#Mercedes-AMG growls its way into the SA Festival of Motoring, #Kyala

The Mercedes-AMG Performance Tour celebrates 50 Years of Performance Driving at this year's SA Festival of Motoring at the Kyalami racetrack.

AMG - these three letters stand worldwide for supreme automotive performance, exclusivity, efficiency and highly dynamic driving pleasure. In 2017, the company founded by Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher is celebrating its 50^th anniversary worldwide with many high performance activities.

For all at AMG, the focus will be on the brand promise of "Driving Performance", which unites the core strengths of AMG: cutting-edge technology and a passion for dynamic, emotively appealing products. Mercedes-AMG stands worldwide for outstanding engine expertise, which includes not only development, but also the "one man, one engine" philosophy, which means that each engine is, so to speak, handcrafted by one engine builder. With almost 100,000 units delivered in 2016, i.e. over 40 percent growth, and the biggest strategic model initiative in the company's history, AMG makes this anniversary year with record figures.

"The Mercedes-AMG C 43, C 63 and C 63 S will now also manufactured at our East London plant for local and international markets.  Excitement was at an all-time high as the first locally manufactured Mercedes-AMG C 43 4MATIC rolled off the production line in East London in mid-July.  We will see the C 63 and C 63 S models manufactured in East London line early in 2018," says Selvin Govender, Marketing Director Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Following a successful local AMG marketing campaign, excitement has heightened with the activation of fans testing their growling skills, whilst imitating the AMG growl.  Some reached levels of the growl to that of the AMG A 45, C 43 and a C 63 S, and possibly through to the SLS AMG and AMG GT S, affording fans the chances of winning an AMG Advanced Driving Academy course and two tickets to the festival.

"South African's have shown us just how much they love our AMG cars, especially the iconic and visceral sound exhaust note, and this is why we have profiled our fans doing the growl, while highlighting the inherent beauty of our AMG range. It's a celebration of Driving Performance as well as a 'thank you' to all who hold our brand close to their hearts," says Govender.

The AMG Performance tour takes place in Pits 1 - 4 at Kyalami, with the AMG GT family performance cars, the AMG GT S, AMG GT R and AMG GT C and the E 63 S sedan.  Fans will have an opportunity to experience these beauties in hot laps by the AMG Driving Academy team.

More secrets revealed on #BrokenVows

The Moswane and Mkhwananzi family will face yet another hurdle this Friday, 18 August on Broken Vows when Ace reveals a secret that could potentially destroy the families.

The saga between Ace and Thandi continues during the lobola negotiation and causes further division between the two families. The battle between the two began when Thandi revealed to the Moswane family that Ace raped her when she was 15 years old. The news not only shocked the family but caused a rift between Thandi and her fiance Uhuru.

Will this new secret separate or unite Thandi and Uhuru?

Catch a glimpse of the action on the below promo and watch the drama unfolds on Broken Vows weekdays at 8PM.

https://youtu.be/gEFAG6oIQv0

Consumers set to contribute positively to GDP in the second quarter

June retail trade sales expanded 2.9% y/y (unadjusted), the strongest figure posted since November 2016. General dealer sales, which accelerated to 2.5% y/y, added 1.1 pps while a 12.4 % y/y increase in food and beverage sales added another 0.9 pps. After a very poor start to the year, it appears that clothing retailers may be experiencing modest relief with sales jumping 3.9% y/y.

Sales of household furniture and equipment expanded by 8.3% y/y but the improvement was largely a result of base effects and we expect that household consumption of durable goods will remain under pressure despite the recent interest rate cut. In a reversal of fortunes, pharmaceutical goods sales contracted (-1.9% y/y) for the first time since May 2014, but this was due to a much higher base in June 2016 when sales rallied 10.4% y/y. Hardware sales continue to be under pressure, declining -7.1% y/y. The data shows that the sector expanded by 2.1% q/q and 2.2% y/y in 2Q17.

The result, which when viewed with the June mining and manufacturing data, suggests that GDP could rebound by as much at 2.5% q/q in 2Q17, but remain at a pedestrian 0.5% y/y. Overall, the outlook for household consumption remains muted given just how weak consumer confidence is, although a shallow rate cutting cycle should provide modest relief until higher taxes are likely to take hold after the February budget.

