| US markets were closed on Friday to mark the Independence Day holiday on Saturday. So, with US investors out of play, Capitec may have got off lightly after it warned of a big rise in impairments and a sharp deterioration in earnings. It's shares fell just 1.8% despite the more than 70% decline in profit it expects to report for the six months to August. The bank says it has also become a lot more prudent when granting credit due to Covid-19 but lending may normalise next year. Meanwhile, investors will welcome news from Old Mutual that it has finally filled the CEO post left vacant following its spat with Peter Moyo over a year ago. Iain Williamson, who has been acting CEO since then, had his permanent position confirmed on Friday. He's an actuary and has been with the group for close to three decades so will be seen as a safe pair of hands. More to follow down below, along with Grit Real Estate's commitment to a final dividend for the year, while Capital & Regional is confident that its positioning in the sector should shield it from structural changes in the retail industry. Finally, five years since the introduction of the amended Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Codes of Good Practice (Codes), BEE deals continue to stimulate M&A activity in South Africa. That's according to a DealMakers article penned by Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr directors Allan Hannie and Verushca Pillay. Coincidentally, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr heads the rankings for legal advisers in the latest M&A scores. Follow this link to find out the other advisors, sponsors and professional services groups at the top of the tables this year. I hope you have a good week. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
The latest from Ingham Analytics - March South African Reserve Bank accounts The SA Reserve Bank has issued its latest financial statements. Ingham Analytics say that what is clear is that the bank is very constrained in what it can accomplish in a Covid-19 induced crisis. Did you know that Standard Bank has total assets more than double that of the SARB? Don't even think of a Federal Reserve type quantitative easing programme. For shareholders of JSE listed banks and indeed customers, the quality of your exposure is contingent on the reputation of the central bank. Confidence is the common denominator. "Is the Reserve Bank Father Christmas?" gives us the lowdown. The Anglo American share price, on both the LSE and JSE, has been range bound this past month but year-to-date the share is off 17% in pounds and 5% in rand. Given what has happened to many domestic-facing JSE shares that isn't bad. In "Cold on coal" Ingham Analytics say that whilst BHP is a preferred exposure in mining Anglo American has quality assets and the dividend seems secure. Prosus released annual results last week. Excluding the outsized impact of Tencent, net cash used in operating activities was $591m - up 21% - and the net headline loss was $440m - up 88%. In "iQIYI - a s(c) or (t)reaming deal for Tencent?" Ingham Analytics say that the Prosus see-through discount to the stake in Tencent has widened in the past month - they continue to warn that if the magnitude of losses and cash outflow continue that'll only put further pressure on the discount. | 