economy

What a Blinken idiot…

Friday, 21 January 2022

Let's make one thing clear before I start on my tirade. I love the United States of America. The country embraced me, gave me an education second to none, and the wonderful friendships I made then endure to this day.

If I start going through a list of influential people I can think of that became great because the US gave them a base, I lose track. Ayn Rand, Bob Marley, Stokely Carmichael, Chinua Achebe, Joni Mitchell, Audrey Hepburn, Neil Young, John Lennon, Carlos Santana, Albert Einstein… The US is the only place that could have given us the likes of Steve Jobs and Elon Musk.

Most labour laws are too old for the gig economy

Sunday, 16 January 2022

It's been a while since I made use of any ride hailing service — late 2019 to be exact. That changed in December 2021 when I dropped my mother's car off for a valet service and needed a lift back home. This time around, I used Bolt.

It turned out that my Bolt driver also drives for Uber and for Didi (the newest entry into the Gauteng market). He has three phones — one for each service — and picks up rides on whichever app pops up in turn.

He's very happy with this setup even though the various companies pay different rates at different times.

10 things you need to know about the Vagina Spice

Sunday, 16 January 2022

1. It's the second most expensive spice in the world, hitting a high of $600 per kilogram in 2018 and currently trading at around $567/kg.

It's a gift: Use it, or lose it

Monday, 10 January 2022

Twenty years ago, when I clocked 40, my mother gave me a cheque for R1 000 as a birthday present. I never cashed the cheque because the sentimental value of hanging on to that piece of paper was worth more to me than the pleasure I would have gotten from spending it on my bribes of choice.1

Some thoughts on GDP

Saturday, 22 August 2020

I was asked a question: "Would I be right in saying GDP is not always a good indicator of an economy?"

My response: "GDP is an important piece of a larger puzzle which should never be looked at in isolation."

Here's a brief explainer:

GDP (gross domestic product) is the value of services provided and goods produced in a year.

Smoking killjoys

Thursday, 2 April 2020

In Italy, cigarettes and other tobacco products in that country can only be sold by designated tobacco shops called "tabacchi".

These outlets are ubiquitous and easily recognisable by very distinct blue sign with a large 'T' and the words 'sali tabacchi, valori bollati'.

The "sali" part goes back to days when salt was a government controlled monopoly. That's no longer the case for salt, but tobacco still is.

Day 6: The political game-changer

Wednesday, 1 April 2020

Many people have noticed that the Ramaphosa government has quite efficiently been rolling out water supplies to communities following the declaration of the Covid-19 State of Disaster.

Not only water supplies; provisions for emergency housing in the form of tents or other makeshift shelters as well as increased shelters for potential victims of domestic violence has also swiftly been deployed.

So many of us have been asking, if government was capable of doing this all along, why was this not done earlier?

Day 4: Covid-19 crisis will prove to be the death rattle of the EU

Monday, 30 March 2020

Italy, country of my eldest daughter's birth and home to some of my dearest friends, has borne the brunt of Covid-19 tragedies thus far.

As I write this, 812 people have died in the past 24 hours pushing the death toll to 11 591.

There will be much speculation in the years ahead as to why the virus's impact has been so devastating in that country, but put that aside for now.

Day 3: Check your privilege; seriously

Sunday, 29 March 2020

As pictures roll in from around the country of our urban masses crammed into peri-urban slums (which we sanctimoniously refer to as informal settlements), many of us have taken to sharing sentiments about how privileged we are to be relatively safe within our middle-class and upper-class dwellings.

Privileged? No. At best, we are lucky.

No time for tears

Saturday, 28 March 2020

Edcon CEO Grant Pattison reportedly broke down in tears this week on a conference call to suppliers. "We only have sufficient liquidity to pay salaries... which we deem a priority during these uncertain times."