Market Scorecard
US markets edged higher on Friday. Stocks have oscillated between small gains and losses for the last few days, and the S&P 500 dipped by 0.1% for the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.4% over the same time period.
In company news, lithium processor Albemarle Corporation sank by 10%, following news that Chile's socialist government plans to nationalise that industry when mining licences expire 
. BuzzFeed also fell 10% after the media company said it was closing down its news business and laying off 15% of its staff. Locally, Coronation said it expected a more than 100% earnings drop as a major tax dispute with SARS weighs on profits.
On Friday, the JSE All-share closed down 1.23%, the S&P 500 rose 0.09%, and the Nasdaq was up 0.11%.
Our 10c Worth
One Thing, From Paul
Nassim Taleb wrote a book called "Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life". Here's one of the pithy quotes from the work: "Don't tell me what you think, just tell me what's in your portfolio".
On that basis, let me reveal what I think. I believe that technology is changing the world for the better, and you must own shares in the companies leading the way. So buy Apple, Google, Visa, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, etc, etc.
I think that humans want to live longer, happier lives, so the health and wellness business will grow faster than the rest of the economy. Add Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, Nike, and Amgen to your portfolio.
Those are the companies I own - that's my skin in the game.
Michael's Musings
How does being paid $190 000 a year to sit in meetings for a few hours a day sound? That was the case for many recent hires at large US tech companies. These businesses made so much money that they could afford to hire people before they needed them. It was a time of exuberant excess.
The rationale for all the hiring was that these businesses didn't want to have issues later if they needed extra capacity. Hire now, so that you know there are employees to handle the forecast growth. Also, hiring now means that employees have enough time to get up to speed with the company's operations before they are really needed.
A more sinister reason could be is that companies would rather underutilise their recruits than have them work for the competition. In a very tight labour market, talented employees can be hard to find. Hire them now, figure out how to deploy them later, but at least the competition doesn't have access to their services.
Those days of excess are over. Many tech companies have already had multiple rounds of retrenchments. They did the first round of cuts, only to find that overall productivity didn't change, realised how overstaffed they were, so they retrenched more employees.
This all sounds rather grim, but is a win for shareholders.
Bright's Banter
The fashion world is abuzz with the latest release of Lyst's quarterly index report, which ranks the hottest brands and products in the industry. The Lyst Index takes into account various factors such as shoppers' behaviour, social media engagement, and sales to track the latest brand and product trends.
Maintaining its top position from the last quarter, Prada has once again been crowned the hottest brand in the world, with a 22% increase in searches. Miu Miu secured the second spot, thanks to the high demand for its pocket bag, a second collaboration with New Balance, and its impressive showing at Paris Fashion Week.
The fastest riser of the quarter was Versace, which jumped an impressive five spots up the chart to take the eighth position. Additionally, two brands, SKIMS, and JW Anderson, made their debut in the Hottest Brands ranking this quarter.
While SKIMS has become a cultural and corporate phenomenon, thanks to the patronage of Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand, Jonathan Anderson's label received powerful celebrity endorsements that propelled it into the spotlight.
Here are the Q1 rankings: (1) Prada, (2) Miu Miu, (3) Moncler, (4) Valentino, (5) Loewe, (6) Bottega Veneta, (7) Dolce & Gabbana, (8) Versace, (9) Gucci, (10) Saint Laurent, (11) Dior, (12) Nike, (13) Louis Vuitton, (14) Diesel, (15) Burberry, (16) Fendi, (17) SKIMS, (18) Balenciaga, (19) Jacquemus, (20) JW Anderson.
http://www.vestact.com/images/Skims_jan_22.png
Linkfest, Lap It Up
Augusta National Golf Club is an iconic venue. The clubhouse is almost 170 years old with rich history and beautiful surroundings - How the Masters became a $150 million business.
South32 can trace its roots back to 1895, and so can its head office building. Their history is closely intertwined with that of Joburg - End of an era for a historic mining firm.
Signing Off
Asian markets are mostly down this morning, pushing the MSCI Asia-Pacific index to its lowest close in more than three weeks. Benchmarks declined in Hong Kong, mainland China and South Korea, while Japan showed some gains.
This will be a very short week in South Africa thanks to a public holiday on Thursday. We will be having a busy time monitoring major quarterly earnings releases in the US. We have Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Visa, Illumina, Coca-Cola, General Motors, General Electric, Intel, Credit Suisse, Mastercard, McDonalds, Pepsico and more to look forward to.
US equity futures are lower by half a percent in early trade. The Rand is trading at around R18.12 against the US Dollar.
There is chaos in Sudan. Special forces from the US and UK evacuated their diplomats, staff, and others from Khartoum yesterday, as a civil war raged on for a ninth day. In Ukraine, military forces have successfully established positions on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, a sign of Kyiv's anticipated spring counteroffensive.
If there's peace where you live, be grateful.
Sent to you by Team Vestact.
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