If you want to start an argument on X, then just post something that asks logical questions about buy-to-let "investments" - and believe me, those inverted commas are highly necessary. Very few buy-to-let opportunities work out well. Whether or not you made money isn't the correct test. Instead, it's about understanding whether the returns were adequate on a risk-adjusted basis.

If I offered you an 8% return with lots of risk or a 7.8% return with very little risk, which one would you take? This concept is the very DNA of investing, as managing risk vs. reward is what it's all about. Just think of lottery tickets at the extreme end of that spectrum: a truly tiny chance to make a fortune. The risk of getting zero return on your lottery ticket price is really high, but the prospects of becoming a millionaire make up for it for many people.

So, when you can buy local REITs and make the same or better returns than you'll get on a decent buy-to-let investment (i.e. one in which the tenants don't host Woodstock 24 in your kitchen), isn't that worth investigating? As Resilient's numbers struck me as being similar to what many buy-to-let investors are seeing, I used that as the perfect opportunity to make the case for REITs.

You'll find that in Ghost Bites this morning, along with Standard Bank's considerable headaches from China and various African currencies. I also covered numbers from Exxaro and STADIO, as well as deal news at Capital & Regional and environmental news at Renergen. Get it all here>>>

I must draw your attention to an excellent new piece from Satrix as well. It deals with the importance of tax-free savings accounts, something that I absolutely believe should be the starting point for any wealth creation journey in the market. It also deals with how the concept should actually be rebranded, another point that I fully agree with. You can read Duma Mxenge's thoughts in this article>>  

And of course, Friday means we get the weekly summaries from the team at DealMakers. They've included pieces on South African M&A, South African corporate finance and African deals.

There's plenty of great stuff in here to enjoy and learn from. Have a great Friday and prepare yourself for Dricus to show the world what the fine art of bliksem looks like!

Walmart investors had a great day yesterday, with the share price up 6.6%. The retail giant beat expectations for both revenue and profits, which is clearly the recipe for a share price rally. It's just a game of grinding out returns though, with sales expected to be 3.75% to 4.75% higher for the year vs. initial guidance of 3% to 4%. Interestingly, the uptick in sales growth has not been accompanied by a particularly strong earnings guide, with Walmart at risk of missing analyst expectations for the second half of the year.

By their own admission, they are being prudent with that guidance. This gives an indication of how much uncertainty there is around consumers at the moment.

We are covering Airbnb in Magic Markets Premium this week. For subscribers to Magic Markets Premium, the investment of R99/month is the best investment they can make.

This week’s economic news out of the US, which includes CPI and PPI inflation as well as Retail Sales data, has eased concerns around slowing in the world’s largest economy.

With it, we see the probability of a 50bps rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September greatly reduced.

Global equity markets have continued to gain, as risk appetite is improved.

The dollar has firmed against the yen, although trades mixed against a broad basket of currencies.  The rand has benefitted from the risk-on environment, moving to below the R18/$ psychological mark.

Oil prices have rebounded on demand assumptions from better than expected economic data out of the US.

The gold price is relatively unchanged overnight.

There is no high impact economic data scheduled for today.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R17.98/$ | US 10yr 3.90% | Gold $2,457/oz | Platinum $956/oz | Brent Crude $80.38

The macroeconomic update is based on IG's morning call update