#etv gets new drama series

e.tv Springs into September with a brand-new local drama series, Easy Money. Easy Money will premiere on Tuesday, 12 September 2017 at 9:30PM

The new drama series tells a story of a young teacher, Khosi (Xoli Zondi), who gets involved in a pyramid scheme run by a company called Pharaoh Investments. The show is inspired by real-life events and now-infamous pyramid schemes, seeking to answer the question: 'Why do we fall for pyramid schemes?' The show is framed by the insightful narration of Khosi's only son, Moagi, which forms the backbone to guide the audience through a turbulent period during which mother, wife and school teacher Khosi makes decisions which affect her life – and the lives of all those around her.

"e.tv is excited to bring Easy Money to viewers' screens, soon," says e.tv Managing Director Marlon Davids. "Quizzical Pictures have worked tirelessly to deliver a high-quality and entertaining drama series that will entertain our viewers".

Taking on the lead role of Khosi, a school teacher who enjoys a good standing in the community, is Xoli Zondi. Tumelo Don Mosenye will play Justice, Khosi's husband and father to Moagi portrayed by Paballo Khoza. Noxee Maqashalala who was previously on e.tv's The Kingdom - Ukhakhayi will take on the role of Zee, Khosi's older sister. Tinah Mnumzana will play Moagi's nanny Naledi. Andrea Dondolo will play a helper who is currently the treasurer in the community stokvel. Rhythm City's Connie Chiume returns to the e.tv family and plays Gloria, a teacher and colleague to Khosi who makes a massive investment into the scheme.

Scandal! actress Sive Mabuya will take on the lead role of Dipuo, recruiter at Pharaoh Investments. Mr Eddy, CEO of Pharaoh Investments will be played by legendary actor, David Dennis. Austin Shandu plays Mr. Eddy's right hand man and professional scammer, Leano. Dipuo and Leano are the tag-team that work and fish for investors on behalf of Mr. Eddy.
 
Viewers will also see the likes Jerry Phele as Amos, the community construction worker. Gold Diggers actor Thabo Malema joins the ensemble cast as the jovial Collins, who is best friends with Zee. The rest of the stellar cast includes Sibongile Nojila and Jose Domingos

Catch the dangerous journey of Khosi as Easy Money premieres on Tuesday, 12 September at 9:30PM on e.tv and eHD on OpenView HD 

Drone building project sees South African and South Korean youth collaborate #Curro

Nine learners from various Western Cape Curro schools were recently invited to collaborate on a Samsung-sponsored science and technology project alongside a group of eight South Korean BanGok Elementary School learners. The project entailed a two-fold operation. On one end of the project, Curro learners were tasked with physically building a 3D printer and a drone, while on the other end, the project entailed collaboration between learners from the respective countries - team Curro and team Korea. With team Curro situated in Durbanville, and team Korea situated in Hongcheon district, Gangwon Province, this exercise took effect via video streaming, and required all learners to work together to solve a problem presented to them. 

The project collaboration idea surfaced when Curro alumni, Richard Quantrill, who is currently working as an English Second Language educator in South Korea, approached the independent education provider with the opportunity. What made this project possible was that Quantrill, along with a team of other educators in Korea, had recently been awarded a tender for a study that Samsung was running. "Samsung, already having a software education curriculum in Korea, wanted to expand it to forecast what education might look like in the year 2030. This meant that the team was tasked with investigating the idea of creating a future education curriculum using Design Thinking, Problem Based Learning (PBL) and a combination of industry experts and educators in the same class room," Quantrill says. Aside from the science and technology focus, another goal of the research would also look at communication and cultural practices in a teaching/learning environment.

A large selling point for Quantrill's team during the tender process was that they were able to offer the opportunity to run a project with another school from outside Korea  - which was made possible thanks to Quantrill's South African roots.

South Africa, Meet South Korea

The project week took place between 17-24 July, and saw team Curro and team Korea getting geared for a challenge that they'd co-tackle to solve. The challenge entailed a hypothetical mountain rescue. Learners had to envision and pretend-orchestrate rescuing a person who was trapped on a mountain while discussing how the rescue plan could be executed, as well as what obstacles they may face in the situation. Once both teams had brainstormed their options, they were then able to exchange ideas and critique them constructively. 

The collaboration between team Curro and team Korea took place during specific hours over the six days in order to accommodate the seven hour time difference. While observing the interactions between the two teams, Quantrill explained that "the goal of this collaboration was to study how language creates difficulties in communication, while looking at how learners naturally try to solve this communication challenge." To assist with the language barrier, the children were all given icon t-shirts to wear which allowed them to point to certain pictures in order to communicate graphically when words failed.

