vestact posted: " Market Scorecard US markets managed to move higher yesterday, thankfully. All major indexes turned green after the Fed's minutes from earlier this month were released. Their comments reflected a positive outlook on inflation, which is showing sign" Vestact - Money with a dash of funny
US markets managed to move higher yesterday, thankfully. All major indexes turned green after the Fed's minutes from earlier this month were released. Their comments reflected a positive outlook on inflation, which is showing signs of moderating. The Fed's plan remains to raise interest rates by 0.5% at each of the forthcoming meetings, which has been well-telegraphed. Consumer-discretionary stocks led the rally, rising 2.8%.
In company news, Nordstrom climbed 14% after the retailer raised its revenue guidance for the full year. Other retailers had a good day of trading with Dicks Sporting Goods up 9%.
In short, the JSE All-share lost 0.16%, the S&P 500 gained 0.95%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.51%.
Our 10c Worth
One Thing, From Paul
One of our longest-standing stock picks in JSE portfolios is luxury goods-maker Richemont. We like the top-end of the retail market, where the margins are wide and the customers are loyal.
As you all know, Richemont is controlled by its founder and CEO Johann Rupert. The group has South African roots but its head office is in Switzerland, and its top brands include Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Richemont shares have done fairly well over the last five years, but not as well as competitor LVMH. Like many stocks, it has been punished in 2022.
Tim is a great writer, and here are some choice paragraphs.
"If you look at how Richemont actually works, there is very little indication of bearishness anywhere. Rupert might like to sound bearish, but the company is on a tear."
"During the results presentation, Rupert was - and you are not going to believe this - bearish. He said his "gut feeling" was that the Chinese economy would suffer more from the impacts of Covid and lockdowns, it would last longer than most people think, and the rebound would be slower. In the US and Europe, he said, political polarisation ran the risk of dampening the "feel-good factor" that drives luxury consumption."
"Oddly, he didn't mention the possibility of locust invitations or rivers running with blood. After listening to all of this, clearly, the investor community was shell-shocked. We mostly know to take Rupert's bearishness with a pinch of salt, but clearly, some don't. After the presentation, the share just got smashed, down 13% on the day. This is the same day, recall, the company announced a 44% year-on-year increase in sales."
"For investors, the thing to do is to ignore all this idle chit-chat and note that this is a terrific business. The margins they are making are just fabulous. Caution or not, the growth of the company has been strong and steady over decades without big acquisitions or big mergers."
Bright's Banter
Statista has just produced one of the best infographics that I've seen in a long time. It's a chart showing which English soccer team has claimed the most titles since the Premier League's foundation in 1992. Prior to that the top flight in England was the old First Division. One of the things that stand out is that Manchester is the town with the most successful footballers.
Manchester United has 13 titles to their name, the last one being in 2013 - the final season under the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Manchester City clinched its sixth title on Sunday after a lot of drama on the pitch. City was two goals down after 69 minutes in the last game of the season, but in one manic five-minute window, Gundogan and Rodrigo sealed the win.
Man City have won four titles in the past five years, and it could've been five out of five if it wasn't for Liverpool's incredible run in the 2019/2020 season. Its notable that the world's most popular football league has only seen seven different champions in the modern era (last 30 years).
Y Combinator is advising its portfolio founders to pull up their socks. The Silicon Valley investment firm says their start-ups must cut costs and stay liquid after a 13-year bull run - YC strongly suggests that startups raise cash to stay alive.
Signing Off
Asian markets have fluctuated today in choppy trading. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made a speech urging companies to combat rising unemployment. Typical politician! Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Toyko and Seoul have been flipping between green and red.
US equity futures are lower, so far anyway. The Rand is trading at R15.76 to the US Dollar.
Keep let's all keep bobbing along, getting the job done.
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