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Home ownership

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Tuesday, 17 January 2012 08:04

PropertyOwning a home more affordable

House prices and interest rates have fallen to such a great extent, that the monthly cost of owning a home is now more affordable than at any other point in the past 15 years and less expensive in terms of cash flow than renting in a number of South Arican suburbs. It is not fully reflected in market activity yet, but it is a better time to buy than it has been for some time, according to experts like Auction Alliance CEO Rael Levitt.

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Master of the Merger

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Thursday, 12 January 2012 10:37

2009_212_opt2.1Exclusive interview with MMI chief executive officer, Nicolaas Kruger

Born from the merger of Metropolitan and Momentum, powerhouse insurance company, MMI Holdings – listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange at the end of 2010 – is showing no ill-effects from the union. It is boasting above-inflationary results, with the group’s value of new business up by 35% to R632 million, while its new business annual premium equivalent was 15% higher at R5.8 billion, and core headline earnings increased by 12% to R2.6bn.

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Bridging the gap

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Thursday, 12 January 2012 10:23

Hope for the unbankable

For the majority of South Africans, accessing finance through registered financial institutions is impossible. This is because most South Africans are unable to meet the criteria to qualify for credit. Historically, loan sharks (called mashonisas in Zulu) have been the only option for the unbankable.

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The Gentlemen’s Club

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Thursday, 12 January 2012 09:59

IMG_1627b_opt2.1Jaguar XJ

The Jaguar XJ has been an iconic executive brand for over 43 years, starting with the grunty Series One that boasted the trademark V8 symphony. Jag’s latest offering is vastly different from the analogue battleship of old. Blue Chip recently tested the pimped-up luxury 5.0-litre V8 that absolutely goes like the clappers (0 to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds), with an attractive space-aged interior resembling the Starship Enterprise.

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Climate adaptation

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Tuesday, 10 January 2012 12:57

Paul_Clements-HuntClimate change driving up insurance risk

During December at COP 17 in Durban the insurance industry warned that certain impacts of climate change have become unavoidable, and that there is an urgent need to adapt to them. A just released report by the world’s largest re-insurer indicates that 2011 was the highest insurance claim-year for natural disasters in history to date – some $4 billion more than the previous record year of 2005 in the wake of the Katrina cyclone disaster in New Orleans.

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