Author: Daily Friend
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Ivo Vegter: Why AI job destruction is the ultimate engine of human prosperity
Key topics: AI unlikely to cause mass unemployment, history suggests growth Automation destroys jobs but creates new industries and prosperity Human skills, adaptation, and innovation remain vital in AI era By Ivo Vegter* With every wave of automation, there are those who cry wolf about mass unemployment. Yet it has always been the engine of…
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BN Daybreak – Wed 3 June 2026: US tariffs; SPAR VAT fraud?; Illicit number plates; Banking scams
Listen here Globally, the US proposes major tariffs, and US-Iran peace talks face friction over the conflict in Lebanon. Locally, a Pretoria SPAR store faces severe tax fraud allegations, a Business Day investigation exposes rampant illicit number plate sales in Johannesburg, and an expert shares crucial tips to combat digital banking fraud. Finally, economist Mariana…
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MAILBOX: Why Cape Town voters deserve better from the DA
Key topics: Large Kenilworth pothole to M3 left unattended for 10+ weeks near schools DA accused of Truth Social-style electioneering; misinfo claims by Hill-Lewis Cape Town crime stats under Hill-Lewis spark debate over trends and Cape Flats By Andrew Crawford This article caught my eye. Admittedly one tends to operate from a position of self-interest. I…
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Can the stockmarket swallow Anthropic, SpaceX and OpenAI?
Key topics: Mega IPOs: SpaceX, Anthropic & OpenAI target $200bn+ listings Index funds may absorb shares slowly despite initial trading concerns High valuations and history suggest post-IPO underperformance risk From The Economist, published under licence. The original article can be found on www.economist.com © 2025 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. The Economist They promise to be the…
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Helen Zille: Joburg’s fairytale budget – the madness has to stop now
Key topics: Unfunded Joburg budget hikes tariffs despite bankruptcy warning Budget boosted for wages/deal, while infrastructure spending stagnates National Treasury flags unlawful budget; DA condemns ANC mismanagement By Helen Zille* Last Wednesday, the ANC-led coalition of doom in Johannesburg was meant to table the City’s 2026/27 medium-term budget. Instead, it presented a fairytale – one…
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Joan Swart: SA arms export crisis – Policy silos and lost billions
Key topics: NCACC arms row exposes policy coordination failures Defence exports caught between growth and compliance goals Calls grow for unified defence, trade and foreign policy strategy By Dr Joan Swart* The recent controversy surrounding the National Conventional Arms Control Committee’s (NCACC) reported suspension of certain arms export approvals to the United States and parts…
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Bank fraud: Tricks & tips — as SA banks face competition from newcomers… – Deshnee Govender
Listen here Losses from digital banking fraud in South Africa are estimated to total at least a billion and a half Rand a year. In this interview with Chris Steyn, Governance, Compliance and Risk Expert Deshnee Govender, shares how the sophisticated modus operandi of bank fraudsters fool customers, and she shares tips to avoid being…
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Spar’s VAT scandal: Unpacking the BDO investigation and corporate fallout
Listen here Business Day journalist Nompilo Zulu unpacks allegations of VAT fraud and accounting irregularities at Spar’s Bloed Street Tops store, after a BDO due-diligence report flagged unreliable financials, alleged tax underdeclarations and stock-related concerns. Spar strongly disputes the claims, saying the matter relates to one store and follows a failed bid by businessman Amaan…
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Stephen Roach on BizNews: Reading between China’s red lines on Taiwan
Key topics: Xi warns Taiwan is key red line in US-China relations “Red-line inflation” risks miscommunication and conflict US and China’s vague red lines weaken diplomatic credibility By Stephen S. Roach* NEW HAVEN—Chinese President Xi Jinping sent an unmistakably tough message on Taiwan to US President Donald Trump during their recent summit in Beijing. Xi…
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John Matisonn: SACP hands DA its first township win
Key topics: SACP votes swung Emfuleni ward, giving DA narrow win over ANC. DA faces criticism over Steenhuisen FMD ruling and internal rifts/FF+ Left parties form Council of the Left as ANC alliance weakens. By John Matisonn Amid the blaze of DA self-congratulation at its genuinely historic first victory in an all-township ward in the…
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BN Daybreak – Tue 2 June 2026: Trump Agri Tariffs; Nvidia chips; SA grid success; FMD vaccines
