| Massmart's shares soared over 20% yesterday after it released its annual results and announced more disposals as it focuses on the operations where it believes it has a competitive edge. While the results were pretty much as expected following a number of shareholder updates, the company said its turnaround gained traction in the second six months. AVI Limited provided a positive surprise too: a generous special dividend on top of its interim payout thanks to healthy cash generation and a reduction in its debt. And a trading statement from Capitec also received a reasonably positive response after the bank said its earnings grew in the second half of its financial year after a sharp decline in the first six months. More on those stories to follow, along with updates from Old Mutual and Sun International. Also, interim results from records management and document storage business Metrofile, which says it expects takeover talks with a private equity consortium to resume once travel restrictions have been lifted. If you missed it yesterday, follow this link for the latest episode of the Magic Markets podcast. The Finance Ghost and Mohammed Nalla look at the impact of a steepening yield curve and what it means for equity valuations. I hope you have a good day. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
The latest from Ingham Analytics Stay tuned for an update on Sasol (don't get carried away by Brent oil at $70/bbl) and latest analysis of Target2, the real-time gross settlement system of the European Central Bank (the eurozone is a bit like Animal Farm, some euros are more equal than other euros). Meantime, their latest note on central banking "Now what do they want?" is a timely read as yields head north (and equities, especially tech, head south) whilst "Budget blues" focuses on the danger posed to local commercial banks by a risky South African government. | 