| There's a worrying trend out there: deals are falling over at the 11th hour. This is the next step in the bear market dance I'm afraid, as a general deterioration in market sentiment and investor confidence tends to result in people pulling the plug on risky transactions. The most severe recent example is Rebosis, with the deal to sell R3.3 billion worth of office properties falling over. We've now seen two more (far smaller) property deals fall over at Texton and Delta, with the latter needing to address high debt and vacancy levels in the portfolio. As an aside, I find myself wondering whether office portfolios may reap some rewards from load shedding, as companies are struggling with hybrid working arrangements when staff are unproductive for hours of the day. The counterargument is that pressure on the economy simply increases, which impacts demand for corporate space. Either way, it's a tough market out there. The reception to the new format of Ghost Bites yesterday was overwhelmingly positive and I appreciate the feedback. For these property updates and more from the JSE yesterday, read Ghost Bites at this link - the new format is here to stay! Speaking of improvements that are here to stay, my wonderful Ghost Grads are really having an impact. Four talented finance students have joined me in the business (meet them here). Karel Zowitsky now adds his voice to the mix, with an article covering Dis-Chem's acquisi tive activity over the past couple of years. This was prompted by the release of Dis-Chem's integrated annual report for the 2022 financial year. I added my market insights to the article, as I've been fortunate enough to see detailed pharmacy numbers in my previous life as an advisor. I'm familiar with the economics in this space and now you can become familiar with them as well by reading Karel's great article. Wichard Cilliers (Head of Market Risk at TreasuryONE) reminds us that yesterday was Independence Day in the US, so it was a quiet day for currencies. The rand achieved an intraday level of R16.24 to the dollar before drifting back to the mid R16.30s. Looking ahead to the rest of the week, there is some event risk lined up. We have the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision today. On Wednesday, we will see the release of FOMC minutes from the previous meeting. To end off the week, non-farm payrolls will be released on Friday. With the US back in the markets today, we anticipate volatility. To help you learn even when the lights go out, there's a great episode of Magic Markets that you should ensure you listen to. In Episode 82, we welcomed Petri Redelinghuys from Herenya Capital Advisors and a few of the traders from the Herenya community who contributed to the show by sending us voice notes. The traders focused on sharing real-world insights into risk management techniques and the importance of having a trading journal. If you are serious about trading (the real thing, not the nonsense you see on Instagram) then make sure you listen to the show here. Good luck navigating Eskom today and remember to smile! | 