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| Texas opens inquiry into Google search rankings |
 | Google Inc.'s methods for recommending websites are being reviewed by Texas' attorney general in an investigation spurred by complaints that the company has abused its power as the Internet's dominant search engine. The antitrust inquiry disclosed by Google late Friday is just the latest sign of the intensifying scrutiny facing the company as it enters its corporate adolescence.
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| Cisco seeking to acquire Skype |
US networking giant Cisco has made an offer to acquire Internet communications firm Skype, technology blog TechCrunch said Monday. TechCrunch, citing what it described as "one of our more reliable sources," said the San Jose, California-based Cisco is seeking to acquire Skype before the Internet telephony company makes an initial public offering or IPO.
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| Retrenchments planned at LaFarge cement |
 | Lafarge Cement plans to lay off more than 13 percent of its employees in Lichtenburg, North West, trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday. In a statement, the union said it had received a Section 189 notice on Tuesday, in which the retrenchments had been announced. According to the notice, the company planned to lay off close to 80 of the 600 employees at the Lichtenburg plant.
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| Vodafone to sell China mobile stake |
British mobile phone giant Vodafone is to sell its shares in China Mobile to raise more than four billion pounds (6.2 billion dollars, 4.9 billion euros), a newspaper reported Sunday. The deal with China Telecom, the world's biggest telecom operator, is expected to be the first in a series of planned sell-offs Vodafone will make in the coming months, according to the Sunday Times.
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| SA economy losing momentum: economist |
 | There is clear evidence that the economy is losing momentum, Standard Chartered Bank economist Razia Khan said on Tuesday. This followed the earlier release of gross domestic product (GDP) figures by Statistics SA. According to the Pretoria-based agency, the country's growth slowed to 3.2 percent in the second quarter of this year, on a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis, from an expansion of 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2010.
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| Board moves to suspend SABC boss |
The SABC board has moved to suspend CEO Solly Mokoetle, it emerged on Tuesday after the Western Cape High Court overruled attempts by Parliament to hold a briefing on the latest trouble at the public broadcaster behind closed doors.
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| PetroSA CEO fired |
 | PetroSA on Monday fired its CEO Sipho Mkhize with immediate effect, the parastatal said in a statement. "The PetroSA Board acknowledges that Mr Mkhize has rights that he may choose to exercise, as a result of the decision against him," it said. "The Board will, in the meantime, continue to provide all necessary support to the PetroSA management in order to ensure minimal disruption to the company's operations."
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| HSBC may acquire controlling stake in Nedbank |
Nedbank Group's majority shareholder, London-listed Old Mutual has received a proposal from HSBC, one of the largest global banking organisations, to acquire a controlling shareholding in Nedbank Group. "Should the proposed transaction go ahead, Nedbank Group will Remain listed on the JSE and the Namibian Stock Exchange," Nedbank said in a statement on Monday.
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| Land Bank has reached new milestone: Gordham |
 | The state-owned Land Bank has reached a new milestone, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Thursday. In a speech prepared for delivery at the launch of the Land Bank’s annual report in Johannesburg, Gordhan said that two years ago, the Bank had been in "a disastrous state." However, through the efforts of the new board, the new CEO and his team, a new milestone had been achieved.
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| Second quarter growth likely to be 'less stellar' |
This year’s second quarter growth is likely to have been less stellar than the 4,6 percent of the first quarter, SA Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Daniel Mminele said on Wednesday. He said the SARB’s latest projections showed economic growth should average around 2,9 percent during 2010, with uncertainties emanating from the global economy posing the main downside risks.
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| A year after bankruptcy, GM plans stock sale |
 | Thirteen months ago, General Motors was fighting for its life in bankruptcy court. Now, the automaker is laying the groundwork to sell stock to the public once again with the eventual goal of ridding itself of government ownership. General Motors Co. filed the first batch of paperwork required to hold an initial public offering of stock late Wednesday.
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| Dell to buy storage provider 3Par for $1.13 billion |
Dell Inc.’s purchase of a storage provider for $1.13 billion marks another step in the personal computer industry’s quest to expand into more profitable businesses. As PC prices have plummeted in recent years, computer manufacturers such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard Co. are moving to meet emerging demand for technology services - hoping they’ll find better profit margins there.
