| If you want to understand more about the rand, then don't miss the TreasuryONE webinar this Thursday at 9am. Attendance is free and you need to register here to attend this worthwhile opportunity to learn. Bring your questions! What else can you learn this morning?Get your earphones ready. There's quite a lot to choose from and there's new stuff coming this week, so don't fall behind! If you are an entrepreneur or you want to learn more about that world, you could listen to my interviews with Vangelis Kyriazis (Syft Analytics) or Murray Clark (Neighbourgood) on the bizval podcast, both of whom are talented 30-something entrepreneurs who are demonstrating what can be achieved with the right approach and mindset.For insights into how the worlds of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the markets collide, the latest Magic Markets episode with Alexander Weiss of Trive South Africa is the first of the "Five with Trive" series. We cover five stocks under a specific theme, in this case all with an international AI f lavour.To catch up on the past week's news on the JSE, the Ghost Wrap podcast (brought to you by Mazars) is a fast-paced update on Karooooo, Quantum Foods, RFG Holdings, Sappi, MTN, Southern Sun, Richemont and Transaction Capital.The recent Ghost Stories discussion with Nico Katzke of Satrix is just as relevant now as it was a few weeks ago when I released the podcast. It will be relevant for months and years to come. That's the benefit of an objective discussion on local vs. offshore exposure, the eternal debate for South Africans.Can Purple make it rain?Price really does drive narrative in the market. There was a time in the pandemic when I nearly had vegetables thrown at me in the Twitter Town Square for suggesting that investors had gotten far too excited about the Purple valuation. At one point, it traded at nearly R3.50! Having closed yesterday at R1.22, there's been a nasty bump back down to earth. I haven't had to dodge vegetables in a while. In fact, the mob has now turned its gaze to the management team, aiming a few lettuces and even a dangerous looking aubergine. FYI: blaming the managem ent team for the wild volatility of the macroeconomic environment over the past three years isn't very sensible. I must also note that the return over 5 years is more than 300%, so a sensible through-the-craziness view reveals a group that has created a lot of value. The real test is this week, with Purple aiming to raise R105 million through a rights offer. EasyEquities needs R150 million for expansion plans and Purple owns 70% of EasyEquities, so you can hopefully do the maths from there. The other R45 million is coming from Sanlam, the 30% partner in EasyEquities. Pricing for the rights offer will be announced later this week, so keep an eye out for that. Other news yesterday included particularly good numbers from Reunert (though you need to read carefully), along with financial updates from Octodec and Tharisa. Santam reflected on what sounds like a successful quarter, while BHP and South32 released their presentations from a mining conference being held this week. As ever, all the news on the JSE is just one click away in Ghost Bites>>> Still no joy at R19.00The rand hasn't managed to break through R19.00 to the dollar. Insert audible groan here. With the currency trading in a tight range between R19.00 and R19.15, don't lose hope yet. TreasuryONE tells us that there's an old ada ge in the markets: the more a currency tests a level, the higher the likelihood for it to break that level. I guess that makes sense. The more people you ask out on a date, the more likely you are to get one. Let's hope that R19.00 agrees to go to dinner with the rand, taking it back to an R18-something level. It doesn't help that dollar strength has been driven by retail numbers out of the US. Although the numbers printed lower than expected, US consumers are still doing alright overall. The US continues to stand out as a beacon of economic hope, or a pimple of annoyance if you're on the wrong side of the rand. As highlighted earlier this week, headlines are more likely to drive the rand this week than economic data. Let's hope for the right headlines. As you continue your journey of learning with TreasuryONE, add the TreasuryOne podcast to your library and get daily updates on the market. They also have m ore in-depth conversations from time to time, like this one on the concept of "dedollarisation". With that, I wish you a productive day! | 