South Africa in a recession

Govt ‘confident’ that it can address recession – Cabinet

Jun 22 2017 14:18    Liesl Peyper

Cape Town – Government is confident in its “systematic interventions” to address economic challenges and improve the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

In a statement released on Thursday, a day after the customary fortnightly meeting of Cabinet ministers, government said it reflected on the issues raised by three ratings agencies – Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch – about the slow pace of growth-enhancing reforms, the performance of SOEs and political risks.

The Cabinet statement was released two hours before President Jacob Zuma is expected to answer questions in the National Assembly about government’s plan of action to address the recession and record high unemployment figures.

“Cabinet reiterates that the foundation for a higher growth path and socio-economic development has already been laid,” the statement read. “It focuses on improving investor and consumer confidence by fast-tracking the implementation of the […]

2017-06-24T13:17:57+02:00June 24th, 2017|Environments, Finance, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

South African businesses downgraded as well

ALERT: Moody’s downgrades Eskom, Sasol, MTN, ACSA… and more

Jun 14 2017 06:01

Matthew le Cordeur

Cape Town – Moody’s downgraded the credit ratings of Eskom, Sasol, MTN, ACSA and has taken action on eight other South African corporates.

The downgrade follows their decision to downgrade the country’s long-term foreign and local currency debt ratings by one notch from Baa2 to Baa3 with a negative outlook on Friday.

On Monday, it downgraded the credit ratings of South Africa’s top five banks, three development finance institutions, certain City Power and Sanral credit ratings, and 10 regional and local governments.

On Tuesday evening, the downgrade axe continued to fall.

Commenting on Eskom’s downgrade, Eskom’s chief financial officer Anoj Singh said Eskom noted Moody’s rating action as primarily driven by the downgrade of the Sovereign credit rating.

“Eskom has secured 53% of this fiscal year’s funding requirement and we remain resolute that we will fully execute the required funding for the […]

2017-06-24T13:09:32+02:00June 24th, 2017|Finance, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

FITCH DOWNGRADES SOUTH AFRICA TO JUNK STATUS

The ratings agency says that the recent Cabinet reshuffle is likely to result in a change in the direction of economic policy.

South African flag. Picture: Thomas Holder/EWN.

JOHANNESBURG – Fitch Ratings has announced the downgrade of South Africa to so-called junk status.

It changed its rating to ‘BB+’ from ‘BBB-‘, with the outlook stable.

The ratings agency says that the recent Cabinet reshuffle is likely to result in a change in the direction of economic policy.

This comes after S&P earlier this week downgraded South Africa, citing political instability.

Downgrades to junk from the two agencies could see South Africa drop out of some widely used global bond indexes and force international funds which track them or which are prohibited from holding sub-investment grade securities to sell.

Fitch’s move will almost certainly lead to […]

2017-06-24T13:06:02+02:00June 24th, 2017|Finance, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

Working smarter

Working smarter: 3 strategies for improving business productivity

Technological advances, customer expectations and especially globalization have increased the need for higher productivity. After all, Canadian entrepreneurs must now compete with companies in countries such as China and India where labour costs are a fraction of what they are in North America.

In a formal sense, productivity refers to how well an organization converts input (such as labour, materials, machines and capital) into goods and services or output. But today it is no longer limited to measuring ratios of inputs and outputs. Basically, increasing productivity just means working smarter. You can look for opportunities to improve efficiency just about anywhere in your company. Here are some key areas to consider.

Choosing the right equipment can help you reduce the risk of costly errors and improve the way you do business. Before you buy any equipment, be sure you are thoroughly familiar with the current […]

2017-06-23T16:46:32+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Performance of the business, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

Better performance

The Best Way to Improve Business Performance

By Deb Miller | Apr 10, 2012

 

“What’s the best process improvement approach you’ve ever seen?”
I have answered that question differently over the span of my career and suspect you may have as well. In this article in my adaptive case management series, I reflect on the different business process improvement approaches and tools I have seen and share which one I think has the right stuff.

Our perspective is influenced by changing external factors like markets and technology, shaped by the operational model of the businesses and agencies where we’ve worked, and informed by what we have learned along the way through actual experience.

 Quality as a Key Driver — Reducing Mistakes

Over the years I have watched Six Sigma evolve from a problem-solving technique and quality strategy to cult status and even television satire (30 Rock).

Early on in my work at GE I embraced Six Sigma as a […]

2017-06-23T16:42:33+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Performance of the business, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

Performance cartoons

 

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2017-06-23T16:47:54+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Performance of the business, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

Improving the performance of the business

Four Steps to Improve your Company’s Performance in 2017

Lori Williams – 01 Jan 2014

Here are four essential steps for improving your company’s performance and growing your business:

  1. Know your Financials

Companies are dynamic organizations with a myriad of business functions occurring simultaneously. In order for the company to grow, each business function must operate collectively to produce an output in excess of the input. Gross Profit, Net Profit and Cash Flow monitor these relationships. They provide vital information about the health of the company. Specifically they can tell you:

(1) If you are selling your products/services at a high enough price to cover cost to produce.
(2) If your overhead cost are in alignment with the profit received from the sales.
(3) If you are profitable enough to sustain operations, pay shareholders and create equity for reinvestment .
(4) If your cash timing (collections and payments) are in sync and will provide the […]

2017-06-23T16:36:58+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Performance of the business, Recources, Syllabus Topics|

Patent

How not to end up like the fidget spinner inventor (without a patent)

12 June 2017 3:18 PM

Florida-based creator Catherine Hettinger has been credited as the inventor of the fidget spinner.

She has told various publications about how she couldn’t afford to renew the patent on the popular toy because she did not have necessary backing. She created the device nearly 20 years ago.

A crowd funding initiative has now been set up for her.

My advice would be you don’t just knock on the first door and if it is closed you walk away. You have to believe in your product and try as much as possible even if you don’t have the backing of multinationals like Hasbro. — Likonelo Magagula, Head of Intellectual Property at Norton Rose Fulbright. Getting a new invention off the ground is pretty costly, says Magagula.

At the beginning stages you can approach investors, but make sure you have […]

2017-06-23T16:19:57+02:00June 23rd, 2017|Ethics, Marketing, Recources, Syllabus Topics|
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