Ghost Mail readers are busy people. This is why Ghost Wrap exists, as you need just 8 minutes a week to get up to speed with the most important and interesting recent company updates. Brought to you by Mazars, you can get the latest on Richemont, ArcelorMittal, Pick n Pay, Truworths, Mr Price, Super Group, Northam Platinum and Vodacom by listening to the podcast here>>>

If you own a business or you have ambitions to own a business, then the bizval webinar on Wednesday this week is not to be missed. Featuring Garth Jemmett from We Explain Stuff and Johan Taljaard from Aurik, as well as yo ur favourite ghost and Graham Stephen of bizval, we will be talking about sales-driven value creation and the general ecosystem that needs to be built in a business to make it more valuable. This is proper stuff and attendance is free if you register at this link>>>

Other stuff I don't want you to miss:

• Episode 134 of Magic Markets is a discussion on the impact of rate hikes on e.g. the banking sector and why emerging markets tend to follow the lead of the Fed.
• Ghost Stories gives you a great way to learn abo ut the impact investing products at Fedgroup. CEO Grant Field explained why they built a platform to enable investment in fascinating assets like lettuce stacks and nursery saplings.

Right. Let's get into Monday's company news on the JSE.

Mining. Mining everywhere.

If the only rock you appreciate is the music, then look away now. Monday was all about mining updates on the JSE, including some of the most important mining houses on our market.

This ranged from single commodity players like Anglo American Platinum (assuming we treat the PGM basket as a single commodity) through to a diversified beast like South32. Production has generally been a mixed bag in the sector. Commodity prices have have been under pressure recently, so there really hasn't been much room for error on the production side.

In M&A news, the results are finally in for the Impala Platinum offer to Royal Bafokeng Platinum shareholders. The acceptance rate was so high in the end that Implats can use a "squeeze-out" provision in the Companies Act to get its hands on all the shares and subsequently delist the company. Another JSE listing bites the dust.

To get updates on these companies and more (like Alphamin and Wesizwe Platinum), read Ghost Bites this morning>>>

No soft landing in Europe

If the PMI data is anything to go by, then the soft-landing narrative in Europe has taken a knock. In other words, tightening monetary policy (higher interest rates etc.) is hitting hard, with the manufacturing sector in Europe slipping into negative territory. TreasuryONE notes that the services sector is at risk of following suit. This will likely influence the market's assumptions around central bank decisions in the coming weeks, with PMI having declined in Germany, France, the UK and the broader eurozone. Forward-looking indicators suggest further weakness, including in the labour market.

As usual, the sun shines brighter in the US. Although the US composite PMI missed expectations, manufacturing was ahead of expectations vs. services tha t missed. Crucially, the composite reading shows that the US is still in expansion territory. The PMI figures gave the dollar support, although the rand also had a good day and traded in the range of R17.75 to R18.00.

The Fed decision is scheduled for Wednesday night. That's going to be critically important for the rand.

Have a great day!