| Good morning Voornaam, Quick links: Bidcorp is a global food service giant that just keeps marching on, but be careful of what's happening in the UK. You can also get the latest from Adcock Ingram, Bytes, Choppies, Glencore, Sibanye-Stillwater, Spar and Stor-Age in Ghost Bites, brought to you by Fedgroup. Futureneers has limited space left for the 12BA Renewable Energy Partnership that achieves a 125% tax deduction if you get your money in before the end of February. To explain this further, Deon Lewis and James Rothmann joined me on a podcast. Listen to it here. Dominique Olivier loves going to the movies - but will this survive streaming? The Magic Markets podcast showcases the momentum in alternative assets, together with Westbrooke. Fedgroup explains why stability doesn't always have to come at a cost. Made possible by Mazars, the Ghost Wrap podcast brings you the latest on Sasol, ArcelorMittal, Sappi, Curro and British American Tobacco - available here. Duma Mxenge of Satrix joined me on a Ghost Stories podcast to get your 2024 off to the right start, sharing insights ranging from personal finance through to investment concepts. Events:
Unlock the Stock is back! The first event of the year is today and will welcome Afrimat to deliver the highlights of an investment story that has a deservedly strong reputation on the local market. This is about helping you understand the strategic drivers of the business, particularly as Afrimat moves closer to a March year-end. Attendance is absolutely free but you must register here>>> |
|---|
|
|---|
| READ: Stability doesn't always have to come at a cost
with Fedgroup |
|---|
|
|---|
| | | Fedgroup believes that a combination of fixed-term investments can do more than just withstand a battering. In fact, they cann offer solid returns as well.
Learn more here. |
|---|
|
|---|
|
Local company news:
Ghost Bites is brought to you by Fedgroup.
Bidcorp is such a good example of how you can achieve international exposure without your money even leaving the JSE. The global food service giant has an excellent business and I really do like the business model, as it sits at a juicy point in the value chain. Scale is your friend here and Bidcorp has no shortage of that. As the latest numbers show though, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Tough trading conditions in the UK are leading to significant margin compression in that market.
If you want to see a margin collapse rather than just compression, the mining sector has delivered that in spades this year. Or is that with spades? Either way, Glencore and Sibanye-Stillwater gave us the latest news from that sector.
At Spar, the SAP implementation is still causing considerable headaches. I've never seen a SAP implementation go smoothly. When they finally get it right, will there be a pop in the share price? We don't know for sure, but we do know that volumes are still going in the wrong direction.
Other news this morning includes hellishly boring group-level numbers from Adcock Ingram, with a lot more excitement when you dig into the segments. Speaking of excitement, there's a sudden resignation of the CEO at Bytes and some very odd news around undisclosed trades in the shares, so keep an eye on that. Finally, there's a trading update from Choppies and Stor-Age, with the latter pulling all the right levers for growth.
Get all the details in Ghost Bites here>>>
For an efficient and insightful update on local news, the Ghost Wrap podcast should be a staple on your favourite podcast player. Made possible by Mazars, the latest episode needs just 6 minutes of your time to update you on Sasol, ArcelorMittal, Sappi, Curro and British American Tobacco. Get it here>>>
For those who enjoy my Namibian radio segment, the latest chat covered NEPI Rockcastle, Telkom, Barloworld, DRDGOLD and Pan African Resources. It's available here>>> |
|---|
|
|---|
| LISTEN: The 2024 kick-off
with Duma Mxenge of Satrix |
|---|
|
|---|
| | | With a great mix of practical personal finance and investing concepts, this podcast with Duma Mxenge of Satrix will get you on the right path for 2024.
Don't miss it! |
|---|
|
|---|
| READ: Popcorn, nostalgia and the magic of the movies
(by Dominique Olivier) |
|---|
|
|---|
| Grab the popcorn and join Dominique Olivier as she explains her love of the movies and offers some ideas around how cinemas can survive the age of streaming.
Is it always better on the big screen? Find out here. |
|---|
| |
|---|
| Currencies, commodities and rates: TreasuryONE Market Update The theme of the Budget Speech has been to avoid upsetting voters. In a one-person, one-vote system, that's not a shock. The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, used some funds from the central bank to reduce debt, "secretly" raised taxes, and made sure government employees (who support the main political party) are happy by sticking to their pay deal.
For the first time, the government will use a special savings account at the central bank to help lower the national debt. The budget deficit is about 4.9% of GDP this year and they plan to bring that down to 3.3% in three years. South Africa expects debt to peak at 75.3% of GDP in 2026, which is better than the 77.7% that was previously on the table.
Where is much of the money come from? Two words: bracket creep. Simply, income tax brackets are making no allowance for inflation, so your average effective tax rate is going up if you get a salary increase.
Moving on to the FOMC minutes, there was a slightly hawkish narrative that came through in the discussion notes. Rates "could be reduced later this year" but the Fed is in no hurry.
To get the post-budget insights you need, join the TreasuryONE team this morning as they are joined by special guests from ETM Analytics, Econometrix and the Centre for African Diplomacy at UJ. You can register for this event here>>>
Key indicators: USD/ZAR R18.93; US 10-year 4.31%; Gold $2,029; Platinum ZAR R16,761; Brent Crude $83.21 |
|---|
|
|---|
| LISTEN: Magic Markets podcast |
|---|
|
|---|
| In Episode 162 of Magic Markets, we welcomed Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke back to the platform to talk about why 2023 was such a great year for alternative assets and whether this can continue in 2024.
There is always so much to learn on these Westbrooke podcasts. If you're ready to significantly increase your understanding of alternative assets, join us here. |
|---|
| |
|---|
| LISTEN: Turning Tax into Solar Power (with Futureneers) |
|---|
|
|---|
| | | There's still time to take advantage of the 125% deduction available for solar investment, but you have to move quickly! Learn more from the team at Futureneers about their S12BA Renewable Energy Partnership opportunity in this podcast. |
|---|
|
|---|
|
International company news:
Nvidia has been one of the most talked about companies on the market in the past year and with good reason. In the Artificial Intelligence (AI) gold rush, Nvidia sells the shovels. The company beat earnings forecasts and the year-on-year growth numbers just look ridiculous. Earnings jumped from 57 cents per share to $4.93 per share, with revenue up 265%.
It's hard to truly fathom numbers like these when the base period was already a huge business.
Other chip manufacturers also rallied on the day, as the market raised expectations for the ongoing demand in the sector as a whole. To use an old saying in the market, Nvidia is the rising tide that lifts all boats. Nvidia is certainly the largest boat though, with a share price increase of nearly 1,600% over the past 5 years.
That's not a typo.
Have a great day! |
|---|
|
|---|
| READ: Satrix launches Satrix JSE Global Equity ETF |
|---|
|
|---|
| | | Satrix is releasing a new product that gives a higher weighting to local companies with international listings.
In other words: more of an offshore component. Find out more in this article. |
|---|
|
|---|
| You should expect us in your inbox Monday – Friday. If you don’t receive an email, please check your spam, or junk folder and “move us” into your primary inbox to ensure you get it each morning.
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.
Whilst every care is taken, we accept no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in any of our content.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in our content belong solely to the author or quoted individuals and/or entities, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organisation, committee or other group or individual, or any of our affiliates or brand partners. |
|---|
|
|---|
|
|
