US maker of anti-wrinkle treatment wriggles its way out of court by agreeing to a huge fine – almost half its 2009 sales of Botox - for making false claims about its flagship product and assorted dodgy marketing ploys.

Nedbank has teamed up with local telecommunications giant, Vodacom, to bring M-Pesa to South Africa. The partners have great expectations for the mobile money transfer system that is a runaway success in Kenya. Researchers, however, warn against assumptions of M-Pesa easily repeating its success here. By MANDY DE WAAL.

BMW’s Z4 is considered a glamorous roadster by some, and a poser special by others. Regardless of your point of view, what can’t be denied is that this latest Z4 is the largest and heaviest of its ilk. Which is perhaps why BMW has created a new flagship with more power and torque than ever before. It’s called the sDrive35iS. By DEON SCHOEMAN.

South Africa’s popular satirical site has shut shop, citing dismal advertising revenues and a fall off in syndication deals. As readers mourn the loss of bitingly brilliant content, pioneering parodists say satire is the hardest commercial sell from which to make a living. By MANDY DE WAAL.

Still the world's coolest company, Apple continues its drive to prefix “i” to everything that touches consumers' lives and wallets. In April, the target was good old “Ad”, a platform that was supposed to be a small advertiser's saviour. Barely five months later, the cracks in the hype are starting to appear.

Black people own a minimum of 8% of shares listed on the JSE, but could directly own as much as 36%, and far more than that once you factor in indirect ownership through pension schemes and the like. Where does that leave us? Probably with more listed company shares in black than white hands, but almost certainly more than two-thirds of the way towards government’s 2017 target, after just three years of trying – as long as we aren't talking control. By PHILLIP DE WET.

It would’ve made the perfect scenario for a Terry Pratchett science-fantasy novella - if the protagonists were not deadly serious and the potential damages involved not been the fate of our home planet, Earth. But such was the backdrop to the latest court case in the US aimed at halting the biggest and costliest scientific experiment in history.

There are times when nothing illustrates the fights over factions, resources and power better than the SABC. It’s a parastatal, but it’s more public than the others. And that means that what happens behind the scenes becomes clearer than, say, your average Transnet board meeting. By STEPHEN GROOTES

At this year’s Maker Faire Africa inventors from throughout the continent showed the world the vast talent that exists in Africa’s informal sectors. By MANDY DE WAAL.

To the 33 Chilean miners still trapped 700m underground, every bit of help is welcome. But this time help is coming from unexpected quarters, as the experience of Nasa astronauts is being used to predict and counter the mental and physical challenges they face.

South Africa is swimming in maize. For farmers that means a choice, between commercial suicide on the one hand and reaching for the impossible dream of a production cartel on the other. For government the choice is somewhat easier: Allow a globally competitive, export-orientated sector to flourish, providing food security and a modicum of energy independence to boot – or hobble empowerment efforts in the agricultural sector by doing nothing. By PHILLIP DE WET.

The big trend in advertising, both locally and abroad, is acquisitions of digital talent by traditional agencies wanting to capture growing online and mobile marketing spend. But watch for the push from the other side, as digital agencies scale for growth and seek a bigger slice of the branding action. By MANDY DE WAAL.

Local consumer rights advocates say the Consumer Protection Act, due to be enforced from October 2010, could make way for a South African legal class action suit against Coca-Cola for misleading claims on its Glacéau vitaminwater.

It’s taken Ford Motor Company Southern Africa almost two years to finally introduce the performance flagship of its Focus hatchback range on local soil. However, that the SA launch of the Ford Focus RS coincides with the end of RS production in Europe makes one wonder whether this isn’t just another example of selling off old stock that nobody else wants.

The world was supposed to bounce back from that little recession and start spending, while South Africa groaned under the burden of rising prices. Except that didn't happen, and now, with inflation going nowhere, Cosatu's economics are looking sensible rather than populist.

In the wake of the increasingly tawdry revelations of Tiger Woods’ multiple extramarital affairs, Woods and Elin Nordegren are officially no longer a team.

There are five parties in the potential marriage of HSBC and Nedbank; beside the couple itself, there are the parents (Old Mutual and the SA government), and the prize, which is the African continent. With everybody else liking the idea of a hook-up, it may fall to the government to be the disapproving father – or at least the stern father-in-law.

From human trafficking to organising scarce medical resources to mapping government shortfalls of essential drugs in Africa, FrontlineSMS is enabling activists, aid workers and NGOs to communicate effectively en masse. And all it takes is a computer, a mobile phone and a sliver of network presence.

On Friday, Facebook announced a new addition to its social networking site as part of its steady march to world conquest. And, as is often the case with the social networking behemoth, reactions ranged from dire warnings to loud applause.

Some say he designed the Jabulani World Cup soccer ball. Others say he is the secret love child of Susan Boyle and Wayne Rooney. All we know is he may be a former race driver from Bristol.

Considering the amount of planning that went into the event, everyone was expecting exact timing in the demolition of Cape Town's landmark cooling towers. But the slightly damp in-person crowd didn't complain too much about the early finish.

GREG GORDON has previously braved the beer tents to explore the upper limits of moderation. He gives The Daily Maverick readers a full-frontal account of the ultimate celebration of gastronomic and beer-fuelled excess.

Mobile operator Cell C’s controversial, copyright look-alike-logo was only “provisionally refused” by the Registrar of Trade Marks, which means company can appeal the outcome.

The Jaguar brand may be celebrating 75 summers, but the British car maker’s history has been a chequered one, alternating glorious designs and evocative automobiles with troubled business strategies and red ink on the bottom line. Now supported by Mumbai money, Jaguar seems to be steering a more resolute course – as its latest flagship proves. But moguls beware: this is no fat-cat limo ...

On Wednesday morning the chairman of Pick 'n Pay linked media freedom with economic freedom. On Wednesday evening the US ambassador to South Africa linked media freedom with the fight against corruption. What makes their voices stand out in particular is that both have felt the sharp end of the media – but neither think that's reason enough to muzzle the country.

From US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to Internet guru Clay Shirky, everybody has a story to tell about how Ushahidi is saving lives or impacting on the world with technology for citizens to report and map crisis incidents. Locally Ushahidi was used to track xenophobic violence, but now thanks to the roll out of a new version called Crowdmap, we’re crowdsourcing media freedom too.

As the ANC and media continue to trade blows, there’s a glaring omission in the ruling party’s posturing against the press. It is, of course, the SABC, which makes the ANC-run government one of the biggest media owners in the country - even though this media asset has been eroded by years of mismanagement.

South African business needs to break its silence on government plans to gag the media and muzzle freedom of expression, say editors and a prominent political analyst. And not only because the issue needs to be championed by all South Africans, but because freedom of information is the lifeblood of the markets.

Journalism is becoming a lot more than news, analysis and stories. Here comes the wave of the number-crunchers and data journalists who are underscoring truth and trust in the craft.

The bad news is he’s serious. Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of the world’s most powerful Internet company, would like to do away with anonymity in cyberspace. The good news? You tell us.