How high can you price your product or service? There is no simple answer. It depends on what you are selling, who your customers are, what your competitors charge and, most importantly, what customers believe your product or service is worth.

Many businesses take a straightforward approach to pricing. They calculate their costs, add a profit margin and then look at what their competitors are charging. If everybody in the neighbourhood charges R500 a day for house-sitting, for example, that becomes the going rate.

But what if your product or service offers something better than the competition? Could you charge more?

This is where pricing becomes interesting, particularly for businesses offering something distinctive rather than a standard product or service.

A conversation about cookware recently got me thinking about this.

Consider a company such as Carol Boyes, which sells designer tableware and other household products at premium prices. Four of its sketchbook-designed plates can cost around R1,500, depending on the range. Customers are paying for more than the basic function of a plate. They are buying the design, the brand and the appeal of owning something distinctive.

Now consider a retailer such as Home Stuff at Ferndale on Republic shopping centre in Randburg. Its range includes Mason Cash mixing bowls from England, Guzzini glassware from Italy, Le Creuset cookware and an extensive selection of Maxwell Williams products.

These are different brands, products and price points, catering to customers with different preferences and budgets.

The examples illustrate why pricing is not simply a matter of calculating costs and adding a profit margin. Some customers want a functional product at a reasonable price. Others are prepared to pay more for design, quality, brand reputation or exclusivity.

Three ways to approach pricing

There are three common approaches to pricing.

Cost-plus pricing means calculating what it costs to produce or supply a product and adding a profit margin. It helps ensure that costs are covered, but it does not necessarily reflect what customers might be prepared to pay.

Competition-based pricing means looking at what other businesses charge for similar products or services. This is useful in markets where customers can easily compare prices, but it can lead to businesses simply copying their competitors.

Value-based pricing takes a different approach. It considers what the product or service is worth to the customer. That value might come from superior quality, convenience, reliability, design, exclusivity or the financial benefits the customer receives.

For a business with a distinctive offering, this last approach is particularly worth considering. A consultant whose advice saves a client a substantial amount of money, for example, may be able to charge a much higher fee than someone offering a more routine service.

The question is whether customers recognise the difference and are willing to pay for it.

What happens if you raise your prices?

Suppose you believe your product is worth more than you are charging. Before increasing the price, you need to consider how customers might respond.

Will they continue buying at the higher price, or will they switch to a competitor? If you sell fewer units, will the additional profit on each sale compensate for the lost volume? Could a price increase improve your profitability, or would it simply make your offering less competitive?

You also need to consider what differentiates your product from the alternatives. If customers cannot see a meaningful difference, persuading them to pay more may be difficult.

And a premium price creates expectations. Customers who pay more will expect the quality, service and overall experience to justify what they spend.

There is no guarantee that increasing prices will improve a business’s financial performance. Equally, keeping prices low simply because that is what competitors do could mean missing an opportunity to earn a better return.

Pricing decisions therefore require research and careful consideration of the market, customer behaviour, costs and potential demand.

If you are contemplating a significant change in your pricing strategy, it may be worth consulting a specialist who understands value-based pricing and can help you assess the opportunities and risks.

The objective is not necessarily to charge the highest price possible. It is to establish whether customers would be willing to pay more for what you offer, and whether doing so would make your business more profitable in the long run.

Editorial Disclosure & Disclaimer

Financial News Daily is an independent business news syndicate and a wholly owned subsidiary of Idea Accelerator. We publish financial, environmental and corporate commentary for digital platforms, media outlets and organisations. Nothing published here constitutes investment, legal or financial advice. All opinions are editorial commentary on matters of public and economic interest.

We don’t cover the property market particularly often, but it is worth looking at what is happening across South Africa. Municipalities in Johannesburg and Cape Town are identifying land for development, while PRASA, the country’s rail operator, is exploring opportunities to develop its property portfolio. The Gautrain’s planned expansion raises another question: what happens to homeowners whose properties stand in the path of new infrastructure?

Behind these developments lies an enormous demand for housing. South Africa needs more affordable homes, but there is also demand for middle-income housing, rental accommodation and retirement properties. The question is not simply how many homes can be built, but where they should be located, who will be able to afford them and what the consequences will be for existing communities.

The pressure to build

The City of Johannesburg’s 2026 Land Assembly Strategy identified approximately 6,427 hectares of council-owned land through an initial screening exercise. This does not mean that all the land is ready for development, but it indicates the scale of the potential resource.

One major project is Southern Farms, a proposed development covering approximately 4,000 hectares in the south of Johannesburg. The scheme is intended to deliver at least 43,000 housing units over about ten years, catering for different income groups and incorporating community facilities and economic activity.

