I was really hoping to have good news to start off the year. Alas, the only major announcement on the market yesterday was related to ArcelorMittal finally deciding to shut down the Longs business. Based on the share price response, the only winners from this are those who were short!

This has been a possibility for a while, with 2024 having been dedicated to mitigating strategies to try and stop this from happening. As you can imagine, it's an employment disaster - especially in Vereeniging and Newcastle. I don't think either place is exactly a hotbed of alternative employment opportunities.

The steel market has structural issues and ArcelorMittal has been a victim of them. It's a lesson in the importance of geopolitics and understanding how global conditions can impact your stocks, as the main problem in the sector is that China's domestic demand for steel has been poor and so Chinese steel exports have flooded global markets.

For details on this story - and the year's first assortment of Nibbles - read Ghost Bites here>>>

In case you missed it yesterday, there's a brand new Ghost Wrap episode. This is in the format that I recently introduced, so there's a full transcript and share price charts as well. I covered Italtile, Prosus, Renergen, Metair and Bell Equipment - five stories from December that I thought were really interesting. Brought to you by Forvis Mazars, you can find it here>>>

For the qualifying entrepreneurs among you, remember that MIC Khulisani Ventures is looking to provide capital to businesses that are ready to aggressively grow. Applications need to be in by the end of January, with capital expected to flow by March. To fully understand the opportunity, be sure to listen to this podcast>>>

In her first column for 2025, Dominique Olivier takes you on a journey into the "right to repair" - a major fight between consumers and producers. If you're passionate about sustainability, this is the kind of thing to learn more about and focus on. Read this excellent piece here>>>

Have a great day!

Hot on the heels of Tesla reporting its first annual drop in production, EV specialist Lucid Group reported record quarterly deliveries and an annual production number that met targets. Deliveries increased by 71% in 2024, yet the share price has been deeply in the red. That's because the company is still burning through capital, although having the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia as the major investor certainly provides access to deep pockets.

There are a few of these up-and-coming EV manufacturers that are still firmly in the loss-making phase. Rivian Automotive is another one, although the share price jumped 24.5% in a single day last week based on production and delivery numbers that were in line with targets.

It just shows you how market expectations differ at each part of the life-cycle of a company. In the initial phase, it's all about revenue targets and proving that the basics can be done - like producing and selling cars! Once companies get bigger, then the focus shifts to profitable production.

Our latest research in Magic Markets Premium is on Adobe. After a major sell-off in the share price made the underperformance this year even worse, I saw it as a buying opportunity and starting building a position. What are we seeing here that makes this interesting? And why is my partner Mohammed Nalla more cautious on this? Subscribers find out this week.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R18.58/$ | US 10yr 4.61% | Gold $2,638/oz | Platinum $935.10/oz | Brent Crude $76.25