Good morning Voornaam,
This week in Magic Markets Premium, we are recapping LatAm superstar MercadoLibre. This is one of the best businesses we've looked at, although the valuation reflects that view. It shows how strong the Latin American region is for retailers, a view reinforced by Pepkor's commentary on its Avenida acquisition. Sadly, that's pretty much the only highlight for them right now, as the local retail game remains very tough. By subscribing to Magic Markets Premium, you'll be amazed at the global insights you'll receive and how applicable they are to local companies.
I think more South African retailers should be looking to Latin America for growth opportunities. Australia chewed up and spat out most of our retailers who ventured there. The UK has been a mixed bag. I applaud Pepkor for the bravery to invest in Brazil. If you think about it though, doesn't it make sense that South Africans would understand that operating environment far more than say the Sydney high street?
Having said that, there are pockets of growth in South Africa, if you know where to look. To help you identify some of them, you can listen to my podcast with Anoop Ninan, the CEO of Mazars in South Africa. We talked about the landmark network deal with Forvis, as well as how audit firms differentiate themselves and where he sees the opportunities for businesses in South Africa. It's a great listen, available to you here.
Also be sure to check out the double release of Unlock the Stock. You can watch the recording of the recent events with TWK Investments (here) and Karooooo (here). This is a great opportunity to hear directly from the management teams and to see the questions that were asked.
It's been a very intense week of news. You can look back on some of the more interesting stories coming into this week by listening to the Ghost Wrap podcast. The latest episode covered Mr Price, Southern Sun vs. City Lodge, Sirius Real Estate, African Rainbow Capital and Sibanye-Stillwater. Brought to you by Mazars, you'll find it here.
Ghost Bites is absolutely huge today. I spent hours on SENS so that you don't have to. Be sure to give it a decent amount of focus, as there's lots to absorb!
Have a great day. |
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BRAND NEW: Unlock the Stock with TWK Investments |
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TWK Investments returned to the Unlock the Stock platform to share insights into the recent numbers and the strategic outlook.
You can watch the recording here, thanks to our partner A2X. |
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BRAND NEW: Unlock the Stock with Karooooo |
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| | Karooooo joined the Unlock the Stock platform for the first time to share insights into the recent numbers and the strategic outlook both locally and abroad.
You can watch the recording here, thanks to our partner A2X. |
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BRAND NEW: Ghost Stories podcast with Anoop Ninan, CEO of Mazars in South Africa |
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| | Hot on the heels of the news of a landmark network deal with Forvis in the USA, Anoop Ninan (CEO of Mazars in South Africa) joined me to explain the deal and to talk about the general business landscape in South Africa. Don't miss this one! |
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LATEST: Magic Markets podcast |
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In Episode 152 of Magic Markets, we looked at international retailers Walmart and Target.
With topics ranging from their earnings guidance through to why concepts like constant currency earnings are important, there's much to learn here.
We also talked about the "stickiness" of inflation - or lack thereof?
This show is brought to you by international data and automation specialists B2IT. |
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BRAND NEW:
Why rules-based funds will continue to dominate future flows |
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The team at Satrix celebrates the ten-year anniversary of the Satrix Balanced Index Fund and explains why they believe that rules-based funds will dominate future flows. |
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LATEST: The bittersweet truth about intellectual property
(by Dominique Olivier) |
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In her latest column, Dominique Olivier tells an incredible story of a copyright nightmare in the music industry, featuring one of the most recognisable tunes of the 90s. Against the backdrop of the Checkers - Pick n Pay fight in the news, this a fascinating display of intellectual property in action. |
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LATEST: Ghost Wrap podcast
(Mr Price | Southern Sun vs. City Lodge | Sirius Real Estate |
African Rainbow Capital | Sibanye-Stillwater) |
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| | The latest Ghost Wrap podcast goes into a bit more detail than usual, but these stories were worth it. Ghost Wrap is brought to you by Mazars. |
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DAILY: TreasuryONE Market Update US Q3 GDP growth was revised up to 5.2%, beating expectations of 4.9%. Although that would normally put some momentum behind the US dollar, the dovish tone that we've recently seen at the Fed as overshadowed this release. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is speaking on Friday, so all eyes will be on that. US Core PCE comes out today as a precursor to that speech.
The rand has been helped by some of the US dollar weakness, trading at R18.50. Of course, without so many own goals recently, it would probably be better. This morning, it's moved higher to R18.70, reminding us how volatile it is.
Gold remains elevated at $2,045 an ounce, showing that all is not well in the world. Brent Crude is trading higher (over $83 this morning) as we head into the OPEC meeting on Friday.
To cap off the year, TreasuryONE is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, 5th December at 9am. Attendance is free, but you must register here. Get it in your calendar nice and early! |
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| | Get the latest on Acsion, Crookes, Deneb, eMedia, Exxaro, Fairvest, Grindrod Shipping, HCI, PBT Group, Pepkor, Prosus - Naspers, Richemont, Sibanye-Stillwater, Purple, Transaction Capital and Vukile. This huge day of news is all available with a single click in Ghost Bites. |
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Where to even begin? Some days, I open my SENS feed and immediately feel sick. Yesterday was one of those days. Seemingly in an attempt to get everything out before the December break, a vast array of companies released updates.
This includes Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) and its related companies Deneb and eMedia. I was particularly surprised at how resilient eMedia has been in this environment. Friday Action Night on e.tv must've prepared them for life in South Africa in 2023. I'm showing my age here.
On a more serious note and as referenced in the intro, Pepkor is always a really important read in the context of local retail. You should also read the property updates from Fairvest and Vukile, as property funds are just a step further up the retail value chain.
Of course, we can't ignore the Prosus - Naspers news. Takealot is still loss-making, so good luck to them when Amazon enters the market. More importantly, the eCommerce businesses are now only making big losses collectively, as opposed to utterly gigantic losses. They hope to achieve breakeven in eCommerce the second half of this financial year, which would be a strong outcome vs. where they are currently.
Purple Group is always a popular read. The owner of EasyEquities is loss-making, but that cannot be a surprise to anyone in this environment. I think the losses are smaller than many expected. Building in public is hard!
Speaking of hard things, Transaction Capital has repositioned SA Taxi and is keeping the refurbishment side of the business.
There's also the latest on Acsion, Crookes, Exxaro, Grindrod Shipping, PBT Group, Richemont and Sibanye-Stillwater. I wasn't joking when I said it was a crazy day of news, along with loads of director dealings and other updates in Little Bites.
I spent hours (and hours) on SENS so that you don't have to. You just need a single click to find all of it in Ghost Bites. Read it here>>>
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Disclaimer
Our content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. You must do your own analysis before executing any investments or strategic decisions, based on your own circumstances. We do not provide personalised recommendations or views as to whether an investment approach or corporate strategy is suited to the needs of a specific individual or entity. You should take independent financial advice from a suitably qualified individual who gives due regard to your personal circumstances.
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