The rally in South African bonds is set to gain further impetus when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana unveils his budget later this month, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. They expect him to deliver continued fiscal consolidation when he presents the budget to lawmakers in Cape Town on Feb. 25, reassuring investors and further compressing the risk premium they demand for holding the natio...
The rally in South African bonds is set to gain further impetus when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana unveils his budget later this month, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. They expect him to deliver continued fiscal consolidation when he presents the budget to lawmakers in Cape Town on Feb. 25, reassuring investors and further compressing the risk premium they demand for holding the nation’s sovereign debt. “This could be one of the most bullish budget documents prepared by National Treasury in many a year,” the analysts wrote in a note to clients. They described the possibility of revenue projections being revised higher, putting the country “in a position of dramatically improving fiscal balances.” South African assets have rallied strongly in recent months, with yields on the benchmark 10-year government bond declining more than 300 basis points to around 8% from an April 2025 peak. Part of that’s been an international story, with lower oil and surging gold prices boosting South Africa’s terms of trade. But investors have also warmed to domestic developments, including Godongwana’s endorsement of the central bank’s decision to lower its inflation target to 3%, and evidence from his mid-term budget update in November that he’s serious about controlling public finances. The rand has advanced about 20% against the dollar since April and Morgan Stanley said it remained “constructive” on the currency thanks to its strong link to precious metal prices “with forecasts targeting 15.30 over the coming quarters.” The rand was trading slightly higher at 15.96 per dollar at 11:14 a.m. in London on Monday. Read More: Yields Hit Record Low on Inflation Outlook: Inside South Africa Morgan Stanley expects South Africa’s consolidated budget deficit to narrow to 3.5% of gross domestic product in the year through March 2027 — at the bullish end of market expectations — before declining to 2.6% by 2028-29. The minister projected the 2025-26 budget deficit at 4.7% of GDP in ...
The immediate impact of President Trump's tariff announcements on the stock market last April was hard to miss. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) experienced one of its worst two-day declines in history following the announcement. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) fared even worse. The only thing that prevented the indexes from falling into bear-market territory was the President's reversal of...
The immediate impact of President Trump's tariff announcements on the stock market last April was hard to miss. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) experienced one of its worst two-day declines in history following the announcement. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) fared even worse. The only thing that prevented the indexes from falling into bear-market territory was the President's reversal of many of the tariffs announced just days prior. Many of the planned tariffs went into effect after a few modifications and exemptions, and the impact on the stock market hasn't been as drastic, but it's still quite noticeable for those paying attention. With the impact of the tariffs just starting to show up in economic data, it could have a major impact on future stock returns, as prices and valuations have continued to climb to alarming levels since the tariffs were first announced. Image source: The White House. Continue reading
vadishzainer The stock market will be closed on Monday in observance of Presidents’ Day. Now, here are five news stories that broke overnight to watch out for: Small nuclear reactor airlifted in historic first: The Departments of Energy and Defense completed the first-ever airlift of a small nuclear reactor as part of the Trump administration’s push for a nuclear energy renaissance in the U.S. The...
vadishzainer The stock market will be closed on Monday in observance of Presidents’ Day. Now, here are five news stories that broke overnight to watch out for: Small nuclear reactor airlifted in historic first: The Departments of Energy and Defense completed the first-ever airlift of a small nuclear reactor as part of the Trump administration’s push for a nuclear energy renaissance in the U.S. The agencies partnered with Valar Atomics to transport the firm’s Ward 250 reactor aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from March Air Reserve Base, California, to Hill Air Force Base, Utah. China summons tech giants over competition compliance: China's market regulator has summoned leading internet platform companies , including Alibaba Group ( BABA ), Baidu ( BIDU ), and JD.com ( JD ), demanding that they strictly comply with the relevant laws and regulations related to competition in the country. Douyin of ByteDance ( BDNCE ), Tencent ( TCEHY ), Meituan ( MPNGF ), and Taobao were among other firms that participated in the discussions with the State Administration for Market Regulation on Friday. U.S. stock valuations diverge sharply from global peers: U.S. stocks have diverged sharply from the rest of the world in terms of valuation , Apollo Global Chief Economist Torsten Slok notes. During the financial crisis, the P/E ratio for U.S. equities was similar to that of the rest of the world, but the surge in tech valuations has now pushed the U.S. P/E ratio 40% higher, Slok wrote in a note. Equal-weight S&P 500 outperforms as Mag 7 struggles: The equal-weight S&P 500 index looks like a better bet than the weighted index and the Magnificent 7, Goldman says. The equal-weight S&P is up nearly 6% year to date, with the S&P 500 flat and the Magnificent 7 ETF down more than 7%. Equity sales trader Mike Washington notes that investors have become increasingly concerned about the Magnificent 7’s significant spending on AI, particularly since they have turned to the debt markets to f...
The maximalist adaptation of the gothic romance shows great interest in production design but very little in character It does not take long into Wuthering Heights, Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s English lit classic, for one to detect the film-maker’s true faith. It is not to the challenging and beloved gothic novel of emotional repression and inheritance; as with many other cinema...
