Too Busy? Got Better Things to Do? Read the Summary… Germany leading the way?: Merz’s fiscal reform ignited a dramatic rally in German equities early last year, led by rearmament plays like Rheinmetall, but the trade has since faded through war fatigue and a coalition now polling Merz at just 14% approval. A softer European […]

Scott Bessent’s (failed) attempt to bring down Treasuries is a red flag for US debt, in a week where US debt topped $40Tn in yet another failed campaign promise from DJT. This week Jonathan Brummer is standing in for Cobie, and we discuss his Substack content piece on retirement income.

Too Busy? Got Better Things to Do? Read the Summary… Central Bank conundrums: US headline and core inflation both came in exactly as forecast for once, with headline CPI easing to 3.4% and core to 2.5%, but every underlying inflation gauge has stayed above 2.5% since Covid. New Fed chair Kevin Warsh has a conundrum […]

The Shoprite group is a shining light in the retail space in RSA – Cobie chats about this in this week’s episode (more in the Newsletter). We also look into some of the background to make sense of the US midterms and where to look for meaningful moves.

Too Busy? Got Better Things to Do? Read the Summary… Gold back on fire?: Gold surged over 4% last week, its best weekly gain since February, closing above $4,300 an ounce. Investors read Fed Chair Kevin Warsh as less inclined to tighten policy than inflation warrants, while easing Iran tensions pushed oil below $80 and […]

In the previous part of this series, we looked at general financial advice and advisors; so let’s move on to advice specifically related to investment assets. They are both equally important, and siloing the different ‘types’ of advice can impact your long-term outcome. It isn’t always easy to find an advisor equally proficient in every […]

Too Busy? Got Better Things to Do? Read the Summary… Watching Sentiment: Oil price moves and Strait of Hormuz traffic remain closely linked, with prediction markets more pessimistic than financial markets about a near-term return to normal shipping. BofA’s fund manager survey, taken as tensions were escalating, showed managers at their most bullish since the […]

Underlying softness in economies may be masked by robust markets, especially around AI. This week, we look at a bit at how to get exposure to ‘momentum’ without substantially increasing volitility and risk.

Too Busy? Got Better Things to Do? Read the Summary… Good news for RSA Inc? Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim sees South Africa’s economy gaining momentum as electricity, ports and rail fixes start paying off, forecasting 1.7% growth next year and 2% in 2028. Separately, Justice Malala’s piece on anti-immigrant violence highlights reputational and economic […]

This week, we spend a bit of time looking at the ‘unwinding’ of the very popular ‘value ‘ investment philosophy and where AI and related investments are taking us. We also discuss RSA’s immigration problem against the backdrop of a better economic outlook.