In case you missed it yesterday, I released my first ever "letter from the editor" - a forum for me to write whatever I feel like writing! Designed to be both fun and insightful, with as few references to SENS as possible, feedback has been positive thus far. Find out about my love for Terry Pratchett by reading the letter here>>>

On to the more serious stuff, the first of which is a Ghost Wrap podcast brought to you by Mazars. I covered a selection of stocks: Fortress, Truworths, Woolworths, Bidcorp, Cashbuild, KAP and Motus. This gives you a really good mix of sectors and associat ed updates, all in the space of just a few minutes. Enjoy this podcast here>>>

There's still time to register for Unlock the Stock this Thursday at midday, where Harmony Gold will be joining us to talk about the business. You can register for the event here, brought to you by A2X. If you aren't sure how this platform works, then the recording of the recent event with Barloworld is a great way to find out.

As you look at improving your investment knowledge, it's useful to understand certain tricks like isolating the last twelve months of earnings to work out a trailing multiple. If that sounded really technical to you, don't panic. I explain it in great detail with a practical article that I wrote for EasyEquities, focusing on Transpaco vs. Mpact as my example. Find it here>>>

Longer podcasts

If you're looking for something to really sink your teeth into today, there are a few choices that I can offer you.

The first is a Ghost Stories podcast with Nico Katzke of Satrix, where we delved into dividends and whether they deserve the pedestal that investors seem to put these cash flows on. With a healthy mix of theory and practical stuff, along with some other market commentary, this is a very insightful discussion>>>

The second is also a Ghost Stories podcast, this time featuring Brian McMillan of Investec. We unpacked the USD S&P 500 Autocall product and exactly how it works in terms of downside protection vs. upside potential. If you have any kind of interest in derivatives, this is for you>>>

And moving back into single stock territory, Magic Ma rkets offers a closer look at Crocs vs. Nike and how the companies have been performing lately. The one you want in your cupboard might not be the one you want in your portfolio. Find out why here>>>

The Brackenfell Bruisers

You may recall Brackenfell as being the place where the EFF went to cause trouble and got sent packing. The people there are tough and so are the retailers, with the Shoprite head office (and a massive distribution centre) near the highway. Given the numbers we saw yesterday, it seems fitting to stick with the Brackenfell Bruisers nickname that I gave them. As I wrote in Ghost Bites this morning, you may need to Pick n Pray if you are invested in the competitors instead. And if the Shoprite share price performance confused you yesterday in response to these numbers, you may want to check your Eskom schedules to quickly understand why retailers got hammered on the market.

At the other end of the retail spectrum, we find The Foschini Group with a tough (but unsurprising) set of numbers. If you've been paying attention, you would know that TFG (the retailer, not the ghost)has a lot of debt after the acquisition of Tapestry. In this environment, along with load shedding and pressure on consumer spending, that's dangerous. HEPS has taken a knock accordingly.

Other updates coming through yesterday included Bowler Metcalf's results, Coronation's tax battle, Orion Minerals keeping the SENS wheels greased with yet another update, as well as Sanlam and Santam and the conclusion of the Allianz deal. As always, you can get everything with one click in Ghost Bites at this link>>>

The dollar is a bruiser, too

Dollar strength has been the theme this year, with only a few weeks where emerging market currencies managed to fight back. The world keeps running to the dollar for safety, with o ur domestic problems like load shedding not helping matters. Although US data has been more of a driver of rand weakness than anything else, the headlines don't help sentiment either. The rand broke through R19.00 and has now extended the losses to R19.20.

A positive surprise for South Africa GDP (printing at 1.6% year-on-year vs. 1.1% expected) didn't even stop the pain, which is how you know this is more than just a local story.

TreasuryONE also delivers the upsetting news that a higher oil price may be the case for the rest of the year, with Saudi Arabia production cuts running until December 2023. The Brent Crude price spiked above $90 and is currently trading at just about that level. And finally, the strong dollar caused gold to slip to $1,926 per ounce.

Enjoy today's content!