There is an essential element of Japanese age-based status referred to as Senpai and Kohai in which the more experienced teach their juniors . One of the dreadful consequences of apartheid was that this relationship...
The legal principles governing the taxability of profits from the disposal of shares have always been complex. Prior to the introduction of capital gains tax (CGT) in 2001, profits from the sale of shares were subject...
Recently the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation released the 14th edition of their annual publication that documents the level and variation of economic freedom across the globe. Given the current...
It would be unfair to expect the average person to know and understand all aspects of short-term insurance. That’s why the role of the professional broker is so important, and why there is no room for ‘order takers’...
In November 2007, a total of 550 brokers and financial advisors completed assessments for their licenses in compliance with the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS) Fit and Proper requirement. This...
The year has not started out the way many investors and retirement fund members would have liked. A combination of rising interest rates, high inflation, a volatile political climate, a potentially lengthy energy...
South Africa’s cost of tertiary education is rising higher than the official interest rates and household income, triggering an urgent need for parents to start building reserves for their children’s post-matric...
The idiom: “The more you put in, the more you get out” will mould a new dimension for all employees who earn less than R149 736 per annum.
This band of the South African workforce will, with effect from...
When gearing up to retire, investors should look at making a seamless transition from pre-retirement to post-retirement, as far as their investments are concerned.
Sarika Modi, Head of Product Development...
Many beneficiaries of large trusts have suffered financially as a result of the poor decisions made or even fraud committed by the trustees. These losses seem particularly galling when one considers the obvious...
“Know thyself”. According to the Greek writer Pausanias (who lived around 2 A.D) this aphorism* was inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. As this temple was built somewhere around 1,500 B.C.,...
The rand has steadily weakened from R6.50/US$1 two years ago to R8.17, a 25% descent. During that period the Aussie dollar firmed by 30% against the dollar, thus substantially increasing its gap with the rand....
Joel Stern also has a theory about the sub prime fiasco……
“The banks went nuts,” he says, “deciding to lend 100 cents on the dollar. That’s a very bad idea. In other words, the mortgage holder was not...
The price of oil peaked at US $106/barrel recently — an effective quadrupling in cost since the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.
The popular wisdom says the reason is the huge demand for energy...
The South African Antique Dealers Association (SAADA) has appointed Artinsure as its specialist insurance product provider of benefits previously available only in Europe and the US.
“Antique dealers have...
Following previous articles on the subject I have had some queries, which proves that the position is still very foggy.
The problem is that if the flight is deemed to be a rental one then there is no...
Insurance may be here to stay, but present distribution methods are set to transform radically, according to Michael Blain, CEO of Centriq.
Transformation will recognise that consumers have become more...
Although South Africa recently found itself labelled as the country with the highest number of HIV infections in the world, UN AIDS also reports that South Africa has one of the most extensive Anti-Retroviral Therapy...
The revised Corporate Laws Amendment Act (the ‘Act’) introduces far-reaching amendments to the 35-year old Companies Act.
“Company directors and auditors should closely study the new provisions if they...
You might think that your aviation policy gives you all sorts of cover but a recent claim problem gives much food for thought.
It all started with the Passenger Liability section of the standard Lloyd’s...
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