The Rand has been one of the strongest EM currencies in the past few weeks, but the strength will be short lived. The Rand has been boosted by a dovish FED, an ECB trying to balance monetary policy and economic growth, and the easing of Trade War fears. But all the positives are fickle and cautious investors should be looking a few steps ahead.
Investors looking to diversify off... ››› more
Last week I made my first prediction on gold.
Click here to catch up if you missed it. Today I'm going to let you in on my 2nd prediction for the year – The South African rand.
In the last three months we’ve seen the rand strengthen from R15.40 down to R13,70.
We’ve seen the petrol price drop from over R16 down to R13,70 as well.
Whil... ››› more
The aim of any sports bettor is to make accurate predictions of what is likely to happen during an event.
A common mistake most sports bettors make when trying to predict a game of soccer, is trying to predict everything. From the result of the match, number of corners, will both teams score, under/over; the list just goes on and on…
Instead of trying to predict everything, focusing on o... ››› more
The rand has been buoyed by tighter monetary policy in Turkey, Russia and Argentina. Our local inflation data assisted in the strength even though the Reserve banks held rates on Thursday.
The Rand has gained over R1.30 against the Euro, USD and GBP in the past three weeks.
Investors tend to panic and run for the exit all... ››› more
The JSE remains in its consolidation phase but the current Rand weakness has created opportunities to buy some blue chips on the cheap.
The Rand has followed emerging market currencies lower over the past week on the back of concerns in Turkey. The Turkish Lira has more than halved in value as they deal with their own “Nenegate”.
The main reason for the Rand's significant weakness and ... ››› more
The JSE has remained buoyant after falling due to the ANC's EWC announcement last week. It's been range bound since breaking above its previous consolidation phase.
A rally into year-end is still on the cards thanks to several JSE heavy weights earning significant offshore revenue.
Stronger global growth and a rand that is facing headwinds into next year's elections should see earnings inc... ››› more
It's with great sadness I announce the demise of the rand!
In the last few weeks, we've seen the rand drop 19.13% from R11.50 to R13.70.
Thanks to dismal bond yields; declining GDP, increased borrowing costs and less money printing!
Of course, you are probably thinking… So what? Same old and why the drama?
Well, it's what I saw in my charts this morning that made me lose all hope... ››› more
The Rand is on the back foot as US treasury yields jumped towards 3%, an important psychological level for investors.
The weaker Rand helped the resources and rand hedge industrials rise yesterday as banks and retailers pulled back.
After a surprisingly strong run, the Rand appears to be heading back to resistance at R12. 48 as anxiety and volatility return to more normal levels.
... ››› more
When Cyril Ramaphosa managed to defeat Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and the Jacob Zuma faction for the position of ANC president, the rand went crazy.
It moved stronger by more than 10% versus the US dollar and was the world's best performing currency over the last month.
I do not argue the relief felt after the Ramaphosa win is unwarranted.
I will however say that this one change wi... ››› more
On Friday 24 November S&P downgraded South Africa's long term local government bonds to junk rating.
The problem according to S&P is that government in recent years have focused merely on the distribution of income, instead of trying to grow our income…
“As a consequence, South Africa’s economy has stagnated and external competitiveness has eroded. We expect that offsetting fiscal m... ››› more
The rand started out 2017 at 13.78, and quickly strengthened to R12.42 in mid-March.
This would've negated strengthening commodity prices world-wide.
The price of copper, ferrochrome, gold and aluminium all rose during 2017.
But - fortunately for South African producers of these commodities the rand weakened yet again, now trading in the R14 range.
And that means all of these commo... ››› more
The mid-term budget spooked many investors as it was thin on detail, but exposed an unexpected gap between income and expenses.
These events typically create spikes in the currency. History shows that this is not the time to panic, however the risk of further downgrades has certainly increased and now look unavoidable.
We have consistently suggested that you regularly review your offshore i... ››› more
Industrials down 3%
Industrials took the brunt of weaker markets last week as concerns regarding the economic outlook post US elections weighed on sentiment. Woolies was down 6,3% and several other industrial shares fell by approximately 4%.
Naspers down 7,9%
Rand strength and weakness in social media stocks put pressure on Naspers. Facebook was down 8,6% while Groupon fell 19%. Some anal... ››› more
I must say… I'm very impressed with the level of questions I'm getting from you lately.
It's taking Trading Tips to a whole new level of trading professionalism.
And I couldn't be prouder of having you on board.
Just two years ago, I received very easy trading questions that you could find the answers on Google. But lately they have been in-depth questions that has required me to apply... ››› more
2016 has been a year many will quickly forget, but for the shock results of the Brexit vote and the US elections; it was a year where many cans were kicked down the road.
Global growth remained benign and potential silver-linings have yet to gain material traction because of lingering uncertainties such as the future US foreign policy, the tensions in South East Asia, lingering debt problems i... ››› more
Happy new year everyone, I hope you all had a good break and did tons of holiday shopping for your friends and family!
Why? Because yesterday marked the beginning of the retail reporting season. And, in the next couple of weeks we're going to see just how much South African's spent at the shops in December.
There is no doubt the market is expecting a super tough Xmas period for the beleag... ››› more
AVI is a South African based company, listed on the JSE in the Food Products sector, and is centered on the FMCG market.
AVI's extensive brand portfolio includes more than 50 brands. The Group comprises of trading subsidiaries that manufacture, process, market & distribute branded consumer products.
AVI brands span across a range of categories including: hot beverages, sweet and savory bis... ››› more
Admittedly, I expected more movement in the Rand once the cabinet reshuffle was announced. We have a saying that “the Market always knows” which seems to apply in this case.
When Mr. Nene was removed, the Rand fell 8,5% within the first few days and then extended those losses by another 10% a few weeks later. By comparison the Rand has loss only 7% so far, perhaps the Market knew that SA I... ››› more
A week of heightened protests has ended and the ANC Cadre are holding the fort, for now. Their confidence masks the growing dissension from all sides, including members of its own party, eventually pressure will come to bear.
Fitch followed S&P in downgrading SA, but again the reaction was relatively muted. Clearly the market had been preparing for this eventuality. Of more concern is that som... ››› more