| Good morning Voornaam, NB: you still have a couple of hours to sign up for Unlock the Stock today, featuring PBT Group and my very dicey voice suffering from the mid-winter sickies. Luckily, my fellow co-host Mark Tobin will bring his smooth and silky Irish accent to make up for it.
Yesterday gave truly typical day-in-the-life-of-an-entrepreneur vibes. The response to me pointing you in the direction of Magic Markets Premium was so strong that it crashed the website. Admittedly, upgrading that hosting has been on the to-do list for too long. As any entrepreneur will tell you, balancing operational stuff with actually making money is right up there with managing a group of toddlers having milkshakes on the edge of a table.
Despite this, we had a number of new subscribers yesterday, which is great news. As a reminder, if you're looking for more advanced stuff on global companies that will really boost your understanding of the markets, Magic Markets Premium is where you'll find it. Bull vs. bear cases, an overview of the strategic initiatives, the key financial trends, technical trading indicators and a practical approach to valuations - it's all in there. R99/month gets you the full library and new research every week.
I would love it if you gave it a try - but maybe wait a couple of hours to click! Come join us >>>
Onwards to company news, with MAS as easily the most interesting of the lot. The corporate finance games continue, with a group of local asset managers sending a rather pointed letter to the board. At this stage, I am quite happy to not have woken up this morning as a director of MAS. Speaking of directors, those asset managers have suggested four heavy-hitters for appointment to the board, including at least one name that you know well.
Elsewhere, Tharisa saw an uptick in production in Q2 vs. Q3, but they are still at risk of not meeting their full-year guidance. With that in mind, they've lowered guidance. At least PGM prices are more than making up for it at the moment!
At Stefanutti Stocks, there's a new deal on the table to sell the Mozambique and Mauritius businesses, although you would never guess based on the lack of share price action. And over at Renergen, they now have a new legal distraction in the form of a dispute with a shareholder in Tetra4.
Get all the details you need on these updates (and of course the Nibbles) in Ghost Bites at this link>>>
Kingsley Williams at Satrix brings you a piece on what they've learnt from 25 years of being a market pioneer. ETFs really are wonderful things and the first investment I ever made on the market was a Satrix Top 40 ETF all those years ago. There are some great insights on ETF trends in this piece>>>
I'm chatting to Nastassia Arendse on CNBC Closing Bell later this afternoon, in case you're able to catch it live. My main hope is that my voice improves before then!
Have a great day. |
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| SATRIX: What 25 years as a market pioneer taught us about South African investing |
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| | | 25 years is a long time. Satrix pioneered the ETF market in South Africa and they've watched it go from strength to strength, with a broad offering of investment products to help South Africans get the equity exposure they are looking for at the lowest possible cost.
But what have they learnt over that period? And what are the recent trends in ETFs?
Enjoy this piece from Kingsley Williams at this link>>> |
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| GHOST WRAP: The JSE Winners' Club in 2025 |
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| | | At the halfway mark in 2025, we've lived through some huge geopolitical shifts. The world's gaze has shifted beyond just the US market.
Many investors choose to stick with what they know in times like these. This means homegrown favourites on the JSE.
But which stocks have been the big winners thus far this year, and what do they have in common?
Enjoy it here>>> |
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| PODCAST: Capital Markets in South Africa - the Think Big South Africa Competition |
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| PSG Financial Services is the proud sponsor of the Think Big South Africa competition, in collaboration with Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA).
PSG wants to encourage South Africans to get involved in their country at the highest level, bringing forward policy ideas and constructive solutions to drive conversations and real change in our country. PSG CEO Francois Gouws joined me to explain why they are such strong supporters of this initiative.
Enjoy it here>>> |
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| GHOST BITES - Making sense of SENS on the local market |
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| | | MAS has heated up once more, with a group of local asset managers firing a salvo at the board. Renergen is in dispute with a shareholder in Tetra4. Tharisa's production is up, but guidance is under pressure. Stefanutti Stocks has a new deal to sell Mozambique and Mauritius. Get the details in Ghost Bites>>> |
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| Unlock the Stock - Attacq |
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| In the 57th edition of Unlock the Stock, Attacq returned to the platform to talk through their recent numbers and strategy, including interesting trends in the property market across areas like retail and office space. The recording of the management presentation and interactive Q&A is available at this link>>> |
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| DOMINIQUE OLIVIER - Dumb luck: the Timothy Dexter story |
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| | | In a world obsessed with optimisation and five-year forecasts, there’s something deeply satisfying about success that arrives by mistake. And as mistakes go, Timothy Dexter was incredibly good at turning them into happy accidents. Dominique Olivier tells his story. Read it here>>> |
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| INVESTEC PODCAST: No Ordinary Wednesday - tensions, tariffs and the fragile global economy |
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| | | At the midpoint of 2025, the global economy stands at a precarious intersection of cooling inflation on one side and rising geopolitical tensions on the other. In this episode of No Ordinary Wednesday, Jeremy Maggs speaks with Investec Chief Economists Annabel Bishop (South Africa) and Phil Shaw (UK) about the shocks and signals shaping markets. Enjoy it here>>> |
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| International Business Snippet: |
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| I can't wait for the second quarter earnings releases to start in the US market. The banks kick us off next week, which means that Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan will be all over the headlines as the market hangs on every word he says (and quite rightly so).
The banks will give a very good idea of activity on the ground in the US economy. With the S&P 500 at all-time highs, there's going to need to be a strong earnings season to support those levels.
I personally think that there's going to be some ugliness, but let's see what happens. If there is, I'll use it as an opportunity to buy more selected exposure in the market.
In Magic Markets Premium this week, our subscribers got to enjoy our work on FedEx. Sitting right in the cross-hairs of the trade war, particularly given the focus on global trade with a US leg, there's much to learn from FedEx. The entire research library in Magic Markets Premium is available for just R99/month. |
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| Magic Markets: Platinum and the Cheese Spread |
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| | | Drawing charts like orange juice and cheese futures might be fun, but there’s an important underlying influence that soft commodities have on inflation. Even if you don’t trade commodities, there are useful things to learn.
And of course, when we get to the hard commodities that are actively traded every day, we move from jokes about the cheese spread to very real analysis around the drivers of the platinum price and what this is doing for stocks like Sibanye-Stillwater.
Join us for a fun show that is ultimately an ode to commodities and the sheer breadth of opportunities available on the market. Enjoy it here>>> |
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| Macroeconomic indicators and macro update |
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| President Donald Trump has intensified the trade war narrative by announcing new tariffs: a 50% levy on US copper imports and a 50% duty on goods from Brazil, both effective August 1. While these tariff announcements had little impact on global markets, the Brazilian real dropped sharply by as much as 2.8% overnight due to the threatened levy.
The US dollar has retreated from a two-week high against major currencies after Federal Reserve minutes raised hopes that inflation pressures from Trump's tariffs would not prevent interest rate cuts later this year.
After yesterday’s rally led by strong gains in chip stocks - highlighted by Nvidia reaching a historic $4 trillion market capitalization - there is some profit-taking in European and US index futures this morning. Asian markets, including the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite, are following the US lead with gains.
Gold prices have bounced back from recent lows as the dollar weakened.
Oil prices are higher this morning, trading near two-week highs, supported by improved economic sentiment and a softer dollar.
The South African rand is firmer today, and the JSE All Share index is expected to open flat.
This update is provided by Shaun Murison. Connect with him on LinkedIn here.
Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R17.74/$ | US 10yr 4.35% | Gold $3,326/oz | Platinum $1,400/oz | Brent Crude $67.48 |
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