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Good Morning Voornaam,

Jaltech has launched its latest offshore capital protection Structured Products, and is hosting a webinar to delve into the mechanics around Structured Products and their latest investments. Click here to register.

I also don't want you to miss Unlock the Stock today at 12pm, featuring PBT Group in a solo slot. This means that full focus for nearly an hour is on this company, giving you a wonderful opportunity to dig into the investment thesis. Brought to you by A2X, attendance is free but you need to register here>>>

Go big or go bolt-on

In the latest edition of Ghost Global, we took a look at Salesforce and Home Depot as two examples of groups that have made extensive use of bolt-on acquisitions. One has been slow and steady, while the other has paid top dollar for major deals. Learn more about the concept of bolt-on deals by reading this piece>>>

For an example of a massive transaction and one that has been in the headlines again this week, you can listen to a discussion on the Microsoft - Activision Blizzard deal on episode 132 of Magic Markets. Together with Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital Investments, we unpacked why regulators care about this deal. Although the US decision came through days after we recorded, it's still a very useful show. Listen to it here>>>

Don't miss any of these!

As we head towards the end of the week, make sure you're up to date:

Fedgroup CEO Grant Field joined me on Ghost Stories to talk about their impact investing platform and how it genuinely makes investing in alternative assets accessible and fun. For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of what has been built here. Find out why in this show>>>
Give me 8 minutes of your time to listen to Ghost Wrap, a whirlwind update on Spear REIT, Attacq, AngloGold, Brikor, Mondi, Sappi, Telkom and RCL Foods. Ghost Wrap is brought to you by Mazars. Find it here>>>
Read Trive South Africa's work on Mr Price and how the company is dealing with load shedding, a particularly relevant analysis now that load shedding has returned to our daily lives! Get the insights here>>>

And for those who prefer to read, you can also refer to this article from Fedgroup on the importance of alternative assets in a portfolio. Along with the Ghost Stories podcast referenced above, you can really get to grips with what Fedgroup is offering and how they think about the world.

Ringing the Bell on a great trading statement

After a quiet few days on the JSE in terms of company news, we saw a return to form yesterday with a large number of updates. As always, Ghost Bites makes it easy for you to stay up to date, particularly on important news like an excellent trading statement from Bell Equipment (HEPS up at least 30%!) and th e exact opposite at Accelerate Property Fund, where the dividend is a thing of the past.

We also saw some earnings commentary from Bytes and Tharisa, labour action at Hulamin, a joint venture at Kibo Energy, emissions issues at Sasol and news from obscure listed group Sebata Holdings. And of course, Naspers and Prosus jumped in with the release of a circular for the unwinding of the cross-holding structure. If you've been reading any of my views on that group, you'll know what tone to expect in Ghost Bites this morning. Read it here>>>

Inflation slows in the US

With the release of unexpectedly slower inflation figures, yields on two-year bonds in the US dropped as low as 4.77%. Although a rate increase by the Fed in July is still being anticipated by the futures market, there is skepticism around the need for a second hike thereafter. The weaker inflation report will give a lot of support to that skepticism and may wipe out expectations of a second hike altogether.

The dollar declined based on the subdued inflation data, based on reduced expectations of the peak federal funds rate in this cycle. The rand was also a beneficiary, with TreasuryONE expecting some consolidation around these levels. Gold moved about $1,950 and the PGMs also had a strong day, as the market anticipated a resurgence in demand. It was a good day for PGM stocks!

On that happy note, I wish you a productive Thursday.

Ghost Bites (Accelerate Property Fund | Bell Equipment | Bytes | Hulamin | Kibo Energy | Naspers + Prosus | Sasol | Sebata | Tharisa)

Finally, a busy day on the JSE. Bell released great numbers and Bytes gave a solid update from the AGM. Tharisa is happy to be diversified. Sasol has an emissions problem. Accelerate's dividend is gone. And of course, Prosus doing Prosus things.

Diversification is no longer a nice-to-have

Everyone wants to know what the future holds. We develop forecasting tools and models to make predictions, but nobody saw the deluge of black-swan events of the past three years coming.

Ghost Global: Go Big or Go Bolt-On

Used correctly, bolt-on acquisitions can be a wonderful way to grow. The deal prices make a huge difference to success, as does having a coherent strategy. Salesforce and Home Depot are useful examples.

Mr Price's Battle with Load Shedding: A Revenue Setback of R1 Billion

Mr Price recently announced that South Africa's energy crisis and associated load shedding wreaked havoc on its financial performance. Trive South Africa takes a closer look at the stock.

Ghost Stories #17: Investing with Impact (with Grant Field, CEO Fedgroup)

Grant Field, CEO of Fedgroup, joined me to talk about their impact investing platform and how this offers and exciting and accessible entry point into alternative assets. I highly recommend giving this a listen.

Listen Now

Magic Markets Ep132: Activision Acquisition

With Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard hanging in the balance, Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital Investments joined us to discuss the role of competition regulators in this space and the broader gaming industry as well.

Listen Now

Ghost Wrap #32 (Spear REIT | Attacq | AngloGold | Brikor | Mondi | Sappi | Telkom | RCL Foods)

Covering eight companies in fewer than eight minutes, this week's Ghost Wrap covers property, mining, paper and packaging and other industries.

Listen Now

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