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Good morning Voornaam,

Today is a great example of an opportunity to dig into various content pieces that you haven't yet had time for. That's because there are only two major stories in Ghost Bites today, along with the Nibbles of course!

First up is Santam, with the insurance group having had an excellent finish to the financial year. They had a strong interim period and things just got better and better it seems, with solid underwriting results and a juicy jump in earnings.

Impala Platinum certainly can't say the same thing, with earnings expected to almost halve! Despite this, the share price is up roughly 60% in the past year. How is this divergence possible? Welcome to investing in the mining sector, with platinum as the trickiest of the lot.

Get these details and the Nibbles in Ghost Bites this morning>>>

The Budget Speech is looming and that's always an important time of the year for South Africans. To help you understand what to expect and what to look out for, Investec's latest episode of No Ordinary Wednesday features Annabel Bishop, Tertia Jacobs and Chris Holdsworth in conversation with media stalwart Jeremy Maggs. You need to invest just over 20 minutes of your time to make sure you are well prepared for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's big day. Enjoy it here>>>

The rent vs. buy debate is always relevant and property is a hot topic in South Africa. I have a somewhat unorthodox approach to this issue, as discussed with Duma Mxenge of Satrix in this great podcast>>>

Have a great day!

INVESTEC: International Opportunities Limited - a Chinese equity structured product

China is a land that is fraught with risk and brimming with opportunity. With enhanced upside as well as downside protection, International Opportunities Limited is a structured product that seeks to balance the risks and rewards available in Chinese equity markets.

International Opportunities Limited offers 1.3x geared exposure to the CSI 300 Index, capped at 60% growth for a maximum return of 78% in USD. In addition, there is 100% capital protection at maturity in USD.

Japie Lubbe of Investec Structured Products joined me to discuss the structure in detail. Get it here>>>

SATRIX: 2025 kick-off and fresh views on rent vs. buy

Covering a range of personal finance topics and emerging trends in investing, your 2025 kick-off with Duma Mxenge from Satrix is here. And of course, we couldn't resist talking about property. This led to an in-depth discussion on how I'm approaching the rent vs. buy conundrum. Enjoy it here>>>

GHOST WRAP: Retailers on sale on the JSE - a review of the first few weeks of 2025

The retail sector got off to a very poor start in 2025. With practically the entire sector down, are there stocks that were punished more than they should've been? This podcast is a useful summary of recent retail updates across the clothing and grocery sectors, as well as other relevant areas. You can find the recording and the transcript (with charts) at this link>>>

GHOST STORIES: Sustainability, the Spar way

Kevin O’Brien is incredibly passionate about his work as the Group Sustainability Executive at Spar. Having stuck with the group through tumultuous recent times, Kevin is focused on Spar’s role as a corporate citizen in South Africa and the European markets in which it operates.

There’s an important difference between governing sustainably and the governance of sustainability. Kevin does a great job of explaining it in this podcast>>>

GHOST BITES - Making sense of SENS on the local market

Santam had a wonderful second half to its financial year and saw juicy growth in earnings. Impala Platinum hasn't been nearly that fortunate, with PGM prices continuing to put pressure on earnings. Get the details in Ghost Bites>>>

DOMINIQUE OLIVIER - Spotify: mafia tactics that work!

What does the world’s most popular music streaming service have in common with the mob? Aside from some playlists of Italian classics, only its (very effective) conversion strategy. Dominique Olivier explains why subscribing to Spotify Premium feels like paying protection money and why that works so well. Read it here>>>

Budget 2025 - what to expect

In this special edition of No Ordinary Wednesday, Investec experts Chief Economist Annabel Bishop, Treasury Economist Tertia Jacobs and Chief Investment Strategist Chris Holdsworth share their predictions for Budget 2025. Find this insightful episode here>>>

International Business Snippet:

Shopify finds itself firmly in the throes of the Trump Tariff Era. Not only is the company Canadian, but they are also exposed to loads of underlying businesses that would be impacted by tariffs and changes to de minimis trade rules that could make it a lot harder for small businesses to compete. On the plus side, they enjoyed strong growth in online spending over the festive season and total revenue growth of 31% in the fourth quarter. The share price is up nearly 39% in the past year.

In the luxury space, Kering remains the ugly duckling in the sector. Will it ever turn into a swan? With a 12% drop in fourth quarter revenue and a particularly horrible 24% decrease in sales at Gucci, it doesn't seem likely. For context, Kering's share price is down 57% over 5 years and LVMH is up 65%!

Perhaps putting effort into stock picking is worth it, after all?

Our latest research in Magic Markets Premium is on 3M as a company with a proud history of innovation in the industrials space. Having previously lost its way, a strong turnaround effort is taking place and is already showing strong results. Our subscribers can enjoy our detailed work on this company, complementing some of our other recent reports with similar turnaround opportunities.

Magic Markets: Tariff Tantrum

Magic Markets: Remember the "taper tantrum" that people used to talk about in the markets over 10 years ago? It was based on a major change to monetary policy and the market didn't like that. These days, the uncertainty seems to be related to Trump's tariff strategies and the related chaos. We discuss how each country has retaliated (and South Africa's relative strength or weakness in that regard) in this podcast>>>

Macroeconomic indicators

US and European index futures are pointing to a flat start after gaining yesterday, as attention shifts to US CPI inflation data out later today. The data looks to further guide the path of lending rates in the world’s largest economy.

The Hang Seng index is however trading well into positive territory this morning led by gains in Alibaba, as the company looks to partner with Apple Inc. and provide AI features to iPhone devices.

The JSE All-Share Index is expected to open flat to marginally higher this morning, while the rand is modestly weaker in early trade today.

The dollar and US Treasury Yields are tracking sideways this morning.

Oil prices traded off yesterday’s intraday highs after API reports of higher than expected US inventory levels of the commodity.

Gold has paused its rally to new high territory ahead of today's CPI inflation data.
In addition to the inflation print, traders will want to keep an eye out for the second day of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R18.50/$ | US 10yr 4.54% | Gold $2,892/oz | Platinum $985/oz | Brent Crude $76.55

As often as practically possible, insights from the IG Markets morning macro update by Shaun Murison will be featured here. Where this isn't possible, only indicators will be provided. If you want to learn more about trading, refer back to The Trader's Handbook, a podcast series that takes you through many of the important principles in trading.