It’s important to form a view. It’s even more important to be open to changing it. I’ve never taken Bitcoin seriously, but based on recent institutional interest in cryptoassets, I decided to research and learn more. Note that I said “cryptoassets” rather than “cryptocurrencies” – more on that later. Nine pages to rule them all In 2008, a white paper …
View PostWe aren’t going to even entertain the thought of denying that there’s a global emergency for humans to find a more sustainable way to exist on this planet. That doesn’t just drive an imperative for corporate leaders to think about climate change and sustainability; it creates investment opportunities as well. In the final Magic Markets episode for 2020, we unpack …
View PostAll great startups must evolve with time and Magic Markets is no different. We’ve decided to do two shows per week, because there’s so much to talk about and we are having a lot of fun This also means that each episode will be shorter, which means you’ll find it easier to find a gap in your day to listen …
View PostThe DIY and home improvement market in South Africa is substantial. Using Stats SA trade sales data, it can be roughly estimated to represent around 8% of the total retail market in South Africa. Within this space, there are DIY-focused players (like Build-it which is owned by Spar), wholesale-focused companies (like Cashbuild) and those who follow more of a hybrid …
View PostWay back in 2007, there was a smartphone manufacturer whose share price tripled in a 12-month period. No, it wasn’t Apple. It wasn’t Samsung. It wasn’t Huawei. It was BlackBerry. We all had them. It meant you could speak to your mates and significant other for a fraction of the cost. Teens and students left Mxit and joined BBM. Companies …
View PostBarloworld operates a variety of businesses. A conglomerate from an age when conglomerates were cool, Barloworld is now a bit of a dinosaur as a corporate structure. The problem is that the group is too diversified. Investors can’t take a clear view on just one sector or geography within the group but must instead invest into the full story. In …
View PostMohammed Nalla is one of the most highly respected macroeconomic market analysts to emerge from South Africa. He’s launched Moe-Knows, a macroeconomics knowledge platform. Now living in Canada, he layers a global perspective on top of his emerging markets expertise. Together, The Finance Ghost and Moe-Knows have multiple years of experience across practically every asset class. In Magic Markets, we unpack market …
View PostTesla will be admitted to the S&P500 and will immediately jump into a top ten spot on the index based on a market capitalisation that appears to be marching towards $500bn. The Index Committee was suspicious back in September when Tesla achieved profitability over four consecutive quarters, electing not to include Tesla in the index despite the criteria being met. …
View PostThe property sector on the JSE was once a hive of activity. A few years back, investment bankers literally rode the property wave all the way to their favourite sportscar dealership, raising money in the market on practically a daily basis and earning delectable fees along the way. The property sector was literally dripping with honey, as pension funds and …
View PostAlibaba founder Jack Ma has had an awful November. The listing of Ant Group, a payments company incubated within Alibaba, was pulled by Chinese regulators (read more here) in response to ongoing criticism by Ma of the state of regulation in China. In the fallout over the Ant Group listing, Alibaba itself took a knock to the share price as …
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