There's a brand new Ghost Wrap episode available today, bringing you a whirlwind update on Aveng, Curro, Libstar, Transpaco, Standard Bank, Thungela, Exxaro, Sibanye, Gold Fields and Master Drilling in the space of just 5 minutes. Ghost Wrap is made possible by Mazars and you'll find it here>>>

Unlock the Stock is coming to you this Thursday at 12pm with Barloworld. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to ask questions directly to the CEO of this important group. Thanks to A2X, you can attend for free by simply registering at this link>>>

Investec is offering 500 of the best in a USD S&P 500 Autocall structured product. If you want to learn more about this product (especially if you are a financial advisor), then read this excellent and detailed article from the team at Investec.

With provisional tax deadlines right in front of our faces, you can reduce your provisional tax burden by investing in the Grovest Twelve B Energy Fund. You can find all the details in this recent webinar from the Grovest team alongside ENSafrica.

Caterpillar, meet Home Depot

We are experimenting in Magic Markets and bringing you a new format in our free weekly show. Each of us goes off and does some research into an interesting global company before bringing a few fun facts to the discussion. In the first example of this format, I chose Caterpillar and my Magic Markets partner Mohammed Nalla chose Home Depot. Listen to the show here>>>

A thunk back down to earth for the Thungela dividend

If you've even remotely been keeping an eye on the market in recent weeks, you'll know how cyclical mining is. The various mining houses have been releasing generally poor results when viewed on a year-on-year basis, driven by a deterioration in commodity prices and production issues here at home. Of course, this definitely isn't good news for the fiscus or our trade deficit.

Thungela is just the latest example, although an 83% drop in the interim dividend is particularly severe. This is why single-commodity exposure is so dangerous, something that Jubilee Metals is trying to move away from as quickly as possible. That company has given an update on its chrome and copper efforts.

Other mining updates include Kore Potash and Salungano, with the former still trying to pull off a successful project in the Republic of Congo and the latter in all kinds of trouble.

In property, we saw Attacq release the circular for the GEPF deal and RMB Holdings release a rather odd announcement about the ongoing dispute with Atterbury. From where I'm sitting, Atterbury has come out as the winner of this round in the fight. Castleview and Collins rounded out the property news for the day.

Last but certainly not least, we saw an earnings release from Curro that shows just how rough the inflationary pressures are right now for South African middle-income earners.

Get all these updates and the usual assortment of director dealings etc. in Ghost Bites at this link>>>

The BRICS summit is underway

To understand the important elements of the 2023 BRICS summit, you can watch this video from the team at TreasuryONE. Of course, it remains to be seen if any of the material policies being discussed at the summit will be adopted.

The rand had a tough start to the week, as did most risky assets as US treasury yields increased. When dollar yields are higher, emerging markets become less appealing for investment and this negatively impacts inward flows. Investors are bracing themselves for a hawkish stance by Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his speech this Friday at Jackson Hole, with the overall sentim ent being that higher rates are here to stay. This suggests elevated interest rates and inflation in coming years. This certainly hasn't done any favours for the gold price either, trading below the important level of $1,900 per ounce.

Have a productive day!