Building 'robots'

Once the collaboration session drew to a close between team Curro and team Korea, the Curro learners began the second phase of the project which involved 'robot' building. Despite the project having been largely a pretend scenario, the equipment supplied was very real in terms of hardware. Using the equipment, team Curro were tasked with physically building a drone and a 3D printer that could ultimately facilitate a mountain rescue scenario.

The purpose of the drone is an obvious one in a mountain rescue scene, as it can be used as a vehicle to carry supplies to the stranded. However, the function of the 3D printer was a behind-the-scenes accomplice, as it was the tool that 3D printsthe required hook to be attached to the drone in order to carry the necessary rescue items. Throughout the building sessions, Quantrill played an active role in advising, guiding and educating the learners through the process via video 

#STK brings affordability in the South African smartphone market

STK, the born-in-London smartphone brand, has expanded its fast-growing product range in South Africa by bringing the STK Sync 5e Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) smartphone with 5-inch high-definition display to the local market. Crafted with a blend of the finest materials and a beautiful aesthetic design, the Sync 5e offers a luxurious smartphone experience at a wallet-friendly price.

The Sync 5e's HD / IPS display technology with glass delivers a crisp and vibrant viewing experience from any angle. In addition to a 13 megapixel, rear-facing camera for capturing your memories in vivid detail, you can also snap the ultimate selfie at any the time of the day with a front facing 5 megapixel camera complemented by a flash.

Supporting dual SIMs, the STK Sync 5e boasts a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, 8GB of memory (expandable to 32GB) and 1GB of RAM to offer a smooth performance for your media apps. It lets you do all the things you've always wanted to do, within a streamlined STK user experience.

Says Eben Heunis, Regional Manager at STK South Africa: "The Sync 5e embodies our London passion for redefining luxury by merging design, innovation and technology to create beautiful mobile devices. For the more demanding customer, the Sync 5e Android smartphone is an affordable, impressive and attractive smartphone that you can show off to your friends, families and co-workers.

Three-year warranty

Like all STK mobile devices, the Sync 5e comes with a three-year warranty and features the preloaded STK Care 'smartphone doctor' app. STK Care runs silently to keep your device fully optimised and brand new every day   saving customers time and money by avoiding to have to come back to the store of purchase with any concerns.

In addition to allowing users to easily run tests to detect any hardware/software issues and fix them on the spot, STK Care also has a Live Chat feature, allowing users to chat with an STK Care technician, 365 days a year. STK has teamed up with AVG to offer the world's best smartphone security and protection for free.

The Sync 5e is available from major retailers across southern Africa, including PEP, Ackermans, The Foschini Group, OK and Shoprite, with a recommended retail price of R999.

Win a chance to perform at #HuaweiJoburgDay

Are you an aspiring musician, then get ready to sing the Huawei brand song #DreamitPossible for your shot at fame.

Huawei and 947 are giving you the chance to be the opening act at Huawei Joburg Day on Saturday, September 9^th,2017 at Crocodile Creek.

All you have to do is post an entry of yourself singing "Dream It Possible" on the Huawei Facebook page with #DreamItPossible and #HuaweiJoburgDay

Get to the Huawei Facebook page – @HuaweiMobileZA – to learn Huawei's "Dream It Possible" song.

Alternatively, if you are an MTN subscriber, you can Dial *136*44# to subscribe to MTN Music+ and listen to Dream It Possible so you can learn the lyrics.

You have now till the 17^th of August to upload your version of the Huawei brand song #DreamitPossible. The top ten entries will be selected and published online where consumers will be able to vote for their favourite participant. 

Thereafter the top 3 will have to battle it out in front of a selected judge's panel with the ultimate winner getting a chance to perform the Huawei song ,"Dream It Possible" as well as a song of their choice at Huawei Joburg Day.

In addition, the winner will be mentored and prepared for his or her stage performance, they will also receive a cash price of R 10 000, the brand new Huawei P10 and a contract or data courtesy of MTN.

 "At Huawei we wanted to develop a brand love campaign that drives an emotional connection to the Huawei brand and delivers Huawei as a brand which enables your dreams by dreaming the impossible, possible. We are proud to partner with 947 on a campaign that could unearth the next South African music sensation," said Claire Wu, Marketing Director, Huawei Consumer Business Group SA.

