JSEDirect with Simon Brown

Offshore / US GDP 6.5% , below expectations but the economy now larger than pre-pandemic / US moving forward with an infrastructure bill / The U.S. debt ceiling officially became operative again on Sunday after a two-year suspension / Amazon results see stock down 7% / Alphabet results & $50bn buyback / Microsoft results, LinkedIn does +$10bn Local / Tencent woes hit JSE (but all-time closing high...

Simon Shares Wild week for Naspers (JSE code: NPN), Prosus (JSE code: PRX) as Tencent (Hong Kong code: 700) got slapped down by the Chinese government. We're back at level 3, adjusted. Alcohol sales are allowed and Distell (JSE code: DGH) put out another great trading update. No doubt better if no alcohol bans, but the argument that your industry is under threat wears thin after such an update. Pr...

Offshore / New closing highs for S&P500 & Nasdaq. But Russel2000 is lagging. / Apple delays back to the office to October / Twitter and Snap - good results / China regulator bars Tencent from exclusive rights in online music / Big results due this week; Apple & Amazon. So far reported results have been very strong. Local / Rioting impact, retail about 8% of store space impacted. REITs bigger conce...

Simon Shares We now have updates from listed retailers as to the damage caused by last weeks rioting. Chantal Marx ran the data and says we saw almost 1,700 stores looted or closed due to the rioting and this is about 8% of the retailers' local footprint and some 5% of global footprint. This is a significant number, but considering many are open for trade again, with many opening last weekend alre...

Offshore / US inflation, again above expectations / Delta airline results show travel returning / US bank earnings as previsions put back into the income statement / Netflix looking into gaming / QoQ China's GDP increased 1.3% in Q2, 7.9% YoY Local / Rioting impacts as listed companies report details / South African Special Risks Insurance Association (Sasria) will cover claims / Standard Bank tak...

Simon Shares I'm recording Wednesday afternoon and the violence of the past week seems to be abating, certainly in Gauteng. It has been a horror week for our country and most importantly; look after yourself if you can somebody else as well and above all else, be kind. US CPI YoY 5.4%. Core YoY 4.5%. Both ahead of expectations. A very strong production update from Pan African (JSE code: PAN) and t...

Offshore / US ten year back at 1.36% after peaking at +1.72% in March / Jeff Bezos has stepped down as Amazon CEO / OPEC+ couldn't reach an agreement / Fed minutes tell us nothing new, except inflation is higher/faster than they expected / US extends the economic blacklist of Chinese companies / China wants pre-IPO review of all new listings that have large user data Local / Imperial delisting off...

Markets are as quiet as the street of Jozi, so this week a list of my favourite podcasts, the focus is offshore. I'll return and look at local in a few weeks. Upcoming events; 13 July ~ How to use ThinkMarkets Tools 22 July ~ JSE Power Hour: Power of savings Favourite podcasts; Planet Money Motley Fool Money Disciplined Investor Odd Lots Freakonomics Radio Michael Covel's Trend Following Radio

Offshore / US The unemployment rate edged up to 5.9% in June / US home prices rose by 14.6% in April, the largest gain in 30 year / S&P 500 closes green 7 days in a row, record is 8 days (US markets closed Monday) / RobinHood proposed listing ~ $40bn valuation / Didi Chuxing lists on NYSE, market cap $69bn & Chinese regulator blocks new accounts Local / Modest Q2 for JSE, TOP0 -1.2% (+11% YTD), Fi...

Simon Shares Level 4 lockdown. Remember the podcast of last week when I delved into the various leisure socks . Argent (JSE code: ART) results. Long a stock not worth covering or owning, but they've changed things up the last few years. Invicta (JSE code: IVT) another successful turnaround and really good results. JSE (JSE code: JSE) trading update, no surprise earnings under pressure. Nike (NYSE...

Offshore / Gold a flat week after the previous weeks sell-off / S&P500 and Nasdaq back at all-time highs after the previous week's aggressive sell-off / Global shipping remains under severe pressure as Chinese port shut after a covid-19 outbreak / US gets an infrastructure bill, but maybe not. It's messy Local / Omnia results paid special dividend and SARS dispute / Growthpoint trading update / Ol...

Simon Shares The announcement by the president that business will be able to build up to 100 megawatts of power without constraints is huge. Aside from the fact that the current limit is 1 megawatt, it will have three direct impacts; Estimates are that at least 4,000 megawatts can be built in 18-24 months. That is level 4 load shedding. So bye-bye load shedding. Tens of billions in spend aiding th...

Offshore / Markets spooked by FOMC statement / Gold under pressure / Brent crude slips but holding above $70 / TikTok owner ByteDance reports $2.1bn loss / Krispy Kreme returning to market with IPO / Adobe results Local / Rand under pressure / Capitec expects half-year earnings to rise 292% / Sephaku update and PPC results / Mediclinic to produce own power / Alexander Forbes results, retrenchments...