Cape Town is pursuing its own programme. The City has reported that 14 sites have been released, with the potential to provide about 7,000 homes, including affordable and social housing. A further 39 sites are in the pipeline, with a potential yield of approximately 40,000 units.

These are substantial numbers, although potential housing yields should not be confused with homes that are already under construction or ready for occupation. Planning approvals, infrastructure, finance and the economics of individual projects will determine how much of this development eventually materialises.

The underlying need is clear. Many households cannot afford conventional property prices, while rising rents make saving for a deposit increasingly difficult. For first-time buyers, home ownership remains an important aspiration, even if it is becoming harder to achieve.

Public land becomes a development opportunity

Municipalities are increasingly looking to their property portfolios as a means of expanding housing supply and attracting private-sector investment.

The model extends beyond selling land to developers. Projects can combine affordable rental accommodation, social housing, homes for sale, commercial premises and community facilities. Higher-density developments near transport routes and employment centres can also reduce the need for people to travel long distances to work.

PRASA is pursuing opportunities of its own through its property subsidiary, Intersite Asset Investments. Its development pipeline includes residential accommodation, student housing, retail and mixed-use projects around railway stations. The attraction is obvious: land near established transport infrastructure can provide access to commuter markets while helping to bring housing closer to jobs.

But the success of these projects depends on more than the availability of land. Rail operations, security, municipal infrastructure, access roads and the condition of existing facilities can all complicate development.

There is also a question of how these public assets are used and who ultimately benefits. Housing close to transport and employment can be valuable to lower-income households, but the completed properties still have to be affordable to the people they are intended to serve.

The pressure on established communities

Not every proposed development will be welcomed by the people already living in the area.

Along the St James coastline in Cape Town, proposals for multi-storey development on PRASA land have raised concerns about sea views, traffic and the character of the neighbourhood. This stretch of coastline has long been valued for its relatively quiet residential environment, with the mountain limiting opportunities for additional construction.

The area is also an example of how geography and property values complicate the housing debate. Building on steep or constrained land can be expensive, while well-located coastal properties are already beyond the reach of many ordinary buyers.

For residents, the prospect of substantial new developments raises legitimate questions about building heights, traffic capacity, infrastructure and the effect on their surroundings. For developers, the same land represents an opportunity to create additional accommodation in a sought-after location.

The challenge is to reconcile these competing interests. The demand for housing is real, but it does not automatically settle the question of what should be built on a particular site or how a development should be designed.

The Gautrain’s proposed expansion presents a different problem. Where new infrastructure requires existing homes to be acquired, affected homeowners will want fair, market-related compensation and clarity about the process. The public benefit of improved transport does not remove the need to deal properly with the people whose properties are affected.

The economics of owning property

The demand for housing also needs to be considered against the costs of owning and maintaining property.

Home ownership is often seen as a long-term financial goal, particularly by people who have spent years paying rent. Yet some retirees are deliberately choosing to rent rather than own a home. They would rather avoid the maintenance, repairs and administrative responsibilities that come with property ownership.

Coastal properties can be particularly demanding to maintain. Salt air, damp and exposure to the elements take their toll, while rental properties bring the additional risk of damage by tenants.

I recently spoke to someone who had sold a second property in Johannesburg that he had been renting out while living in Cape Town. The annual maintenance costs and the burden of property-related taxes had made the investment increasingly unattractive.

This is an important consideration for anyone assessing the property market. A house is not simply an asset that rises or falls in value. It also carries ongoing costs, and a rental property has to generate enough income to cover those expenses while providing an acceptable return.

Meanwhile, homeowners in ordinary suburbs are finding ways to make their existing properties work harder. Extensions and additions provide accommodation for tenants, generating supplementary income at a time when household budgets are under pressure. This kind of incremental development can add to the housing supply without requiring large new estates.

More homes, but at what cost?

South Africa’s housing needs will continue to create opportunities for municipalities, public agencies and private developers. Affordable housing, rental accommodation and developments near transport routes will remain important parts of the picture. Retirement housing and coastal property will serve different markets, with their own financial and geographical constraints.

But the availability of land is only one part of the equation. Infrastructure, affordability, planning decisions and the interests of existing communities will influence which projects proceed and what they eventually deliver.

The battle over property development is likely to intensify as South Africa struggles to accommodate the housing needs of its citizens. Municipalities face mounting pressure to deliver more homes, while public land is increasingly viewed as a resource that can be unlocked through development and private-sector investment. But questions remain about how that land should be used, who should benefit and how the interests of existing communities should be protected. Expect this to be a hotly debated issue as more projects move from proposals to planning and implementation.

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Editorial Disclosure & Disclaimer

Financial News Daily is an independent business news syndicate and a wholly owned subsidiary of Idea Accelerator. We publish financial, environmental and corporate commentary for digital platforms, media outlets and organisations. Nothing published here constitutes investment, legal or financial advice. All opinions are editorial commentary on matters of public and economic interest.

