| Disposals and debt reduction appear to be the order of the day - even before the severe impact of Covid-19 and the resultant lockdown on corporate South Africa. Tongaat Hulett has been working for well over a year to reduce its debt pile to meet targets set by its bankers, so it will be massively relieved that an independent expert has ruled in its favour in a dispute over the sale of its starch business to Barloworld. Shareholders certainly were, sending its shares 15% higher yesterday. Ascendis Health, which announce the disposal of more non-core businesses on Monday, also rose after it flagged an improved full-year performance. Its results will be a little messy though after the sale of its Remedica business fell through, resulting in the restatement of last year's results. This year, Scitec International is treated as a discontinued operation after it sold the Hungary-based sports nutrition business for much less than it paid for it. Meanwhile, Adcorp has sold Dare Holdings as it exits Australia. It's also getting less out than it paid for the specialist oil and gas workforce recruiter five years ago. Times have changed. Also today, Trellidor has held off on a final dividend but says it will pay out its delayed interim dividend as sales recover following the Covid-19 lockdown. Real estate group Attacq isn't paying any dividends for now due to circumstances but says that may change at the end of next year. Finally, in the first of a series of articles that will cover the various aspects of successful portfolio management, Rand Swiss wealth manager Viv Govender touches on one of the primary pillars: asset allocation. There's no newsletter tomorrow due to the Heritage Day holiday. Enjoy it! I'll be back on Friday. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
The latest from Ingham Analytics US markets have again been roiled which makes the latest Ingham Analytics note"Uh-ho!"well timed.The tech rally has confounded even the most optimistic bulls. But where to now? Are there straws in the wind? Top trader Andrew Kinsey cites signals such as volatility, the euro/yen exchange rate (and the rand), the dollar interest rate market, long bonds and credit spreads to guide investors through this psychologically challenging minefield. On banks,"BA(D) 900 news?"issued only last Friday is a must read for the South African perspective on banks and the real economy whilst on mining their latest"Steel yourself"is a useful read at a time when iron ore, like gold, has been hitting highs. | 