SANLAM SPREADS ITS WINGS TO BERMUDA
Sanlam Investment Holdings has purchased a majority stake in P2International, a Bermuda-based investment firm. P2 will retain its name and will operate under the Sanlam Investment cluster of businesses within the Sanlam Group.

BAT BACKS BUDGET BRAND DOWN UNDER
British American Tobacco Australia announced the launch of a budget cigarette brand, the latest salvo in a row with the Australian government. BAT said it was forced into the move to win back market share from illegal tobacco products. The company is also fighting a legal challenge to the government's plan to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes. BAT noted that since the government hiked tobacco taxes by 25% in 2010, the market had seen massive growth in cheap cigarettes and contraband.

BARLOWORLD LOGISTICS INVESTS IN CHEMICAL TRANSPORTATION
Barloworld Logistics acquired Ecosse Tanker, a specialised chemicals transport company, for an undisclosed amount. The deal was effective from the end of April and in line with the unit's plan to grow its services and expand expertise in the chemical, fuels and hazardous goods sectors.

TELKOM PARTNERS FIGHING IT OUT IN COURT
Judge Jody Kollapen will on Monday deliver judgment on whether to interdict China's ZTE from terminating shareholders agreements, supply contracts and licence deals with BEE partner ZTE Mzansi. The judge heard the urgent application for an interdict, filed by ZTE Mzansi and 8 Mile Investments against ZTE Corporation and subsidiary ZTE Hong Kong over a fallout after ZTE Mzansi's alleged unilateral decision earlier this year to litigate against Telkom, Alcatel-Lucent and Hauwei Technologies Africa without full shareholder approval.  The roll-out of Telkom’s ZAR13 billion network upgrade was temporarily halted after ZTE Mzansi, which had lost the bid to Huawei and Alacatel-Lucent said Telkom's tender process was flawed.

ANGLO AMERICAN UNVEILS CAPEX PLANS
Anglo-American approved capex of US$5 billion (about ZAR42 billion) for next year and US$3.5bn for 2014. The company may more than double 2014 capital expenditure as new projects are added and has about US$100bn of approved and unapproved projects including iron ore, coal, copper and niobium.

CHEAPER PREPAID CALLS FOR CELL C, VODACOM
Both Cell C and Vodacom released new cheaper prepaid products. Cell C is releasing a new prepaid voice product and tariff plan called ‘99 Cents For Real,’ which cuts off-net, and peak call tariffs to a flat rate of 99c per minute, with per second billing from the first second. This means that calls to any local network at any time will cost less than 2c per second from May 20. Vodacom released the all day, all networks call package for 99c, meaning that calls to any network in SA on this service costs 99c per minute.

COFFEE GOOD FOR YOU
Coffee, caffeinated or decaffeinated, appears to extend the lives of people who drink it daily, a US study found. Men who drank 2 to 3 cups a day had a 10% chance of outliving those who drank no coffee, while women had a 13% advantage, according to research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Americans drank 77.4 billion cups of coffee valued at US$35.8 billion in the 12 months ended June 30, 2011, while 64% of U.S. adults drink coffee every day and 73% drink it weekly.

BIDVEST LAUNCHES SOUTH AMERCIAN CURRENCY CARDS
Bidvest Bank, in response to SA's growing south-south trade links and rising demand for Brazilian real and Argentinean peso, yesterday launched two new world currency cards. The addition brings the total range of cards on offer at Bidvest to 12 - last year it added cards denominated in the Indian rupee, Chinese renminbi and Israeli shekel.

UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA TOPS BUSINESS SCHOOLS RANKING
The University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) was ranked the top South African and African business school in the annual UK Financial Times Executive Education rankings. Overall it was placed 47th, ahead of the Wits Business School at 55. Topping the global rankings is the IMD in Switzerland, followed by Harvard and the Thunderbird School of Global Management, also in the US.

CPI, PPI METHODOLOGIES TO BE REVISED
The methods used to calculate the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI) are to be reviewed, Minister in the Presidency for National Planning Trevor Manuel said. CPI is improved through the usual periodic update of the basket of goods and services that are priced each month, referred to as re-weighting, as well as changing the reference period of the index, i.e. rebasing. The revised CPI will be released in February 2013. The PPI is being re-engineered and will result in a parallel set of releases - the first PPI for manufacturing of goods for further processing only includes goods in its basket that will be used again elsewhere in the manufacturing process, such as basic steel that will be used again in the manufacturing of motor vehicles; the second PPI for manufacturing of goods for final consumption will include goods that are destined for final consumption and include food items.

OBAMA THROWS WEIGHT BEHIND FOOD PRODUCTION IN AFRICA
The Obama administration has drafted some of the world’s largest food and finance companies to invest more than US$3 billion (about ZAR26 billion) in projects aimed at helping the world’s poorest farmers grow enough food to not only feed themselves and their families but to earn a livelihood as well. President Obama and the leaders of four African countries will introduce the group of 45 companies, the Alliance for Food and Nutrition Security, at a symposium on food security and agriculture at a Group of 8 industrialised nations sum it.

FACEBOOK NAMES IPO SHARE PRICE
Facebook priced its shares at US$38 (ZAR320) apiece for an initial public offering that would make it the most valuable US company at the time of its stock market debut. At $38 a share, Facebook is valued at $104 billion, the biggest-ever valuation by an American company at the time of its offering.

MOODY’S MAULS SPANISH BANKS
Moody's cut the debt ratings of 16 Spanish banks by one to three notches, citing the effects of the ongoing recession and the reduced creditworthiness of the Spanish government. The action hit the leading bank, Santander, with a two-notch downgrade to A3, and the number-two bank, BBVA, was lowered by three steps to A3 Two other large banks, Banesto and CaixaBank, were also cut to A3. 

Brian Maskell & Associates
“Lean Business Management System”
Executive Workshop for
Chief Executives, Financial and Operational executives

Workshop fee R 5 950.00 + VAT. Discounted prices for 2 and more delegates.
24 – 25 May at Botha’s Hill
Presented by Ronnie Davidson [IMM, CPIM, CSCP]
Registrations Close 18th May 2012
Visit www.businesslearning.co.za for more information and to register on line. 

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