Hotels beat casinos

Good morning Voornaam,

Fresh out the oven:

Ghost Bites: On an insanely busy day of news, I covered updates from Anglo American, Bidcorp, Bytes, Capital & Regional (and thus Vukile and Growthpoint), Emira, HCI, eMedia, Frontier Transport, Investec, Kore Potash, Mahube Infrastructure, Shaftesbury, Stefanutti Stocks, Tharisa and Tsogo Sun. Get it all in Ghost Bites>>>

Walmart is going back to its roots and Under Armour is in a fight for survival, with the founder back in the CEO role and taking the brand back to its core strengths. Listen to Magic Markets episode 176 to get the latest on these stories and expand your investment horizons.

In case you missed it:

​Ghost Wrap: You need barely four minutes to get up to speed on KAL Group, AB InBev, Redefine, RFG Holdings and Calgro M3, brought to you by Mazars. Listen to it here>>>

​This is a massive election year, with over 60 nations going to the polls. On the latest Investec No Ordinary Wednesday podcast, Investec Wealth & Investment Chief Investment Strategist Chris Holdsworth shared his insights on the election outcomes that matter most to markets. Listen to the show here>>>

With elections around the corner, managing your behavioural bias is so important. In other words: don't panic! Kingsley Williams of Satrix elaborates in this article>>>

CA Sales Holdings recently presented on Unlock the Stock and engaged in a vibrant Q&A with attendees. This stock has been a top performer. To understand why, watch the event here.

​Hermès: Birkin Mad This brand new piece by Dominique Olivier has everything from five-star meltdowns in Paris to supermodels and straw baskets. This is the Birkin bag, the iconic piece by ultra-luxury company Hermès that shows how these businesses really work. Read it here>>>

LISTEN: Chasing Returns from the Sun

Local company news:

This has been a ridiculously busy week of news from JSE-listed companies. Those with February and March year-ends are all busy reporting.
I'm not going to repeat a shortened version of all 17 relevant company announcement (excluding Little Bites) here. It's all in Ghost Bites in the level of detail that you need.
Some of the highlights? The sales trend at De Beers, strong numbers at Bidcorp and Bytes, activity around Capital & Regional, the release of numbers by the HCI companies (showing us that hotels are beating casinos right now), solid numbers at Investec and so much more.
Get all the details in Ghost Bites at this link>>>

Hermès - Birkin Mad

International business news:

There's an interesting situation playing out in new home builds in the US. The sector as a whole is in trouble, with sales down 7.7% year-on-year. Despite this, leading home builders like D.R. Horton and Toll Brothers have been reporting solid numbers. This is a classic case of industry leaders using tough times to grow market share and squeeze out smaller players.
And in news from Boeing and all its troubles, the company now expects to be cash flow negative this year and no improvement is expected in second quarter deliveries vs. the first quarter. The share price is down 31.6% this year - and counting.
This week, we are covering payments giant Mastercard in Magic Markets Premium. To get access to this research and the rest of the vast library, subscribe to the platform here.

Macroeconomic Update

Rate cut bets have been pushed out to December based on the latest data and commentary from the Fed.
US manufacturing and services PMI came in above estimates and jobless claims were below estimates. US bond yields climbed and emerging market currencies retreated, with the rand nearly 1.2% weaker at the close.
Gold closed over 2% lower yesterday and base metals are mixed this morning.
Key indicators: USD/ZAR R18.47; US 10-year 4.47%; Gold $2,334; Platinum ZAR R18,866; Brent Crude $81.35
This macroeconomic update is based on TreasuryONE's morning update.