| Steinhoff's shares rallied 11% yesterday as it proposed a settlement to end legal claims against it after its shares went into freefall in December 2017 when it revealed massive holes in its accounts due to fraud. While the offer it has placed on the table falls well short of the claims, it says it would face liquidation if it tried to satisfy them in full. Already, Netherlands-based shareholder rights group VEB has said it will support the proposal. It was just one of the big winners on the JSE yesterday. AngloGold Ashanti rallied more than 8% after it revealed half-year results that benefitted from a much stronger gold price. Other gold companies rose sharply too as bullion reached record levels. Investment holding company Invicta bounced after releasing full-year results, despite reporting a loss due to impairments. And Santam closed higher after it agreed to provide relief payments of up to R1 billion to commercial customers with Contingent Business Interruption cover built into their policies - even though it doesn't believe that the government-imposed lockdown qualifies. More on all those stories to follow, along with interim results from Anglo American Platinum and Liberty Two Degrees, and a trading statement from Liberty Holdings warning of an interim loss after it placed billions aside to deal with the impact of Covid-19. In Ingham Analytics latest Searchlight, top trader Andrew Kinsey explains why central bankers are like fans of West Ham United and "forever blowing bubbles". I hope you have a good day. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
Latest notes from Ingham Analytics - "Forever blowing bubbles..." and "Tencent on top of its games" The Swiss franc has been appreciating - against the US dollar - and the US dollar index has been under pressure since a brief spike in late March as Covid-19 gripped the world. Ingham Analytics make an analogous point that central bankers are all fans of West Ham United - referencing the West Ham anthem "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles". Currency volatility has risen, the dollar and other major units of account are vulnerable, and the financialisation of world equity markets has reached extremes unrecorded in modern financial history. The note includes fascinating stats. To quote the anthem, bubbles, like dreams, fade and die. In "Tencent on top of its games" Ingham Analytics say that international mobile games are increasingly important for Tencent, growing ahead of its China revenues. Tencent is also acquiring content through acquisitions and seeking more geographic diversification. In the meantime, Prosus can only look on with envious eyes at the juggernaut that is Tencent - and suffer the indignity of the discount to the see-through value of its stake in Tencent widening yet again.
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