| Good morning Voornaam,
British American Tobacco has a market cap of roughly $65 billion. That's a lot. It's also a lot less than the previous day, as the stock took a 10% knock after releasing an update to the market. This calls into question the debate around whether British American Tobacco is truly a defensive stock. I've had my doubts for a while, but many disagree with my view. Ghost Bites will help you form your own view this morning.
Yesterday's webinar with TreasuryONE was an excellent look at the macroeconomic backdrop that we all endured in 2023. There was also no shortage of discussion on what 2024 could hold. Wichard Cilliers always does a great job of sharing the TreasuryONE insights and this event was no exception, especially with the vibrant Q&A at the end. You can watch the recording here and I highly suggest that you do.
In case you missed it yesterday, Nico Katzke of Satrix joined me to put together a great discussion on how to manage your money so that you can actually unlock money to save and then invest. Understanding the building blocks required to support an investment strategy is so important. This isn't basic stuff either - we debated some unorthodox views as well. Listen to this excellent podcast>>>
You still have time to register for the bizval webinar tomorrow at 11am. This will be a relaxed fireside discussion reflecting on 2023 and our lessons learnt as the founders of that business. For entrepreneurs, I think this will be a worthwhile investment of your time. Join us at 11am on Friday by registering here>>>
Have a great day! |
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| BRAND NEW: How to really manage your money,
featuring Nico Katzke of Satrix |
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| | | If you can't save, then you can't invest. Managing your money properly is the first step in any investment journey. I loved discussing real-world ideas and strategies with Nico Katzke of Satrix in this podcast. It's well worth a listen. |
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| LATEST: Magic Markets podcast |
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| In Episode 153 of Magic Markets, we looked at entertainment and streaming companies MultiChoice and Comcast.
We looked at key strategic drivers, recent performance and other nuances related to investing in these companies.
This show is brought to you by international data and automation specialists B2IT. |
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| LATEST: Son of a cymbal maker (by Dominique Olivier) |
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| In her latest column, Dominique Olivier tells the story of Zildjian, a music industry stalwart that has been passed down through multiple generations.
As family businesses go, this one is worth learning about. |
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| LATEST: Ghost Wrap podcast
(Purple Group | Spar | Pepkor | Bidvest | Attacq) |
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| | | The latest Ghost Wrap podcast covers five important and interesting groups, giving you insights across multiple sectors in the space of just a few minutes. Ghost Wrap is brought to you by Mazars. |
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| LATEST: Unlock the Stock with TWK Investments |
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| TWK Investments returned to the Unlock the Stock platform to share insights into the recent numbers and the strategic outlook.
You can watch the recording here, thanks to our partner A2X. |
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| LATEST: Unlock the Stock with Karooooo |
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| | | Karooooo joined the Unlock the Stock platform for the first time to share insights into the recent numbers and the strategic outlook both locally and abroad.
You can watch the recording here, thanks to our partner A2X. |
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| DAILY: TreasuryONE Market Update Weaker US jobs data surprised the market yesterday, with private sector job creation slowing further in November and wages showing the lowest growth in over two years. This gave emerging market currencies something to fight back with, as the rand moved from R19 back down towards R18.80. This was just the precursor to the main event this week: non-farm payrolls on Friday. If this move was anything to go by, Friday will be critical.
A strong day for gold and a weak day for Brent Crude tells you that the market has an underlying fear in it. Gold is at $2,026 this morning and Brent Crude is all the way down at $74.67. You may recall that it was trading above $80 not long ago!
Remember to watch the recording of the webinar that I hosted with TreasuryONE here. |
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| | | Get the latest on AYO Technology, British American Tobacco, Gemfields, Metair, Nedbank, Rebosis, Schroder Real Estate, Texton, Tharisa and Tongaat Hulett. This is all available with a single click in Ghost Bites. |
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| A defensive story - or just a lot of smoke? British American Tobacco - is there a company that is more divisive of opinion? On one hand, you get the bulls who like the hard currency earnings and the inherent pricing power. Bluntly, those addicted to smoking will cut other things to keep buying cigarettes, so that clearly ticks the pricing power box. Bears like me take a longer-term view that most customers of this company would love to drop the habit, which doesn't seem great for business in an increasingly health-conscious world.
There's also the impact of regulators and what they might do regarding so-called non-combustible products. To survive, British American Tobacco needs its traditional smokers to transition into products in the "New Categories" segment. Health regulators would love it if that didn't happen.
I don't usually delve into memes, but I was in the mood yesterday and made one about my views on investing in British American Tobacco:
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| Moving on, we saw some important news yesterday from Nedbank in the form of an update for 10 months of trading. At the moment, performance in the African businesses is doing wonders for local banks. Nedbank is no exception.
We also saw Texton ticking basically every single box for a rights offer that is highly detrimental to minority shareholders. I would rather light up my money and smoke it in tribute to British American Tobacco than invest it in Texton as a minority shareholder.
Also look out for money going up in smoke at AYO Technology, great ruby auction numbers at Gemfields, more bad luck at Metair (and a sliver of good news), an update on the business rescue at Rebosis, results at Schroder Real Estate, a trading statement from Tharisa and a further significant wobbly in the Tongaat Hulett business rescue.
And of course, I cover the director dealings in Little Bites as well.
Get everything you need in one place by reading Ghost Bites at this link>>>
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| 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. |
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