If you're a corporate entity that is looking to finance or refinance a solar installation, then reach out to Jaltech. They are in the final stages of closing their Section 12B solar fund and can assist you with your funding needs. Click here to reach out to them>>>

Fresh insights

On this cold winter morning, there are a few things fresh out the oven:

• A new Ghost Stories podcast episode delivers you deep understanding into ETFs and the way they are perceived and used by investors. I delved into this topic with Duma M xenge, Business Development Manager at Satrix. We really clicked, even if my multiple attempts (with a lot of practice) at his surname didn't. Enjoy it here>>>
• Renergen is always a favourite among retail investors, with Trive South Africa covering the stock from fundamental and technical viewpoints in this article>>>
• The recording of the latest Unlock the Stock appearance by Calgro M3 is certainly still ready to eat, particularly with such tasty results for the team to be proud of. Learn about the company directly from the management t eam here>>>

While you're at it, make sure you've listened to this week's episode of Ghost Wrap, brought to you by Mazars as ever. I covered Pan African Resources, HCI, Southern Sun, Datatec, Astral, Quantum Foods, Lewis Group and Trematon. You can find it on your favourite podcast player (remember to subscribe) or here on the website>>>

As a final distraction from our challenges as South Africa, you can learn more about crypto arbitrage and how that trade is currently working out from Harry Scherzer of Future Forex. In the latest episode of Magic Markets, we touched on some of the recent challenges in the arbitrage spreads and execution and talked about the evolution of the Future Forex model. Listen to it here>>>

The working poor

We now arrive at a topic that generally makes me both ill and angry all at once: South Africa's working poor. I was grateful to be given an opportunity to also discuss this topic on Kaya Biz last night, where Nastassia Arendse was standing in for Gugulethu Mfuphi.

The "working poor" are honest people getting up at awful hours of the morning and catching taxis in the freezing cold to arrive at a job that maybe pays R10k a month, if they are lucky. Also if they are lucky, they have a dual-income household that means they can probably live in a house with actual walls rather than in a shack. In a single-income household, it's not always the case.

And as we head from R10k (security guard income I would guess) down to minimum wage, you can be sure that the walls aren't made of brick. They certainly aren't the sort of dignified living spaces that Calgro M3 is providing to lower income earners. I was blown away on Unlock the Stock by what Calgro M3 is capable of building at those price points.

Recent announcements on SENS have all pointed to one thing: our working poor are hanging on by their fingernails. They spend a huge proportion of their salaries on food and transport costs, both of which are experiencing inflation way in excess o f official CPI figures. When your nanny or gardener asks you for a raise, maybe keep in mind that food inflation at Tiger Brands in the latest period was 17%.

Now imagine spending as much as half your income on food and dealing with that kind of inflation number. It's not surprising that volumes at Tiger Brands fell by 1%!

The middle class is getting squeezed as well from all sides, so giving that raise isn't always possible. In fact, it rarely is. This is why Pepkor is showing tough numbers as well, as people quite frankly have to prioritise transport and food over new clothes.

Tiger Brands fell 16.8% yesterday in response to results. Pepkor closed 10.7% lower. These are big companies being tossed around like rag dolls on the local mark et as SA Inc capitulates.

If you need further evidence of the crisis that is brewing, look at the recent results at Lewis. Consider what is happening in the poultry sector with Astral Foods and Quantum, where profitability has been smashed and our core protein in South Africa is looking vulnerable. And of course, who can forget the way SA Taxi obliterated the Transaction Capital share price?

I really cannot help but feel that a genuine crisis is bubbling under the surface. If something doesn't change very quickly with the rand and Eskom (and how can it?), we may find ourselves witnessing severe unrest in South Africa.

And of course, I just can't help but juxtapose this against the extraordinary glo bal performance of luxury groups like Richemont, or even local car sales being achieved by the likes of CMH. If you follow the markets closely, you'll learn everything you need to know about wealth disparity not just in South Africa, but globally.

In Ghost Bites this morning, I covered those critical results from Tiger Brands and Pepkor, a major farming disposal by Crookes Brothers, acquisitions by Hudaco and Primeserv as well as numbers from Huge, Invicta, Momentum Metropolitan and Trustco. There's also a debt refinancing by Sirius that teaches you something important about property funds in a rising rate cycle.

I can't solve South Africa's problems but at least I can help you learn about them and understand them. Read Ghost Bites here>>>

The rand broke another record

I'm afraid that nothing you read in this section will make you feel better. TreasuryONE tells us that the rand reached an all-time-disaster against the dollar of R19.86 in intraday trade yesterday. The rand is still exposed to dollar strength, something to fi rmly keep in mind as we move towards the release of non-farm payroll data on Friday in the US.

In commodities, Brent Crude was the most notable movement on the day, dropping 4% over uncertainty around OPEC+ cutting production.

With that, I wish you strength to tackle your day.