It's catch-up time

Good morning Voornaam,

I guess it had to happen eventually. Having never missed a single edition of Ghost Mail, I couldn't get one out yesterday. That's because in the world of stomach bugs, I caught one that appeared to be the evil love child of RG Snyman and Eben Etzebeth, with a bit of Mike Tyson thrown in for good measure and a knockout punch. I was found wanting.

Anyway, considerably skinnier than I was on Sunday (at least one pants size and possibly two), I'm back.

I managed to catch up on two days' worth of SENS announcements in a bumper edition of Ghost Bites. This meant relegating a couple of stories to Little Bites that might otherwise have justified a more detailed piece, but at least you can make sure you didn't miss anything. You'll find it here.

Other new stuff today includes a reminder from Investec that their Nikkei 225 Autocall and Euro Stoxx 50 Autocall applications close on 8 August. You can find out more about both products here.

Fedgroup is no stranger to Ghost Mail readers. If you've listened to the podcasts I've done with them over the past couple of years or read about some of their innovative products, you'll know that they think differently to the herd. Or, in their words, the dinosaurs. Read more here.

The busy time for Unlock the Stock continues, with Tharisa scheduled to present this Thursday at 12pm. With a focus on PGMs and chrome, this is a really interesting company and they have the slot all to themselves. Put on your analyst hat for an hour and bring your questions to the session. You can register to attend for free here.

And by the way, if you haven't listened yet to the latest Magic Markets podcast, you're missing out on a great geopolitical-themed discussion with international analyst Dimitri Zabelin. We talked about interpreting US jobs data, an investment thesis for defense stocks as well as tech stocks, both big and small. Find it here.

Have a great day!

FEATURED: The dinosaurs are dying

Fedgroup: The modern world is no place for a dinosaur. This is why Fedgroup does things differently, with a focus on their clients and delivering superior risk-adjusted returns to investors. Read more about their approach here>>>

FEATURED: The Trader's Handbook Ep 2

IG Markets collaboration: In the second episode of this exciting new podcast series, Shaun Murison of IG Markets South Africa joined me for a discussion on leverage, the importance of newsflow and how stop losses work, alongside other trading concepts. Get ready to learn about this wonderful element of the markets at this link>>>

FEATURED: Investec Structured Products new product applications close on 8 August

Investec Structured Products: Applications for the Nikkei 225 Autocall and Euro Stoxx 50 Autocall close on 8 August. Don't miss the opportunity to learn about these offshore investment opportunities.

FEATURED: Dominique Olivier on cancel culture

Dominique Olivier: From Delacroix's masterpiece to the iconic photo of Trump after the assassination attempt, the concept of cancel culture (online or otherwise) isn't new. Dominique digs into the history books in this piece. 

Local company news:

Ghost Bites: Get two days' worth of updates, ranging from Anglo American group companies through to Cashbuild, Mpact, Mr Price, Sasol, South32 and Vukile (and many more), all in Ghost Bites here>>>

Ghost Wrap: Get the latest on Richemont's sales, AVI's profitability, Karooooo's growth and the remuneration package for the new CEO at Prosus, all in just a few minutes in the Ghost Wrap podcast.

Unlock the Stock: PBT Group returned to Unlock the Stock to present the recent numbers and take questions from the attendees of the live event. With many topics covered, this recording is well worth watching>>> 

Podcasts:

  • Utshalo wants more retail investors: Paul Miller is hugely passionate about connecting retail investors to opportunities on the listed market. This means working with listed companies to allow retail investors to participate in capital raises, with Orion Minerals as the latest example. Learn more here>>>

  • Magic Markets - geopolitics, defense stocks and tech ideas: Dimitri Zabelin joined us to share his international expertise on topics ranging from US jobs data (and what to be careful of) through to a thesis for defense stocks. Of course, we had to discuss tech as well. Find it here>>>
  • Investec No Ordinary Wednesday podcast: The market may be unpredictable, but your investment strategy doesn’t have to be. Investec Investment Management experts share their insights on what approaches are winning, common mistakes investors make, and why staying the course is important. Enjoy it here>>>

International Business Snippet:

As we highlighted in our recent research in Magic Markets Premium, Tesla's margins have been on a downward spiral for a while now. It's just getting worse, with adjusted operating margin at its lowest level in three years in the latest quarter. When you have to keep discounting your products to sell them, there's a problem. Of course, Musk continues to push the autonomous driving thesis, the entire basis on which the Tesla investment case is built.

Meanwhile, Google and YouTube parent company Alphabet reported results that beat estimates for both earnings and revenue. Revenue was up 14% year-on-year, showing the growth that can still be achieved by these giants.

The Tesla numbers wouldn't have been a shock to Magic Markets Premium subscribers, as we highlighted the issues in our recent report. To get access to this research and the rest of the vast library, subscribe to the platform here.

IG Morning Call: daily macroeconomic update

The earnings miss from Tesla last night saw the US tech sector leading a short-term decline in US equity markets.

European index futures are mostly lower this morning as well, ahead of bank earnings and a slew of manufacturing and services PMI data scheduled for today.

Risk-off sentiment and the suggestion of weakening growth and in turn Chinese demand is seeing Asian bourses lower this morning as well.

In line with global risk appetite waning short term, we are expecting a softer start for the JSE All-Share Index today.

The dollar has firmed and the rand is expected to caution into this morning's CPI inflation data release.

Oil prices have traded to their lowest levels since early June on optimism around ceasefire talks in the Middle East.

Gold has started to renew gains despite a firmer dollar and higher US Treasury Yields.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R18.40/$ | US 10yr 4.24% | Gold $2,415/oz | Platinum $945/oz | Brent Crude $80.40

The macroeconomic update is based on IG's morning call update