| Our retailers make a lot of money from selling cigarettes and alcohol. SPAR made that clear in a recent trading update and it was reinforced in a trading statement from Pick n Pay yesterday. While core retail sales did pretty well in the first half of its financial year, sales of tobacco products and alcohol almost halved during the lockdown when retailers were prohibited from selling them for extended periods of time - and consumers looked elsewhere. The profit margins on these products are higher so the impact on earnings was more severe. Pick n Pay's shares rose despite the warning of a big slide in first-half earnings. However, they fell more than 5% in early August when it first released an update warning of what was to come. Datatec may taken the market by surprise with its warning of lower earnings, although the decline is partly due to a tax credit that boosted last year's numbers. It's shares fell. Afrimat was rewarded by the market after it said first-half profit would be flat to a little higher thanks to its Demaneng iron ore mine. More on those stories to follow, along with an update from Sirius Real Estate and Tsogo Sun Hotels' firm offer to minority shareholders in Hospitality Property Fund. Finally, after a big special dividend earlier this year, Zeder Investments is holding back on an interim payout and is still mulling a shift in its strategy. I hope you have a good day. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
The latest from Ingham Analytics The Financial Times has a feature piece out on hidden joblessness threatening economic recovery in US and Europe. But you got the lowdown first on Ingham Analytics in "Fuhgeddaboudit!" with top trader Andrew Kinsey warning why a V-shaped recovery was looking implausible and that labour force, consumption and savings patterns should be taken into account in investment strategies. This follows on from "All that glitters?" and why gold is ascendant and the unreality of "Outsized Big Five" with cheap money proving a pandemic gift of riches out of kilter with real world economics. | 