With a new episode of The Trader's Handbook about to drop, make sure you've listened to the most recent episode on trading commodities. It seems to have been a particularly popular episode, so there are lots of you out there with an interest in gold, oil and other commodities! Find it here>>>

In company news, it was a fairly quiet day after a flurry of announcements on Monday. Still, there's some important stuff, like Coronation posting high single-digit growth and commenting that in a country of negative cash flows in the savings industry, they are likely to keep experiencing outflows.

It must be nice to sit back as a corporate team, blame the external factors and just collect big salaries along the way. Entrepreneurs don't have that luxury. I can only compare this to a group like PSG Financial Services, where a deliberate strategy of building strength in distribution has paid off. Someone once told me that Brian Joffe of Bidvest fame had a sign by his desk that said "we don't participate in recessions" - whilst I can only hope that the story is true, I love the concept either way. Perhaps Coronation needs to start thinking that way as well.

If there's a Ghost Mail reader out there who can confirm that Joffe's sign isn't just an urban legend, that would be great!

Over at Old Mutual, some innovations in product development in Africa are helping to improve gross flows. Their metrics are generally heading in the right way at the moment, although they remain miles off the share price performance of competitor Sanlam.

Finally, RMB Holdings has given net asset value guidance. Even after adjusting for dividends, it looks like it may have dipped.

These stories and the Nibbles are all available in Ghost Bites here>>>

For the tax professionals and CFOs among you, Forvis Mazars have published an article on the concept of similar finance charges and the recently released interpretation note. Check it out here>>>

Our next Unlock the Stock session is with TWK, a group operating across various agriculture verticals. You can register to attend on 21 November for free here.

Have a great day!

Walmart has increased its sales guidance for the full year, with general merchandise (the juicy stuff at higher margins) seeing improvement at last. Although consumers are still focused on price, they can't delay discretionary purchases indefinitely. Combined with decreasing rates, this should boost revenue at Walmart and especially margins. They are also taking the fight to Walmart, with eCommerce sales up 22% in the US.

Although TVs and appliances seem to finally be in the trolley in the US, the same can't be said yet for DIY categories. Lowe's managed to beat earnings expectations in the latest quarter, but still expects a full-year sales decline. The dip in interest rates hasn't been enough to drive major household projects.

Remember, the improvement begins in consumer discretionary items. The improvement at Walmart is a sign that Lowe's (and rival Home Depot) will get some love as well, just not yet.

Our latest research in Magic Markets Premium is on Amazon. This is a perfect example of a platform business finally coming into its own, with the eCommerce business contributing positively as well. Does this make it a compelling choice vs. some of the Magnificent 7 peers? Subscribers find out this week.

We saw a strong close in US equity markets overnight, while European benchmarks have moved well off yesterday’s lows. Asian markets are trading in a mixed but muted fashion after the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) left lending rates unchanged this morning.

The JSE All-Share Index is expected to open modestly higher as it balances movements in its international index peers.

We have seen market sentiment improve on the assumption that Russia appears less likely to use nuclear weapons in the ongoing war with the Ukraine, which has now reached 1,000 days.

The dollar is trading flat this morning, although it's around its lowest levels in roughly 6 days. The rand continues to ebb and flow through the psychological R18/$ mark.

Oil prices are trading sideways this morning after pushing higher yesterday.

Gold looks to have ended its recent price correction and has been gaining on the back of a weaker dollar.

On the local data front, traders will want to watch out for local CPI inflation data ahead of tomorrow’s rate decision from the SARB.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R17.03/$ | US 10yr 4.40% | Gold $2,637/oz | Platinum $975/oz | Brent Crude $73.00

The macroeconomic update is based on the morning call update by IG Markets