vestact posted: " Market Scorecard US markets were choppy yesterday, with the S&P500 and the Nasdaq managing to eke out small gains. US markets are on course to close in the red for the week. Remember that the broad S&P500 is still up 17% in 2021, which is "
US markets were choppy yesterday, with the S&P500 and the Nasdaq managing to eke out small gains. US markets are on course to close in the red for the week. Remember that the broad S&P500 is still up 17% in 2021, which is not bad at all. It's always good to keep things in perspective.
Locally, the JSE had its third red day this week and the worst daily dip since July, as mining company share prices continue to plunge on fears of softer demand for commodities.
In corporate news, Disney Parks launched its own app called "Genie," a line-skipping service, and will officially retire fast passes. Elsewhere, Roblox acquired Discord's competitor called Guilded, a chat platform for gamers. As a gamer myself (Bright), I have never heard of Guilded outside of investment circles.
In summary, the JSE All-share closed down 2.64%, the S&P 500 closed up 0.13%, and the Nasdaq closed up 0.11%.
Our 10c Worth
One Thing, From Paul
Right, it's personal finance Friday again! Here is my idea for the week: work longer, live longer. There's lots of evidence that a strong social network is crucial to keeping happy and increasing life expectancy. For many older people, continuing to work provides those connections, while also giving them a strong sense of purpose in life.
According to a recent study in the Netherlands, men who opted to stay in the workforce to age 65 instead of quitting at 62 were less likely to die over the next five years. The long-term impact isn't yet known, but the researchers suggest that the improvement in life expectancy might be as much as two years.
Obviously, working longer is hugely beneficial for your finances. Retiring early may sound glamorous, but it's not a good idea to tap into your savings at a young age.
Just keep working, or better still, running your business. Even if it's not huge, having an income gives us more time to save and collect investment returns, leading to a larger retirement nest egg. I'm planning to do that, here at Vestact. I'll be following markets and answering emails at my office desk, until they carry me out.
Michael's Musings
Eskom is a touchy topic in South Africa. We can all agree that loadshedding is a problem and has hurt economic growth. People have differing views on the cause of and solution to our power crisis, depending on their political leanings. I'm in the camp that thinks the current CEO, Andre de Ruyter, is doing a pretty good job considering the mess he inherited. Speaking to a few Megawatt Park employees, they largely feel the same way.
One of the things that impresses me most about de Ruyter is that he seems to have the ability to make unemotive, fact-based decisions. It takes clear thinking to stand up and say coal is a legacy power source that should be phased out, considering that Eskom is still putting the finishing touches to the mega-coal-fired power stations at Medupi and Kusile.
In a presentation earlier this week, Eskom showed that they are responsible for 40% of South Africa's carbon emissions, and on a per capita basis, our economy is 25% more carbon-intensive than China and double the global average. The need for Eskom to change is highlighted by the EU talking about implementing punitive trade tariffs against countries that have high carbon emissions.
I grew up in Witbank, now Emalahleni, where the economy is largely based on the surrounding coal mines and power stations. The area will struggle once those power stations are mothballed in favour of solar panels in the Northern Cape, a region that desperately needs economic stimulus. I suppose Emalahleni will look similar to Welkom after the gold mines shut down there.
The change will be hard, and there will be winners and losers.
Bright's Banter
OnlyFans has announced that it will prohibit its users from posting any explicit conduct starting from next month, as it caves to potential financiers. This is a big shift, something like Mark Zuckerberg saying Instagram will prohibit the posting of holiday and food photos! Creators have ten days to maximise their income before their careers change forever.
The company said creators will still be allowed to post nudes, provided they're consistent with OnlyFans' policy and content guidelines. The company has over 130 million users and two million creators that charge their fans for pictures and videos. The majority of their popular creators post adult content and OnlyFans has been praised for going against the grain.
However, there's still a stigma around such content. This is probably hindering OnlyFans' ability to raise capital from outside investors and to get the valuation it deserves.
Linkfest, Lap It Up
Meet the ten fastest-growing private companies in America. From insurance and banking to supplements and cannabis, these businesses racked up impressive results in the past three years - Don't sleep on these companies.
To combat global hunger, researchers are trying to increase crop yields. Recently, scientists have inserted the human gene associated with obesity into plants, which seems to make them grow bigger. Now they need to figure out why it works - Researchers Transfer a Human Protein Into Plants to Supersize Them.
Signing Off
Asian markets are down again this morning as Beijing regulators set out tougher rules for private companies that handle user data. Interestingly, Tencent is up by nearly 2%. Other companies that are being scrutinised include liquor makers, online pharmacies, and cosmetics firms.
The Rand continues to tumble, now sinking to R15.35 against the US Dollar. To be fair, it's probably more a case of the US Dollar firming up. US equity futures are flat in early trade. What can we say, markets ebb and flow. Have a pleasant weekend. Spring is on the way, and will be here soon.
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