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Good Morning Voornaam,

So, there you were, innocently minding your own business with a diversified portfolio of Coronation, Pick n Pay and Sappi. These are fairly dependable companies with no overlap at all in operations.

Yesterday, they lost 11%, 8.5% and 10.2% respectively. Meanwhile, WBHO (yes, the construction stock) gained 3.5%. Markets are nothing if not exciting and often incredibly cruel.

Coronation is fighting with SARS. Pick n Pay is fighting with load shedding (and its own shortcomings vs. arch-rival Shoprite) and Sappi is fighting against a drop in volumes and the impact of this cycle on the share price. In contrast, Lesaka Technologies (the renamed Net1) jumped 13% despite reporting a loss.

Investing isn't easy. I try simplify it as much as I can in Ghost Bites, so be sure to read today's edition to make sense of the latest updates from Anglo American and Steinhoff alongside the aforementioned major market moves>>>

If you're looking for a refresher of the big stories from last week, Ghost Wrap is perfect for you. Brought to you by Mazars, this podcast needs just six-and-a-half minutes to bring you up to speed on Nampak, Pepkor, Shoprite, Super Group, Ellies, MTN and RCL. Enjoy it here>>>

The rand is on a slippery slope

The rand seemed to visit Gold Reef City over the past 24 hours, riding a Powell-inspired rollercoaster that saw it trade between R17.50 and R17.80. This is out of line with other emerging market currencies against the dollar, so some of this could be nervousness ahead of the State of the Nation Address on Thursday.

TreasuryONE highlights the vulnerability of the rand at the moment and the potential to test the R17.90 level.

Microsoft-Activision deal under fire

Competition regulators have certainly answered the Call of Duty. In a significant setback for the deal, the UK regulator has made it clear that it could move to block the deal based on findings that the transaction could harm competition in the UK gaming market.

This isn't good news for Microsoft, where the Xbox business is struggling to compete effectively against the likes of Sony. Still, with all the focus on Microsoft's AI efforts at the moment, the share price barely noticed. Activision Blizzard traded 2% lower following the announcement.

Don't miss these podcasts

Siyabulela Nomoyi (Quantitative Portfolio Manager at Satrix) joined me on Ghost Stories to talk about the importance of China to the South African economy and some of our listed companies. Listen to it here>>>
Jonti Osher and Brent Blankfield of Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management joined us on Magic Markets to discuss what makes a business investable for Westbrooke, delivering wonderful insights for company founders and enthusiasts of finance in general. Find it here>>>

Good luck in the markets today!

Ghost Bites (Anglo American | Coronation | Lesaka | Orion | Pick n Pay | Sappi | Steinhoff | WBHO)

Anglo invests in Canada. Coronation's dividend is gone thanks to SARS. Lesaka jumps after beating guidance. Orion lands the IDC package. Pick n Pay is doing horribly. Sappi dips on a downturn. Steinhoff reduces Pepkor. WBHO earnings jump.

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