Star 2022-11-28

COAL EXPORTING companies will be counting at least R20 billion in opportunity cost as the two-and-a-half week disruption in Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR) North Corridor has significantly hampered the smooth transportation of their product to international markets. This comes as TFR on Friday lifted the force majeure imposed on its North Corridor export coal line in KwaZulu- Natal, following the derailment of a train pulling 97 fully laden wagons en route to Richards Bay earlier this month. The derailment – which occurred between Bloubank and Nhlazatshe stations, near Ulundi – caused massive damage to infrastructure and rolling stock, necessitating closure of both lines. The recovery operation was also derailed when Transnet withdrew its operational teams from site because of threats to their safety as a result of violent extortion…

Country’s gross domestic product is predicted to grow by a mere 1% in 2023 FORECASTERS and analysts Oxford Economics Africa warn South Africa is likely to record the slowest growth among major African economies next year. According to their Africa 2023 Outlook, released on Friday, South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by a mere 1% next year, while Senegal is anticipated to be the continent's fastest-growing economy with 7% GDP. Senegal is expected to see a marked improvement in growth next year, with the commencement of hydrocarbon exports coinciding with a period of still-elevated international natural gas prices. South African and Angolan economic output was projected to increase by less than 1% over the four-year period between 2019 and 2023, while growth will be more than a fifth…

QUANTAM Food Holdings’ headline earnings per share decreased 73% to 14.1 cents in the year to September 30, despite an 11.5% rise in revenue after the poultry, animal feed and South Africa’s biggest egg producer faced a year of challenges. Revenue rose to R6.02 billion, but operating profit sagged 74% to R37 million. No final dividend was declared. Other listed competitors in the poultry sector have not performed as badly, with RCL Foods’ poultry division reporting a similar rise in revenue, but its earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation increased 214% to R348.6m in the year to June 30. Astral Foods, the largest integrated poultry group in South Africa, lifted revenue 22% and earnings per share by 127% in the year to September 30. Quantum’s revenue…

The behaviour of the global bond market over the past 11 months is testament to the reality that bonds are not risk-free. Quantitative easing by central banks initially caused unpre- cedented windfalls that gave savers a false sense of financial wellbeing. The normalisation of monetary policies and upshot in inflation as a result of supply chain disruptions due to the ripple effects of Covid-19 and the Ukraine/Russia conflict saw the global yield curve, depicted by 10-year government bond yields and corresponding sovereign credit ratings, increase by more than 250 basis points (2.5%) at the high in mid-October since the end of last year. The pain caused by the shift in the yield curve was excruciating for investors, specifically retirees and contributors to retirement savings plans as the capital loss at…

ACCORDING to historical records, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was allowed to introduce a television service in 1971. Officially the State broadcaster launched the service in 1976. In November 2022, the SABC took another major step by launching its streaming service. One seasoned broadcaster said: “it was long overdue”. It comes at a time when the video content space is occupied by private streaming entities. For a very long time, SABC has relied on privately owned platforms to publish its video and audio content. In doing this, SABC has lost a significant amount of revenue in terms of opportunity cost. This technological development at SABC marks a very important transition that will change how South Africans access multimedia content. The public broadcaster has officially joined the streaming club,…

A FEW WEEKS ago I discussed the powerful advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) that enables it to create intricate works of art when a user provides a description in normal English. These instructions can also include a particular style of a well-known artist. The AI will then design the required artwork in the typical style of the stated artist. Obviously artists all over the world were concerned since the creation of remarkable art was now within the reach of any person with a computer and access to the necessary software. Now a group of Google Researchers developed a new AI system that can create natural-sounding speech and music after being prompted with a few seconds of audio. The framework for high-quality audio generation with long-term consistency, called AudioLM, generates true-to-life…