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Good morning Voornaam,

Fresh out the oven:

Ghost Bites: Quantum Foods saw revenue drop, but profitability has improved dramatically - and all thanks to eggs. Balwin is seeking growth in KZN. Tech small caps 4Sight and ISA Holdings both reported numbers, as did Brikor and Brimstone. MC Mining shareholders can still sell to Goldway. Finally, Pan African Resources is dealing with a very unusual situation re: past dividends. Get it all in Ghost Bites>>>
Dominique Olivier brings you five tales from the AI world that will educate, thrill and quite possibly shock you. From unethical labour practices through to ghostly appearances by Katy Perry at major events, the future is increasingly looking like an AI experiment. Read it here>>>

Walmart is going back to its roots and Under Armour is in a fight for survival, with the founder back in the CEO role and taking the brand back to its core strengths. Listen to Magic Markets episode 176 to get the latest on these stories and expand your investment horizons.

In case you missed it:

Ghost Wrap: You need barely four minutes to get up to speed on KAL Group, AB InBev, Redefine, RFG Holdings and Calgro M3, brought to you by Mazars. Listen to it here>>>

This is a massive election year, with over 60 nations going to the polls. On the latest Investec No Ordinary Wednesday podcast, Investec Wealth & Investment Chief Investment Strategist Chris Holdsworth shared his insights on the election outcomes that matter most to markets. Listen to the show here>>>
With elections around the corner, managing your behavioural bias is so important. In other words: don't panic! Kingsley Williams of Satrix elaborates in this article>>>
CA Sales Holdings recently presented on Unlock the Stock and engaged in a vibrant Q&A with attendees. This stock has been a top performer. To understand why, watch the event here.

LISTEN: Chasing Returns from the Sun

Not only can you invest in solar, but you can do it with the benefit of tax-enhanced returns thanks to current government policy. Tivon Loubser of Grovest joined me to discuss this. (full transcript included) Listen to the podcast here>>>

Local company news:

Quantum Foods has shown the value of improving unit economics, with a much better cost and pricing situation in the eggs business. This has driven a sharp increase in profitability at the group despite a decrease in revenue.

Balwin has put together an interesting deal in the KZN market, with a "pay-as-you-register" funding arrangement with the sellers of the development rights and the land. Difficult times demand creativity.

Tech small caps 4Sight and ISA Holdings have both released numbers and they tell a story of strong growth.

At Pan African Resources, the company needs to reclassify reserves as distributable reserves after it was discovered that a technical rule around dividends was incorrectly applied for a few years. The complexity stems from the USD as the presentation currency and what this means for foreign currency translation reserves on the balance sheet.

Also look out for Brikor, Brimstone and MC Mining this morning.

Get all the details in Ghost Bites at this link>>>

Short stories v.01: the future is an AI experiment

Unethical labour practices. Hollywood stars who either appear magically or seem to have their voices copied. Oh, and how about your late grandmother selling you a premium subscription? Welcome to the chaos of AI, as told by Dominique Olivier in this piece>>>

Why are Silicon Valley valuations higher?

Everyone knows that Silicon Valley is the home of tech and therefore many tech start-ups. But what does this mean for their valuations? And what can we learn about how regions affect company values? I explored this topic in this article for bizval.

International business news:

An interesting CNBC article caught my eye late last week. It talks about how platforms like Amazon and Walmart are attracting more and more advertising spend, which obviously comes at the expense of more traditional advertising channels like television.

We all know that digital spend has grown at an incredible pace (hence the valuations of social media businesses). The nuance here is that the retailers themselves are acting as powerful ways to reach consumers. I've seen plenty of this in Amazon's results over the past couple of years, with many product searches starting in Amazon rather than Google (part of Alphabet).

On the internet, the only constant is change.

We just covered payments giant Mastercard in Magic Markets Premium. To get access to this research and the rest of the vast library, subscribe to the platform here.

Macroeconomic Update

The release of data on Friday in the US included the third consecutive month of durable goods orders increasing for the country. This was particularly interesting against the backdrop of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index falling from April to May. It's still well up vs. 12 months ago, reflecting the benefit to consumers of a moderation in inflation.

Market expectations for the first Fed rate cut are split between September and December.

We will see a quiet start to the week with the UK and US markets closed today. On Friday though, the PCE price index will be released - the Fed's preferred inflation indicator.

Key indicators: USD/ZAR R18.42; US 10-year 4.47%; Gold $2,342; Platinum ZAR R19,112; Brent Crude $82.33

This macroeconomic update is based on TreasuryONE's morning update.