Africans have been debating the government's plans to introduce prescribed assets which got Andrew Cantor from Future Growth hot under the collar.  There is an interview with US immigration lawyer Bernie Wolfsdorf on the door closing on US investment visas and the fickleness of markets that wiped a couple of billion off Richemont's value is investigated by David Shapiro. Brendan Mullen from Secha Capital tells us about a novel way of investment that is well suited to Sub-Saharan Africa and if you want to know how to get whizzing internet speed, Willem Roos from Rain tells you how you can access that. - Linda van TilburgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's the Rational Radio episode of Wednesday 18 September featuring, in order of appearance - Bernie Wolfsdorf, the Durbanite who has been the top US immigration lawyer for seven of the last ten years; Willem Roos, chief executive of the data-only mobile phone company Rain which today launched 5G - the first in Africa to do so. Brendan Mullen, former consultant who discovered the hot new concept of Search Investing which is sweeping across the world - and SA. David Shapiro talks about Sasol, Naspers, Prosus and much more in his regular slot on the markets; Andrew Canter makes a very strong case against the proposal by the ANC government to re-introduce Prescribed Asset requirements for pension funds; And Valance Watson on why his brother Gavin's "suicide" wasn't - the family has compelling new evidence showing he died before the car crashed.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Nutshell: The Naspers spin-off, Prosus arrived with a bang in Amsterdam with its share price soaring and we have CFO Basil Sgourdos explaining what will happen next. The interim CEO of Absa, Rene van Wyk looks at where the banking group plans to expand in the future. As South Africa struggles to overcome its economic woes, with the latest business confidence index at the lowest in 20 years; there are increasing calls for an IMF bailout but economist Dawie Roodt says the country does not need IMF help. Labour lawyer, Michael Bagraim tells the story of how junior doctors who took two chairs from a junk heap got into trouble. And there is a story of how Gary Hopkins tries to bridge the gap between the world of the hearing and the deaf by employing mostly deaf barristers. - Linda van TilburgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's the Producer's Cut of the full Rational Radio show hosted by Alec Hogg on Wednesday, 11 September, 2019. In the lineup: Naspers listing in Amsterdam this morning - commentary from Naspers FD Basil Sgourdos who was there when the bell was rung. More on the debate around Discovery allegedly overstating its assets with SA's financial services icon Kokkie Kooyman of Denker Capital. Investment markets with David Shapiro who praises Naspers but had some very different thoughts about Sasol, Aspen and Old Mutual. Lawyer Michael Bagraim on the tale of three young medical doctors at the Tygerberg Hospital - one of whom was fired and two others suspended - when they retrieved a couple of chairs from the hospital's dump to fix and use in the doctor's tea room. Plus the uplifting story of social entrepreneur Gary Hopkins whose "I Love Coffee" franchise is helping to change prospects for deaf people, one barista at a time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The BBC’s Radio Four is known among the British as the nation’s cerebral option. This well deserved reputation comes from decades of delivering consistently high quality content. What follows is an excellent example of this high standard. Since 2013, historian Peter Hennessy has picked four of his country’s highest profile politicians for in-depth interviews that explore their formative influences, experiences and impressions of people they had known. The final interview of the Seventh Series’ of Reflections with Peter Hennessy featured South African-raised anti-apartheid icon Lord Peter Hain. Aired last month, the interview provides unique insights into Hain, whose family were ejected from their homeland because of their political activism. Although best known for leading the sports boycott against white South Africa, Hain also became British MP for 24 years, served in the cabinets of two Prime Ministers and was knighted after his retirement in 2015. The peerage opened the door for Hain’s participation in the House of Lords, where his contribution to his former homeland has been immense through exposing the Guptas, Bell Pottinger and multinational companies which participated in the pillage of State Capture.   Here, with kind permission of the BBC, are the two Peters – Hennessy and Hain……See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.