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While you're at it, don't miss our latest free Magic Markets show where we discussed artificial intelligence with Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital Investments. We tried to cut through the hype and look at the companies that stand a real chance of monetising thi s phenomenon. Enjoy it here>>>

And for a longer-form podcast where we focused on China, you can listen to my discussion with Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix on Ghost Stories. We unpacked the importance of China to the South Africa economy and several locally listed companies. Find it here>>>

Sadly, markets like retrenchments

I've lived through a round of corporate retrenchments. Though my job was safe at the time, I saw first-hand how severe the impact is on not just thos e affected, but staff morale overall. Markets tend to applaud retrenchments, as they signal that the management team is getting serious about cutting costs. Those cost benefits take a while to come through, as the payback period on retrenchment packages can be surprisingly long.

The latest company putting people out on the street is Telkom. With the fixed voice side of the business in a state of terminal decline that makes British American Tobacco look future-proof by comparison, the telecoms business has little choice but to make tough decisions. 15% of employees will be affected and the share price closed 5.3% higher in response, though this move was also impacted by Telkom's release of quarterly results.

The other big news yesterday was around Spar, releasing trading results that make Pick n Pay's recent performa nce look even worse in my view. Despite the management crisis at the company, Spar put together a solid trading performance over the festive season. I think that the return of people to the office has brought Spar's convenience model back into play, with the stores usually located in convenience malls.

There were also updates from AfroCentric, Gemfields, Santam and Textainer, with the latter showing a trend that is worth keeping an eye on in shipping. Get all these updates this morning in Ghost Bites>>>

And remember, to get up to date in the most efficient way possible, Mazars brings you the Ghost Wrap podcast - a whirlwind update on the most interesting stories from the prior week on the JSE. In the latest episode, I cover ed Bowler Metcalf, PPC, Renergen, Orion Minerals, Sappi, British American Tobacco, Kaap Agri, Pick n Pay and Spur. Enjoy it here>>>

US inflation slightly above consensus

US inflation came out at 6.4% year-on-year, which is slightly higher than consensus of 6.3%. Core inflation was also higher at 5.6% vs. 5.5% expected. Market movements were muted in response. To understand the context behind this data release, you can read TreasuryONE's latest update on whether inf lation has slowed down>>>

Feel the love with EasyEquities

Whether Valentine's Day went to plan or not for you, there are ways to invest on the market in that crazy little thing called love. In a recent article, Chuck Saletta of EasyEquities Research touched on a few global stocks that fall into the theme of love. Read it here>>>

With that, I leave you to enjoy your Valentine's Day hangover - hopefully from being love drunk!