Latest news with #Schreiber
Business Insider
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
This Is Why Investors Are Struggling to Value Tesla Stock (TSLA)
EV maker Tesla (TSLA) is in a transition phase, according to Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid interview with Gradient Investments' Lisa Schreiber. On July 23, Tesla reported second-quarter earnings that were weaker than last year, and CEO Elon Musk warned during the earnings call about several challenges ahead. He also said that Tesla will focus heavily on ride-hailing services and self-driving technology as part of its future plans. Nevertheless, the market reacted negatively, and Tesla's stock dropped more than 8% after the announcement. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Interestingly, it has become harder for investors to figure out in which direction Tesla wants to go. The company is still known for its groundbreaking work in robotics and artificial intelligence, but its main electric vehicle business is slowing down due to competition and Musk's political involvement. It also does not help that the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles will end on September 30, 2025. As a result, Schreiber told Yahoo Finance that investors are not sure how to value Tesla and whether it should be viewed as a carmaker, a robotics company, or something in between. For reference, Tesla's stock is currently priced like a fast-growing tech company at around 161 times forward earnings. This is because Tesla wants to expand beyond cars. Indeed, it recently launched a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Musk also talked about the company's humanoid robot, Optimus, and highlighted that both the robots and Tesla's vehicles rely on similar AI systems. However, Schreiber warned that Musk has a history of big promises followed by delays. Therefore, she believes that it is best for investors to wait and see progress before considering Tesla as a buy. What Is the Prediction for Tesla Stock? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 14 Buys, 15 Holds, and eight Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average TSLA price target of $310.65 per share implies 5.3% downside risk.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- The Citizen
Home Affairs launches global centres to speed up passport services for expats
South Africans living abroad no longer have to endure the long wait of up to 18 months for passport renewals. Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber has announced the opening of new international Home Affairs service centres that aim to drastically cut waiting times and improve access to essential services. The Department of Home Affairs has officially launched its first centres in Sydney and Melbourne, with a third to open in Perth by the end of September. Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand are also now operational. ALS READ: Home Affairs confirms availability of smart IDs for South African residents These additions complement the department's existing centre in London, United Kingdom. 'Over the coming months, the Department of Home Affairs will expand this global footprint by opening more centres in the United Arab Emirates and China, followed by France, Germany, and The Netherlands later this year, and North America early next year,' the department stated. The initiative, described as a game-changer for South Africans overseas, forms part of a broader strategy to offer 'Home Affairs @home' – a vision of fully accessible online services for citizens wherever they reside. Services at the new centres include: 1. Passport applications and renewals for adults and minors 2. Birth registration applications 3. A new online appointment system with walk-in options tracking and email support for real-time updates hours from Monday to Friday, 09:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00 6. A five-week turnaround time, significantly down from the previous 12–18 months ALSO READ: Home Affairs gives quick steps of getting your ID The department is also upgrading its e-HomeAffairs live capture platform, which will soon allow the issuance of Smart IDs and eliminate the need for paper forms. Schreiber said the improvements are about more than just speed. 'These changes are about delivering dignity to South Africans – wherever they live in the world,' he said. 'Home Affairs is now delivering for South Africans, including those living abroad, like never before.' Bookings for appointments can be made via the following links: 1. Australia: Zealand:
IOL News
5 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Green ID book to be replaced: Home Affairs Minister Schreiber outlines digital transformation plans
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber plans to phase out the green ID book by the end of 2025, expanding smart ID access via digital platforms and bank partnerships to improve security and convenience. Image: Supplied Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says the outdated green bar-coded ID book will be discontinued by the end of 2029, and it will stop issuing the ID book by the end of 2025 as part of a major digital transformation campaign in South Africa. Speaking on the DA's podcast, Schreiber outlined his department's bold strategy to modernise services, expand access to smart ID cards, and bring Home Affairs into the digital era. According to Schreiber, 25 million smart ID cards have already been issued, while 18 million green ID books remain in circulation. However, the green book poses serious security risks. 'It's actually the most defrauded ID document in Africa,' Schreiber said. 'It has a large financial cost.' Despite this, Home Affairs continues to issue green IDs at 25% of its 430 offices, which remain non-modernised and paper-based. 