Good morning Voornaam,
Happy Black Friday! I petitioned to change it to Purple Friday but with no joy.
Luckily, Ghost Mail has always been free and will always be free, so you have Black Friday money available for other things. There are still some Black Friday discounted memberships to Magic Markets Premium available. Use MMBLACKFRIDAY23 as your coupon on checkout for an annual subscription of R799, which is R200 off the normal price. This gives you a detailed weekly research report and podcast on global companies, available only to paying subscribers.
Speaking of paying, that's all that South African consumers seem to be doing right now. When we get smashed by inflation in the canned foods aisle, it's a lot harder to have some spare money for clothes. Despite what I felt were pretty rough results, Mr Price rallied yesterday. Read on for more on this.
And as you prepare to swipe that card today, make sure you've read the excellent piece by Dominique Olivier that deals with the history of the credit card as we know it today. A marketing coup several decades ago completely changed the way consumers behave. Read this article>>>
Get stuck in and enjoy today's content! |
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BRAND NEW: Magic Markets podcast |
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In Episode 152 of Magic Markets, we looked at international retailers Walmart and Target.
With topics ranging from their earnings guidance through to why concepts like constant currency earnings are important, there's much to learn here.
We also talked about the "stickiness" of inflation - or lack thereof?
This show is brought to you by international data and automation specialists B2IT. |
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LATEST: Diners Club, debt and the downfall of society
(by Dominique Olivier) |
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In her latest column, Dominique Olivier tells the story of the credit card and how our lives came to revolve around plastic consumerism.
Just in time for Black Friday, of course! |
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LATEST: Ghost Wrap podcast
(NEPI Rockcastle | MultiChoice | Santam | Shoprite vs. Woolworths | Richemont) |
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| | The latest Ghost Wrap podcast needs just a few minutes of your time to get you up to date on six companies across a variety of sectors. Ghost Wrap is brought to you by Mazars. |
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LATEST: Global megatrends shaping the ETFs of the future |
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Kingsley Williams of Satrix looks ahead to the potential landscape for ETFs in 2030 by focusing on the key trends that are driving growth in this asset class. There's a lot to feel excited about! |
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Bell Equipment and Calgro M3 returned to the Unlock the Stock platform in a joint session to share insights into the recent numbers and the strategic outlook.
You can watch the recording here, thanks to our partner A2X. |
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LATEST: Ghost Stories podcast with Nico Katzke of Satrix |
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| | Nico Katzke is no stranger to Ghost Stories listeners. There's always so much to learn from him about markets and investing. This time, you also get to enjoy him putting me through my paces in the second half of the show. |
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 DAILY: TreasuryONE Market Update There's a small amount of Christmas cheer from the SARB, with the interest rate maintained at current levels. This was the first unanimous decision since September 2021, so even the MPC members have clearly looked at their Christmas budgets.
The surprise to the market was the less aggressive outlook on inflation, with forecasts revised downward through to 2025. The SARB did however recognise the many potential upward risks to this view. Of course, the likes of Transnet do nothing to help our growth.
Oil prices have fallen as OPEC+ faces difficulties resolving a dispute over output quotas. This raises concerns about the group's unity. The disagreements are coming from Angola and Nigeria. If OPEC+ can reach agreement, it could lead to an uptick in the oil price.
The rand is at R18.82 this morning, Brent Crude is at $80.40 and Gold is at $1,993.
To cap off the year, TreasuryONE is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, 5th December at 9am. Attendance is free, but you must register here. Get it in your calendar nice and early! |
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| | Get the latest on African Media Entertainment, City Lodge, Delta Property, Frontier Transport, KAL Group, Mahube, Mr Price, Spar and Trematon to keep you up to date. It's all available with a single click in Ghost Bites. |
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Mr Price closed over 8% higher, but why? I'm generally bearish on retail in this environment, as you probably know by now. No matter where I look, there's a new difficulty for the sector. The disastrous backlog of cargo ships outside Durban is just another perfect example. You can't sell stock that is stuck on the ocean.
Spar released a pretty awful trading statement yesterday, although they scored multiple own goals as well. The nightmarish SAP implementation at the KZN distribution centre cost the company R720 million in lost profits.
The surprise for me was Mr Price. Well, to be clear, the surprise was the market's reaction. I wasn't surprised at all to see that the core business is under pressure. I was taken aback by the market rallying 10% based on numbers that didn't look exciting, before closing 8% higher.
Perhaps this was a knee-jerk reaction to the top-line numbers that looked amazing because of the inclusion of Studio 88? I'm genuinely not sure. All I know is that when I unpack the results, I can't see any reason to celebrate them.
A positive surprise for me was City Lodge. I wrote earlier this week about the relative pricing power of leisure travel vs. business travel. Although it looks like City Lodge isn't getting quite the pricing increases they would like, there's still a solid set of numbers to sink your teeth into. Full credit to the management team for navigating this environment so well.
And if you enjoy small caps and all they bring, then be sure to read about Frontier Transport.
You can also get the latest on African Media Entertainment, Delta Property Fund, KAL Group, Mahube Infrastructure and Trematon, along with the usual assortment of Little Bites.
Get it all in Ghost Bites at this link>>>
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Disclaimer
Our content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. You must do your own analysis before executing any investments or strategic decisions, based on your own circumstances. We do not provide personalised recommendations or views as to whether an investment approach or corporate strategy is suited to the needs of a specific individual or entity. You should take independent financial advice from a suitably qualified individual who gives due regard to your personal circumstances.
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