Good morning Voornaam,
Happy Thursday! It's nearly the end of another week, as time marches on towards the summer break. You're nearly there.
For retailers of course, the December period is the most important time of the year. Woolworths released results yesterday and I'm afraid that they weren't nearly as tasty as the mince pies, with Fashion Beauty Home faltering at a time when Woolworths simply cannot afford it. The Food business is facing stiff competition, so the last thing the market wanted to see was underperformance elsewhere.
You can of course get all the details in Ghost Bites this morning, along with news from the likes of MultiChoice and Brait.
Speaking of MultiChoice, the company values the Ghost Mail audience and has placed its detailed results on the platform. You can (and should) read them here.
You will surely be aware that the weekly Ghost Wrap podcast is made possible by Mazars. Exciting news for my brand partner broke last night, with Mazars joining forces with FORVIS (the eighth largest public accounting firm in the US) to create a top 10 network firm by global rankings. Although the network firms will remain owned by their current respective partnerships, the worldwide brand will be Forvis Mazars. I will be engaging with the CEO of Mazars South Africa next week to bring you more insights on this story.
As you plan your diary next week, make space on Wednesday for a bizval webinar on the best time to sell a business. If you are a business owner, this will be a hugely useful discussion. Attendance is free but you must register at this link>>>
Enjoy your Ghost Mail - and I hope to see you on one of the two Unlock the Stock events later today!
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LATEST: Magic Markets podcast |
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In Episode 150 of Magic Markets, we revisited diabetes management company Dexcom with the help of Justine Brophy from AnBro Capital.
This is a great example of looking through the share price volatility to understand how the underlying business is performing. It's always important to keep testing the financial and strategic thesis for your positions.
This isn't just about Dexcom. It's about sharpening your approach. This podcast is brought to you by AnBro. |
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LATEST: Liquid gold: why gangsters choose olives over cocaine (by Dominique Olivier) |
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| Miniature cameras hidden in tie pins. Bribery money counted under tables. Swiss bank accounts, Turkish tankers and Caribbean shell companies.
No, we’re not talking about the cocaine trade. We’re talking about the Italian agromafia. |
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LATEST: Ghost Wrap podcast
(Bell Equipment | MTN | AVI | Truworths | De Beers) |
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| The latest Ghost Wrap podcast needs just a few minutes of your time to get you up to date on five companies across a variety of sectors. Ghost Wrap is brought to you by Mazars. |
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Bell Equipment and Calgro M3 returned to the Unlock the Stock platform in a joint session to share insights into the recent numbers and the strategic outlook.
You can watch the recording here, thanks to our partner A2X. |
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LATEST: Ghost Stories podcast with Nico Katzke of Satrix |
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| Nico Katzke is no stranger to Ghost Stories listeners. There's always so much to learn from him about markets and investing. This time, you also get to enjoy him putting me through my paces in the second half of the show. |
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LATEST: The ETF revolution - views from Satrix |
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Kingsley Williams of Satrix gives us nine reasons why the boom in ETFs makes sense.
In my opinion, every investor should be using ETFs in a portfolio. This is why I'm always grateful to Satrix for their insights in Ghost Mail. |
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DAILY: TreasuryONE Market Update After high drama in the aftermath of the release of inflation data, the dollar consolidated and won back some of the losses. The rand is at R18.26 this morning, which is still a lot better than some of the numbers we've seen this year!
The data release that the market focused on yesterday was retail sales data in the US, which came in better than expected (-0.1% vs. -0.3% expected). The PPI number came in at 1.3%, which is also better than the expected 1.9%. So overall, the market view is that inflation is under control in the US and consumers are slowing down.
There is little further data expected this week, so the question now is whether the rand can maintain these levels or head back to R18.50.
Notably, Brent Crude is only just keeping its head above the $80 level this morning. Gold is at $1,962. |
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| Get the latest on African Media Entertainment, Brait, Caxton - Cognition, Dipula Income Fund, Ethos, MultiChoice, Ninety One, Novus, Reinet, Telkom and Woolworths to keep you up to date. It's all available with a single click in Ghost Bites. |
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Signs of life at MultiChoice - but a tough road ahead For the first time in the longest time, there's growth in the DStv Premium subscriber base in South Africa. Could this mean that the pricing is right and that we've started to reach the bottom of that story, with sport keeping people invested in DStv?
Even sport doesn't help if the TV can't be switched on, so load shedding remains a big concern for MultiChoice. The Premium subscriber numbers are the silver lining in an otherwise tough result. I must also highlight that although Showmax is a strategic imperative, streaming economics are very difficult and losses are likely to mount as the platform scales. That's certainly been the experience in this period. You can get the MultiChoice story in detail at this link.
As mentioned in the intro, you must also read about Woolworths and the difficulties in the Fashion Beauty and Home segment. Food is also facing ongoing volumes pressure, with consumers looking for ways to save. When you look at the release from a company like Santam this week and note the increases in short-term insurance premiums, it's not hard to imagine what that does to the food budget of the average Woolworths consumer.
This is the value of reading widely on the market and piecing together what you are seeing.
To make that easier for you, Ghost Bites has everything you need from SENS, every single day. Aside from the companies already mentioned, the latest example also has news from African Media Entertainment, Brait (owner of Virgin Active amongst other assets), Caxton - Cognition, Dipula Income Fund, Ethos Capital, Ninety One, Novus, Reinet and Telkom. You can read it here>>> |
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Disclaimer
Our content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. You must do your own analysis before executing any investments or strategic decisions, based on your own circumstances. We do not provide personalised recommendations or views as to whether an investment approach or corporate strategy is suited to the needs of a specific individual or entity. You should take independent financial advice from a suitably qualified individual who gives due regard to your personal circumstances.
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The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in our content belong solely to the author or quoted individuals and/or entities, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organisation, committee or other group or individual, or any of our affiliates or brand partners. |
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