Riky Rick and Hugh Masekela to embark on collaboration

This spring, Standard Bank brings you an out of the blue ground-breaking meeting of musical minds. Two South African mavericks will collide for a never before seen exchange on the road to the 20^th edition of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz.
 

The legendary trumpeter and composer, Hugh Masekela and chart-topping producer and rap-star, Riky Rick will come together for an epoch marking collaborative project.
 

This rare cross generational creative conversation and collaboration brings jazz and hip-hop together to unfold a new chapter in the history of South African music making.
 

The collaboration will see the dynamic rap-star, Riky Rick taking on some of Masekela's most loved hits to re-imagine and remix them from his generational vantage point. The inimitable Masekela will also have a go at some of Riky Rick's most memorable hits when the pair meet on stage on 20 September 2017, before an exclusive audience of music lovers invited to witness this special trans-generational creative exchange.
 

At the heart of the collaboration is the idea of the two iconic artists working to transcend genre and generational divides; this way displaying our perennial belie: jazz is closer than you think!
 

The collaboration also represents a coming of age for South African hip-hop. The symbolic force of having a rising rap star like Riky Rick with a creative colossus that is Masekela is about reclaiming South Africa's contribution to the creation of hip-hop as a global pop cultural phenomenon.
 

The genre was born in New York where South African music geniuses like Masekela were creatively active as expatriate citizens in exile. Masekela's hit records like Don't Go Lose It Baby showed him up as more than a great jazz musician. Released in 1984, just when hip-hop was finding its voice, Don't Go Lose It Baby features a rap verse by Masekela "dropping bars" in the classic style of the age; comparable to pioneers like the Sugar Hill Gang.
 

Further, the exchange is about highlighting the depth palpable over the work of young creatives like Riky Rick who are constantly mining the gems of our heritage to find fresh songs of the future.
 

"We at Standard Bank see ourselves as much more than a financial institution. This is what makes us a leading patron of the arts on the African continent in general and in South Africa. We have long believed it is important to plough value into the artistic experiences that our clients care about. We do this by investing in projects that make great creative breakthroughs possible. This collaboration is an example of creative excellence that enhances the lives of our clients and the society we are a part of," concludes Hazel Chimhandamba, Group Head of Sponsorships at Standard Bank.

 
Follow this journey as it unfolds by connecting with Standard Bank Arts on:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/standardbankarts
• Twitter: @standardbankart    #OutoftheBlue

 

Best way to keep a healthy bank account

Most consumers assume that a healthy bank account means having thousands in your account at any given time, but nothing could be further from the truth. Maintaining a healthy bank account has very little to do with how much money you have but more to do with how you manage the account.

Khathu Ramoliko, Sub-Segment Head for FNB Gold says under the current economic circumstances, consumers are on the lookout for ways to cut costs while some resort to extraordinary steps such as skipping debit order payments or withdrawing every cent the minute they get their salary.

"This kind of behaviour carries a number of risks - not only will your account be overdrawn but the long-term negative impact will be adverse remarks on your credit record should you skip debit orders. This is why it's important for consumers to know the importance of keeping their bank accounts in good standing," he explains.

There are easier ways of maintaining a healthy bank account while managing any potential financial risks. Khathu says it is essential to do a health check on your finances by looking at items coming out of or into your bank account. He says most people avoid looking at their finances until things go wrong. "Simply looking at where you may be overspending could help you: for example, cutting back on items such as entertainment, coffee, snacks can help you keep your finances in good health."

Another way of ensuring you keep a healthy bank account is to have an account that suits your needs and financial aspirations, because as it stands, you may not be getting your money's worth. Consider your options thoroughly, instead of choosing a pay as you use account that accumulates costs for each transaction, rather take up a bundle option where you pay a single fee for a comprehensive range of services. Not only are bundle fees easier to understand but you also get to save on fees.

"We see the majority of our Gold customers being able to get much more value from their bundled accounts as it gives them the ability to control their spend, earn eBucks Rewards while enjoying a number of free benefits like free card swipes and cash@till transactions. The upside of having a good handle on your account is that you are able to balance between saving and spending," he says.

Khathu says another important factor is the need to be responsible about debt, pointing out that your bank account gives a reliable assessment of your relationship with money.

#Panasonic showcases latest technology at #Mediatec