First published on my old blog on 14/7/2005. 

Come to think of it, what is it about politics that is so bad for women’s hair? Think about Maggie Thatcher, Hilary Clinton. And now our own Angie Merkel. Not to speak of all those Green female politicians we see on our German TV screens every night. They all have terrible hair.  [Read on]

Investec Asset Management (IAM) has strengthened its currency fund range. Read all about it here.

By actively managing currency, IAM seeks to generate returns of 2-3 percentage points above what investors would receive on money funds – an attractive proposition in this declining interest rate environment.

“Investors who have recently divested a portion of their portfolios and are currently sitting in cash may look to make their money work a little harder by using our GSF Currency Alpha Fund,” said David Aird, managing director for UK distribution at IAM.

A bit of good news: Distell plans to spend millions of pounds on building its cider brand Savanna in Europe. Distell was embroiled for years in a trademark dispute in Europe (or parts of it…not quite sure which countries), which kept it from rolling out this high-potential product here. That problem must have been solved, because since (at the latest) 2008 it’s been ‘all systems go’ for Savanna in Europe. Yummy!

Also look at this report.

Some things never change in the life of Sol.

For one, he has always been a party animal. A habit he still can’t shake – no matter how deep the economic downswing. He’s fresh from his Dubai bash and now he wants to do it again in Cape Town in April.

Secondly, this thing he has about completing building projects ahead of schedule has always fascinated me. It’s always been like that – from the days of Sun City in the 80′s, when he skimmed the tree tops with his helicopter every morning on his way from his home in Johannesburg to Sun City to pressurise builders – to his latest project in Cape Town. I’m sure it has contributed more than just a bit to his heart defects. 

Only things he changed regularly were his women (and his underpants, I hope)!

The problems encountered by Airbus Military with the A400M (it is overweight and lacks carrying capacity), have pushed back the delivery date of the new military aircraft by about three years. This is a double whammy for South Africa, because it is both a client and a supplier of parts to the A400M project. [Read on]

Denel Saab Aerostructures, the Kempton Park-based subsidiary of South African state-owned aerospace and defense manufacturer Denel and Saab AB of Sweden, created in mid-2006 to manufacture aerostructures, landed a nice long-term contract for the supply of composite components, reported Sunherald.com today.

The US company Hitco entered into a long-term strategic agreement with Denel Saab Aerostructures Ltd., a subsidiary of South African and Swedish aerospace manufacturers to collaborate in composite components manufacturing for the Embraer C-390 Military Transport Aircraft.

More about Denel Saab here.

Now, where have I heard this song before? From today’s Wealth Bulletin:

Steve Elliott, chief executive of Rensburg Sheppards, one of the UK’s listed wealth advisers with around £10bn of assets under management, has signalled his interest in making acquisitions. Investec owns 48% of Rensburg Sheppards.

Ahh, here. And then the water got a little choppy.

Lai Kok Fung, CEO of Singapore-based mobile ad company Buzzcity in which MIH holds a 25% stake, had a few very interesting things to say about his business and how it benefits from the MIH investment. This aticle gives some insight into the question sometimes asked by analysts – what does MIH (Naspers) bring to the party when it invests in companies like Nimbuzz, Buzzcity and Tradus (now part of MIH Internet Europe)? This article shows: Quite a lot.

Also read this article on Buzzcity.