Have you ever thought about where your salary comes from – not the actual money, but why it is called by that name – even it you think it is distastefully small? Sometimes, and maybe most times, it remains too small even if you think you are worth more than your salt to your employer.

While social and political cohesion in many European countries are under pressure because of austerity measures, new pressure seems to be in the making over the next few weeks from a spike in food prices as a result of the United States heading in the opposite direction with a new stimulus package.

The US obsession with the Chinese exchange rate is a classic example of blaming foreigners for domestic woes. And we’ve been here before. In the 1980s, the US government – reacting to political pressure from ailing US manufacturers – engineered a massive yen appreciation. That did as little to save US manufacturing jobs then as a rise in the yuan would do today, writes Avinash D Persaud.

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“Worth a read?” is not your ordinary book review; it is a meta-review. In other words, it provides an overview of the opinions contained in a variety of book reviews published in the media at large. This week we take a look at “Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error”, written by Kathryn Schulz and published in October 2010.

Amid the celebration of World Food Day this past weekend there were claims by a non-profit charity organisation that nearly 20% of the country’s population goes hungry on a daily basis and by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) that more than 60% of households are subjected to food insecurity. Does the present state of land reform contribute to this situation?

In absolute terms the South African share-market is probably slightly extended.  With certain lead indicators turning down and downward earnings revisions coming through thick and fast the consensus on EPS growth is too optimistic. The current rating is also too demanding. Our best guess of returns: Still positive; stay long, writes Matt Brenzel, Portfolio Manager at Cadiz Asset Management as he discusses the impact of the proposed US Quantitative Easing II (QE II), which is intended to increase the supply of money in the US

The rescue of 33 miners in Chile is an extraordinary drama filled with pathos and heroism. It is also a media windfall for the Chilean government, whose every beneficence is recorded by a forest of cameras. One cannot fail to be impressed. However, like all great media events, it is a façade, writes John Pilger in his latest column for the New Statesman

While the possibility of a currency war between the United States and China takes centre stage in an unfolding global scene of currency turmoil, there is mounting evidence that even in the developed world countries are starting to take positions to protect themselves against the possible disappearance of the US dollar as the currency of last resort.

In the knock-out phases of the Currie Cup good defensive systems and accurate goal-kicking are critical factors, according to the connoisseurs. But that’s no longer enough, as Western Province and the Sharks proved comprehensively by beating the Free State Cheetahs and the Bulls in the semi-finals on Saturday to set up a mouth-watering final in Durban on  30 October.

South Africa’s countdown to the Cricket World Cup has started with two comprehensive and emphatic One-Day International victories against Zimbabwe. With 13 matches to go before the Cricket World Cup commences on 24 February on the Indian subcontinent, what is the state of SA one-day cricket?

For anyone wanting to measure the state of affairs in South Africa in general and the constitutional, physical and economic security that South Africa offers its citizens, monitoring various independent international agencies that rank states based on their performance in various spheres reveals an interesting if somewhat mixed-bag picture. There is both good and bad news.