'You can't just, at the stroke of a pen, cancel the green book without giving people access to the alternative,' he said. Schreiber's department is now focusing on giving all South Africans access by scaling up digital infrastructure, partnering with banks, and introducing online and mobile solutions. Currently, only 30 bank branches in the country offer smart ID services, and these are mostly located in urban areas, he said. 'We're still contributing to the problem,' he said. 'People try to make online bookings, and they're full one minute past midnight because there are only 30 branches in a country of 62 million people.' A key challenge, Schreiber said, is staffing. 'Home Affairs only meets 40% of its human resource requirements, meaning it will never have the necessary number of people to make the bank branch system work. 'You're simply never going to have enough people to get to every bank branch in South Africa.' The solution lies in integrating Home Affairs technology directly into bank IT platforms, eliminating the need for a full Home Affairs team to be physically present in each branch, he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'Once we get it right, there's no reason that every bank branch can't offer it. It becomes an online integrated system. All you need is a camera and a fingerprint scanner,' said the minister. 'Home Affairs will still control the pipeline. You will still need your face and your fingerprint. We will control the safety. It is far safer to do so digitally than to have a person there.' Schreiber said the department is engaging with long-standing banking partners to roll out the new system nationwide. Once fully implemented, the same infrastructure could allow people to access Home Affairs services through their banking apps. 'When we say 'Home Affairs at Home,' that's what we mean,' he said. 'We want to bring Home Affairs to you, instead of you standing in a queue.' Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. IOL News
The Citizen
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Why mass deportation is failing SA's immigration system
Deportations are draining resources without solving immigration challenges. It's time to rethink our approach. Suspects in custody at the China Plaza Mall this month at Umbilo in Durban. It is reported that some companies hire illegal immigrants instead of local workers. Picture: Gallo Images Minister Leon Schreiber's budget speech in the National Assembly recently was rich in energy, statistics and digital reform promises. Yet, it was preceded by two quieter signals: a sobering portfolio committee report on budgetary pressures and Schreiber's own estimate, in February, that the department would have to 'make do with what it has'. Schreiber invoked the logic of compound interest to illustrate how smart, sustained action can yield exponential returns. However, if deportations are the investment and deterrence the return, then the department appears to be compounding inefficiencies, not public value. In a year marked by an unprecedented surge in deportation numbers, the question is not whether home affairs is working harder – as it clearly is – the question is whether it's working smarter. Does investing in mass deportations still make budgetary and policy sense, even to those who support the politically charged, somewhat frustrated, optics and xenophobic populism of groups like Operation Dudula, ostensibly in the name of preserving scarce public resources for South Africans? Home affairs allocated R897 million to its immigration affairs programme in the 2024-25 financial year. A significant portion of this is dedicated to enforcement: detentions, deportations and border management. ALSO READ: Reports of SA man arrested in US as eSwatini welcomes immigrants deported from US Lindela Repatriation Centre alone costs R6 million per month, or R70 million per year, and this is just to detain individuals prior to deportation. Schreiber reported that the department 'deported over 46 000 illegal immigrants, the highest number in five years and more than countries like France and Germany combined'. This dramatic operational scale should give rise to serious questions about sustainability. In its official reply to the parliamentary committee, the department confirmed that deportation-related expenditure for the full 2024-25 fiscal year was reported at R73 million. Against this expenditure, the reality remains that the estimated number of undocumented or fraudulently documented foreigners is not just highly vague, but often miscalculated and politically weaponised. Estimates range from a conservative one million, to higher estimates of over three million, and inflated figures up to six million. ALSO READ: Greece freezes asylum claims over migrant 'invasion' from Libya Whichever figure one accepts, deporting 69 000 people per year means addressing only a fraction of that population annually. This risks remaining an endless loop of ineffective, reactive policy that burns public funds without shifting the underlying dynamic. What if we were to imagine a different approach? One grounded not in fear and reaction, but in revenue, data integrity and constitutional accountability. What if we dared to imagine a two-year amnesty programme: undocumented migrants, or those holding fraudulent documents, coming forward voluntarily to undergo background and biometric checks, and for a temporary determined period of time to be granted an exemption against the payment of a nominal fee – for instance, a processing fee of R1 500 per person. Such fee to be payable to the department over and above the service fees otherwise applicable if the programme were to be administered via VFS Global, as was done with the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit process, plus a biometric fee. If even half of the cautiously