Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week

In this episode, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago joins Bruce to unpack what he calls a “polycrisis of overlapping shocks”, from the war in Iran to Ukraine’s attack on Russian wheat infrastructure and the looming El Niño threat to South African food prices. His message: South Africa’s starting point this time is fundamentally stronger than in 2022, and that breathing room is why the Reserve Bank can still take measured rather than aggressive steps on rates. Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht speaks about the acquisition of Vida e Caffè, which adds more than 400 coffee stores to a group already operating in pet, liquor, pharmacy, and fashion adjacencies. Sixty60 added R6.6 billion this year and set a new record just yesterday, and Shoprite and Checkers now sit as the top two retailers in South Africa by sales.News24 Business editor Helena Wasserman analyses Woolworths’ food-first CEO, making clear the retailer’s clothing era is over, TFG’s Australian business dragging results down under, Eskom sitting on R125 billion cash after a R30 billion profit, and Sasol’s share price tripling to nearly R200 on the back of surging refining margins. And Peter Armitage of Anchor Capital examines rising bond yields reshaping asset values globally, why AI has increased his costs without yet cutting them, and why the real AI boom right now is actually a construction boom in disguise. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple, and YouTube podcast channels, or catch up on past episodes here. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, MTN CEO Ralph Mupita joins Bruce to unpack a strong set of first-half results driven by Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, with R13.9 billion in dividends repatriated. Mupita addresses the R74 billion trademark lawsuit MTN dismisses as frivolous, the Iran investment it cannot exit because of US sanctions, and what it actually takes to operate profitably across 19 contested African markets. Antoine van Heerden of ButtaNutt tells the story of building a plant-based food empire from a student digs in Stellenbosch, from macadamia butter at weekend markets to 1 500 stores nationwide and a 54% investment from PSG Group. Helena Wasserman, editor of News24 Business, on Northam’s audacious move to put itself on the market, an insider trading probe into trades ahead of the Curro delisting, and OR Tambo’s deepening crisis as air traffic controllers are poached abroad, and a Sasol refinery shutdown threatens jet fuel supply. And David Shapiro of Otto 1890, in his 53rd year in markets, on why Nvidia’s blowout results should silence the sceptics, the two-speed US economy, and why the rand may surprise everyone. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec.To catch every episode, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple, and YouTube podcast channels, or catch up on past episodes here. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, DRDGold CEO Niël Pretorius explains how the company extracts 1.93 grams of gold per tonne of mine-dump material, and why, at $4 000 an ounce, that amounts to R4.2 billion in profit, while simultaneously cleaning up Soweto’s dust problem and reversing a century-long environmental legacy. Bruce McMurray of Jockey South Africa speaks on keeping a 150-year-old underwear brand relevant, why more than 95% of its products are still made locally through a 75-year manufacturing partnership, and what e-commerce is forcing the factory to rethink.News24 Business editor Helena Wasserman discusses the SPAR board chair quitting under pressure from revolting independent retailers, the US debt approaching $40 trillion, and food price inflation at its lowest in 16 years. And Graeme Korner of Korner Perspective explores why the JSE has been a damp squib in 2026, why precious metals are finding their mojo again, and why he thinks the US bond market intervention is a dangerous gamble. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec.To catch every episode, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple, and YouTube podcast channels, or catch up on past episodes here. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, ENS head of forensics practice Steven Powell goes behind the scenes of asset forfeiture, using the Tembisa Hospital scandal to explain what actually happens after the cameras leave and the Lamborghinis have been seized, and why South Africa’s ability to secure convictions amid a Financial Action Task Force review matters more than most people realise. Neil Swart of the Belly Restaurant Group joins Bruce to talk about Buri, the new Cape Town concept built entirely around the boerie roll. Gary Booysen of Rand Swiss speaks on Anthropic’s potential $2 trillion IPO and the Goldman Sachs warning about $1.3 trillion in AI infrastructure commitments quietly sitting off-balance-sheet. And Helena Wasserman reviews gold at a 10-week high, Shoprite’s Sixty60 growing to a third the size of Pick n Pay, and the court ruling that cleared business mogul Patrice Motsepe of a R3 billion claim, just as 37% of South Africans say they want him as their next president. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec.To catch every episode, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple, and YouTube podcast channels, or catch up on past episodes here. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, Nedbank CEO Jason Quinn unpacks flat headline earnings that hide 12% underlying growth, explains the NCBA acquisition in Kenya and what it means for Nedbank’s African ambitions, and reads a South African banking landscape as being disrupted from every direction. Nick Miller of Teach Me 2 and Coachbit tells the story of building a tutoring platform from a UCT engineering dorm to TIME’s global EdTech list, via a Silicon Valley startup that lost to TikTok and taught him everything about digital addiction. Helena Wasserman discusses Glencore’s Iran war windfall, Sasol’s remarkable 75% share price surge and South Africa’s strange new problem of a grid producing too much solar power during the day. And Jean Pierre Verster of Protea Capital Management addresses why Pick'n Pay is still loss-making and tracking behind its own recovery targets, plus the AI memory stock crash that wiped 40% off some of the sector’s biggest names in a single month. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec.To catch every episode, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple, and YouTube podcast channels, or catch up on past episodes here.Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.