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Good morning Voornaam,

Happy Friday! I hope you have an excellent weekend ahead.

Kick back at some point today, put in those earphones and enjoy the brand new episode of The Trader's Handbook, my podcast collaboration with the team at IG Markets South Africa. In episode 10, we cover commodities - yes, trading the likes of gold and oil. You can learn all about why this is appealing and how it differs to trading the underlying producers of these commodities. We also covered the technical pattern of double tops and double bottoms. Enjoy it here>>>

Gold also features strongly in today's company news, with AngloGold releasing fantastic numbers for the latest quarter. They are unfortunately experiencing delays in getting the Gold Fields joint venture in Ghana approved though.

There was quite a bit of interesting news that came out, with Truworths really catching my eye for how poor the Truworths Africa numbers look. They are simply not competing adequately in the local market and they cannot keep relying on the UK business to drag the group out of the mud.

Speaking of mud, MultiChoice is so deep in the mud (or is that something with a different smell?) that the Canal+ deal simply has to go ahead. I'm not sure how else they will fund their Showmax ambitions.

Adding to this news, we had Grindrod with port closures in Mozambique in the wake of election violence, as well as Lesaka and Sappi with quarterly numbers.

For details on these stories and the other Nibbles, read Ghost Bites here>>>

Friday means DealMakers summaries and this week is no different. Get the latest on South African M&A, South African corporate finance and deals in the rest of Africa.

For offshore stock enthusiasts, the latest free Magic Markets show is a treat. This is our 200th free show, so it's quite the milestone! We celebrated it by digging into the recent earnings from the Big Tech counters in the US, including commentary on our positions in the stocks. Find it here>>>

Finally, in keeping a promise I made last night over possibly one-too-many drinks at the annual Ince Corporate Finance Bash, I am signing off as...

XOXO
Gossip Ghost

(don't worry, there's no permanent rebrand happening here!)

THE TRADER'S HANDBOOK: Insights and strategies for commodity markets - oil, gold and more

In this episode of The Trader’s Handbook, Shaun Murison from IG Markets South Africa joined me to explore the world of commodity trading.

We discussed the nuances of trading popular commodities like gold and oil, comparing direct commodity trading to investing in mining stocks, and delved into the unique appeal and risks associated with each.

We also covered double tops and double bottoms in the technical analysis section.

The podcast and detailed transcript are available here>>>

FORVIS MAZARS: Innovative funding remains the charge powering South Africa's energy transition

The ongoing evolution of the renewable energy investment landscape in South Africa requires innovative funding structures, as explained by Johan Marais and Taona Kokera of Forvis Mazars in South Africa. Learn more here>>>

INVESTEC: India a gateway to outsized emerging market opportunities

As the global economy shifts from a high inflation and high interest rate environment into the next interest rate cutting cycle, global investors are casting their net wider in their search for returns. India is an attractive opportunity. Investec explains why in this article>>>

SATRIX: Shari'ah-compliant Investing

Shari'ah-compliant investing in South Africa just got a major boost with the listing of the Satrix MSCI World Islamic ETF on the JSE in October.

Yusuf Wadee of Satrix joins me to unpack this fund and the fascinating Shari'ah principles in general. There's much to learn here, regardless of whether your faith requires you to invest based on these principles.

Along with a detailed transcript, you'll find it here>>>

DOMINIQUE OLIVIER: How to know if you've been brainwashed

Coca-Cola. Gillette. De Beers. Sunkist. These are just four examples of companies that cemented their place (and their products) in popular culture. Dominique Olivier explains how they did it in this week's column>>>

Ghost Bites - local company news:

Ghost Bites: The latest on AngloGold, Gold Fields, Grindrod, Lesaka, MultiChoice, Sappi, Truworths and numerous Nibbles in Ghost Bites here>>>

Unlock the Stock - Pan African Resources

Unlock the Stock: Pan African Resources returned to the platform to talk about the performance and prospects in an environment of favourable gold prices. Enjoy the presentation and Q&A here>>>

Top concerns for global financiers in today's market

Join Investec CEOs, Cumesh Moodliar (SA) and Ruth Leas (UK), as they share their key insights from the recent IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington in the latest episode of No Ordinary Wednesday.

International Business Snippet:

Airbnb dropped around 5% in after-hours trading thanks to a slight miss on earnings estimates. The platform could only manage revenue growth of 10% year-on-year, which doesn't sound great. There are just such high expectations baked into these share prices and Airbnb is one of those tech companies with a dubious moat.

Unlike Uber (which I hold) that addresses a real problem in the market, it feels like Airbnb has expanded far beyond what made it interesting in the early days. They keep talking about additional sources of revenue and all the things they can try add onto the platform. As I write this from a hotel that I booked on Booking.com, I can't help but think that Airbnb wouldn't need to be getting creative with revenue sources if the core business was capable of growing quickly enough.

Our latest research in Magic Markets Premium is on Microsoft. The world's most important tech business from an enterprise computing standpoint isn't just adapting to the world of AI - it's driving that world forward. But does that change the Microsoft investment case? You'll find out in our research for subscribers this week.

Magic Markets: Making Forex Better

Magic Markets: Future Forex is on a mission to make forex cheaper and simpler for individuals and businesses alike. Harry Scherzer joined us to talk about their evolution from a strong crypto arbitrage foundation. Find it here>>>

IG Markets Morning Call: daily macroeconomic update

Major US equity benchmarks the Dow, S&P500 and Nasdaq-100 all hit record highs yesterday, after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a further 25 basis points and post Donald Trump regaining the US presidency.

US and European index futures are flat this morning, while Asian indices are slightly lower today after having gained yesterday, as markets await fiscal stimulus news out of China. We are in turn expecting a muted start for the JSE All-Share Index this morning.

A softer dollar has helped the rand claw back its recent losses. US Treasury Yields have retraced from near term highs in a knee jerk reaction to election news and post the Federal Reserve meeting last night.

After a resurgence in both precious and industrial metal prices yesterday, these commodities are now trading flat in early trade this morning

Oil prices have started to temper recent gains as the hurricane threat along the Gulf Coast starts to dissipate and ease related supply concerns.

There is no high impact data scheduled for today.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R17.37/$ | US 10yr 4.33% | Gold $2,695/oz | Platinum $993/oz | Brent Crude $75.05

The macroeconomic update is based on the morning call update by IG Markets