Simon Shares SAB Zenzele Kabili trading at R180, at least 3x fair value? Local GDP for the first quarter was 1.1% QoQ. Kinda middling. Stor-Age* (JSE code: SSS) results. Thungela Resources (JSE code: TGA) lists. AdaptIT (JSE code: ADI) gets an improved offer from Volaris - 700c. Life Healthcare (JSE code: LHC) bouncing again because of the Alzheimer drug. But it a very long road. Sirius Real Estat...

Offshore / U.S. economy added 559K jobs in May and unemployment fell to 5.8% / G7 nations set the minimum global corporate tax rate at 15% / AMC issues shares above the current share price / Biden expands blacklist to 59 Chinese companies / Apple staff back to work 3 days a week, starting September Local / Volaris ups offer to AdaptIT to 700c / Sibayne Stillwater to buy back 5% of shares / SARB se...

Simon Shares Sibanye Stillwater* (JSE code: SSW) announced they'll buy back 5% of their shares. Shoprite* (JSE code: SHP) exits Nigeria. AdaptIT (JSE code: ADI) gets an upgraded offer from Huge (JSE code: HUG) but still likes the 650c cash from Volaris, even as that is below the independent board's fair value of 700c - 909c. Barloworld (JSE code: BAW) completes R1billion sale of motor retail unit...

Simon Shares Somebody buying Metrofile (JSE code: MFL). Started late on Tuesday, sending it almost 13% on the day and holding Wednesday. Mediclinic (JSE code: MEI) paid £432m for 29.9% of Spire Healthcare (LSE code: SPI) in 2015. They're now supporting a buyout from a third party valuing that stake at £287.8m. Healthcare stocks earnings remain under pressure as elective surgery remains limited. Af...

Simon Shares Santova (JSE code: SNV) were very solid and they are now truly a global logistics business. Distell (JSE code: DGH) announced that Heineken wants a 'majority' stake in the company. Details are scant with major shareholders being PIC and Remgro (JSE code: REM) both just over 31%. But does the majority mean they want the cider business or +50% of the shares which would trigger a mandato...

Offshore / US inflation / Disney results / US pipeline shut down due to ransomware attack / UK rejects (softly) Bidens plan for global corporate tax rate / Chinese industrial production and retail sales due Monday Local / Naspers / Prosus share swap / Raubex results / Ascendis swaps debt for assets / Clicks buys Pick n Pay pharamacy business / Cape Town airport has best month since lockdown, still...

Simon Shares Raubex (JSE code: RBX) results saw the second half record HEPS of some 110c after a loss in the first half. The previous full-year, 2020, HEPS was only 161.7c, so the business is looking good. That said, lots of debt and the expanding order book needs to be converted into profit. Transaction Capital (JSE code: TCP) results see the dividend returning. A super-strong trading update from...

Offshore / US jobless claims below 500k, lowest since pandemic started. But overall employment slips to 6.1%, up from 6% in March. / Janet Yellen says rates will need to rise / ECB Official Calls for Accepting Inflation Overshoot / Saudi Aramco Q1 profits +30% / Gold +$1,800 Local / Moodys skips reviewing SA credit rating / MTN update / Sibanye Stillwater update / Kaap Agri results / Karooooo resu...

Simon Shares Purple Group* (JSE code: PPE) now has 1million clients across all platform. A wowzer number. What an incredible milestone achieved today. Across all platforms & partners we've reached 1 million registrations. @CapitecBankSA @SATRIX_SA @BidvestBankSA @EasyEquities hard to describe how grateful I am to all you #invstr legends that challenge us to rise each day. 🙏🙏🙏 — Charles H Savage...

Offshore / April a green month for US indices / Palladium almost $3k and copper almost $10k / Knock out results; Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet & Amazon / US Q1 GDP +6.4% / Biden 100 days Local / Resi10 the main local index green in April (midCap & Property did well) / Gilbertson quits Gemfields / Tongaat update, just misses debt reduction targets / Steinhoff to list Pepco in Warsaw / Astral update /...

Simon Shares Revego* (JSE code: RVG) was supposed to list today but has delayed their listing. I applied for allocation as I like the business model of renewable energy with guaranteed inflation-linked off-take agreements. They invest into operational renewable asset and are targeting a 8%-10% dividend yield, based off the 1000c listing price. * I hold ungeared positions. Total world ETF from Core...

Simon Shares South African inflation was 3.2% in March 2021. Pick n Pay (JSE code: PIK) results show it was all liquor and tobacco that was the pain as it was off 31%. Karooooo (JSE code: KRO) has returned after exiting as Cartrack. The market seemed confused as it opened at 6500c, it is now trading R480. Still well off the adjusted highs f over R900 as everybody got all excited about the Nasdaq l...