The delights of the country's rainbow nation are being emulated in fashion as the Mother City readies for the opening of parliament this morning. 6 Feb 2009
First National Bank (FNB) will cut its prime lending rate by 100 basis points from 15% to 14%. The new interest rate will be applicable to all new and existing prime-linked loans, including home loans, from Monday 9 February 2009. 6 Feb 2009
Cape Town's trendy design district, De Waterkant, has a new kid on the block with the arrival of Satori, a contemporary designware store located at The Hudson. Clients can choose from extraordinary items crafted both in South Africa and the East, from ornaments to large sculptures and furniture - picked from the Satori collection or commissioned as a bespoke piece. 6 Feb 2009
Many businesses dutifully collect customer data, just as they've been told to do, but they fail to use that data properly. In this economy, no one can afford to suffer the consequences. Data must be managed properly in order to be put to good use. 6 Feb 2009
Struggling consumers have been granted a reprieve with the announcement of a 100 basis points cut in the repo rate by Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni. 5 Feb 2009
In yet another sign of the worsening global recession, Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic More about Panasonic said Wednesday that it will lay off 15,000 employees, or 5% of its workforce, by March. Half of the job cuts will be made in Japan. 5 Feb 2009
Source: DME
After six successive monthly decreases in the price of petrol, higher international product prices throughout January have pushed local prices up again in February, by around 60c/litre (cpl). Diesel prices, however, have dropped for a seventh consecutive time. 5 Feb 2009
Edcon, SA's largest clothing retail group, said yesterday retail sales increased 9.7% for the quarter to December. 5 Feb 2009
The much-anticipated meeting between Pick n Pay and its suppliers to discuss high food prices took place yesterday, 5 February 2008. While it reportedly turned into something of a "blame game", PnP CEO Nick Badminton said in a statement issued yesterday that it was "a very good start." 5 Feb 2009
Pick n Pay's suppliers — under pressure from the retailer to curb price increases for foodstuffs — yesterday in turn blamed their own suppliers for high prices, suggesting that monopolistic practices were the real culprits behind stubbornly high food prices. 5 Feb 2009
Hurt by weak holiday sales and a slew of charges, video game publisher Electronic Arts posted a wider net loss for its fiscal third quarter and fell short of analysts' expectations Tuesday. 5 Feb 2009
"Understand what keeps the customer up at night." Those words from Bob Regnerus hit at the heart of successful e-commerce transactions. 5 Feb 2009
Not content to essentially dominate online book sales - not to mention a slew of other merchandise categories - Amazon.com launched a new game download service Tuesday. 5 Feb 2009
South Africa's trade deficit has dropped from R88 billion to R64.5 billion, according to the revised South African Revenue Service (SARS) statistics for trade for 2008 released on Wednesday. 5 Feb 2009
South African retailers have adopted a wait-and-see approach regarding their assets in Zimbabwe, several companies said this week. 4 Feb 2009
Mobile phone manufacturer Motorola reported yet another disastrous quarter of financial results Tuesday that sent the struggling company's stock plummeting 11% to US$4.03 per share in mid-day trading. 4 Feb 2009
Shoppers frequenting The Foschini Group (TFG) stores could soon have access to the latest touch screen technology and interactive kiosks to check the status of their accounts and browse the latest clothing ranges. 4 Feb 2009
Retailer New Clicks (NCL) reported on Wednesday, 4 February 2009, that it has cancelled and delisted 21.5 million ordinary shares, but that this would have no financial impact on headline earnings per share. 4 Feb 2009
While marketers have long understood that kids are key influencers in their homes, recently we have seen more clients shifting their efforts back to a mother focus. And we've noticed that mothers' criteria for their kids seem to be shifting from what they were 10 years ago, when Just Kid Inc fielded a global study among mothers of kids ages 2-14. 4 Feb 2009
Recent events have shown just how quickly a recession can come upon us, so it's as well to have a few ideas in the bag so that if and when your company faces problems, you can react positively. 4 Feb 2009
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