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Some mining. Some retail.

While I was driving around the other day, I finally saw a fabled SPAR2U delivery vehicle. It reminded me a bit of a Tuk-Tuk in Thailand. What I can tell you for sure is that it looked more stable than Spar's board and certainly its share price.

In a further update to the market and in a clear attempt to regain some trust, Spar addressed some of the allegations against the company.

There are other very important updates in Ghost Bites this morning, including a detailed (and positive) trading update from Woolworths, in which we have further proof that Woolworths Food is having to price itself more competitively in response to competition (Checkers, anyone?) and consumer pressures. There are also quarterly updates from BHP and Kore Potash. You can get all the details in Ghost Bites here>>> u>

Marvellous times in China

For suffering Disney shareholders (like me), the good news is that Marvel films are returning to China. For the past decade, China has been Marvel's second-largest box office market, behind the US and Canada (which get combined for some reason for this statistic).

The last Marvel film to open in China was a Spider-Man movie in 2019, before Covid: Fall of Mankind started playing everywhere instead. Aside from subtitles or language dubbing, these films cost the same to make regardless of where they get shown. The box office business suffers without China, so this will hopefully bring some joy to the Disney story.

Moving on, I often point out that "defensive" stocks aren't as defensive as people like to think. In fact , Lockheed Martin is probably the best example of a stock that I would see as truly defensive, as you're effectively investing in the US military budget. Unless Putin transforms overnight into a Buddhist monk, that budget isn't going anywhere.

Procter & Gamble has proven my point once more, with volume declines offsetting the increase in pricing. Admittedly, if you take out the currency effect as well as the impact of any divestitures or acquisitions of companies, sales growth was 5%. Before you get excited about that adjusted number, there is even a drop in gross margin despite the pricing increases. Nonetheless, the management team seems to be doubling down on the pricing strategy, so don't expect nappies to get cheaper anytime soon.

Emerging markets under pressure

It's a bit of a yo-yo at the moment, with excitement over global demand one day and recessionary fears the next. The only constant right now is that the rand is trailing its peers, mainly because South Africa's citizens are having to become experts in electricity generation and renewable energy just to get on with their lives.

The recessionary fears also hit metal prices, although Gold managed to maintain its levels. Is the yellow metal finally being seen as a safe haven asset again?

If you missed the excellent TreasuryONE webinar this week, then make sure you watch the recording. There was a vibrant Q&A session in which we covered a number of concepts related to inflation, interest rates and equity markets. You'll find it here>>>

Podcasts for the weekend

After listening to Trive SA CEO Travis Robson on Ghost Stories, in which we dug into his background and more information on Trive's global business and why they are investing in South Africa, you now need to get to grips with Trive's value proposition for traders and investors. Travis joined us on Magic Markets for a little bit of banter and a lot of great insights into the stockbroking industry.

Listen to the discussion in Episode 108 of Magic Markets>>>

Have a terrific weekend!