All company announcements are not created equal, at least not in terms of general reader interest and what we can learn from them.

For example, the Alexander Forbes earnings update tells us a lot about their challenges but not a lot about the broader economy. The Bidvest update is full of fascinating insights about relative prospects of different business models under pandemic conditions. For that reason, Bidvest is our lead story this morning.

The Sibanye-Stillwater share buyback gives me mixed feelings. I'm a shareholder, so I'm glad they have buckets of cash. I'm just saddened by a reality where the management team will allocate more cash to buybacks than to investment projects in South Africa.

In many ways, we are a land of wasted opportunity. One can only hope that this trajectory will improve at some stage. Until then, corporate management teams will act in the best interests of their shareholders rather than our country in terms of job creation etc.

Speaking of wasted opportunities, Delta Property Fund has made progress with its financial reporting. We now have earnings until August 2020 and they don't paint a pretty picture, although that period was the worst of our lockdowns. The auditor's report speaks volumes about the state of affairs in that company as it approaches the JSE to lift the suspension on its shares.

Looking abroad, one of the young writers I collaborate with on thefinanceghost.com has written a great piece on Alibaba. $BABA has been a sore point in my portfolio, as Jack Ma found himself on the wrong side of Chinese authorities. In Alibaba and the Forty Dips, we consider whether the underlying investment thesis has materially changed to justify the drop in share price.

Finally, make sure you don't fall behind on Magic Markets episodes! In the latest show, we have a detailed discussion on US growth counters and their recent sell-off. Through a worked example on Cloudflare, Craig Antonie of AnBro Capital Investments explains why the long-term picture is important when considering the high multiples of growth companies.

I hope you have a lovely Wednesday!

The Finance Ghost