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Good morning Voornaam,

Highlights in this edition of Ghost Mail:

Sean Summers has made his leadership changes at Pick n Pay
Tharisa worked hard over Christmas
Bitcoin ETFs are here
TreasuryONE on US inflation being higher than expected

We are back to business on SENS. Well, sort of. The good news is that there were just enough updates to justify a proper Ghost Bites article. The other good news is that it won't take you long to read it!

If you're thinking of a punt at Pick n Pay this year, you definitely need to check it out. Sean Summers has made some important changes to management and the overall message I'm picking up is that we've moved away from international CEOs with flashy PowerPoint presentations and back towards retailers who get their hands dirty. In my view, that's the right move. But is it too little, too late?

You can also check out the production update from Tharisa. PGM production was decent in the first quarter of the 2024 financial year and chrome production was a record, so that's a very good start to the year.

Internationally, bitcoin has been all over the headlines. Bitcoin ETFs are now a reality, making it a lot easier for institutions and retail investors to get their hands on the stuff. Naturally, Cathie Wood was all over CNBC with absolutely wild claims about where the price of bitcoin might go, reminding us once more that growth investors get away with murder with the messaging they put out there, while short sellers who try to show why a price is overvalued get vegetables (or worse) thrown at them in the town square.

People love a positive story and don't want to listen to bad news.

The process to get to this ETF approval has been exceptionally good for the bitcoin price. In dollars, it's up 145% in the past year. If it keeps rallying, I'll have to suffer through more people on Twitter / X with those red laser eyes in their profile pictures.

Moving on, make sure you listen to the Magic Markets podcast this morning, brought to you by data automation specialists B2IT. We covered two brands that might have been a feature of your festive shopping lists: Pandora and Swatch. Although they arguably have similar models at first blush (jewellery / watches direct to consumers), the share price charts couldn't be more different over the past year. To find out why, listen to the show here>>>

Get the latest JSE news in Ghost Bites at this link

Currencies, commodities and rates: TreasuryONE Market Update

US inflation for December was higher than forecasts. It came in at 3.4%, with core consumer price inflation at 3.9%. This led to a rise in Treasury yields. Weirdly, the market then priced in a higher probability for a rate cut in March (from a 50% chance to a 70% chance). Higher inflation implies rates that are higher for longer, so there's a real disconnect in the market here.

Volatility clearly remains the general theme, with conflicting views in the market and a see-saw day for currencies and yields. The US 10-year yield is back down at 3.98% this morning, just to prove the point.

The rand is at R18.60, gold is at $2,034 an ounce and Brent Crude is trading at $78.70 this morning.

As an aside, the motorsport fans among you can check out the TreasuryONE Motorsport YouTube channel to follow the team's progress. I absolutely love the Dakar and have massive respect for TreasuryONE CEO Hennie de Klerk's ambitions here.

READ: Why is Keith Haring everywhere right now?
(by Dominique Olivier)

In her latest column, Dominique Olivier discusses the fascinating world of artist IP and particularly how it can simply blow up decades after an artist has passed away. The star of this show: Keith Haring.

Learn about post-mortem artist IP in this article

LISTEN: Magic Markets podcast

In Episode 157 of Magic Markets, we dived into the recent results and strategic drivers at Pandora and Swatch. Although they are effectively adjacent to each other in the speciality retail space, the share price performance couldn't be more different in the past year.

Why is that the case? Find out in this podcast brought to you by international data and automation specialists B2IT.

Listen to Magic Markets Episode 157 here (24 minutes long)

LISTEN: What to do with those festive savings with Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix

Saving and investing over December - January isn't easy. To keep you inspired, Siya joined me to cover a wide range of ETF topics - along with some tips of how to keep those goals going over this period of endless spending!

Listen to the Ghost Stories podcast here (38 minutes long)

READ: Letter from the Editor - from Cape to Clarens

A roadtrip across South Africa is always a treat. Of course, it's also a way to see what is really going on out there. I wrote about my experience from Cape Town to Clarens (and back again!)

Read about my roadtrip and observations in this article

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