Activist Investors: Locusts or creators of value?When the CEO’s of the big three U.S. auto makers arrived in Washington in February, hats in hand and looking for a government bailout, they arrived in three separate corporate jets. The uproar over this extravagance at a time of crisis, for both the companies and the global financial system, led Barrack Obama to move more quickly and brutally than any hedge fund to remove Rick Wagoner as the boss of General Motors. A History of Money: From Quantitative Easing to Quantitative Weeping A brief history of money, as narrated by Nicholas van der Meer.The United States of AfricaCould Muammar Gaddafi’s recent controversial proposal to form the United States of Africa actually work?

Nicholas van der Meer explores the potential economic benefits and challenges for the continent, and what it means for the investor today.

Daily Equity Report

Ultra low interest ratesFri, 20 Nov - 17:27
In his latest missive, Pimco boss, Bill Gross bemoans the 0,01% per annum that US money market funds are paying investors. With over $4 trillion sitting in money market funds, there are many investors that are basically receiving zero percent ...

The 6 things you should teach your children (or spouse, friends, yourself) about wealthLearning to save is probably the most important thing you can teach your child about wealth. It is not only prudent to put something away for a ‘rainy day’, but it also encourages children to save for a large costly item instead of buying it on credit.Biases and Rules of Thumb – Mental Pitfalls that Trap the Best of Us One of the biases that severely affect our ability to make rational predictions and decisions is known as “anchoring”: the tendency of human beings to focus too heavily on a single piece of information when making forecasts. Research has shown that this tendency can have powerful and often damaging effects on our investment decisions.Political ViewsThinking South Africans have been divided over Malema’s role in South African politics. Some feel he is an irritant who should not be taken seriously. Others feel that he represents the views of ordinary people, views that other leaders know about but find difficult to express.How Big is Your Investment in the Ultimate Currency? The developed countries of the world are facing a disturbing paradox: as levels of prosperity rise, levels of misery are rising even faster. Tal Ben-Shahar, a young Israeli psychologist who teaches the most popular course at Harvard University, believes we err by chasing wealth. We should instead be focusing on what he calls the “ultimate currency”...Inflation 101 – A Guide for the Perplexed In the long run, inflation is essentially a monetary phenomenon. It occurs if the amount of money circulating in the economy grows faster than the gross domestic product...PoliticalViewsLess than six months into Jacob Zuma's presidency and already the cracks are showing in the ANC-led alliance, which include the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP).The Shape of the RecoveryWhile economists and other commentators agree that a global recovery has started (i.e. output has stopped shrinking), they remain divided on what shape the recovery will take. The debate centres around three scenarios: “V”, “U” and “W”.Supersized HealthcareLet’s hope that South Africa’s newly appointed health minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has been paying close attention to the healthcare debate currently raging on in the United States. South Africa could do well to learn some cheap lessons on how to best provide healthcare equitably and efficiently.The Economics of Happiness Few would dispute the fact that recent decades have seen a huge increase in consumerism in most of the world’s developed countries. And why not? It’s good for the economy, and we’ve even come to believe that it’s good for us as individuals...Introducing....Sharenet MobileLive share prices or indices sent to your cell phone. Besides offering monthly subscriptions for JSE data, Sharenet also offers a ‘pay-as-you-use’ option, where you can have information sent to your cell phone via SMS, anywhere in South Africa. Is the Curtain Coming Down on Shareholder Value Maximisation? The seeds of the financial crash have been raked over in countless articles and are generally well known by now. What is not as well known is that many commentators are now singling out another factor: the concept of shareholder value maximisation.5 minutes with Issy BacherDr. Issy Bacher turned his attention to the stock markets back in 1982. After discovering “on balance volume” theory, he developed technical analysis software that could predict cyclical highs and lows. Not long after, Cycle Trends was born. Market Views interviews the man behind the programme. Learn to earn on the stock exchangeIf you want to begin trading on the JSE and are looking for guidance, or you want to brush up on your stock exchange knowledge, Sharenet College offers a 27-module Stock Exchange Course that equips you with the relevant skills and information to help you navigate the equity markets and make wise investment decisions. Quickstream: Keeping an eagle eye on your portfolioIf you like to keep your finger on the pulse of the stock market, Quickstream may be just the programme for you. With a customised view of your portfolio, you can put through a trade and watch movements in your share picks as they unfold. Share Market Indices - An ExplanationA share market index is intended to give investors an idea of the overall movement in prices of a group of shares. An index can literally include all of the shares traded on a stock exchange (e.g. such as the JSE Allshare Index), or can represent a selection of just some of the shares (e.g. the JSE Top40 index). Charles Petit discusses what share market indices are all about...

Introducing…MarketTrackerUsed by trusted corporates such as Allan Gray, Sanlam and RMB Cape Town, MarketTracker is a software package that helps to keep track of developments on the stock exchange as well as group information on a particular share selection or personal share picks.Take your first step into the exciting world of trading with Sharenet's Stock Exchange course.Its never been more important to make wise investment decisions than in the current market environment. Sharenet's Stock Exchange course covers all the basics and includes all the tools you need to become the best investor you can be...

Firestone/Sekoko Joint Venture Acquires Surface Rights on Smitspan FarmThe Firestone Energy Ltd (FSE)/Sekoko Resources Joint Venture (JV) has entered into an irrevocable agreement with the owner of Smitspan to acquire the surface rights of the Smitspan farm…Murray & Roberts - Appointment Of Executive DirectorMurray & Roberts is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Orrie Fenn as an executive director with effect from 20 November 2009.Clicks Group Limited - Partial delisting of sharesOn 19 November 2009, Clicks Group canceled and de-listed 27 367 849 ordinary shares. These shares were bought back as part of a general repurchase by a subsidiary company in terms of the general authority to repurchase shares approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meetings held in January 2006 to 2009.Simmers - Interim Results For The Six Months And Quarter Ended 30 September 2009Commenting on the results Simmers CEO Gordon Miller said: "The first six months of the 2010 financial year from 1 April 2009 to 30 September 2009 were characterised by further dramatic increases in the costs of power and mining consumables and a volatile gold price…”The period under review witnessed significant changes in the macro and micro economic environment in particular the introduction of the multicurrency system.

Political and economic stability followed the formation of the inclusive Government and this boosted the business climate in Zimbabwe.

While generally welcome, the dollarisation of the economy resulted in liquidity challenges for most industries. The demand for coal and coke was therefore adversely affected.