Young South Africans really do want to save. Life keeps getting in the way
A new Old Mutual study finds nine in ten young workers have savings goals, but rising costs mean far fewer are actually putting money away.
Business Bagel News
Daily news from the Business Bagel desk — the markets, money and company stories shaping South Africa, reported fast and kept clear.
Old Mutual is back in Zimbabwe, and this time it's counting in dollars
Six years after its shares were frozen, the insurer is moving its Zimbabwe listing to a young, dollar-only exchange, betting the currency risk is finally worth shedding.
Editor’s pick
Why South Africa wants to stockpile oil again, for the first time since apartheid
A new draft plan would rebuild the country's emergency fuel reserves to 60 days' worth, after years of running them down left barely two weeks in the tank.
A tax court unpicked Stor-Age's clever 2017 deal, and dealmakers are paying attention
A judge found the structure Stor-Age used to buy a rival was really a share sale dressed up to cut tax, in a ruling lawyers say could reshape how mergers are taxed.
Big story
Treasury freezes R13.5bn — and starts paying municipal creditors directly
National Treasury has withheld July's equitable share from 69 municipalities and will route the money straight to Eskom, water boards and pension funds, as Nelson Mandela Bay's business chamber warns of damage to investor confidence.
SA drafts fuel-rationing rules and orders oil firms to hold 14 days of stock
A draft policy now out for comment would force fuel manufacturers and wholesalers to hold 14 days of refined stock, put 90 days of crude in state hands at Saldanha, and spell out when the minister can declare a fuel emergency and start rationing.
Big story
Absa's big-bank dream meets a market that's selling
CEO Kenny Fihla wants to build "the J.P. Morgan of Africa," but investors have knocked about 10% off Absa this year.
Editor’s pick
SA construction is earning more but mattering less
New Stats SA figures show a R605bn industry that keeps shrinking as a share of the economy.
Apple takes OpenAI to court over its unreleased hardware
The iPhone maker says former staff carried its secrets to OpenAI, and that the AI firm's new device is built on them.
Edgars is opening 50 stores by first getting smaller
Six years after its parent collapsed, the 97-year-old retailer is expanding again on a shrink-to-grow plan.
Aspen changes its chair as a weight-loss goldrush looms
Kuseni Dlamini is stepping down after 14 years, handing a now debt-free Aspen to banker Ben Kruger.
Telkom bets R100m on building AI skills, not just networks
The telecoms group is setting up an AI institute to train South Africans, though key details are still missing.