And many other positive updates

Good morning Voornaam,

As you are well aware, South Africa isn't an easy place to do business. SENS can be rather depressing sometimes. Yesterday wasn't one of those days, with several companies releasing positive updates. Don't miss the chance to read about them in Ghost Bites!

Dominique Olivier's olive oil (how's that for a tongue twister?) article proved to be popular yesterday. It turns out that gangsters will get involved in any industry that can make them money, not just the illicit drug trade. Read it here if you missed it yesterday.

There's also a double-header of Unlock the Stock on Thursday. You can attend the Karooooo event at midday and/or the TWK event soon thereafter at 13:15. Registration for each event is separate. Unlock the Stock is brought to you by A2X and you can register to attend here>>>

Also check out the opportunity to win a bizval bootcamp (a detailed session to help you prepare to sell your business) if you do a free bizval express valuation at this link. I am very proud of what we are busy with in bizval, as investment banking quality skills are being delivered to SME founders at prices they can actually afford.

Finally, if you're saving up for a deposit on your first house, then AA Inform is here to, well, inform you. They've dished out four essential tips in this article.

Enjoy your Ghost Mail!

BRAND NEW: Magic Markets podcast

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.

Saving for a deposit on your first house?

Buying your first home is anything but easy. It's one of the biggest decisions you'll make, actually.

I strongly believe that the renting vs. buying decision isn't as simple as conventional wisdom would have us believe.

But if you have decided to take the plunge and step onto the property ladder, this article from AA Inform has some useful tips.

BRAND NEW:
Liquid gold: why gangsters choose olives over cocaine
(by Dominique Olivier)

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.

BRAND NEW: Ghost Wrap podcast

(Bell Equipment | MTN | AVI | Truworths | De Beers)

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.

LATEST: Unlock the Stock

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.

LATEST: Ghost Stories podcast with Nico Katzke of Satrix

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.

LATEST: The ETF revolution - views from Satrix

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.

DAILY: TreasuryONE Market Update

On a subdued day in the market, the rand tested last week's high of R18.80 against the US dollar. It is trading at R18.73 this morning, so that resistance level has held for now. The more important thing to focus on is the imminent release of US CPI inflation data, which is why yesterday was a quieter day in the currency market in terms of volumes.

After being hammered last week, commodities clawed back some of their losses on a day of consolidation. Brent Crude is at $82.84 this morning, with the move in the past month being counterintuitive in the context of global geopolitical tensions. It seems that the expected global economic slowdown has outweighed the worries around supply.

DAILY: Ghost Bites

Get the latest on Alexander Forbes, Altron, Ethos Capital, Harmony Gold, Premier, Raubex, Shoprite, Vodacom and Zeda to keep you up to date. It's all available with a single click in Ghost Bites.

A flurry of positive updates

Prepare yourself for the investing equivalent of a great trip to your therapist. There were a number of updates on the market yesterday that had a positive flavour, showing that companies can still find ways to perform well even when the broader picture is a bit ugly.

Alexander Forbes, Altron, Harmony, Premier, Raubex, Shoprite and Zeda all posted updates to be proud of. There are also some fantastic lessons in here about the importance of valuation, as Harmony has had an exceptional year for shareholders and Shoprite's share price actually closed slightly lower yesterday despite such a strong update.

It all comes down to what has already been priced in. The best returns in the market come from spotting the companies that the market is underestimating (or overestimating, if you are willing and able to take short positions).

I'm afraid that Vodacom isn't on the list of positive updates. I am generally bearish on telecoms unless things improve in Africa, as most of the growth is coming from there. The latest numbers out of Vodacom have done nothing to change my mind.

Finally, there's also news from Ethos Capital Partners that suggests that a value unlock strategy might be on the cards. At such a large discount to net asset value, I'm not surprised.

Get everything you need to know in Ghost Bites at this link>>>

 

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