You have to love Chairman Ackerman the younger. Not only is he all elegant and patrician, and seems to know how to get out of the way of management while providing inspiring leadership, but he also likes to Stick it to the Man on a regular basis. In the sights of Occupy Boardroom himself, last week: bank charges. He reckons the fees the banks charge businesses like his for processing credit card transactions are, at 1.7%, over double those charged in places like Europe. At 0.55%, debit charge fees are lower, reflecting the lesser risk to the banks. But neither of these provoke his ire like the fee of 1.09% attached to so-called hybrid cards, which he believes are nothing more than a jumped-up debit card (although trust us, you can use them to put a dent in your overdraft if you really want to). Serendipitously, FNB’s Laurie Dippenaar has used the platform of his annual report to decry the widespread practice of “bank bashing”.

Comment: Does a bank take a greater risk extending credit here than it does in, say, Holland? We have to ask these questions, because it’s our job.

Zambia: What could possibly go wrong, eh? Stable political system, packed to the gills with resources and a friendly well-educated populace. Aaaaaangghhh! Wrong! Further light on the Shoprite sale saga in the country formerly known as Northern Rhodesha: Shoprite is suing certain of its Zambian shareholders in order to reverse the purchase of shares now worth more than R302million. And lest you naively thought that shares could be bought and sold willy-nilly, not all transactions are created equal. This one, for instance, was the sale of shares by a company rep at a discount, to Zambian shareholders. And not the sort that offer you emeralds for dollars in the market, either, no sirree, we’re talking the local pension funds of businesses like Standard Chartered, Standard Bank, Sandvik and SABMiller, to name just the ones beginning with the letter S. Shoprite are reputedly offering repurchase at a discount of 25%; the shareholders in question, are perhaps understandably not budging.

Comment: There is a wariness in certain geographies of South African companies bearing expansion plans, of which this imbroglio is perhaps a nuanced and complicated expression (that ought to confuse ‘em – Ed).

Woolies has announced somewhat precipitously that it’s planning on shutting down operations in Nigeria, as they are failing to deliver the profits that the Dapper One has come to regard as its birthright in recent years. Businesses like Woolies do not generally measure their performance in weeks and months but in years, but apparently conditions in Nigeria were so tricky – high rentals, prohibitive duties and a nightmarish supply chain – that a year’s trial was sufficient for them to cut their losses and move on. The two inaugural stores opened in Lagos just last March, and the Enugu branch in October. Woolies is not alone. Truworths, having opened four stores, have no plans for further expansion, while Massmart has complained of electricity shortages and the hideous price of hotel rooms.

Comment: Your loss, Nigeria. People want order, not chaos, and a business like Woolies is a harbinger of order and civility.