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Good morning Voornaam,

British American Tobacco is running ahead of expectations this year. That's good for the business and not so great for society, but it is what it is. It's interesting just how much they are struggling in the United States though!

Over at Momentum, a capital markets day was helpful for investors to understand more about their advice-led model and the strategies they are putting in place to achieve 2027 targets.

Hudaco announced a small bolt-on acquisition, which gave me a great opportunity to explain what this actually is. And finally, Bell Equipment gave more details on the ugly recent trading statement by talking about the broader trading environment at the AGM.

Get the details on all these updates and the Nibbles in Ghost Bites at this
link>>>

Buckle up for a fantastic new Ghost Stories podcast featuring Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix. We decided to do a life-after-COVID show looking back on five years of the markets. Siya dug into the stats and brought excellent insights to the discussion. I cannot recommend this enough. Find it here>>>

There's a fresh episode of Unlock the Stock for you to sink your teeth into. Calgro M3 is no stranger to the platform, but they have have a new CEO in place and the recent results are worth understanding in detail. Watch it here>>>

Finally, the latest piece by Dominique Olivier is the story of Red Bull's incredible business journey, which all started when an Austrian businessman sampled an energy drink in Thailand. The rest, as they say, is history. Give yourself wings here>>>

Have a great day!

SATRIX: Life after COVID - a five-year review of the markets

Five years ago, the world was a wild place. We were "staying home and staying safe" - and global central banks were cutting rates dramatically in an effort to stimulate economies under impossible circumstances.

With a great selection of statistics to share with the listeners, Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix was a wealth of knowledge in this podcast about how markets have performed in recent years, particularly in terms of which indices did well and which were disappointing.

Get a healthy dose of market insights at this link>>>

Intengo Market: Nuances of the South African Listed Debt Market

South Africa’s listed debt market presents an intriguing blend of opportunities and challenges. Characterised by its unique structure, participant dynamics, and liquidity constraints, this is a space worth examining for institutional and retail investors alike. This overview is brought to you by Intengo Market. Enjoy it here>>>

GHOST WRAP: April's droppers and whoppers

There may have been many public holidays in April, but that didn't stop the market from reacting to the broader geopolitical turmoil. With recession concerns as a key theme, which stocks did well and which ones delivered a nasty drop? This podcast is an overview of recent big share price moves among larger local companies on the JSE, revealing some interesting trends. Ghost Wrap is brought to you by Forvis Mazars. You can find the recording and the transcript at this link>>>

GHOST BITES - Making sense of SENS on the local market

British American Tobacco is running ahead of expectations. Momentum's capital markets day was interesting. Hudaco announced a bolt-on acquisition. Bell Equipment gave an update on the operating environment. Get the details in Ghost Bites>>>

Unlock the Stock - Calgro M3

In the 54th edition of Unlock the Stock, Calgro M3 returned to the platform. With a new CEO in place, they discussed the recent numbers and the growth strategy. The recording of the management presentation and interactive Q&A is available at this link>>>

DOMINIQUE OLIVIER - Red Bull: the thing with wings

With over two-thirds of the energy drink market in a vice grip, Red Bull isn’t just a beverage - it’s the undisputed overlord of its category. But what does any of this have to do with death-defying stunts, football teams and the youngest Formula 1 driver in history? Welcome to perhaps the best example of lifestyle marketing in the world. Give yourself wings here>>>

INVESTEC PODCAST: Wine in Focus - Investing in Wine and Pairing Enjoyment with Returns

Wine in Focus is an Investec Focus Radio five-part vodcast series hosted by Lerato Motshologane, a dealmaker at Investec for Business and founder of Discover Wines. Lerato chats to wine makers, investors, farmers and judges on everything from how to invest in wine, to innovations changing the way we farm, and South Africa's growing prominence on the international fine wine market. Get the insights in this podcast>>>

International Business Snippet:

Crowdstrike had a rough time in after-hours trading yesterday, taking a 5% knock in the initial response to earnings. They were in line with revenue and ahead of earnings for the latest quarter, but the market cares more about the outlook for these stocks.

After all, Crowdstrike is very much a growth stock that is still focused on talking about free cash flow margin rather than net earnings, mainly because they use stock-based compensation to reward staff with shares rather than additional cash. This does wonders for their cash flow, yet it dilutes shareholders over time. Share buybacks are then used to offset this impact, so all this trickery does is (1) avoid the stock-based compensation landing in "adjusted EBITDA" and (2) inflate free cash flow that is then used for share buybacks that don't actually achieve anything over time.

The US market is full of stocks like these, which is why our work in Magic Markets Premium is so helpful to investors. We help you understand these concepts, along with the business strategy and what the numbers are telling us. Each report also includes a technical analysis of the chart, along with a fundamental piece on the valuation. All this for just R99/month! This week, we've covered off-price retailer TJX.

Magic Markets: US Downgrade and JPMorgan Views

Magic Markets: The US credit downgrade by Moody’s wasn’t a huge surprise, as they are just playing catch-up to what other ratings agencies already did. The complacency in the market in response to the downgrade is interesting though, as it became the catalyst for us to talk about the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

In the same week, a JPMorgan investor day provided an excellent opportunity to dig into the wisdom of not just Jamie Dimon, but CFO Jeremy Barnum as well. Aside from some insights into JPMorgan’s view on the economic outlook, Barnum delivered an absolute masterclass in capital allocation.

We covered these topics here>>>

Macroeconomic indicators and macro update

Today is the deadline for US trading partners to submit their "best offer" in order to avoid steep import tariffs, coinciding with the implementation of increased US duties on imported steel and aluminum.

European and US index futures are steady in early trading after notable gains yesterday.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng indices have extended their rally, driven by gains in biotech and rare earth sectors, alongside hopes that a US-China phone call will ease trade tensions.

The dollar index edged up slightly yesterday but remains close to its lowest levels in six weeks.

The South African rand remains firm this morning, though off its recent highs. Futures indicate a flat to slightly lower opening for the JSE All-Share Index.

Gold prices have dipped slightly from the previous close but continue to hold strong amid ongoing global uncertainties. Oil prices remain more or less unchanged today.

This update is provided by Shaun Murison. Connect with him on LinkedIn here.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R17.88/$ | US 10yr 4.45% | Gold $3,357/oz | Platinum $1,075/oz | Brent Crude $63.84