Listen here In today’s BizNews Daybreak: Internationally, President Trump cuts agricultural equipment tariffs, Apple introduces an iPhone bill-splitting feature, and Nvidia debuts a $5 trillion PC AI chip. Locally, Free State’s community grid takeover triumphs, KZN lags behind in foot-and-mouth vaccinations, and analysts unpack the impeachment pressures facing President Ramaphosa. Sign up for your early…
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Johatsu: The secret world of Japan’s disappearing people
Key topics: Thousands of Japanese voluntarily disappear each year. Social pressure, debt and trauma drive many to vanish. Johatsu reveals hidden cracks in modern society. Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. Register here. Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering…
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Rob Hersov: The small municipality that fixed itself — a blueprint to rescue South Africa
Listen here What happens when a community decides it’s had enough of municipal failure? In this compelling conversation, Rob Hersov explains how a small Free State municipality took matters into its own hands, restoring services, managing electricity distribution, collecting revenue, and driving local development. The result is a working model of public-private cooperation that could…
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Sputla wants to treble free basic electricity allowance for SA households
Key topics: Govt reviewing Free Basic Electricity, may raise to 150kWh/month Eskom and experts push higher target (200–350kWh proposed) Mismanagement and theft limit access for eligible households By Myles Illidge Electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa revealed that his department was considering adjusting the Free Basic Electricity (FBE) allocation to 150 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month. Responding to…
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SA deserves a better DA than the one we’re seeing on X
This article was first published by The Common Sense Key topics: DA leaders clash with Groenewald over parolee data claims Allegations of misleading 1991 data on 30k missing parolees Editorial criticises DA/FF+ spat as political point-scoring & distrust By The Editorial Board of The Common Sense Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Geordin Hill-Lewis and senior party adviser…
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Business Day investigation exposes SA’s massive illegal number plate crisis
This article was first published by Business Day Key topics: Black market illegal number plates enable fast cloning, undermine system Fake plates aid crime, complicate policing and vehicle tracking efforts Manufacturers face scrutiny as Competition Commission probes supply chain By Kabelo Khumalo South Africa is facing a new security and law enforcement crisis caused by…
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SA’s industrial slide hits the headlines – Morocco now Africa’s top industrial economy
Key topics: Morocco overtakes South Africa as Africa’s top industrial economy South Africa’s competitiveness hit by power and investment woes AfDB says North and Southern Africa still lead manufacturing output By Ana Monteiro Morocco overtook South Africa as the continent’s most industrialized economy last year as it upgrades its offering, diversifies exports and implements growth policies,…
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The sleep tracker dilemma: Good technology, unintended consequences
Key topics: Sleep trackers widely used, but accuracy vs lab sleep tests varies 6.4–7.8 hours linked to slower brain and body ageing Help improve habits, but can cause anxiety (orthosomnia) From The Economist, published under licence. The original article can be found on www.economist.com © 2025 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. The Economist Nearly half of all…
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Nvidia launches ‘superchip’ to reinvent Windows PCs – big challenge to Apple, Intel
Key topics: Nvidia launches RTX Spark chips for AI-powered PCs New Windows Arm laptops challenge Intel’s PC dominance Dell and Lenovo to debut premium AI-ready devices this fall By Ian King Nvidia Corp. is entering the PC market with a new chip aimed at loosening the stranglehold of Intel Corp. technology in that arena and modernizing…
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Andrew Morphew: Steenhuisen’s “stockpile of vaccines sitting” in State fridges
Listen here Livestock farmers across South Africa remain desperate for the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak to be contained. In his latest interview with Chris Steyn, Andrew Morphew, the spokesperson for FMD Response SA, says: “The Industry Coordinating Council says that 1,3 million doses have been distributed to the province (KZN), whereas just over 600…