Food prices are continually on the rise, slowly but relentlessly, affecting everyone, especially the poor, whether they live in rural areas or cities. When the news media publish articles about food prices and surveys, everyone tends to look at food manufacturers and retailers. But one has to look a lot deeper than that to understand the causes of rising food prices. We won’t go into the causes of poverty, because that has very much to do with a government that has ruled for thirty years and made very little inroad into improving the lives of millions of people, and that requires a different type of analysis. Instead, let’s look at the reasons for rising food prices and the costs surrounding them.

If you look at it, you’ll see that the state is a major contributor to rising food prices. The government struggles to keep petroleum prices down while collecting substantial revenue from fuel taxes and levies. Then there is electricity, which has become extraordinarily expensive, despite the fact that South Africa once enjoyed some of the lowest electricity prices in the world. Remember that petrol and electricity are inputs into agriculture, manufacturing, food processing and distribution, so when their costs rise, the increases work their way through the entire supply chain, from the farmer preparing the land and harvesting the crop to the factory processing the food and the retailer putting it on the shelf; farmers are often blamed for rising food prices, but they too have had to contend with higher input costs, while the state has presided over the deterioration of transport infrastructure, ports and railways, adding further costs and inefficiencies to the movement of goods around the country. One cannot look at food prices in isolation. No one can.

Rising labour costs also contribute to food prices. This is a touchy subject, because wages and employment conditions are protected by the state and organised labour, but in a developing country such as South Africa, there is another side to the argument: when minimum wage requirements and other employment costs make it too expensive for businesses to employ additional workers, those who already have jobs may be protected while others are excluded from the opportunity to find employment, leaving more people dependent on social grants or family members to survive. The challenge is to find a balance between protecting workers from exploitation and ensuring that businesses can afford to employ more people, because higher wages for some do not necessarily translate into better living conditions for everyone.

The private sector, meanwhile, has to remain competitive. This is why retailers are sourcing products from international markets in an effort to keep prices down. Some imported products may be inferior to locally manufactured alternatives, but they are cheaper, which makes them attractive to consumers struggling to make ends meet. Their arrival, however, puts additional pressure on local manufacturers, who must compete with imports while trying to contain their own costs by sourcing inputs both locally and internationally. Businesses are operating in a competitive market and have every incentive to keep prices down: they are accountable to shareholders, and if they cannot make a profit, their share prices suffer and their businesses may eventually fail. They cannot sustain losses indefinitely.

Anyone planning a serious review of food prices in South Africa will have to examine all the contributing factors, using researchers who are impartial, non-political and analytical enough to get to the root causes of continuing price increases, rather than relying on anecdotal evidence or listening to politicians standing up and blaming farmers, manufacturers and retailers.

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Editorial Disclosure & Disclaimer

Financial News Daily is an independent business news syndicate and a wholly owned subsidiary of Idea Accelerator. We publish financial, environmental and corporate commentary for digital platforms, media outlets and organisations. Nothing published here constitutes investment, legal or financial advice. All opinions are editorial commentary on matters of public and economic interest.

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While many people in countries like South Africa suffer because of the oil prices, and make no mistake, businesses are feeling the brunt too, as well as those companies with large fleets, farmers who are dependent on oil prices, fuel prices, are under major strain, there are countries and producers that are benefiting from the record high prices.

Because here’s what nobody wants to say out loud when they’re filling up at the pump and watching the numbers spin past the point where they stop being numbers and start being a sick joke—while South Africa gets squeezed, while the small farmer does the maths on diesel and realizes the tractor might as well stay in the shed, while the logistics guy with three trucks and a bond on all of them lies awake wondering which route he can cut, which driver he can let go, which customer he can politely beg for a fuel levy, the people on the other end of that same barrel are having a very different year, because oil doesn’t care about fairness, it just flows to whoever can move it, refine it, or sit on a pipeline that bypasses the very Strait that’s causing the whole mess, and that’s why you get this bizarre 2026 scoreboard where Iran—yes, Iran, the country everyone was told the war was about—ends up with more money, not less, where Oman quietly cashes in because its ports sit outside the Gulf, where Saudi Arabia dusts off the East-West pipeline it built decades ago for exactly this kind of rainy day, where America and Russia and Norway and Brazil and Canada all pick up extra billions while the rest of us are told to carpool and pray for a ceasefire, and where refineries—the middlemen everyone forgets about—laugh all the way to the bank on crack spreads that would make a pirate blush, and none of that changes the fact that the world is still addicted, still drilling, still pretending that solar and wind and hydro are going to save us on a timeline that matches the one in the ground, which is why the real question isn’t who wins this round, it’s what happens when the oil doesn’t just get expensive because somebody closed a strait, but because there’s simply less of it left to go around.