estimated one million undocumented migrants applied, the department would raise R750 million in direct revenue. ALSO READ: Bus driver arrested after transporting nearly 80 undocumented Zimbabweans Full uptake could easily generate R1.5 billion over two years, more than enough to self-fund the programme, build biometric records, clear long-standing backlogs and allocate human resources more efficiently across departments. The programme could break even or even yield a surplus, particularly if digitised infrastructure is used. While deportations drain resources and create logistical bottlenecks, an amnesty has the potential to generate revenue, improve compliance and restore trust. An amnesty-driven regularisation effort would enable the state to capture biometric and identity data on hundreds of thousands of individuals currently operating outside the legal system. This foundational layer of information is essential to any system of immigration governance based on integrity, accountability and national security. Second, such a programme would help identify and isolate fraud syndicates through forensic vetting processes. ALSO READ: Politicians dangle immigration control as election bait Third, it would give the department institutional breathing room to focus on sustainable, digitised, rule-based migration governance. It would also free up public resources. An amnesty would signal a fundamental shift: that immigration control in South Africa is not just about keeping people out, but about governing the presence of those already here in a rational, rule-based way. This is not a plea for porous borders. It is a call for budgetary logic and long-term strategy. Deportation has its place, especially where criminality or risk is involved. But when used as a blanket policy response to a decades-old systemic failure, it becomes expensive and futile.
The Citizen
20-07-2025
- The Citizen
Home Affairs launches international service centres
The new Home Affairs international service centres provide a range of services previously unavailable to South Africans abroad. Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber announced on Friday the launch of new service centres abroad that will drastically reduce waiting times for South Africans living overseas. The new centres cut passport processing times from up to 18 months to just five weeks. 'The rollout of these service centres is yet another step on our journey towards delivering Home Affairs @ home,' Schreiber said. 'Home Affairs is now closer than ever before for South Africans living abroad.' First centres open in Australia and New Zealand Schreiber launched the first two service centres in Australia this week, opening facilities in Sydney and Melbourne. A third Australian centre is scheduled to open in Perth by the end of September. Two additional centres began operations this week in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand, according to the Department of Home Affairs. These join the existing operational service centre in London, UK. ALSO READ: If you are in South Africa illegally, self-deport now, warns Home Affairs Expansion plans across multiple continents The Department of Home Affairs will also open additional service centres in the United Arab Emirates and China over the coming months. France, Germany and the Netherlands will follow later this year, with North America targeted for the new year. The department said further announcements will follow when these service centres open their doors. Comprehensive services offered The new international service centres provide a range of critical services previously unavailable to South Africans abroad. They handle application intake and processing for both adult and minor passports, covering new applications and renewals. This eliminates the need for South Africans to travel or wait indefinitely for consular appointments. Birth registration applications will also be processed at these centres. A new online appointment booking system brings predictability and transparency to the process while still accommodating walk-in clients. Email support and SMS-based application tracking keep clients informed throughout the process. The centres operate Monday to Friday from 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 5pm. Most significantly, services now have a five-week turnaround time compared to the current processing period of 12 to 18 months. ALSO READ: 'My life is stuck': Home Affairs' three-year ID delay leaves man unable to marry Digital upgrades in development The department said it was working to upgrade the eHomeAffairs live capture platform. This upgrade will enable the centres to offer Smart ID services, eliminating paper forms entirely. 'While the Department's ultimate aim is to deliver Home Affairs @ home by making our services available online all around the world, the opening of service centres around the world brings immediate relief to South African citizens living in other countries,' the department stated. An announcement will be made once the platform upgrade is complete. ALSO READ: Need an ID? Home Affairs extends office hours Delivering dignity to South Africans abroad Schreiber emphasised that the improvements extend beyond mere service delivery. 'These improvements are not just about better service, they are about delivering dignity to South Africans – wherever they live in the world,' he said. The minister highlighted the rapid progress. 'Home Affairs is now delivering for South Africans – including those living abroad – like never before,' Schreiber added. 'In just twelve months under the government of national unity, Home Affairs is making rapid and sustained progress to resolve long-standing challenges that affect South Africans everywhere.' READ NEXT: Businesses tap Home Affairs' visa reforms to recruit foreign talent and boost tourism
