Get ready for another Unlock the Stock on Thursday! CA&S Group has been setting the market on fire with a seriously impressive set of results. The share price is up 27% this year, proving once more that you can make money on the local market if you pick the right stocks. The company has been highly supportive of Unlock the Stock, which also tells you that they care about their investors. Join us again on Thursday at midday to get the latest from this company and to unpack its prospects. Brought to you by A2X, you need to register here>>>

And if you aren't sure how Unlock the Stock works, then you can watch the recent recording with Curro at this link>>>

Short, sweet and insightful

Ghost Wrap is an incredibly efficient way to stay on top of market news. This is a roughly 6-minute podcast that deals with several company updates and my opinions on them. The latest show covers Bowler Metcalf, City Lodge, Shoprite, The Foschini Group, Bidvest and AVI. Brought to you by Mazars, you can enjoy it here>>>

Retirement is a hot topic

The Letter from the Editor that I released yesterday did really well and got a lot of feedback! It's clear that retirement, or lack thereof, is an important area for discussion. It's also clear that you enjoy it when I step away from SENS and global company news and just write something a little bit different and unexpected.

If you missed it, find out what all the buzz was about by reading it here>>>

Learn with Satrix

What can investors learn from rugby coaches? Shining a red light like Rassie Erasmus probably isn't on the list, but many other things are. In the spirit of rugby and certainly lifelong learning, Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix brings us this article>>>

If you are looking for a way to listen and learn today, then Ghost Stories with Nico Katzke of Satrix is a great show that delves into dividends and whether they are always happy news for investors. If a company doesn't pay a dividend, is that always a bad thing? Find out here>>>

When life throws you a Lululemon...

There's a big, wide world out there of companies that earn profits in dollars. Unless you've been sleeping under a rock for the last decade without looking at a chart of the rand, that's a very important consideration for your portfolio.

Magic Markets is here to help, bringing you weekly learnings about global stocks and bridging the gap for South Africans. For newbies and seasoned investors alike, there's a lot to learn here. The latest free show looks at Lululemon and Ulta Beauty, both health and wellness companies with different approaches and product categories in this broad industry. You can enjoy it here>>>

Speaking of dollars, it's hard to afford them

This is great news for Sun International. Not only can a global tourist arrive here with a modest budget and live like the Sultan of Brunei for a week, but South Africans can no longer go overseas without living like the rats in that Sultan's basement. The result? Improved occupancy at local resorts, with locals taking a Sho't Left and remembering that we have a magnificent country to explore. Perhaps in an effort to still afford that big trip or from sheer FOMO around sports events, the online betting business is also doing really well.

At City Lodge, occupancies have also moved higher. The food and beverage strategy is working well, which I'm sure has been helped by load shedding and a need for weary laptop workers to seek out an oasis of electricity and coffee in a time of darkness. The trouble here is that occupancy is only part of the story, with room pricing as the other factor in that equation. This is where things are still falling short vs. pre-pandemic levels, which calls into question pricing power in a world where Teams / Zoom is a completely acceptable alternative for many business meetings.

In addition to the tourism stories, we also have results from Bell Equipment that show how important it is to look at the cash flow statement. Pretty much all the profit has been plowed back into working capital like inventory. If demand from customers remains strong, that's not necessarily a bad thing at all, as Bell Equipment is then behaving like a growth company. But if something goes wrong, it can quickly turn sour.

I suspect that the Transaction Capital share pr ice is going to be in worse shape than a taxi's bumper by the time the market has been open for a couple of hours. CEO David Hurwitz is leaving the group, with Jonathan Jawno stepping into the hot seat. The accompanying trading update shows that things are not looking good at all.

Metrofile isn't a company that is going to light your pants on fire. Document storage isn't a high growth industry, yet the company doesn't trade at a bargain valuation to reflect what I believe are rather limited growth prospects. You can decide for yourself based on the latest numbers.

Finally, Transpaco's specific share repurchase from a shareholder with a 3.67% stake is a great example of why it is so difficult to sell a block of shares in a local mid- or small-cap. Sometimes, the company itself is the only exit liquidity you'll find!

To get all the details on these stories and the L ittle Bites that are always important to read as well, find Ghost Bites here>>>

Thanks, Asia?

The rand gained over 1% against the dollar yesterday. This isn't because of the Springboks, as tempting as that might be to believe. TreasuryONE points out that actions by Asian central banks helped put a stop to the dollar's rally, with China cautioning speculators against disturbing the yuan's stability and the Bank of Japan hinting at a policy change that caused the yen to surge. In case you need further evidence that the rand rally had very litt le to do with South Africa, Absa Manufacturing PMI remains in contraction territory despite a slight uptick in South African business confidence.

The rand made it below R18.90, with the market eagerly awaiting the US CPI report on Wednesday this week. On Thursday, the ECB is expected to be a close call between a tenth consecutive rate hike and a cautious pause, similar to the Fed's recent decision.

Looking at oil, Brent Crude rose above $90 per barrel after Saudi Arabia extended supply limitations. Although prices could continue to increase and there are some calls for it to reach $100 based on increased global demand and hedge funds entering the market, many forecasters are not convinced. As South Africans, let's hope it doesn't get to triple digits!

To stay on top of the currency, commodity and central bank news, subscribing to the TreasuryONE YouTube account is a very good strategy.

With that, I wish you a productive Tuesday!