The broker-dealers latest quarterly results show that it made $1.9 billion in the three months to the end of June. This compares with the $927 million it recorded in 2012 and comes amid what can be described as tougher trading conditions.

Its earnings were lifted by big returns on its own investments in shares and debts, which generated $1.4 billion in net revenues, up from $200 million a year ago. The profit that Goldman made on its own investments came as it sold off its last remaining shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

We have a somewhat complex relationship with leadership in the UK. Whilst by nature we tend to be a largely compliant nation, rarely has public opinion of our constitutional leaders been lower - and criticism louder. Furthermore, resentment of the part played by financial leaders in the economic crisis has been exacerbated by media reports of the pay offs and bonuses handed to banking bosses.

Last week, JP Morgan recorded a profit of $6.5 billion for the three months to the end of June, up 31 percent from 2012. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo also reported a 20 percent rise in profits to $5.27 billion.

Revealing plans for the overhaul the company’s chief executive Steve Ballmer said that it would become more streamlined around devices such as phones, games consoles and services. The move comes amid a decline in demands for personal computers, as consumers turn to tablets and other mobile devices.

That is the view of the African Development Bank (AfDB), who state in a new report that one-third of Africa's countries have gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates of more than six percent.

The report highlights that the continent's middle class is growing rapidly with around 350 million Africans now earning between $2 and $20 a day, while the share of the population living below the poverty line in Africa has fallen from 51 percent in 2005 to 39 percent in 2012.

The two separate entities will be known as Tribune Publishing Company and Tribune Company respectively. The former will oversee newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, while the latter will handle other operations including the 19 television stations that the group recently purchased for $2.7 billion. This, the company said, will give it greater financial and operational focus.

It was in 2000 that Transnet’s then single port division, Portnet, was divided into separate operations and landlord businesses. It was this decision that led to the creation of Transnet Port Terminals (TPT). Since its formation the business has played a fundamental role in supporting the export-led strategy of the South African government.

It's not all about cubic feet and billions of dollars for Mthozami Xiphu, Executive Director of SAOGA since he took over leadership of the organisation from Warwick Blyth in February this year. Xiphu is a man who feels passionately that developing the oil and gas resources, onshore and offshore could radically change the dynamics of South African society.