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Good morning Voornaam,

Happy Friday! I will be leaving straight after hitting the send button on this mailer for the Father's Day show at my five-year-old boy's school. I genuinely don't know who is more excited - him or me!

But first, I have some market goodies for you to enjoy. Renergen has released the circular for the ASP Isotopes deal. This is a scheme of arrangement with a standby offer. Much as the parties have tried to explain the reasons for the deal, I still see it primarily as opportunistic dealmaking - and I've included notes on why the deal structure supports this view.

Zak Calisto is about to turn $70 million (R1.35 billion) of his Karooooo shares into cash. The market sent the share price crashing in response, which is odd as he remains deeply invested in the company. To make all of us feel particularly poor this morning, this is only around 8% of Calisto's total stake in the company.

Other news includes Quantum Foods with a particularly interesting development on its share register, Southern Palladium with an A$8 million equity capital raise and Fortress Real Estate with details of its logistics portfolio in Poland.

Get the details on all these updates and the Nibbles in Ghost Bites at this
link>>>

There's a new episode of Magic Markets for you to enjoy this long weekend. Craig Antonie of AnBro and Connie Bloem of Mesh.Trade joined us to talk about the Titans portfolio and the thinking behind an equal-weighted portfolio of global sector leaders. Enjoy it here>>>

To end off the week, the team from DealMakers is here with the usual summaries of South African M&A, South African corporate finance and African deals. There are also pieces on the strategic response to a takeover attempt, musings of a reconditioned private equity partner and an overview of some of the key drivers in the African fintech story. Interesting, right?

Enjoy today's content and especially your long weekend. Ghost Mail Weekender will be with you on Sunday and this markets-focused daily newsletter will return on Tuesday.

I leave you with a final thought: it's a biological process to be a father, but it's a choice to be a dad. To all the fellow dads who step up to the plate every day, I salute you.

Have a lovely weekend!

SATRIX: Life after COVID - a five-year review of the markets

Five years ago, the world was a wild place. We were "staying home and staying safe" - and global central banks were cutting rates dramatically in an effort to stimulate economies under impossible circumstances.

With a great selection of statistics to share with the listeners, Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix was a wealth of knowledge in this podcast about how markets have performed in recent years, particularly in terms of which indices did well and which were disappointing.

Get a healthy dose of market insights at this link>>>

PODCAST: Capital Markets in South Africa - the Think Big South Africa Competition

PSG Financial Services is the proud sponsor of the Think Big South Africa competition, in collaboration with Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA).

PSG wants to encourage South Africans to get involved in their country at the highest level, bringing forward policy ideas and constructive solutions to drive conversations and real change in our country. PSG CEO Francois Gouws joined me to explain why they are such strong supporters of this initiative.

Enjoy it here>>>

GHOST BITES - Making sense of SENS on the local market

Renergen released the ASP Isotopes deal circular. There's an interesting move on the Quantum Foods share register. Zak Calisto is monetising R1.35bn of his Karooooo stake. Southern Palladium raised A$8 million. Fortress gave details on the Polish development pipeline. Get the details in Ghost Bites>>>

Unlock the Stock - Greencoat Renewables

In the 55th edition of Unlock the Stock, Greencoat Renewables joined us for the first time ahead of their debut on the JSE. The recording of the management presentation and interactive Q&A is available at this link>>>

DOMINIQUE OLIVIER - Klarna: a canary in the American debt coal mine

When lunch needs a payment plan, something’s gone sideways. Klarna’s rollercoaster ride through the American dream is a cautionary tale with extra guac. All is not well in America, as Dominique Olivier explains here>>>

INVESTEC PODCAST: No Ordinary Wednesday - a 20-year perspective on global investing

Twenty years on, the managers of the Investec UCITS World Axis Core Fund reflect on what two decades of global investing have taught them and what investors should expect next. Join Investec Investment Management’s Head of Multi-Manager Investments Ryan Friedman and Fund Manager Bronwen Trower in conversation with Jeremy Maggs in this podcast>>>

International Business Snippet:

RH isn't a company that is on anyone's radar in South Africa. I've literally never even heard anyone talking about it. This luxury furniture retailer in the US is interesting to touch on today as they've indicated to the market that they are putting strategies in place to offset tariffs, with plans to move their supply chain out of China to the greatest extent possible.

The CEO expects 52% of its upholstered furniture to be produced in the United States and 21% to be in Italy by the end of this fiscal year. Chinese imports are expected to drop from 16% in the first quarter to just 2% in the fourth quarter.

Not every company can or will do this of course, but it shows what the impact of tariffs can be.

Recent research in Magic Markets Premium has covered Intel, Waste Management (possibly the best company you've never heard of), Novo Nordisk, Simon Property Group, TJX and NVIDIA. Our focus is on giving you broad exposure to global stocks, with enough underlying detail to help you make better decisions and learn tons along the way. The entire library is available for just R99/month, a deliberate strategy to make it as accessible as possible. Invest in yourself and give it a try!

Magic Markets: Saudi Aramco and Ferrari

After a few weeks of Formula One races every weekend, many sports fans have been bombarded with two brands: Saudi Aramco and Ferrari. This gave us a great opportunity to talk about both listed companies – from fossil fuels to fast cars!

Our view is that Ferrari is without a doubt the better business in terms of brand strength and long-term prospects, but why is that? And just how much does Formula One actually matter to them anyway?

We covered these topics here>>>

Macroeconomic indicators and macro update

Global markets are under pressure this morning, driven by a selloff in US and European futures that has extended into Asian markets. This follows Israel's large-scale military strike on Iran, targeting nuclear and military sites, escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The heightened conflict adds uncertainty to financial markets already strained by US President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies.

Investors have sought refuge in safe-haven assets like gold and the Swiss franc, both of which have risen significantly. Meanwhile, the US dollar has rebounded from multi-year lows reached just yesterday.

Oil prices have, of course, surged dramatically on fears of supply disruption in the Middle East.

Riskier assets, including the South African rand, have been sold off. The JSE All-Share index is expected to follow the global downward trend in early trade this morning.

This update is provided by Shaun Murison. Connect with him on LinkedIn here.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R18.02/$ | US 10yr 4.32% | Gold $3,424/oz | Platinum $1,273/oz | Brent Crude $70.59