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Good morning Voornaam,

Ascendis must reissue its circular and postpone its meeting
The Red Sea problems haven't impacted air freight rates - yet, that is
Recap JSE news in the most efficient way possible with the Ghost Wrap podcast, thanks to Mazars
TreasuryONE on the rand moving above R19.00 to the dollar

Interested in setting up a UK - South Africa business? Operating in that space already? Join the next bizval webinar to learn directly from guest speaker Graham Davies about what it takes to operate a business with an international team, specifically servicing the UK from South Africa. Registration is free at this link>>>

Local company news:

After another day of very little news on the local market, I'm afraid there is no Ghost Bites article this morning. I can easily cover what you need to know right here in the mailer.

There's been a lot of noise on Twitter / X about the Ascendis delisting offer. I purposefully avoid writing about hearsay and controversy, preferring to stick to what comes out on SENS as a rule. We finally have an announcement from Ascendis confirming that the circular for the meeting is going to need to be reissued to correct an error related to an indirect shareholding that was not disclosed as being part of the take-private consortium. This also results in a postponement of the meeting.

There has been a lot of other commentary online about the transaction. Perhaps more information will be released by the company in due course. This is precisely why we have regulators and why they must be given time to do their jobs. Corporate transactions can be incredibly complex and sometimes take a more aggressive approach. Provided everything is within the bounds of the law, there's nothing wrong with that. At this stage, there are significant concerns around whether regulations have been adhered to. Time will tell!

The only other local news to report is a purchase of around R26k worth of shares by an associate of directors of Delta Property Fund, as well as a R11.7k purchase of shares by an associate of a director of Collins Property Group.

For a really useful recap on recent JSE news, you need just a few minutes of your time to listen to the Ghost Wrap podcast. Brought to you by Mazars, the first episode of 2024 covers Merafe, Pick n Pay, Frontier Transport and PGM duo Tharisa and Northam Platinum. Check it out here>>>

International company news:

Make sure you've checked out Dominique Olivier's excellent piece on the safety culture at Boeing (or lack thereof). There are rave reviews and with good reason! For the article that is, not Boeing and the mess that is their safety standards.

The Red Sea problems continue to drive headlines in the market. You might recall how severe the impact of shipping costs was during the pandemic, much to the benefit of a company like FedEx.

The CEO of FedEx gave a rather interesting answer to a question at a recent trade show, commenting that even a small change in ocean freight (responsible for 90% of total cargo moved around the world) can have a substantial impact on air freight. Despite this, they haven't seen a positive impact from the Red Sea problem yet, as the longer route around the South African coastline is a viable (albeit more expensive) alternative.

Of course, for more time-sensitive shipments, air freight becomes more important. Investors in this space will want to set alerts for any information on air freight rates, as an increase in rates would be a positive for companies like FedEx and European competitor DHL.

For now, there's no uptick in the share prices to reflect what is happening in the Red Sea. In fact, both share prices are in the red this year! That can quickly turn to green if rates start to pick up.

If you are interested in FedEx, then we've covered the company a few times in Magic Markets Premium.

For more international company news, the most recent Magic Markets podcast covers Pandora and Swatch as international speciality retail businesses. Brought to you by data and automation specialists B2IT, Magic Markets is a fantastic way to learn more about global stocks. You can listen to the show here>>>

READ: Boeing, Boeing, Gone!
(by Dominique Olivier)

With Boeing in the news again for all the wrong reasons, Dominique Olivier shows the dark side of M&A and how the quest to cut costs can lead to tragedies. This is a great article and an important read.

Learn about the injustices and terrible shift in culture at Boeing

Currencies, commodities and rates: TreasuryONE Market Update

The dollar has surged, with rising fears of an escalation of conflict in the Middle East and hawkish comments from previously dovish Fed Governor Waller, commenting that rate cuts are likely to be later than the market hopes and at a slower pace. The dollar has firmed to a one-month high. The rand moved above R19.00 against the dollar in morning trade and weakened to R19.13 by late afternoon trade.

Emerging market currencies also coming under pressure from disappointing Chinese GDP data. China's economy grew by 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023, missing analyst expectations. Despite this, the country did meet its 2023 full year growth target of 5.2%. The target for 2024 is expected to be just above 5.0%. Importantly, retail sales data missed estimates, coming in at 7.4% vs. expected 8.0%.

None of this is good for commodities, with even gold dropping despite the political turmoil. PGMs are particularly vulnerable and base metals are all weaker. Even Brent Crude is struggling, with concerns around shipping being offset by weakness in demand. It moved below $77 a barrel.

Keep an eye on US 10-year Treasury yields, trading at around 4.12% at close of South African business yesterday.

To understand more about these volatile times, watch the TreasuryONE weekly market review below or at this link on their excellent YouTube channel.

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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