Good morning to everyone except Sasfin, who believe that it's acceptable to shut down their entire banking business on just one month's notice to clients. In a country where doing business is hard, they really do dedicate themselves to making it so much harder. Let's see if a treating customers fairly complaint to FAIS actually does anything, as it is a complete joke that there won't even be an opportunity for a month of overlap to check if debit orders moved across.
Anyway, moving on, let's start with the good news at Thungela. Well, the partially good news at least. Transnet has achieved improved rail availability, which means there are more trains. Sadly, the coal price has fallen off sharply this year, so the coal inside the trains is less valuable. Let's hope that if prices do see an uptick, the trains will still be working.
In property, it was a busy day of updates. Growthpoint is making major strategic changes, with a clear shift towards higher quality properties (and of course, the Western Cape). Over at Hyprop, the footfall trends suggest that eCommerce adoption is increasing, a trend that is clear in the Growthpoint numbers as well. Hyprop's capital raise has of course crushed growth in distributable income per share for the year, so they really need to get on with the MAS deal if they are planning to do it. I didn't like the capital raise based on a will-they, won't-they situation for the deal. If they don't do the MAS deal, do they actually have a worthwhile use for the proceeds?
We also saw updates from Schroder European Real Estate (an example of European property that you don't want to own) and Sirius Real Estate (an example of how to make money from property in Europe).
To finish off an interesting day, Argent Industrial and 4Sight released earnings. In both cases, a deeper read is important.
Get the details on these updates and the Nibbles in Ghost Bites at this
link>>>
It's time for a new Ghost Wrap podcast! Made possible by Forvis Mazars in South Africa, I decided to look at the homegrown favourites that have delivered great returns for investors at the halfway mark in the year. Themes like gold, platinum and telcos all feature here - along with a few other stocks that are up at least 20% year-to-date. My hope is that what you'll take from this is an understanding that success in the market can come from both thematic investing as well as great stock-picking skill. Enter the JSE Winners' Club in this podcast>>>
To finish the week, DealMakers brings you summaries of South African M&A, local corporate finance and African deal activity. They've also included pieces on legislative reform in South Africa's corporate law regime, as well as digital asset trends in Kenya.
Have a great Friday and we look forward to bringing you Ghost Mail Weekender on Sunday. |
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SATRIX: The liquidity advantage - why ETFs should play a bigger role in institutional asset allocation |
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| | Institutional investors are increasingly incorporating Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) into their portfolios, attracted by their cost efficiency, transparency, and liquidity. As the investment landscape becomes more complex and cost-sensitive, ETFs are proving to be a powerful tool for modern portfolio management.
Duma Mxenge explores their growing role in institutional investing, advantages over traditional investment vehicles, and their impact on market liquidity and institutional strategy.
Enjoy this piece 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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| | A busy day for property saw updates from Growthpoint, Hyprop, Schroder European Real Estate and Sirius Real Estate. We also saw financial updates from 4Sight, Argent Industrial and Thungela. Get the details in Ghost Bites>>> |
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Unlock the Stock - Tharisa |
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In the 56th edition of Unlock the Stock, Tharisa returned to the platform to talk through their recent numbers and strategy in the PGM and chrome market. The recording of the management presentation and interactive Q&A is available at this link>>> |
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FORVIS MAZARS: Talent Scarcity: How South African Businesses can Overcome the Skills Shortage |
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| | With talent rising as a strategic priority in 2025, just under half of organisations in the Forvis Mazars C-Suite Barometer: Outlook 2025 continue to report a struggle to recruit talented people, with the emphasis shifting to high-quality employees at more junior levels. Daniella Frank and Susan Truter give more details. Get the details in Ghost Bites>>> |
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DOMINIQUE OLIVIER - DreamWorks: when collaborators become competitors |
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When you sideline a rainmaker, you can’t act surprised when they start making it rain somewhere else. This is the story of how one botched promotion led to the creation of a real thorn in Disney’s side - and set a whole new direction for the animation industry. Welcome to the tale of DreamWorks, as told by Dominique Olivier in this piece>>> |
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INVESTEC PODCAST: No Ordinary Wednesday - a 20-year perspective on global investing |
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| | Twenty years on, the managers of the Investec UCITS World Axis Core Fund reflect on what two decades of global investing have taught them and what investors should expect next. Join Investec Investment Management’s Head of Multi-Manager Investments Ryan Friedman and Fund Manager Bronwen Trower in conversation with Jeremy Maggs in this podcast>>> |
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International Business Snippet: |
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H&M shareholders had a decent day yesterday, with the European clothing retailer highlighting an improvement in demand in the Northern Hemisphere summer season as a silver lining to disappointing second quarter numbers. The US is the second-largest market for the company, so the impact of tariffs is obviously top of mind. There's still so much uncertainty around what exactly will happen with those tariffs, so it's interesting to see the positive market response to an update that comes against a backdrop of volatility.
To be fair though, the share price is still down 10% year-to-date, so the market is alert for any indication of good news.
This week, we are covering PepsiCo and all its problems that have led to massive recent underperformance vs. Coca-Cola. The entire research library in Magic Markets Premium is available for just R99/month. Invest in yourself and give it a try! |
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Magic Markets: Mesh.Trade and the Titans |
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| | Magic Markets listeners have become familiar with AnBro’s approach to building global equity portfolios with different mandates. Titans is just one such example, focusing on an equal-weighted portfolio of best-of-breed stocks across various sectors.
With Titans now available on Mesh.Trade’s platform alongside the other AnBro offerings, it was the perfect opportunity for Craig Antonie of AnBro to join us to talk about the fund strategy, accompanied by Connie Bloem of Mesh.Trade to talk about the platform offering.
We covered these topics here>>> |
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Macroeconomic indicators and macro update |
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The Fed's rate outlook and Chair Jerome Powell's future have been a key market focus over the last two days. The possibility of President Trump announcing a new, likely more dovish, Fed chair earlier than usual has increased expectations for rate cuts this year, with 64 basis points of reductions anticipated in 2025.
US 10-year Treasury yields fell to 4.26%, and the dollar index reached multi-year lows yesterday, though prices have stabilized this morning.
The S&P 500 closed at a record high yesterday, and European futures indicate a positive start today. Chinese stocks are down but remain on track for a strong weekly gain.
Market gains are supported by easing Middle East tensions, strong tech earnings, hopes for Fed easing, and optimism around tariffs and AI developments.
The South African rand has underperformed, possibly due to concerns around GNU stability after the President dismissed a DA minister. The JSE All-Share Index is expected to open flat to marginally higher this morning.
Gold prices have declined following the Israel-Iran ceasefire, despite support from Fed cut expectations and trade risks; prices are lower today as the dollar steadies.
Oil prices are slightly higher this morning but are poised for a significant weekly drop, helped by the ceasefire easing Middle East supply concerns.
This update is provided by Shaun Murison. Connect with him on LinkedIn here.
Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R17.81/$ | US 10yr 4.27% | Gold $3,287/oz | Platinum $1,387/oz | Brent Crude $65.22 |
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