PwC's dramatic Steinhoff report; The despairing Deutsche/Commerzbank merger; the dark truth of the crash black-boxes

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [FIRST THING With John Stupart]( Monday, 18 March 2019 "The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design." Friedrich August von Hayek Welcome to Business Maverick Welcome to the beta version of the daily newsletter of Business Maverick! We promise to provide you with a snapshot of the most interesting local and global business events, setting you off on your business day with a jolt of information and the soothing knowledge that the bases are covered. Like a freshly baked croissant to a cappuccino, Business Maverick and First Thing newsletters make the perfect start to the morning. If you have a minute or two, please do [give us feedback]( on what you would like to see more of - or less of, and what you enjoyed. Tim Cohen, Editor: Business Maverick Story of the Day [How Steinhoff juggled the numbers]( By Tim Cohen Following the delivery of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report into Steinhoff, the full impact of the apparent fraud is just beginning to sink in, and even for those expecting the worst, it’s gobsmacking. According to PwC, between 2009 and 2016, the company apparently created fictitious profit-boosting schemes totalling R106bn, which is just under three times the net profit of the company over that period. [Advertisement] ON THE MONEY What Happened On The Markets All Share - 56040.21 (0.00%) JSE Top 40 - 49684.03 (0.00%) Dollar/Rand 14.43 (0.16%) Pound/Rand 19.18 (0.22%) Euro/Rand 16.35 (0.24%) Gold 1299.26 (-0.22%) Crude Oil: 58.39 (As at 5am SAST or most recent close) WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [ANALYSIS: Deutsche-Commerzbank Tie-Up Smacks of Despair]( Germany's two biggest banks Deutsche Bank and rival Commerzbank confirmed on Sunday that they are formally discussing a merger, an implicit acknowledgement that both lenders face pressing difficulties despite operating in Europe's largest economy. Here is a look at what brought the banks together and their chances of success. [Black Box Shows Similarities in Lion Air, Ethiopian Crashes]( Investigators into the 737 MAX Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 Max crash have confirmed early suspicions of most aviation regulators; that the crash was similar to the Lion Air plane that went down off the coast of Indonesia about five months ago. That means regulators have to take the rare step of keeping the aircraft grounded around the world. [H]([ammond says May's Brexit deals is getting more support]( It's a bit more-of-the-same, but this time, the vote has a bit more crunch. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to lawmakers to get behind her Brexit deal when it next comes before Parliament or risk another long delay that could even stop the breakup altogether. [Advertisement] [Graph of the Day]( [Fight for the Facts]( In an age where it’s difficult to tell the difference between real politics and fake news, quality independent journalism is more important than ever. Daily Maverick has become renowned as a news source that you can trust because our journalists tirelessly research and investigate the stories we publish. [Click here to sign up]( to become a Maverick Insider and help us Defend Truth. In Numbers R5m What Steinhoff paid former CEO Markus for the two months he worked for the company in fiscal 2018, before he quit suddenly amid an accounting scandal. Facts of the Day If economists seem out of sorts on St. Patty’s Day, it’s because US manufacturing output declined for the second straight month in February. That could signal a slowdown but ... US markets were obviously having a Guiness too, since the S&P had its best weekly gain since November. Featured Articles [Eyes on the stars as Talent10 scripts its way forward]( BY Ruan Jooste [A look at what might happen if South Africa is ‘junked’ in two weeks’ time]( BY Tim Cohen [Leading parties aren’t in the green for environmental policies]( BY Tessa Knight [Hyundai Kona 1.0 TGDI: In search of the feelgood factor]( [Hyundai Kona 1.0 TGDI: In search of the feelgood factor]( By Deon Schoeman Opinionistas [The people, the party and the state: A critical left perspective on the Venezuelan crisis]( A column by Dale T. McKinley [View from Afar: South Africa’s Political Party Rorschach Test]( A column by Saul Musker [The Regulation of Gatherings Act needs an overhaul — but not the reactionary amendments of the FF+]( A column by Justin Jaftha [The dangers of ignoring ‘mere allegations’ against candidates for election]( A column by Paul Hoffman Weather BFN: min: 15° max: 31°, cloudy CPT: min: 17° max: 23°, cloudy DBN: min: 22° max: 28°, cloudy EL: min: 21° max: 27°, rainy JHB: min: 16° max: 26°, cloudy MHK: min: 18° max: 31°, cloudy NLP: min: 19° max: 36°, cloudy PE: min: 18° max: 25°, cloudy PMB:min: 20° max: 29°, rainy [Advertisement] [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( [Fb] [Tweet] [Link] [Yt] Copyright © 2019 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. Interested in advertising with us? 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