Listen Up!

Floods in the Kruger National Park but drought in the Karoo – weather problems abound. This week, the formidable duo that is Barnes and Cohen discusses the storms all over the world, including Greenland, which US President Donald Trump wants to, um, “buy”, but the Europeans are having nothing of it – so the USA will tariff them! 6-7 and ho hum. Locally, the prime rate debate is hotting up (but it’s ROA that counts), and markets are cooling down (as value metrics change). By all means, ListenUp! This show airs every Tuesday morning wherever you get your podcasts.

It’s been quite a start to 2026, but what does it mean that the US has abducted the leader of a foreign power? 
What happens to international relations now and what has this got to do with the Peace of Westphalia? 
Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss how the international order has changed - and the local order has not.
Also, is AI investment now in a bubble? 
Listen Up!

Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss the year 2025 - the ups, the downs, and the potholes. It was a bewildering year, which went faster than any previous year.
Well … not really. But I felt like it did.
In South Africa, things actually went a little bit better. In the rest of the world, things didn’t go as badly as many expected at the start.
Will 2026 be different?
The only way to find out is to Listen Up!

The joys and dangers of ambition. South Africans are drowning in debt, but is that due to poor investment decisions or a lack of investment opportunities? Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss whether South Africa should build a very tall skyscraper, reaching for the sky. Like Dubai. Or not. How is it possible that someone can just decide to build a huge city, just go ahead and do it, earn the scorn of millions, yet succeed? Yet, SA can't maintain the tall buildings it already has. Also, the 30% pass mark debate.

International comparisons suggest that South Africans work pretty hard - around 42.2 hours a week on average. That’s higher than Brazil and Mexico, and only a little less than China. It’s about double the total hours put in per week on average in Norway. Amazing. 
But is that the whole story?
Not so much says Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen. It’s like golf - the winner is not the one who does the most work but the least. This … and other bits and pieces of the news this past week. ListenUp!