| The rand may be in for a bumpy ride as the week gets underway after credit ratings agencies Moody's and Fitch both downgraded SA's sovereign rating further into sub-investment grade on Friday evening, leaving it on a negative outlook. The country's weakening fiscal position was cited as one of the reasons. S&P kept its rating and outlook for SA unchanged. The cuts are likely to affect banking stocks as their ratings will also be lowered as they can't be graded higher than the sovereign. This will impact their cost of borrowing. Meanwhile, Sasol will be able to reduce the cost of its debt after shareholders approved the sale of a stake in its Lake Charles Chemicals at a general meeting on Friday. The transaction is part of the energy and chemicals group's response plan to Covid-19 and a weak oil price, which could include a rights issue early next year. If you enjoyed last week's podcast by our new partner The Finance Ghost, he's back with respected macroeconomic market analyst Mohammed Nalla discussing China's attractiveness as a market for electric car makers like Tesla. Also today, results from Tiger Brands and Spur Corporation, an upbeat trading statement from Purple Group and Santam's response to last week's ruling on business interruption claims that have resulted from the Covid-19 lockdown. Finally, in The Week Ahead, Chris Gilmour looks back at the Fitch and Moody's downgrades and lists some of the results and events to watch out for in the days ahead. I hope you have a good week. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
The latest from Ingham Analytics Ingham Analytics have updated their views on the gold market in "Added weight". They point out that two major indices are increasing their weighting in gold for a second year. Figures for gold-backed ETF demand through October are buoyant with values and tonnage now at record highs. However, there is a word of caution after a strong run. "What a drag", "Did your seatbelts go to waste?" and "Anti-Trusted" are popular downloads. | 