Welcome to Tuesday! Let's kick it off with a brand new Ghost Wrap episode, bringing you a time-efficient way to get up to date on Fortress, Truworths, Woolworths, Bidcorp, Cashbuild, KAP and Motus. That's a useful spread of sectors, ranging from very good news to really tough results. Ghost Wrap is designed by a busy ghost for busy people and is brought to you by Mazars. Find it here>>>

Join me in unlocking stocks

The next event on the Unlock the Stock cal endar is Harmony Gold, scheduled for Thursday at midday. Attendance is free thanks to our partner A2X and you can register for it here>>>

If you still aren't sure what Unlock the Stock is all about, the best way to find out is to watch the recording of the last event with Barloworld. This included a vibrant Q&A session with CEO Dominic Sewela. Find it here>>>

I miss writing, as crazy as that sounds

I write a lot of words every week. The problem is that I find myself always writing a product of some kind, like Ghost Bites. I have missed sitting down and writing something that just flows off the keyboard, which is why I've now introduced a "letter from the editor" in Ghost Mail. I'll probably write one every 10 days or so and you can expect random insights and a dose of humour. In other words, this is my way to scratch the writing itch. It isn't brought to you by anyone in particular, which is kinda the whole point.

If you would like to find out why the Terry Pratchett biography is currently on my bedside table, then read the inaugural letter here>>>

Ghost Stories: an incredible way to learn

There are two recent Ghost Stories podcasts that are must-listens in my books.

Th e latest is with Nico Katzke of Satrix. We deal with dividends, something that gets investors excited on a regular basis. But should this be the case? Are dividends always a delight, or are they a red herring? Are they sometimes a danger? Expand your investment knowledge with this podcast>>>

I also don't want you to miss last week's Ghost Stories episode with Brian McMillan of Investec. We worked through the USD S&P 500 Autocall investment product in detail, showing you how structured products are put together and what the derivatives layered on top of index exposure manage to achieve. Fi nd it here>>>

With stage 6 back in our lives, why aren't you looking at global stocks?

I can only lead you to water. I cannot make you drink it. In the spirit of the former, Magic Markets is designed to make it incredibly easy for you to learn about global stocks and how to properly research these companies. In case you haven't noticed, the lights are off again and the rand continues to take strain. Alternatively, there are large US firms that deliver double-digit returns in dollars over long periods of time. There are many opportunities on the local market but for the love of all things, at least consider giving your money a passport as well. It's just a sensible thing to do.

In the latest Magic Markets podcast, we looked at Crocs vs. Nike and considered whether the preference in our cupboards should also be the preference in our portfolios. Find it here>>>

So, how do you make money on the local market?

Firstly, you need to know where to look. Secondly, you need to know how to look and how to actually do your own research.

In this article that I wrote for EasyEquities, I considered Transpaco vs. Mpact and showed how to calculate earnings over the last twelve months to make the multiples comparable. L earn about this approach here>>>

Looking for rainbows

The RCL Foods result makes it pretty clear that our poultry industry is still in a lot of trouble. Underlying EBITDA in that segment fell by 74.9% in the year ended June 2023 because input cost pressures simply cannot be absorbed by consumers. The rest of RCL's business managed to offset a lot of the pain, with HEPS down by 20.2%. The company wants Ghost Mail readers to understand the results, so you can find the full details here>>>

Naspers and Prosus released the finalisation ann ouncement for the capitalisation issue and share consolidation that addresses the cross-holding structure that has been a major bugbear in the market. The group has included the full details in Ghost Mail at this link>>>

The chart of the day in Ghost Bites was inspired by AVI, which is looking pretty good if we exclude fishing business I&J where revenue was flat year-on-year. Snackworks did particularly well, proving that we can't stay out the snacks aisle to make ourselves feel better.

Milk prices are certainly enough to send us in search of Bakers Choice Assorted (Strawberry Whirls for me thanks) from AVI, with Sea Harvest reminding us that milk prices a re up by double digits. The company is on the receiving end of that input cost pressure in its Cape Harvest business. You need to look very carefully at that result to understand why HEPS did well despite the underlying businesses struggling. Brimstone's results are impacted by its investment in Sea Harvest, with that company releasing its latest intrinsic NAV numbers.

We also saw updates from African Rainbow Minerals, Bidvest, Cognition, MAS (with a hugely conservative outlook on property and debt costs), Nampak and PPC. On such a busy day, Ghost Bites is your best way to get up to speed on what you really need to know. Find it here>>>

Back above R19 we go

Yesterday saw thin market liquidity due to Labor Day celebrations in the US. Emerging market currencies were on the back foot across the board, so it isn't as simple as attributing our move back above R19 to load shedding. This is a link that many media houses try to make immediately, so be careful of where you get your forex insights from.

A good place to get them is from TreasuryONE, with regular videos released on their YouTube channel.

That's a busy start to your day. May it be a productive one!