Sasol wins its appeal

Good morning Voornaam,

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Sasol has won its appeal related to the regulation of emissions at Secunda Operations. That's very good news for shareholders and not such great news for the environment, as the balancing act continues. MultiChoice announced further details of the Canal+ offer. Goldway's offer to MC Mining shareholders is now unconditional, which came as a surprise based on MC Mining's last comms. Sirius has closed the recently announced property deals. All this and more in Ghost Bites, brought to you by Fedgroup.

​​If you thought the spiders were the most frightening things in Australia, think again. Dominique Olivier brings you the story of emus, guerrila warfare tactics and a battle over wheat fields that gives you an incredible view of the post-WWI and Great Depression hardships. Give yourself the best watercooler story in the office today by reading this excellent article>>>

Jeremy Maggs is a highly familiar name in local broadcasting and he hosts Investec's No Ordinary Wednesday podcast. The latest episode features award-winning fund managers Barry Shamley and Peter Vogel, bringing you their view on the markets. This podcast is brought to you by Investec and you can (and should)
listen to it here>>>

A brand new episode of the Magic Markets podcast gives you the latest on Accenture and FactSet as offshore companies that have had recent pressure on their share prices.​

Digital assets and fintech: two important growth areas in the world. These terms can be confusing though, especially when you start talking about blockchain and even cryptocurrency. For a perspective on how corporates are thinking about this stuff (rather than the kid down the road on Reddit trading coins with outrageous names), I spoke to Wiehann Olivier and Mia Pieterse of Mazars in South Africa. In the background of all the chaos, there's a lot going on at corporate level with this technology. Listen to the show here>>>

Artificial, or Artificial Intelligence? AI is dominating headlines everywhere, which means opportunities and risks. To discuss this phenomenon, Nico Katzke of Satrix joined me on the latest Ghost Stories podcast. Find it here>>>

​Thanks to Mazars, there's an insightful episode of Ghost Wrap for you this morning. Get the latest on Transaction Capital, Sun International, Thungela and OUTsurance in this fast-paced podcast.

LISTEN: Artificial, or Artificial Intelligence?
(with Nico Katzke of Satrix)

LISTEN: Diving into Digital Assets and Fintech
(with Wiehann Olivier and Mia Pieterse of Mazars in South Africa)

LISTEN AND READ: The Investec Nikkei 225 Autocall
with Brian McMillan of Investec

READ: Emus with Guerrilla Tactics
(by Dominique Olivier)

Local company news:

Ghost Bites is brought to you by Fedgroup.
Sasol isn't on the Christmas card list of a single environmentalist in South Africa, that much I can tell you. The company's AGM is usually the target of protest action, radicalising some people along the way into hardcore environmentalists or haters of such behaviour. My view, as usual, is that somewhere in the middle is the best approach. We always have to recognise the environmental impact. We also can't be blind to social impacts like jobs and the ability for people to feed themselves. We live in a world of tough trade-offs and it's very hard to get people to agree on which negative outcome is the best one. Sasol has won its appeal related to emissions at Secunda Operations for exactly that reason.
Meanwhile, MultiChoice is on a rather fascinating trajectory. The R125/share offer from Canal+ is underway, with a firm intention announcement now released. It's structured as a mandatory offer rather than a scheme, which has important implications for MultiChoice's listed status (read Ghost Bites for more details). Perhaps the more interesting thing is a potential full merger and separate listing with Canal+ down the line. Watch this space.
In other deal news, Goldway declared its offer for MC Mining to be unconditional, as sufficient acceptances were received. That came as quite the surprise, although this tale has been full of twists and turns.
Finally, Sirius has closed some recently announced property deals and has announced a further disposal.
There's a lot of great stuff in here, especially for fans of dealmaking and major corporate activity. Get all the details and my thoughts in Ghost Bites at this link>>>
Check out the most recent episode of the Ghost Wrap podcast, made possible by Mazars. It takes just a few minutes to get the latest on Transaction Capital, Sun International, Thungela and OUTsurance. Get it here>>>

LISTEN: Magic Markets podcast

Macroeconomic Update

Currency markets are trading sideways in tight ranges ahead of US inflation numbers and the release of Fed FOMC minutes. The strong recent US payroll data is keeping US Treasury yields high and the dollar firm, with the market pushing back the expected timing of cuts by the Fed. Also look out for the ECB meeting on Thursday this week, with analysts expecting rates to be kept on hold with a dovish outlook.
The rand is stuck in a range from R18.50 to R18.80. Although it seems to be building a base around R18.55, a move back to the upper end of the range is possible.
Recent stronger manufacturing PMIs out of the US and China raised hopes that manufacturing data has bottomed, which is great news for base metal prices and PGMs. Demand expectations also support the oil price, as do tensions in the Middle East.
Key indicators: USD/ZAR R18.64; US 10-year 4.41%; Gold $2,344; Platinum ZAR R18,200; Brent Crude $90.58
This macroeconomic update is based on TreasuryONE's morning update.

READ: Dive into your DIY investing adventure
(by Duma Mxenge of Satrix)

International company news:
The Ulta Beauty share price has lost around 17.5% in the past month, although most of that action came in the past week. This is another case of the market panicking about growth expectations, which is what happens when you have the US market trading at such high equity multiples in general.
At a JPMorgan conference, the CEO of Ulta commented that sales will grow in the mid-single digits for the year. It shows you how unrealistic the market expectations were that such a comment can drive a precipitous drop in the price. The cosmetics and broader beauty category has been fantastic for retailers, with a combination of high margins and long shelf life. Even this category isn't immune to pressure on consumer budgets, which creates a dangerous situation when paying a high multiple for a retailer like Ulta Beauty.
We cover global giants and interesting smaller opportunities in detail in Magic Markets Premium. As an example of the variety, our most recent report is on energy utility Emera. You can get our entire research library for just R99/month. It pays to know what's going on out there - literally.