This war with Iran at the beginning of the year seems to have blown up in America’s face because now Iran itself is one of the biggest beneficiaries of high crude oil prices. But there are many other countries that are benefiting, including the United States, Russia, Norway, and a host of Middle East countries. What’s happened is that refineries are booming, achieving record profits, but all over the world countries are suffering because of high oil prices.

We’ve all been told, or we are all aware of, the limited lifespan of fossil fuels. Whether many will see it in their lifetimes is another story, but there have been so many warnings about the need to go on to alternative fuels and use fuels such as solar, wind, hydro. Yet the world’s appetite doesn’t stop. The current oil price crisis is mainly because of a, let’s hope it’s a temporary shutoff of certain oil supplies, but it still goes to show how many countries and their industries are reliant on fossil fuels. It seems the world is getting no nearer to reducing fossil fuel consumption. This is especially so because when the fuel price rockets as it has, everyone is held over a barrel because of crude oil prices. That shows this dependency. It’s like the oxygen for entire economies. The drilling for fossil fuels continues as new oil grounds are found, and it just goes on and on. What happens when oil reserves worldwide start declining? And maybe at a pace more rapid than some people envisage. This is a worrying thought.

And that’s the trap—the ordinary guy with a diesel bakkie, the farmer with a single tractor, the small logistics outfit with three trucks and a bond on all of them—they don’t get a seat at the table where the Strait of Hormuz is discussed, they don’t get a phone call from the oil minister, they don’t get to hedge like Exxon or flip a refinery margin like Valero, they just get the bill, week after week, and the only lever they have is less—less driving, less idling, less planting, less delivering, less hiring, less dreaming—until the geopolitical weather changes, and by then some of them will have already sold the truck, shut the workshop, let the land go fallow, or watched their margins disappear into a fuel tank that never seems to fill the same way twice, which is why the high oil price story isn’t just a market story, it’s a story about who gets to wait and who can’t afford to.

In the meantime, for the average person who fills up their car with diesel or petrol, the small farmer, the small logistics company, there’s nothing that they can do about it except to try use less in whatever way is possible until the geopolitical forces that are dominating and controlling crude oil prices subside. We will continue to all be held over a barrel of crude oil.

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Editorial Disclosure & Disclaimer

Financial News Daily is an independent business news syndicate and a wholly owned subsidiary of Idea Accelerator. We publish financial, environmental and corporate commentary for digital platforms, media outlets and organisations. Nothing published here constitutes investment, legal or financial advice. All opinions are editorial commentary on matters of public and economic interest.

Monday Morning Reckoning

Everybody seems to be talking about how the rising petrol price is hitting household budgets. One man I spoke to said that about five years ago it cost him just over R300 to fill his car’s tank. Now the bill is approaching R900. That’s almost three times as much.

The question is who benefits when oil prices rise so sharply. Oil-producing countries can reap substantial rewards from higher prices, particularly when supplies are constrained. But the picture is more complicated than that: the benefits depend on how much a country produces, how much it exports and what it costs to extract the oil.

The conflict in the Middle East has put the region’s oil supplies and shipping routes under renewed scrutiny. The Strait of Hormuz, in particular, is a critical route for international oil shipments. Any disruption can send prices higher, with consequences for businesses and consumers around the world.

Oil is also becoming an increasingly important geopolitical issue. Reports of Ukrainian attacks on Russian fuel-processing facilities have added another dimension to concerns about the availability of diesel and other petroleum products. The international energy market will remain one to watch this week.

For South Africans, immigration is another issue that has resurfaced. The government has argued that asylum seekers should seek protection in the first safe country they reach. That raises questions about people travelling through other African countries before arriving in South Africa, including those coming from Malawi and elsewhere.

The question is whether the countries through which they travel can reasonably be regarded as safe for them. The circumstances of asylum seekers differ, so the issue is not necessarily as straightforward as it might appear. Nevertheless, immigration policy and border management are likely to remain contentious subjects in the weeks ahead.

Another development to keep an eye on is the health of former president Jacob Zuma, who was reportedly hospitalised last week. The seriousness of his condition was unclear in the information available to me. Speculation about the possibility of his death also raised questions about potential political unrest, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal. Such speculation should be treated cautiously, but the political consequences of a major development involving Zuma are worth bearing in mind.

With those issues on the radar, here is a look at the business news and corporate events to watch during the week beginning 12 October 2026.

South African Business: Results, Dividends and Corporate Developments

JSE corporate calendar

Boxer Retail

Boxer Retail Limited has released its condensed consolidated interim financial results for the 26 weeks ended 30 August 2026, together with a cash dividend declaration. Investors will be looking at trading performance, margins and the company’s outlook for the months ahead.

iOCO

iOCO is expected to release its full-year results for the year ended 31 July 2026, reportedly around 14 October. Management has forecast an increase of between 35% and 40% in net profit after tax. The published results will show how the company performed against that expectation.

