New vehicle sales continued their miserable performance last month, falling 9.5% from August 2015.SA's vehicle sales hit the skids in 2016NEW vehicle sales continued their miserable performance last month, falling 9.5% from August 2015.The South African market for the first eight months of 2016 was down 10.8% on last year.The industry sold 46146 vehicles in August, compared with 50985 a year earlier, DTI figures released yesterday showed.On the export front August's figure of 35620 sales was nearly 27% higher than last year's 28112. That took the year-to-date total to 232324, up 3.1% from 225415 on the back of a period of slowing growth rates.The only sector to buck the general slide was extra-heavy trucks, by 1.7%.- © BDlive 2016Irish publishers livid over EU's Apple ruleTHE EU's $14.5-billion (about R210-billion) back tax bill on Apple is "total political crap", CEO of Apple Inc Tim Cook said in the US yesterday ."They just picked a number from I don't know where," Cook told the Irish Independent in an interview, estimating Apple's average annual tax on its profits at 26%.Cook said he would fight closely with Ireland to overturn the ruling, which he said had "no basis in law or in fact".It is by far the largest anti-competition penalty imposed on a company by the EU."No one did anything wrong here and we stand together," Cook told the newspaper. - ReutersFamous Brands gulps up Gourmet for R2bnFAMOUS Brands' latest acquisition - and the largest in its history - is UK chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen for R2.1-billion, the restaurant franchiser said yesterday morning.The statement ended speculation over its cautionary announcement on August 12.The group has announced a string of deals since former CEO Kevin Hedderwick switched roles to group strategic adviser responsible for merger and acquisition activity in March.Unlike Famous Brands' other recent deals the UK transaction falls under the JSE's category 2 classification, requiring the value to be disclosed. - ©BDlive 2016Samsung feels heat as batteries catch fireTHE recovery in Samsung Electronics' mobile business suffered a blow yesterday as reports of exploding batteries forced it to delay shipments of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, and knocked $7-billion (about R102-billion) off its market value.Faults with the new premium flagship device could deal a major blow to the South Korean giant, which was counting on the Galaxy Note 7 to maintain its strong mobile earnings momentum."This is buzz-kill for Samsung," IDC analyst Bryan Ma said.Several people posted images and videos of charred Galaxy Note 7s online and said their phones had caught fire. - ReutersSapo in line to pay off debt by 2018 - CEOTHE SA Post Office says it will get its financial books in order by 2018 after paying off its creditors."We have raised all the capital that we need, settled all the labour liabilities and have structured a deal going forward."We will also pay all our creditors, which will all happen in a short while," said Sapo CEO Mark Barnes.Sapo has also secured a three-year loan facility of R3.7-billion, consolidating its existing facilities of R1-billion.The CEO said these funds would be used in part to settle historical labour matters.Sapo posted a loss of R1.5-billon last year. - TMG Digital..