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| Plastic maker to pay R16.5 million fine |
 | Leading plastics manufacturer Safripol has been fined R16.5 million for price fixing with Sasol, the Competition Commission said on Thursday. The sum represented 1.5 percent of the company's total annual turnover derived from polypropylene products, it said in a statement.
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| Zuma son part of ArcelorMittal SA BEE deal |
ArcelorMittal SA has finalised its black economic empowerment deal, in a transaction that will include President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane, the steelmaker said on Tuesday. It would transfer 26 percent of its shares to black investors that included Mabengela Investments, led by Duduzane Zuma, it said in a statement.
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| Aveng to pay R21.9 million fine |
 | Construction group Aveng will pay a fine of R21.9 million following an investigation into anti-competitive practices by the Competition Commission within its roof bolt division Duraset. "Following discussions with the Competition Commission, Aveng has entered into a settlement agreement with the Commission to settle the complaint against Duraset," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
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| ArcelorMittal to buy Imperial Crown Trading |
ArcelorMittal SA has entered into an agreement to buy Imperial Crown Trading for R800 million, the steelmaker said in a statement on Tuesday. Imperial Crown Trading holds a disputed prospecting right -- a 21.4 percent stake in Kumba’s Sishen mine -- formerly held by ArcelorMittal SA.
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| ABSA launches probe into pre-release results |
 | Listed banking group Absa has started a formal investigation into the circumstances that led to its interim results being published one day ahead of the scheduled date, it said on Thursday. The results were published in the Financial Mail on Wednesday August 4. They were meant to be published on Thursday August 5.
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| Google phones unseat BlackBerry as top sellers in US |
NPD Group on Wednesday reported that smartphones running on Google-back Android software unseated BlackBerry devices as top-sellers in the United States during the second quarter of the year. BlackBerry devices made by Canada-based Research In Motion were second with 28 percent while 22 percent of smartphone purchases were iPhones from Apple.
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| World Bank to probe Eskom loan |
 | The inspection panel of the World Bank will probe the $3.75 billion (about R28 billion) loan granted to electricity parastatal Eskom. This followed protests from residents of Lephalale in Limpopo Province about the coal-fired Medupi power station to be built in the area.
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| Valli Moosa to join Sappi board |
Valli Moosa will join the board of global pulp and paper group Sappi as a non-executive director, it was announced on Monday. The appointment would be effective from August 2010, the company said in a statement. This followed the conclusion of Sappi’s R814 million black economic empowerment transaction earlier in 2010. Moosa is currently the chairman of Lereko Investments, Sappi’s strategic black economic empowerment partner.
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| Recovery taking longer than expected |
 | Economic recovery was taking longer than initially expected, the Nedbank Group said on Monday as it released its results for the six months ended June 30, 2010. The group said headline earnings were up 8.3 percent to R2.153 million for the period under review, while diluted headline earnings per share increased 0.2 percent to 475 cents.
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| ArcelorMittal SA reports turnaround |
ArcelorMittal South Africa reported a turnaround on Wednesday as it released its interim financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2010. "It’s pleasing to stand here and say we see a marked departure from what we saw in 2009," CEO Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita told a presentation in Johannesburg following the release of the results.
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| BP replaces CEO Hayward with first ever non-British CEO |
 | American Robert Dudley will become BP PLC’s first ever non-British chief executive, the company said Tuesday as it reported a record quarterly loss and set aside $32.2 billion to cover costs of the devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Ending weeks of speculation, BP confirmed that gaffe-prone Tony Hayward will step down on Oct. 1 as the London-based company seeks to reassure both the public and investors that it is learning lessons from the spill.
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| BP boss could resign within days |
The boss of troubled oil giant BP, Tony Hayward, is poised to quit within days, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported. Hayward, who has been heavily criticised over his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis, is set to step down before BP announces its half-year results Tuesday, the paper said.
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| De Beers CEO resigns |
 | De Beers CEO Gareth Penny has resigned, the diamond miner said in a statement on Friday. "Having led De Beers for the past five years, and after overseeing the response to the global financial crisis and the company’s subsequent recovery, Gareth Penny has advised the board that he believes it is an appropriate time for him to step down."
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