South32

South32’s JSE ex-dividend date for its 2026 final dividend is listed as 15 October. Investors should consult the company’s official announcements for the dividend amount and the applicable dates.

Business Events and Networking

The French South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry has listed its Business Wine Club for 15 October, followed by the sixth Annual European Chambers’ Golf Day on 20 October at Randpark Golf Club.

International Developments to Watch

Energy, conflict and air travel

International news coverage is highlighting the effects of geopolitical conflict on commercial aviation and energy markets.

The Wall Street Journal has reported on the risks to air travel as conflict increasingly affects important flight routes. Disruptions to airspace can force airlines to change routes, adding time and cost to journeys while creating further uncertainty for passengers and businesses.

The Financial Times has also reported on European allies’ response to an agreement involving the United States, Russia and diesel supplies. The issue highlights the tension between energy security, international trade and efforts to put economic pressure on Russia.

These developments reinforce the importance of following energy markets alongside geopolitical events. Changes in fuel availability and prices can affect transport, manufacturing and the cost of doing business.

Bond markets and government debt

The 10 October edition of The Economist includes a briefing on the risks facing global bond markets.

Government borrowing and bond yields deserve attention because they influence financing costs across the economy. Countries already carrying substantial debt may face difficult choices if borrowing costs remain elevated, particularly when economic growth is weak.

For businesses, changes in bond yields can affect investment decisions, the cost of capital and the broader economic outlook.

Arts, Fashion and Entertainment

Several events are scheduled for the coming weeks.

• Reel to Reality Film Festival: The festival is scheduled to return to Johannesburg on 18 October, celebrating African storytelling through film.

• Amsterdam Dance Event: South African electronic music artists NAAk and Vumaala are listed to represent the country at the 2026 event.

• Pan Afrikan Design Week: The event is scheduled for 21–24 October at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

• Elie Saab x H&M: The fashion collection is scheduled to launch in South Africa on 22 October.

• South African Fashion Week: The autumn/winter 2027 collections are scheduled to be presented at The Forum at Hyde Park Corner from 21 to 25 October.

The Lighter Side

Two unusual animal encounters have attracted attention online.

In one incident, a penguin was filmed hitching a ride on a swimmer’s bodyboard off the Cape Town coast. The footage prompted speculation about whether the bird was trying to escape a great white shark, although that explanation should not be treated as established fact.

In another incident, a warthog fleeing a leopard in Kruger National Park reportedly collided with a vehicle, briefly knocking itself out and dislodging the bumper before recovering and disappearing into the bush.

Quote of the Week

“The major city in the country needs to be turned around. It has been appallingly managed.”

— Hendrik du Toit, chief executive of Ninety One, commenting on support for a Johannesburg rescue plan.

Johannesburg’s difficulties remain an important issue for businesses and investors.

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Editorial Disclosure & Disclaimer

Financial News Daily is an independent business news syndicate and a wholly owned subsidiary of Idea Accelerator. We publish financial, environmental and corporate commentary for digital platforms, media outlets and organisations. Nothing published here constitutes investment, legal or financial advice. All opinions are editorial commentary on matters of public and economic interest.

When you buy a bottle of wine from a bottle store, do you ever think about wine critics and what they have to say? Probably not.

Perhaps you look at the bottle for little stickers proclaiming awards. But unless you know what those awards represent, they don’t tell you very much. Then there are the round stickers announcing that a wine is particularly good, although they have nothing to do with awards. They can look rather like medals of distinction without actually being awards at all. Can you believe it?

But let’s get on to wine critics.

Where they really matter is in the wine industry itself. I recently heard a winemaker talking about a particular wine farm in the Cape. She said that once the American critic Robert M. Parker Jr. had reviewed the estate’s wines, the farm no longer had to worry about sales. They rocketed.

Of course, getting the attention of a critic of Parker’s standing is no small achievement. His reputation was built over decades, and his verdicts could have a remarkable effect on the fortunes of wine producers. He helped popularise the 100-point scoring system, which became an influential means of evaluating and marketing wine internationally.

Parker retired from The Wine Advocate in 2019, but his influence on the wine trade remains part of its history.

Another name familiar to anyone following international wine criticism is Jancis Robinson, the British wine writer and Financial Times columnist. She is one of the most respected figures in the field. Here in South Africa, British Master of Wine Tim Atkin has become an influential voice through his annual reports on our wine industry. His assessments of local producers attract considerable attention, including from overseas buyers.

South Africa has its own established critics, too. Michael Fridjhon, a veteran wine writer, judge and commentator, has long been a leading authority on the local industry. Christian Eedes, editor of Winemag.co.za, also plays an important role in evaluating South African wines and reporting on the producers behind them.

