My portfolio of gold miners really hasn't been a happy experience for me. Gold is supposed to do well during inflation. Gold is supposed to do well during times of geopolitical difficulty and especially war. Heck, gold is just supposed to do well over a long enough time horizon.
But alas, the gold price hasn't been exciting. In fact, it hasn't even kept up with inflation (ironically), so mining margins are going backwards.
There was one glimmer of hope in my portfolio: Gold Fields. This was until the company decided to feel inspired by the likes of Woolworths and Famous Brands, agreeing to a swashbuckling global deal that will Achieve Great Things.
The share price got smashed more than 11% in the morning. As the stock stumbled around with one black eye, the Americans then woke up and dished out another one. By the time Gold Fields was frantically using sponsored Twitter ads in the afternoon to calm the waters, the share price had lost a fifth of its value. In one day.
This isn't some frothy tech stock. This is a gold miner. They are supposed to be boring and dependable. This situation is like the class nerd finally building up enough courage to do something naughty and then blowing up the entire science lab in the process.
To understand why the market hates this deal, read my feature article on the Gold Fields announcement. There's a lot to learn from it. Personally, I wish I had bought Pan African Resources instead.
When you are done with that and need something to make yourself feel better, there's a feature on a rather tasty recovery by Famous Brands. It even includes a picture of pizza, my favourite. Yes, ghosts do eat. This one in particular.
For the rest of the day's stories, you know by now that Ghost Bites gives you a punchy overview of what you need to know.
Now, I am well aware that your portfolio has taken some severe pain in the past few months. With markets behaving badly, investors tend to look for additional sources of return and diversification. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is hosting a webinar on 24 June 2022 in which they will discuss the West brooke Yield Plus private debt fund. The minimum investment size is GBP100,000 so this clearly isn't for everyone. With a trailing 12-month return of 6.7% in GBP, this product is a good example of what becomes available to investors with larger balance sheets. If you have that kind of money, read more here and register for the webinar. If you don't, then keep doing what you're doing - by being here and reading Ghost Mail, you are on that wealth creation journey!
For an update on the currencies, we now turn to Wichard Cilliers, Head of Market Risk at TreasuryONE:
"For most of the day, we saw the rand trading on the back foot, with the dollar clawing back some of its losses. After being closed on Monday due to Memorial Day celebrations, the dollar markets are back in the fold. We saw the market trading bullish on the dollar after hawkish commentary by Fed officials overnight on curbing inflation helping the USD. We are following a similar pattern to other emerging market currencies at the moment, apart from the Lira, which is still disconnected from its counterparts.
Brent Crude is still at elevated levels with supply and demand disruptions weighing in."
In this article by Andre Botha, Senior Dealer at TreasuryONE, we learn about how the US dollar is the ultimate market mover even in a time of uncertainty. I found this piece incredibly interesting and I highly suggest you read it.
If you are serious about your trading and investing, then Ep isode 77 of Magic Markets is highly recommended. We were joined by Petri Redelinghuys of Herenya Capital Advisors for a chat on surviving bear markets and some of the themes we've been watching in the markets, ranging from uranium through to the performance of banks. Give it a listen at this link.
Have an excellent Wednesday!
