Happy Monday! To kick it off, there's a brand new episode of the Ghost Wrap podcast to help you catch up on the biggest stories last week on the local market. You need just a few minutes to get the latest on Bidcorp, Bidvest, MultiChoice, Argent Industrial, Renergen, Capital Appreciation and The Foschini Group. Brought to you by Mazars, you'll find Ghost Wrap here>>>
Here's some other stuff that I don't want you to miss:
- If you've ever been curious about the FMCG industry and how to build a brand in this space, you'll enjoy the latest bizval podcast with Mark Sack, Managing Di rector of Sally Williams Fine Foods. Get your sugar rush at this link>>>
- The emigration webinar that I presented alongside TreasuryONE last week proved to be very popular. If you're thinking about this decision, then the objective analysis I presented could really help you. The TreasuryONE team gave insights into the mechanics around SARB and SARS matters. Watch the recording here>>>
Thrive with Trive
In case you missed the latest stock analysis from the team at Trive South Af rica, check these out:
- A fundamental and technical analysis on Dell Technologies and the state of the PC market, available here>>>
- A fundamental and technical analysis on JD.com as a Chinese eCommerce giant, available here>>>
- A discussion on the Magic Markets podcast on five Chinese tech stocks, with Alex Weiss of Trive South Africa as the guest. Find it here>>>
Read the TFG numbers closely
Kudos to The Foschini Group (TFG) - I appreciate the level of disclosure in the reporting. It's rare to see a company give proper H1 vs. H2 analysis, splitting the year into halves and making it far easier to understand the numbers. One of the first things that a serious equity analyst does is an H1 vs. H2 split to look at underlying momentum, or cadence in the numbers. TFG made it easy.
This is particularly good reporting when this analysis tells an unfortunate story. The second half of the year (H2) was not great at all for the group and that concerning momentum has continued into the new financial year. Despite a recent rally in retail stocks as load shedding abated, there's a lot to be worried about with South African consumers.
Other major updates on Friday included ARC Investments and Novus. You can get all the details you need in Ghost Bites>>>
R18.70 - and counting?
By the end of last week, the rand had recovered by R1.20 against the dollar in the matter of a week. The lower R18.70s provided support for the rand several times before, so breaking below that level could be difficult. This is particularly true as we head into a pivotal week that includes central bank activity.
After inflation in the US has been on a downward trend in recent months, TreasuryONE notes an expectation in the market for the Fed to "skip or pause" the interest rate hiking cycle. The ECB is expected to hike by 25 basis points and the BoJ is expected to keep rates where they are.
But with much uncertainty this week, risk-off sentiment could halt the recovery in the rand.
Good luck for the start of a new week!