These are people whose opinions can influence reputations, prices and export sales. Their work matters to wine farms, distributors, retailers and serious collectors.

But how many ordinary wine drinkers follow their recommendations?

For most people, I suspect, choosing wine is a much more personal business. They might discover that they like Chardonnay, for example, find a producer whose wines suit their taste and stick with it. There’s nothing wrong with that. Why change something you enjoy?

Others prefer to experiment. I’m doing that myself at the moment, moving away from the safe and steady Merlot to explore other reds, including Pinot Noir and Syrah. I’ve also worked my way through Pinotage, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.

But experimentation can become an expensive business. At the wine tasting on Wednesday evening, the wines ranged in price from R338 to R413 a bottle. Six bottles at R400 each would cost R2,400 for a case. That’s a considerable sum to spend on wine, particularly if you’re not entirely sure what you’re getting.

At those prices, you really need to know what you’re doing. Or perhaps you need to be prepared to take a chance.

Buying expensive wine is a little like buying a painting. How do you decide what a painting is worth? Is it the quality of the artwork, the reputation of the artist, the period in which it was produced or simply what somebody is prepared to pay for it?

Much the same questions apply to wine. The producer’s reputation, the quality of the vintage, the opinions of critics and the perceived scarcity of a particular bottle can all influence its price. But none of these guarantees that you will enjoy drinking it.

Taste is personal. A wine that earns glowing reviews and a near-perfect score might leave you cold, while a less celebrated bottle could turn out to be just what you wanted.

Wine critics undoubtedly wield considerable influence in the industry. Their opinions can help make or break reputations, open export markets and persuade buyers to pay more for particular wines.

But when it comes to the average wine drinker, many people probably don’t know who these critics are, let alone read their reviews before heading to the bottle store.

Perhaps that’s just as well. After all, we’re the ones who have to drink the wine.

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Editorial Disclosure & Disclaimer

Financial News Daily is an independent business news syndicate and a wholly owned subsidiary of Idea Accelerator. We publish financial, environmental and corporate commentary for digital platforms, media outlets and organisations. Nothing published here constitutes investment, legal or financial advice. All opinions are editorial commentary on matters of public and economic interest.

Wine tastings bring out the real character of the wine tasters. I don’t go to many of these events, but I joined one this week, partly because it was being held in a superb boutique hotel in Claremont, designed in the Cape Dutch style.

The wines on offer came from the coastal regions of the Southern Cape, where cooler conditions provide opportunities for winemakers to experiment with different styles. The evening included a fascinating talk about the winemaker’s discoveries and the techniques used to produce these distinctive coastal wines.

I enjoyed the presentation, but I must confess that I have always been a little suspicious of wine-tasting events. Perhaps it comes from my upbringing, when wine was something to be enjoyed with a meal, rather than an occasion for elaborate descriptions of its virtues. Basic wines were readily available at affordable prices, and you didn’t need to know your tannins from your terpenes to enjoy a glass.

I have also associated wine tastings with a certain amount of snobbery: the knowing nods, the oohs and aahs, and the exclamations about the extraordinary qualities of a particular vintage.

This event, however, was a pleasant surprise. There was little of that pretentiousness. The atmosphere was relaxed and convivial, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves rather than competing to demonstrate their knowledge of wine.

The food was excellent, although I’m not sure it was always the ideal match for the wines. But when the food is that good, does it really matter? Sometimes a superb meal deserves to be enjoyed on its own merits, without worrying too much about whether the wine complements every mouthful.

After the guests had tasted the four wines and the evening’s talk had ended, another aspect of the occasion began to emerge. Some of the guests had clearly enjoyed the wine rather more enthusiastically than others.

You could spot them as they got up from their tables. There was the occasional slur, a little hovering for balance, and the odd unsteady step. I wouldn’t say anyone was completely smashed, but a few people were, to put it politely, no longer quite their normal selves.

Later, I heard that some husbands and wives had become irritated with their partners over their behaviour. It seems that even a sophisticated wine-tasting event can produce a domestic disagreement or two.

In simpler terms, some guests had indulged a little too freely in Bacchus’s bounty.

I was also drawn into a conversation with some rather tipsy ladies who were making elaborate plans and arrangements. They were wonderfully enthusiastic about their ideas, although I suspect that some of those grand schemes would never see the light of day. Alcohol has a way of making the improbable seem entirely practical at the time. By the following morning, the enthusiasm may have evaporated along with the headache.

There is, of course, a practical lesson here, particularly for anyone attending a wine tasting without a partner or friend who can drive them home.

Take small sips. You don’t have to finish every glass.

