Founders, lend me your ears! Also, lend me an hour of your time next week Wednesday. The next bizval webinar is upon us, with this startup in my ecosystem doing some wonderful things. Our next topic is sales-driven value creation, which I know sounds like MBA-gumph but in reality will be full of really practical advice on making your company more valuable. Featuring special guests Garth Jemmett from We Explain Stuff and Johan Taljaard from Aurik, I'm excited about this one. Attendance is free, but you need to reserve your spot here>>>

While I've got those ears, have you listened to the recent Ghost Stories podcast with the CEO of Fedgroup, Grant Field? If you're curious about how you can inve st in lettuce stacks, nursery saplings and sweet, sweet honey, then this podcast is for you>>>

On the subject of agriculture, also be sure to listen to Episode 133 of Magic Markets. Featuring Wandile Sihlobo, a true agriculture expert, we touched on numerous topics related to the local agriculture industry. Find it here>>>

Put that SARB saving to good use

Recent updates on the JSE haven't been bullish across many companies, to be honest. Although the SARB has stopped beating us to death with rate hikes, the reality is that the local conditions aren't lekker right now.

Recent Ghost Global articles (like this one on the luxury industry) have tapped into the extensive Magic Markets Premium research library to show you the depth of insights available. At just R99/month and with no minimum monthly commitment, take some of that money you stashed away for more rate hikes and invest it in yourself instead. Whether for your portfolio or just your general business acumen, there's no investment quite like the gift of knowledge. And if podcasts aren't your vibe, then don't worry - every Premium report is available in written form, accompanied by important charts. Invest in yourself at this link>>>

More reasons to worry about retail

After the prior day's update from Pick n Pain (sorry), there was more news on the local market that points to consumer pressures.

On a day full of mining updates, there was an update from Truworths on its sales performance. The UK business saved the second half of the year, with Truworths Africa (including SA) suffering a major slowdown in sales growth in the second half. Yes, growth was still positive, but it doesn't look like it was enough to keep up with inflationary pressures.

Volumes are down in local retailers based on recent updates. You can see this by subtracting price inflation from like-for-like growth. The difference is sales volumes, which in many cases is showing negative growth vs. last year.

Another thing to keep an eye on is the recent director dealings at The Foschini Group, a retailer that took on a lot of debt for major acquisitions.

In addition to the retail news, you can get everything you need on Anglo American Platinum, Anglo American, BHP, Jubilee Metals, Kumba Iron Ore and Northam Platinum (a very NB announcement about the RB Plats stake) in Ghost Bites this morning. Outside of the mining industry, I also have important B-BBEE deal structuring precedent at Balwin, a sales update at Famous Brands, earnings at Karooooo and rare good news for Telkom.

It was a very busy day of news. I've done the heavy lifting for you in Ghost Bites. Read it here>>>

DealMakers - a Friday treat

You know the drill by now. The team at DealMakers swoops in on a Friday morning and makes our lives better with great summaries of the week's deal activity. You can read up about local M&A activity, local corporate finance activity and deals in Africa. Enjoy!

A little surprise from the SARB

The MPC decided to keep local interest rates unchanged yesterday, despite the market thinking that 25 basis points could be on the cards. Better-than-expected inflation data was a factor here, although TreasuryONE notes that the Reserve Bank Governor squashed any suggestions that this is the top of the interest rate cycle. It is too early to say that we've seen peak interest rates.

Although the rand did better than expected after the announcemen t, it was up against a rampant dollar and traded just below R18.00. Gold sold off, trading at $1,966 an once. Brent Crude hovered at the $80 a barrel level.

With that, I wish you a great weekend and the wisdom to realise that despite this breather from the SARB, things are still tough out there.