Brait wants R2.5bn
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Ghost Bites - making sense of SENS
Generally speaking, a value unlock strategy involves a company sending money back to shareholders. At Brait, it’s the other way around at the moment, with the company asking shareholders for R2.5bn! They need the money to support further investment in Virgin Active, along with the redemption of exchangeable bonds. The poll in Ghost Bites is focused on this issue today.
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Alphamin is riding the tin wave. Although sales volumes were flat quarter-on-quarter, the broader AI boom is still driving tin prices higher.
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Results of the latest poll:
The latest poll shows that Purple Group’s acquisition of Telescope has created more questions than answers around the valuation. Only 14% of respondents love both the strategy and the deal metrics. This is unfortunately what happens when a deal announcement is relatively light on justification for the price being paid.
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Global markets update with Shaun Murison
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed firmer as solid results from big banks and a lower than expected inflation print supported risk appetite despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
IBM shares fell 25% on the day, its worst session on record, after the group's second quarter results missed expectations. The company attributed the shortfall to weakness in its Z performance and the associated software stack, primarily in Transaction Processing, as clients redirected capital expenditure toward servers, storage and memory ahead of anticipated price increases.
Earnings today see ASML, BNY, BlackRock, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley and United Airlines report.
Asian markets are mostly higher, with the Nikkei, Kospi and Hang Seng all firmer on the day following semiconductor led overnight gains in the US. China is underperforming regional benchmarks after second quarter GDP growth slowed to 4.3% year on year, short of the 4.5% consensus and down from 5.0% in the first quarter.
The dollar softened after the lower inflation print, helping metal prices and equity markets gain. Some of the dollar's move has been tempered following Fed Chair Warsh's hawkish testimony to Congress, in which he reiterated that policymakers have no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation.
Oil prices remain elevated as talks between the US and Iran yield little progress and bombing continues.
With US and European futures up and most of Asia firmer this morning, we expect the JSE All Share Index to follow suit at open. The rand remains firm against a slightly softer dollar.
This update is provided by Shaun Murison, Senior Market Analyst at randswiss.com. Connect with him on LinkedIn here and follow him on X here.
Key Indicators:
USD/ZAR R16.38/$ | US 10yr 4.59% | Gold $4,029/oz | Platinum $1,650/oz | Brent Crude $81.16