I have never quite understood the urge to drink an entire tasting glass of wine. Even if the initial pour is relatively modest, three or four glasses soon add up. And when the formal tasting is over and wine continues to flow freely, the temptation to have another glass can be difficult to resist.

Free wine may seem like an attractive bonus, but it is worth remembering that it isn’t entirely free. Eventually, you may pay for it in ways that have little to do with money.

The evening left me with two quite different impressions. The winemaker’s presentation had offered an insight into the character and flavour profiles of the wines. The guests, meanwhile, provided an equally revealing demonstration of human character.

Perhaps that is another benefit of wine tastings. You go along to discover what makes a particular wine special, but if you watch closely enough, you may discover rather more about the people drinking it.

And unlike the wine, human character doesn’t always improve with a little more exposure.

Something I had never given much thought to caught my eye: an article by an American lawyer making the case for taking economic espionage seriously. It’s difficult to get one’s head around companies spying on each other to gain a competitive advantage, sometimes with the backing of a state. If you want to read the article in Foreign Affairs magazine, the link is at the end of this article.

What do we know about commercial espionage? It happens behind the scenes, so successfully hidden that cases are rarely discovered, let alone reported. Companies operate in secrecy as a matter of course because of competition. But competition can be so fierce that confidential information becomes extremely valuable. The theft of trade secrets, product designs or manufacturing processes can cause substantial financial damage.

Corporate or commercial espionage occurs in the world’s largest economies, including the US, China and Russia. But what about smaller economies such as South Africa?

Unless you’re involved in intelligence work or happen to know of specific cases, it’s difficult to establish the extent of commercial or industrial espionage here. Fraud, cybercrime, BEE fronting and the looting of government and municipal funds and property make the headlines, and some cases end up in court. But search for industrial and commercial espionage and the trail becomes much harder to follow.

One of the more striking South African examples involves the illegal cigarette trade. Investigative reporting has uncovered substantial evidence of surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations involving British American Tobacco and its contractors, allegedly targeting competitors. The case illustrates how far commercial rivalry can extend beyond ordinary competition.

Information can also be passed to a new employer by former employees. But not every instance of confidential information changing hands amounts to industrial espionage, and the value of such information can diminish as markets change and competitors develop new strategies. The more valuable targets may be technical knowledge, research, production methods or other closely guarded information that gives a company a lasting advantage.

Then there is the possibility of artificial intelligence being used specifically and surreptitiously to obtain commercially sensitive information.

Such information could include proprietary technology, supply-chain data, industrial capacity and financing arrangements. AI could potentially help identify valuable targets, analyse stolen material or automate the collection of information on a scale that would previously have required considerable human effort. It is also conceivable that purpose-built AI systems could be developed for espionage, crossing legal and ethical boundaries.

The implications for businesses are serious. Companies could face growing costs as they try to protect confidential information through cybersecurity measures, access controls and other defences. And if AI makes it easier to identify and exploit vulnerabilities, conventional protection may not be enough.

This is a potential future threat rather than proof that AI espionage has already become widespread. But it raises questions about how companies will protect their most valuable information as the technology develops.

It could all end in something far removed from a John le Carré spy novel, with its agents tracking state secrets across borders. The intrigue of corporate espionage in the age of AI could be far more fascinating.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/case-economic-espionage-david-cohen

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There is nothing quite like the price of petrol to bring an economic crisis down to ground level.

You can read about crude oil, the rand, inflation and turmoil in the Middle East. But then you fill your car and suddenly the crisis becomes very personal.

I live in the deep south of Cape Town, and the rising cost of fuel has changed the way I use my car. Trips into the city have been cut to a bare minimum. When I do go, I combine as many purposes as possible. Shopping, appointments and other errands have to fit into the same journey.

People I speak to are doing much the same. Think of the average sales representative whose livelihood depends on visiting customers. Calls have to be planned and bunched together geographically. Some visits will inevitably be postponed or replaced by telephone calls or online meetings.

That is how a fuel shock works its way through an economy: thousands of small decisions resulting in fewer journeys, fewer purchases, fewer sales calls and less demand.

But there is a bigger question. Why is South Africa so vulnerable to an external shock that it cannot control?

The country cannot control wars in the Middle East or the international price of crude oil. But it can decide how well prepared it is for them.

The fuel crisis exposes a deeper problem. South Africa has lost much of its refining capacity and is heavily dependent on imported petroleum products. The country has also had a remarkable history with strategic fuel stocks.

In 2015, about 10 million barrels of South Africa’s strategic crude reserves were sold. The oil was stored in enormous underground tanks at Saldanha Bay. The transaction was subsequently set aside by the High Court.

I was once shown those tanks. It was difficult not to think about what they represented: a strategic reserve held precisely because a country might one day face an international energy crisis.

Yet the oil was sold.

