Click here to read or make comments on this topic »
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
BRIAN Towanda sits with his wife on a sofa counting down the days to January 15 -- the day his spouse's gynaecologist said she would deliver their first child.
AT LEAST four out of 10 undersea telecoms cables supposed to be heading for Africa will probably never materialise, according to analysts from AfricaNext Investment Research.
MANUFACTURING output dived 4,4% in November, the biggest annual fall in more than nine years, adding to evidence that the economy's second-biggest sector is in recession.
Crude oil production in Angola, last year, was set at 695,707 million barrels, Angop learnt on Friday here from the minister of Oil, Botelho de Vasconcelos, while speaking at the new-year greetings ceremony that gathered officials of oil companies working in the country.
The authorities in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado have fined four timber companies a total of 783,974 meticais (about 31,000 US dollars) for attempted illegal export of logs.
SEVERAL banks have opened the new year under severe stress amid reports of numerous branch closures and job cuts reportedly triggered by the near full-dollarisation of the bartered economy.
THE impasse on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) has spilled into 2009 with stockbrokers now advocating for the local bourse to be dollarised as investigations of alleged insider trading continue.
MINEWORKERS have threatened to down tools should they receive their next salary in local currency, a development that could aggravate the crisis in the country's major foreign currency earner.
SA's gold and foreign exchange reserves rose 2,7% last month, boosted mainly by the effect of higher gold prices and weakness in the dollar, official data showed yesterday.
ALTECH was vilified yesterday for conducting a highly disruptive but ultimately aborted campaign to derail a merger of two other companies in a move wasting it millions of rands and likely to cost it millions more.
RETAILERS Pick n Pay and Massmart yesterday issued separate upbeat trading updates, with Pick n Pay saying it had been amazed at the resilience of cash-strapped customers who splurged on quality electronic gifts and food.
THE African National Congress (ANC) aims to get tough on the "problem of labour broking".
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released figures for the country's gold output in November showing that production for the year to end-November reached 246.51 tonnes - up only 2.14 percent from the figure for the first 11 months of 2008 - the year in which China's gold production exceeded that of South Africa for the first time, making it the world's top producer.
THE stiffest challenge the Zimbabwean government will face this year is achieving the main objective of "restoration of economic stability and growth" in an economy which has shrunk by 60% within a decade.
MONEY stands out as one of the most ancient inventions in the history of mankind.
Capricorn Investment Holdings (CIH), the parent company of Bank Windhoek, has made inroads into the Zambian financial services sector through an acquisition in Cavemont Capital Bank Ltd, also known as Cavemont Bank. In 2006, Capricorn kick-started its bold expansion plans by acquiring a substantial shareholding in Botswana's Bank Gaborone.
South Africa's biggest bank, Absa which had indicated that it will open its first commercial branch in Namibia by March 2009, is now reviewing its strategy for entering into the local banking sector.Absa was awarded a banking license by the Bank of Namibia in October and is expected to start operating in March.
Authorities in Cape Town have arrested hundreds and fined more than 14 000 people for traffic law violations since the start of December.
Progress with the government's plan to save energy through a mass roll-out of one million solar water heaters over three years has been dismal, with only several hundred having been installed 10 months into the project.
Three major events are expected to be held at the Green Point Stadium early next year as a test ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
THE world economy is faced with the gravest financial turmoil since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Commentators suggest SA may be less severely affected than her major trading partners, yet this optimism should be treated with caution. We may not face a financial crisis, but our economic woes run deep.
SECURITY company Identiguard International has laid charges of perjury and obstructing the course of justice against Metorex CE Charles Needham in another attempt to persuade Metorex to pay a debt owed to Identiguard by the government of the Democratic Republic
WORLD markets fell sharply yesterday as a fresh wave of profit warnings and job cuts turned investor sentiment negative just days after a New Year rally gave hope that the worst was over.
BANKS are in for another bumpy ride this year, as bad debts brought on by high interest rates over the past couple of years and a difficult trading environment erode their profits.
BUS operator SA Roadlink said yesterday that it was assessing the effect of KwaZulu-Natal transport MEC Bheki Cele's attempt to ban the company from the province after a fatal accident last month.
Active Discussions: Southern Africa Business