A new Naspers-Prosus CEO

Good morning Voornaam,

Fresh out the oven:

Ghost Bites: Naspers-Prosus took their time replacing Bob van Dijk, but my gut feel is that they've gotten it right this time. Richemont has also appointed a CEO to report into Johann Rupert, while reporting record sales. There's news from Altron, Gold Fields, ISA Holdings, Newpark REIT, Sirius Real Estate and Trematon as well. Get it all in Ghost Bites>>>

The new Magic Markets episode covers the exceptional share price performance at Chipotle Mexican Grill and Wingstop, brought to you by Future Forex and available here with a full transcript as well.

Hermès: Birkin Mad This brand new piece by Dominique Olivier has everything from five-star meltdowns in Paris to supermodels and straw baskets. This is the Birkin bag, the iconic piece by ultra-luxury company Hermès that shows how these businesses really work. Read it here>>>

CA Sales Holdings recently presented on Unlock the Stock and engaged in a vibrant Q&A with attendees. This stock has been a top performer. To understand why, watch the event here. Calgro M3 is next up, scheduled for 23rd May. You can register for free here>>>

Curious about how platform businesses make a profit? How do startups suddenly start printing cash? In the next bizval webinar on Thursday 23rd May, you can find out. Register for free here>>>

In case you missed it:

​Ghost Wrap: You need barely four minutes to get up to speed on KAL Group, AB InBev, Redefine, RFG Holdings and Calgro M3, brought to you by Mazars. Listen to it here>>>

​This is a massive election year, with over 60 nations going to the polls. On the latest Investec No Ordinary Wednesday podcast, Investec Wealth & Investment Chief Investment Strategist Chris Holdsworth shared his insights on the election outcomes that matter most to markets. Listen to the show here>>>

​Chasing (returns from) the Sun: Grovest's Tivon Loubser joined me on a Ghost Stories podcast to talk about the 12BA allowances and how the government is giving returns from solar a serious boost for investors and you can listen to it here (full transcript included)>>>

LISTEN: Chasing Returns from the Sun

Local company news:

Naspers and Prosus have put a proper entrepreneur and operator in the hot seat. Fabricio Bloisi is the new CEO, with Erwin Tu moving from interim CEO back to a job that looks mostly like his old one: Chief Investment Officer. The group is a portfolio of growth assets that feels more like a venture capital spray-and-pray strategy than anything else. The market will look to Bloisi to clean it up.
In news from another absolute giant, Richemont released results and they show record annual sales. The momentum into the end of the year wasn't great though and neither was the margin mix. The role of CEO has been re-established and they are going bos - with Nicolas Bos, in fact. He will report into Johann Rupert.
Other updates included a revised trading statement from Altron, challenges with chinchillas for Gold Fields (yes, really), a great jump in profits at ISA Holdings, worries at Newpark REIT, a debt raise at Sirius and a detailed look at Trematon's portfolio, where Generation Education is starting to blossom financially.
Get all the details in Ghost Bites at this link>>>

LISTEN: Investing in Private Credit
(Reginald Labuschagne, Sanlam Private Wealth |
Harris Gorre, Grovepoint Investment Management)

READ AND LISTEN: The Global Accelerator

International business news:

There's an interesting shift in how the super wealthy are buying ultra expensive art, cars and properties. CNBC reports that although auctions are under pressure, private purchases are on the rise. They call this the "quiet wealth" trend but I think it's a lot simpler than that: auctions favour the seller, as they create competitive tension among buyers. The oldest trick in M&A is to simply get the other buyers out of the way, so that you can negotiate directly with the seller.
Speaking of negotiations, there's much focus on sports negotiations with media companies. The NBA is just the latest example, with Warner Bros. Discovery having enjoyed those rights for nearly four decades. Disney also has a seat at the table. In a perfect example of the competitive tension I mentioned above, Amazon and NBCUniversal are also trying to get a slice of the action.
If you are a seller, you want more buyers. If you are a buyer, you want the other buyers to go away - this applies in auctions, media bids and anything else.
This week, we are covering payments giant Mastercard in Magic Markets Premium. To get access to this research and the rest of the vast library, subscribe to the platform here.

Macroeconomic Update

The dollar weakened in the early morning as the markets await further commentary from Fed officials this week, as well as FOMC minutes from the previous meeting. Meanwhile, the gold price has soared on the back of softer US data, up to all-time high levels we saw earlier this year.
Improved risk sentiment over the outcome of local elections has helped the rand, trading at its best levels this year against the dollar. Although momentum is getting stretched, this is an interesting level for hedges based on the uncertainty of the upcoming period.
Key indicators: USD/ZAR R18.13; US 10-year 4.41%; Gold $2,437; Platinum ZAR R19,756; Brent Crude $84.06
This macroeconomic update is based on TreasuryONE's morning update.