Now, in the middle of another international energy crisis, government is talking about rebuilding strategic stocks, with a proposed reserve equivalent to 60 days of net imports, eventually rising to 90 days.

There is another question motorists are entitled to ask: what happens to all the money collected through fuel taxes?

The 2026 Budget expects about R104 billion in fuel-levy revenue. Nobody disputes that the government needs revenue. But when motorists are being hammered by an external shock, and trust in government is already weak, it is reasonable to ask how much of that revenue is being used to build the resilience needed to protect the economy from the next shock.

I also remember last year’s fuel-price increase as South Africans were preparing for the December-January holiday period. It made me wonder about the timing. Was it simply the international pricing formula at work? Or does the system inevitably allow government to collect more revenue when millions of people are committed to travelling and cannot easily cancel their plans?

I don’t know the answer. But these are questions people will ask.

Perhaps the most important point is that the problem is not simply the fuel-price increase. It is South Africa’s ability to absorb repeated financial shocks.

Nobody expects South Africa to control the price of crude oil. But we should expect a country to prepare for the shocks it knows will come. Because there will be another one.

The question is whether South Africa will be ready — or whether we will once again simply pay the price at the petrol pump.

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Editorial Disclosure & Disclaimer

Financial News Daily is an independent business news syndicate. We publish financial, environmental and corporate commentary for digital platforms, media outlets and organisations. Nothing published here constitutes investment, legal or financial advice. All opinions are editorial commentary on matters of public and economic interest.

It is terrifying the lengths to which human behaviour can go.

When corruption reaches the levels it has reached over the years in Johannesburg, all the normal decencies of public life become corrupted. It becomes a story of corruption leading to crime, and crime leading to profiteering.

A new report has described how the deliberate sabotage of infrastructure can create opportunities for tenders and business for those operating within criminal syndicates. If that is what is happening, it represents something considerably worse than simple incompetence. The destruction of public infrastructure becomes a business model.

It has reached pathetic levels when people start extolling the virtues of new street names. That is what citizens are left with: the crumbs from the city, while corruption allegedly continues to line the pockets of those involved in criminal activity.

A good few years ago, there were huge outdoor posters proclaiming Johannesburg to be a “world-class African city”.

Well, someone with a jaundiced view might say that was very true. Not world-class, perhaps, but certainly an African city.

Yet there are still people who want Johannesburg to become something different from what it has become and what it was. Whether they want it flattened or turned into giant slums is another matter. Does anybody really want to live in conditions like that?

And yet, as W. B. Yeats wrote in The Second Coming: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.”

In Johannesburg, however, the centre has held.

There is still a centre to Johannesburg. It continues despite everything falling apart around it. Businesses operate. People go to work. Shops open. Life continues. That may be one of the city’s most remarkable characteristics: its ability to survive the politicians and criminals who have done so much damage to it.

The terrifying question is what happens after the November 2026 municipal election.

South Africa’s municipal electoral system is not the same as Britain’s first-past-the-post system. In very simple terms, South African voters elect ward councillors while also voting for political parties, with proportional representation helping to determine the overall composition of the council.

That system is designed to ensure that different political groupings receive representation broadly in proportion to their support.

In theory, this is a strength. In Johannesburg, however, the political arithmetic has become extraordinarily complicated. Coalition governments have brought negotiations, defections, shifting alliances and struggles for control.

And where there is great political power, there can be great incentives for corruption.

Bribes have allegedly been passed. Councillors have been attacked. Political battles have become matters of considerable personal consequence. This is not simply a game of political chess played by people moving pieces across a board according to some grand strategy.

The stakes are much higher than that.

This brings to mind Niccolò Machiavelli, the 16th-century political thinker whose name has become synonymous with ruthless political calculation. His central insight was that political power does not necessarily operate according to conventional morality. Those who want to change an established order face resistance from those who benefit from it.

That observation has a particular resonance in Johannesburg.

There are many people who will be hoping that the November election produces a better city. But disappointment has followed disappointment, and it is difficult to see how deeply entrenched corruption can simply be removed by changing the names of the people sitting around the council table.

Even if those responsible for much of what has gone wrong are defeated at the polls, the networks and interests that have developed around the city’s decline will not necessarily disappear with them.

That is the real danger.

Johannesburg does not merely have a political problem. It has a system of interests that has grown around failure.

And systems like that are very difficult to dismantle.

Source: Centre for Development and Enterprise, Time for Action – Corruption in Joburg, the fifth report in its Johannesburg Matters series, released on 6 October 2026.

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Editorial Disclosure & Disclaimer

Financial News Daily is an independent business news syndicate. We publish financial, environmental and corporate commentary for digital platforms, media outlets and organisations. Nothing published here constitutes investment, legal or financial advice. All opinions are editorial commentary on matters of public and economic interest.