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Good morning Voornaam,

Turnaround stories come in all shapes and sizes. Nampak's management deserves plenty of credit for what they've managed to pull off, with the balance sheet finally safe and bankers willing to put in sustainable funding packages.

Over at Spar, they can only dream of being on that trajectory. They are busy raising facilities to help them get out of Poland - remember that little disaster? I've gotta say that Switzerland is starting to look like the next headache for them, so there's plenty to keep an eye on at Spar.

PPC has been another successful turnaround story, although the recent update suggests that any GNU-related benefits are taking their time to trickle down into the construction industry. Did the share prices on the local market get ahead of themselves?

Netcare isn't nearly as exciting as these other names, yet the latest update suggests that this could be a strong year for them. I just wish we had a better read-through for society at large, with strong growth in mental health services and a declining trend in maternity cases.

I covered these stories along with Ethos Capital, MC Mining, Rainbow Chicken and York Timber. I also dealt with loads of smaller updates and director dealings in the Nibbles section.

Get it all in Ghost Bites, your one-click summary of local company news at this link>>>

IG Markets South Africa has shared another great piece with us, this time on how to create a trading plan in 7 steps. Trading requires immense discipline, with a trading plan helping tremendously with keeping you focused and on track. Learn all about the elements of these plans here>>>

Have a great day!

FEATURED: The Trader's Handbook Ep 7

IG Markets Episode 7: Building on previous discussions around technical trading indicators, we explored the concept of volatility and its significance in managing risk. We talked about stop losses, leverage and position sizing. We also included a piece on support and resistance lines. Learn all about it at this link>>>

FEATURED: CA Sales Holdings on Unlock the Stock

Unlock the Stock: CA Sales Holdings has been a regular feature of Unlock the Stock. Those who have backed the strategy have gotten excellent returns from it. In this video, they presented the recent numbers and engaged with the audience's questions. Get it here>>>

Satrix: Index-tracking and the balance between returns and fees

Satrix: The importance of fees in an investment strategy cannot be emphasised enough, especially when you consider the power of compounding. In this piece, Satrix explains how index-tracking strategies help balance returns and fees. Find it here>>>

Dominique Olivier: Gentrification, gondolas and gelato

Dominique Olivier: There aren't many professions out there that are still passed down through multiple family generations. Although Venice shows signs of gentrification, the gondolier industry isn't one of them. Read more here>>>

Magic Markets: How to Interpret Profits

Magic Markets: Doing your own research isn't easy, especially when you consider how complicated financial statements are. In this episode, we explain the most important parts of the income statement and how to interpret it in a useful way. Get it here>>>

Ghost Bites - local company news:

Ghost Bites: The latest on Ethos Capital, MC Mining, Nampak, Netcare, PPC, Rainbow Chicken, Spar and York Timber along with numerous Nibbles in Ghost Bites here>>>

Ghost Wrap:

Ghost Bites: Get up to date on the performance and latest news at Sibanye-Stillwater, Truworths, Finbond and Barloworld in just a few minutes. Brought to you by Forvis Mazars, you can enjoy Ghost Wrap here>>>

Investec podcast: responsible investing

Investec Wealth & Investment International has launched a comprehensive guidebook on responsible investing. In the latest episode of the No Ordinary Wednesday, Jeremy Maggs speaks to the authors, Boipelo Rabothata and Maxine Gray. Enjoy it here>>>

International Business Snippet:

The automotive industry seems to be going from bad to worse, although we have to remember that Stellantis is one of the weakest players in the game and so their troubles are particularly severe. They've indicated an adjusted operating income margin of between 5.5% and 7.0% for full year 2024, which is way off the double digit outlook that was previously given to the market. Quite shockingly, they expect industrial free cash flow to be between -€5 million and -€10 million, which is awful vs. the usual story of positive free cash flow.

At the other end of the price spectrum, Aston Martin has announced a 1,000 unit reduction due to supply chain issues and weak demand in China. For a luxury manufacturer, that's a huge drop in units. The company no longer expects to achieve positive free cash flow in the second half of the year. The share price tanked by over 24% based on this news!

Our latest research in Magic Markets Premium is on McDonald's. Has the company lost its edge in providing the cheapest fast food around? You'll find out in the latest report for our subscribers this week.

IG Morning Call: daily macroeconomic update

The dollar has started to rebound overnight after Fed Chair Jerome Powell softened expectations for further outsized rate cuts in the world’s largest economy. The suggestion from the central bank is that two more 25 basis point rate cuts might be expected before year end.

Global equity markets look to have paused their recent run and in turn we are expecting a flat to marginally lower open on the JSE All-Share Index this morning.

Oil prices are trading flat this morning as markets balance demand side concerns against the conflict in the Middle East.

Gold prices have undergone a marginal decrease overnight in an inverse correlation to movements on the dollar.

Traders will be keeping an eye out for US Manufacturing PMI and JOLTS job opening data out of the US.

Locally, Capitec results are out today.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R17.27/$ | US 10yr 3.78% | Gold $2,638/oz | Platinum $985/oz | Brent Crude $71.80

The macroeconomic update is based on IG's morning call update