ESKOM ENERGY SAVING
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KZN BAROMETER SNAPSOT: GOVERNMENT SPENDING DOWN
The latest barometer on the KwaZulu-Natal economy, compiled by Mike Schüssler, highlighted reduced expenditure by the national, provincial and local governments.  Government spending turned negative year-on-year in November, declining by 5.8%. This was after 10 months of strong year-on-year growth. On a quarter-on-quarter basis government spending declined by 20.9% and on a month-on-month basis it was down 11.9%.

GRANT THORNTON SURVEY SNAPSHOT: SA BUSINESS MORE OPTIMISTIC
A survey by accounting, audit and advisory firm Grant Thornton showed that business owners in South Africa were more optimistic in the fourth quarter of last year compared with their global counterparts. In SA, 58% of respondents were positive about the state of the economy, compared with 16% globally and 40% in Bric countries. At the end of 2010, 60% of South African business owners were optimistic.

KZN TEACHERS DRAWING SALARIES WITHOUT WORKING
More than 900 KwaZulu-Natal teachers earn salaries without setting foot in classrooms, provincial education authorities said. These teachers claimed to have been displaced from their work places because of violence and intimidation, education MEC Senzo Mchunu said.  "We are trying to deal with this problem because it hits us financially. We have agreed to develop a process to fast track the absorption and utilisation of these educators," he said, adding that KZN was the only province with this problem because of its history of political violence. 

CORRUPTION LIKE APARTHEID – MINISTER
Corruption ought to be declared as the enemy of all South Africans, said Justice Minister Jeff Radebe at the launch of Cosatu's anti-corruption initiative, Corruption Watch.  "Corruption must be declared our enemy as apartheid was the common enemy for all justice-loving citizens," he said.   Radebe said while government had taken steps to fight corruption, small scale corruption also needed to be addressed before it graduated into a culture of impunity that would lead to higher levels of corruption.  The main source of information will be the public, who will be asked to report their experiences or knowledge of corruption on the website or through SMSs.

JSE AT ALL-TIME HIGH
The JSE’s all-share index closed above 34,000 for the first time in its 17-year history yesterday, after news the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to support economic growth lifted stocks and commodities around the world.  The All-share closed up 1.3% at 34,065.49, its highest finish since the index was launched in June 1995. The benchmark Top-40 index rose 1.5% to 30,508.85, its highest close since May 2008.

HOUSE PRICES OVERVALUED BY 25% - REPORT
A report by a top property economist suggests South African house prices may be overvalued by as much as 25%, and that it could take "many years" for prices to fall in line with actual values.  This is despite estate agents claiming SA is a buyers’ market and that it has never been cheaper to buy than now. The latest issue of the Rode Report on the South African property market, said real house prices that excludes inflation were still 25% higher than suggested by their trend line of the past 44 years.

SPUR IN FULL CONTROL OF JOHN DORY’S
The Spur Corporation, through a subsidiary, has acquired the Kapsimalis Family Trust's 35% interest in John Dory's for ZAR12.25 million, and now holds the entire issued share capital.  The franchise restaurant group said that disputes with John Dory’s founder and MD Stamatis Kapsimalis have been settled.

GORDHAN WANTS BUDGET TIPS
With a few weeks to go before Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan tables the 2012 budget in Parliament, the public is called upon to send in their tips to the minister.  The public is asked to send their tips via www.treasury.gov.za, or fax on 012 315 5126 or through the post on Private Bag X115 Pretoria 0001, or through the Minister's fan page on Facebook. Gordhan is due to present the national budget on February 22.

HIGH-SPEED CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH BODIES
The Higher Education and Training Department says ZAR886 million has been invested in connecting South African universities and public research organisations to each other at a minimum speed of 10 Gigabits per second.  The South African National Research and Education Network (SANREN) project is expected to create a network between higher learning institutions and research organisations in a few years' time, and investment into the project has been made since 2007.

STANDARD BANK LENDS ZAR75 BILLION
Standard Bank has lent ZAR75 billion to its personal and business customers in South Africa over the past year, the bank said. The amount represents an increase of almost 50% from the ZAR50bn lent in 2010.

DOW JONES REACHES FOR THE SKY ON POSITIVE DATA
The Dow Jones industrial average was trading near its highest close since the 2008 financial crisis yesterday afternoon after solid news on factory orders and strong earnings from US manufacturers highlighted the economy's growing momentum.  Broader market indexes edged lower, though they are also sharply higher this year. Traders appear less afraid of spillover damage from the European debt crisis, and data on jobs and manufacturing have been consistently strong.  The Dow is within reach of its post-financial crisis high of 12,810, reached in April 2011. The last time it closed higher than that was on May 20, 2008, when it settled at 12,826. The Dow's post-crisis high during the trading day was 12,928, reached in May 2011. 

EMPLOYER CONTACT MEETING
Employer Contact is a network whereby employers get together to discuss human resource issues.
6 February 2012, 17:00, Chamber House, Royal Showgrounds, No charge
To book contact Thabisile, 033 345 2747, info@pcb.org.za , www.pcb.org.za

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