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Good morning Voornaam,

Highlights in this edition of Ghost Mail:

Telkom is a step closer to possibly selling Swiftnet
Lighthouse sells Hammerson shares
Life's disposal of Alliance Medical Group is unconditional
TreasuryONE on oil prices

We are back to normal today! Ghost Bites today is by no means a bumper edition of updates, but there was enough on the market yesterday to justify a full article.

Along with the market news, give your brain something different to read by checking out Dominique Olivier's excellent article on artist Keith Haring and why his IP is suddenly on merchandise everywhere, decades after his passing. For the curious minds among you, here's the article>>>

There's a new Magic Markets episode coming this week. Make sure you're up to date by listening to the latest show on Oracle and Adobe, covering two tech giants with very different share price track records. Brought to you by data automation specialists B2IT, this is a great show. Find it here>>>

Also be sure to listen to Ghost Stories with Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix, a familiar voice to listeners. He joined me to tackle the difficult topic of saving and investing over December - January, along with a wide range of topics linked to ETFs. We also talked about some positioning going into 2024. Find it here>>>

Let's go!

Currencies, commodities and rates: TreasuryONE Market Update

The rand was relatively stable yesterday, despite all the noise around the country ranging from Eskom through to South Africa's headline-grabbing genocide case against Israel. We are going to be in the news a lot, potentially upsetting some Western countries along the way. Brace yourselves.

This week, US Congress must make a deal to avoid a government shutdown. That would help calm investors. Also, the US will report on inflation, which may slightly increase. If it does, that would support the idea that the fight against inflation isn't over yet. Markets are still 50/50 on a March rate cut, while looking for at least five and possibly six cuts this year. The Fed is only forecasting three cuts for 2024. The rand closed yesterday at R18.60 against the dollar.

Although recent supply concerns around oil have helped prop up the price, the reality is that demand is a challenge, particularly in China. Saudi Arabia needs oil prices above $80 a barrel to meet budget, yet the company is setting a lower price for February to try and keep customers. Interestingly, February and March is a time of lower oil demand because refineries close for maintenance. Brent closed last night at $76 and WTI at just below $71.

Gold is trading at $2,033, Platinum at $948 and Palladium at $1,003.

READ: Why is Keith Haring everywhere right now?
(by Dominique Olivier)

In her latest column, Dominique Olivier discusses the fascinating world of artist IP and particularly how it can simply blow up decades after an artist has passed away. The star of this show: Keith Haring.

Learn about post-mortem artist IP in this article

LISTEN: Magic Markets podcast

In Episode 156 of Magic Markets, we looked at technology groups Adobe and Oracle. They might both be in the tech sector, but the performance could hardly be more different. We dig into the recent numbers and latest strategic direction in this show brought to you by international data and automation specialists B2IT.

Listen to Magic Markets Episode 156 here (26 minutes long)

LISTEN: What to do with those festive savings with Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix

Saving and investing over December - January isn't easy. To keep you inspired, Siya joined me to cover a wide range of ETF topics - along with some tips of how to keep those goals going over this period of endless spending!

Listen to the Ghost Stories podcast here (38 minutes long)

READ: Letter from the Editor - from Cape to Clarens

A roadtrip across South Africa is always a treat. Of course, it's also a way to see what is really going on out there. I wrote about my experience from Cape Town to Clarens (and back again!)

Read about my roadtrip and observations in this article

The first proper day of updates

It feels like 2024 is finally underway!

Having said that, a lot of the news yesterday was just a hangover from 2023. For example, ever-suffering Kibo Energy is still desperately trying to get joint venture "partner" (because no real partner behaves like this) Proventure Holdings to actually pay the money it needs to pay as part of the JV agreement. This has been going on for a while.

Life Healthcare has met all the conditions required to finalise the sale of Alliance Medical Group, so that's a nice start to 2024.

Another update that spilled over from last year is perhaps the most important one of the day, being Telkom's renewal of the cautionary announcement related to the potential disposal of Swiftnet and a note that the prospective buyer has completed a confirmatory due diligence. There's still no guarantee at all of a deal here.

Finally, Texton has completed the rights offer that irritated me so much last year and Lighthouse has sold a big chunk of shares in Hammerson.

Get all the details in Ghost Bites at this link>>>

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