The second wave of Covid-19 is starting to impact retailers and property owners globally. While The Foschini Group says trading is likely to be affected for the rest of the year as some stores in the UK and Australia remain closed, NEPI Rockcastle has been forced to shut some of the stores, restaurants and entertainment venues at its shopping centres in Central and Eastern Europe as infection rates rise again.
Massmart, in the meantime, has tallied up just how much it's missed out on sales due to restrictions. Apart from the R1.1 billion in lost alcohol sales, at the height of the lockdown it was also prohibited from selling many of the other items you can find in its stores.
Despite the impact on UK businesses, Stenprop says it continues to see demand for multi-let industrial estates as it increases its investment in the sector, which it believes will be more resilient than other segments of the commercial real estate sector.
Also today, microlender and mutual bank Finbond has slipped into a first-half loss, largely as a result of Covid-19, and Merafe Resources has reported a decline in ferrochrome production for the third quarter of its financial year.
During the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa, many individuals and families have experienced severe disruptions to their work, health and financial status. Unfortunately, many families have seen the premature passing away of loved ones.
The latest note entitled "Irish eyes aren't smiling" tackles the topic of banks, locally and internationally. The message is that banks around the world have been reporting large impairments but Ingham Analytics caution that whilst banks may think they have been conservative in fact they may not have been conservative enough. Other recent notes of topical interest include "Road to nowhere?" and "Nickel for Elon?"
