Local company news:


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There wasn't much to get excited about on Friday, other than Transaction Capital releasing the circular dealing with the unbundling of WeBuyCars. I must say, they aren't wasting any time with this process. Perhaps the most important document of all will be coming in March: the pre-listing statement of WeBuyCars itself, which will have loads of important financial information.

To keep us busy in the meantime, WeBuyCars delivered an investor presentation that included several excellent slides. On an otherwise quiet day of news, I used the opportunity to really dig into WeBuyCars in Ghost Bites.

And if you're a shareholder in either Cognition or Delta Property Fund, you'll also want to read Ghost Bites here>>>

For an efficient and insightful update on local news, the Ghost Wrap podcast should be a staple on your favourite podcast player. Made possible by Mazars, the latest episode needs just 6 minutes of your time to update you on Sasol, ArcelorMittal, Sappi, Curro and British American Tobacco. Get it here>>>

International company news:


Interest rates are powerful things, especially in markets that are used to structurally lower rates. In the US, we are seeing this come through in a flurry of job losses.

The problem is made worse by how significant inflation has been in the aftermath of the pandemic, coupled with a tight labour market that made it difficult to find people. Sitting in a country like South Africa with such terrible unemployment, it's incredible to think that fast food restaurants in the US had to offer major incentives just to find staff to flip burgers.

Economic cycles do what they do though, which means yesterday's staff shortage problem becomes today's round of job cuts. It's happening all over the show, with names like Nike, Mattel, Macy's and UPS on the list. The tech companies have been at it for well over a year though.

Fun fact: the extensive job cuts and the focus on costs were arguably the main reasons for the exceptional rally in Meta's (the owner of Facebook) share price over the past year. The increase? A casual 175%.

The market likes it when the fat is trimmed off the steak.


Broaden your knowledge:


To understand the favourable conditions for alternative assets and whether they are set to continue, Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke was the guest on the latest Magic Markets podcast. You absolutely don't want to miss it! Listen to it here>>>

There's also a great new piece from Dominique Olivier that deals with popcorn, nostalgia and her love of the movies. With some fascinating information on the heydays of cinema, Dominique works through the current situation and whether cinemas can survive in the age of streaming. Read it here>>>

Have a great day and enjoy the rest of today's Ghost Mail!

Currencies, commodities and rates: TreasuryONE Market Update

US new-home construction data showed a significant slowdown in January. Homeowners are clinging to lower-rate mortgages, with housing starts declining across all four US regions. This is a function of the US mortgage landscape that based on fixed rather than floating rate mortgages. If you got one when rates were low during the pandemic, you're winning for many years ahead. This doesn't encourage activity in the sector when rates move higher, though!

In China, the central bank has not lowered interest rates. This is to avoid volatility in the currency, even though the economy really needs a boost. The central bank has been using other techniques to try stimulate growth, like adjusting the reserve ratio for banks. The lack of activity in commodity prices despite the reopening of China after the Lunar New Year shows that the market is very cautious about growth in that region.

Locally, all eyes are on the budget speech on Wednesday. As we know, tax revenues are under strain and we have a laundry list of problems, not least of all state-owned enterprises like Transnet. To get the post-budget insights you need, join the TreasuryONE team on Thursday morning as they are joined by special guests from ETM Analytics, Econometrix and the Centre for African Diplomacy at UJ. You can register for this event here>>>

The rand is at R18.89 this morning, gold is trading at $2,018 and Brent Crude is at $82.85. Platinum ZAR has lifted its head above R17,000 again, trading at R17,038. The US 10-year yield is at 4.28%.