| Long4Life's shares soared yesterday after the lifestyle investment company started by Brian Joffe, the founder and former CEO of Bidvest, delivered a massive fall in first-half earnings accompanied by an upbeat statement. Its profit was almost entirely wiped out by the impact of Covid-19 on all its businesses. But with the doors now open again, it believes its brands are well positioned in a post-Covid environment. Long4Life wasn't alone in its rally; Libstar, which includes a number of household favourites in its portfolio of food products, also rose on the back of a trading update that showed strong sales growth. Cashbuild, too, has benefitted from the end of lockdown restrictions and the resumption of DIY projects. Nu-World, which flies below the radar with its sales of consumer electronics and fast-moving consumer goods, has also been dented by Covid-19 but reported a surprisingly small decline in earnings. It's short-term prognosis for the retail sector isn't great but it says wholesalers are gearing up for Black Friday and year-end sales. Also today, UK wealth manager Quilter has reported improved fund flows despite the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit on the minds of investors. And self-storage property specialist Stor-Age has entered a joint venture in the UK as it grows its assets in that market. I hope you have a good day. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
The latest from Ingham Analytics We're on a road to nowhere come on inside" go the Talking Heads lyrics but top trader Andrew Kinsey in "Road to nowhere?" says you're better off on the outside given nutty politics around the world. This is worth a read along with "Gold a must?" and "All that glitters?" BHP was firm yesterday on the Sydney exchange. The company's Nickel West operations are set to be a beneficiary of accelerating electric vehicle demand. Nickel is more important than lithium at this stage and a Tesla Model 3 contains 30 kg of it. "Nickel for Elon?" gives the lowdown on this. Tesla by the way reported Q3 results yesterday. | 