Standard Bank just had its best six months ever, and shareholders are getting paid
Africa's biggest bank grew profit to a record R26.1 billion and lifted its dividend 10%, as fewer bad loans and busier trading desks did the heavy lifting.
Business Bagel News
Daily news from the Business Bagel desk — the markets, money and company stories shaping South Africa, reported fast and kept clear.
Gold's record run hands Gold Fields a bumper first half
Higher output and a record gold price are set to push Gold Fields' half-year earnings up as much as 90%, with free cash flow more than doubling.
Platinum's turn: Northam's earnings jump nearly eightfold, and it lifts the dividend floor
A 57% surge in the rand PGM price drove record revenue, profit and earnings, and Northam is now returning more cash to shareholders.
MTN just posted its best African run in years, so why did R22.55bn vanish?
A single writedown on MTN's stranded Iran stake dragged reported profit down and knocked the share nearly 6%, even as its core markets boomed.
Big story
Varsity College's owner is building the campuses the state can't, and cashing in
Advtech guided half-year earnings up to 18% higher as it opens new campuses in Sandton and Gqeberha, with Durban next.
The JSE-listed landlord quietly winning in Spain
Lighthouse Properties lifted half-year earnings almost 10% as recent Spanish mall buys fed through, and raised its dividend outlook.
Google's Gemini joins the billion-user club, drawing level with ChatGPT
Gemini has passed a billion monthly users, Google's fastest climb yet, as AI assistants reach a scale once reserved for the biggest internet platforms.
The cheapest Uber is going away: UberX bows out in South Africa on 1 September
The budget ride that put Uber on local roads in 2014 is being retired as the app trims its menu and the low-cost fight with Bolt and InDrive heats up.
Shoprite opened more stores last year than Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Spar combined
While much of SA retail trod water, the Checkers owner added a net 262 stores and guided full-year earnings up to 14.7% higher.
Meta's new AI model is small enough to run on your laptop
Alongside a 6,500-word manifesto from Mark Zuckerberg, Meta released Muse Glimmer — a model built to put an AI agent on your own machine.
Nedbank is about to debit some customers for fees it forgot to charge
A billing glitch undercharged certain debit-order fees between February and May. On 17 August, the bank claws back the difference.
Editor’s pick
Tiny trades, big profits: the trick the FSCA is now chasing
South Africa's market watchdog has three live investigations into a scheme that moves a sleepy share to cash a much bigger side bet.