You're a Ghost Mail reader, so that means you probably already know that Groupe Canal+ owns a stake in MultiChoice of over 20%. Something you may not be aware of is that such a stake technically breaches local regulations, so headaches may be coming down the line.

The regulators may turn a blind eye to the small amount by which the French media company's shareholding already exceeds the 20% limit related to foreign ownership of a commercial broadcasting licensee. In the case of a takeover bid though, it's very hard to see how existing laws won't block a transaction.

This left us wondering: why is Canal+ doing this in the first place?

As Ghost Grad Sinawo Bikitsha delved into the MultiChoice story, she discovered that this isn't MultiChoice's first French kiss. It certainly isn't Canal+'s first foray into Africa either. Owned by F rench media giant Vivendi, Canal+ has done prior deals in countries like Nigeria and Rwanda.

At this stage we can only speculate about a range of future outcomes. Read this article and let us know what you think might happen!

For the best summary of JSE company news from the prior day, Ghost Bites has you covered. We saw an important update from Tiger Brands about the deciduous fruits business in Ashton, some shareholder register action at Tongaat Hulett, a sale of mining royalties by South32, bullish commentary from City Lodge Hotels and numerous other updates ranging from mining giants down to tech small caps. There's no better way to get a concise and insightful update on the local market. READ GHOST BITES HERE>>>

There's been so much going on in the world of commodities and currencies in recent weeks. Thankfully, the excellent team at TreasuryONE keeps us on top of markets outside of equities. I'll start with the good news: the oil price dropped by 7% yesterday, with recession fears dampening demand. Brent Crude is down 20% from its high of $125 per barrel just one month ago. This should help relieve so me inflationary pressures, though the strong dollar mitigates much of the benefit for us at the pumps in South Africa.

The rand at least broke back below R17.00 and the euro was pushed hard to parity (1:1 with the dollar) but could not break through. The all-important US CPI print is due today and the market will watch it closely. TreasuryONE expects inflation data to still be elevated as some pullbacks in commodity prices will not feed through in this print.

All of this puts the Fed in a tough spot, as the likelihood of a US recession in 2022 increases. Although hiking rates aggressively is the way to try and curb inflation, this will lead to the economy suffering and earnings from US equity markets coming under pressure. The US equity markets are already in a bear market with small relief rallies from time to time.

This is your last chance to register for tomorrow morning's exciting webinar at 9am with Andre Cilliers, Currency Strategist at TreasuryONE. He will be presenting the topic "Recession, depression and the insane petrol price: what does this mean for the rand?" and I suspect that the poor man has already had to update his presentation several times in the past few days. The markets are just so volatile at the moment. To make sense of it all, join us at this free event. REGISTER HERE FOR THE WEBINAR>>>

The markets are scary, I know. Over the long term, investing in equities is the way to create wealth and reach the financial goals you have set yourself. Of course, being open to tactical sho rt-term positions is also important.

There are other ways out there to make money, including a few that you may not have heard of. One such strategy is crypto arbitrage, which the great team from Future Forex has discussed with us on Magic Markets a few times before. The ability to potentially make an 80% return just by cycling through your foreign investment allowance is particularly appealing in a market like this. Find out more by listening to Episode 83 of Magic Markets.

Have a great Wednesday!