The maximalist adaptation of the gothic romance shows great interest in production design but very little in character It does not take long into Wuthering Heights, Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s English lit classic, for one to detect the film-maker’s true faith. It is not to the challenging and beloved gothic novel of emotional repression and inheritance; as with many other cinematic adaptations, Fennell dispenses with the unruly latter half of the book, along with most of its conventions. In Fennell’s emphatically maximalist vision – she has explained that the quotation marks in the film’s marketing are a note of humility, to her singular and limited interpretation – the tortuously connected Cathy (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) swoon about the Yorkshire moors in extravagant, anachronistic formalwear, flagrantly unbound by period decorum. Over three features, the English writer-director has demonstrated a penchant for sticky visuals; arguably the most-discussed scene from 2023’s Saltburn, her discourse-driving sophomore feature, involved the licking of cummy bathwater from the drain. Wuthering Heights is not to be controversially out-soaked. In closeup, sweat beads and drips down a spine; snail slime indolently streaks a window; freshly poured pig blood mucks Cathy’s dress. Desire, less suggested than enforced, stains everything. Early in the film, just after the abrupt ageing of Cathy and Heathcliff from boundless children (played by Charlotte Mellington and Adolescence’s Owen Cooper) to unspecific adults, Elordi’s brooding, beastly Heathcliff catches Robbie’s blonde Cathy, furiously horny after a bit of light voyeurism, pleasuring herself against the windswept rocks. She tries to hide her hand in her dress; he picks her up by the bodice strings, and licks her fingers clean. Continue reading...
India Might Soon Replace Russian Oil With Venezuelan At Scale After All Authored by Andrew Korybko, A new US license is being interpreted as prohibiting Venezuelan energy companies from transactions with China among other countries, which if true, could lead to India purchasing the 642,000 barrels of oil per day that China imported on average last year and thus halving its import of Russian oil. R...
India Might Soon Replace Russian Oil With Venezuelan At Scale After All Authored by Andrew Korybko, A new US license is being interpreted as prohibiting Venezuelan energy companies from transactions with China among other countries, which if true, could lead to India purchasing the 642,000 barrels of oil per day that China imported on average last year and thus halving its import of Russian oil. RT drew attention on social media to the Department of the Treasury’s newly issued “ Venezuela General License 48 ” allowing US companies to provide “goods, technology, software, or services for the exploration, development, or production of oil or gas in Venezuela ” with two strings attached . The first one is that any contract that their partners enter into will be governed under the laws of the US, which segues into the second one prohibiting any transactions with Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and China. It’s for this reason that RT interpreted the abovementioned license in their tweet as the “US Ban[ning] Venezuelan Oil Producers From Doing Business With Russia & China”. That’s reasonable since it was explained here that the Trump Doctrine is shaped by Elbridge Colby’s “Strategy of Denial”, which in its simplest form, seeks to deny strategic resources to US rivals such as the previously described countries. This is especially the case as regards China, the US’ systemic rival, but Trump earlier sent mixed signals. He recently welcomed Chinese investment in Venezuela’s energy industry, but in retrospect, that might have just been for the sake of managing the Sino-US rivalry amidst their ongoing trade talks. Trump wants a deal with Xi, which might become much more difficult for his counterpart to agree to if he openly declares his intent for the US to deny China continued access to Venezuela’s strategic resources. It therefore makes sense for the US to quietly implement this policy through its new license instead. Even prior to its promulgation, Russian Foreign Minister ...
Why Amazon.com (AMZN) is Back Under the Microscope Amazon.com (AMZN) is drawing fresh attention after a period of weaker share performance, with the stock showing negative returns over the past month, past 3 months, and year, despite positive recent revenue and net income growth. See our latest analysis for Amazon.com. At a share price of US$198.79, Amazon.com has faced a 16.87% 1 month share pric...
Why Amazon.com (AMZN) is Back Under the Microscope Amazon.com (AMZN) is drawing fresh attention after a period of weaker share performance, with the stock showing negative returns over the past month, past 3 months, and year, despite positive recent revenue and net income growth. See our latest analysis for Amazon.com. At a share price of US$198.79, Amazon.com has faced a 16.87% 1 month share price decline and a 12.23% year to date share price decline. Its 3 year total shareholder return of...
Parts of Hong Kong Island were heavily congested on Monday afternoon as the final day of the Lunar New Year flower market at Victoria Park drew shopping crowds, leaving commuters stranded and bringing public transport to a standstill. A row of trams bound for Hong Kong Island East was seen sitting bumper-to-bumper on Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay at about 5.30pm, turning even short journeys into t...
Parts of Hong Kong Island were heavily congested on Monday afternoon as the final day of the Lunar New Year flower market at Victoria Park drew shopping crowds, leaving commuters stranded and bringing public transport to a standstill. A row of trams bound for Hong Kong Island East was seen sitting bumper-to-bumper on Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay at about 5.30pm, turning even short journeys into tests of endurance for passengers. A South China Morning Post reporter spent 30 minutes on a tram...
NVIDIA (NasdaqGS:NVDA) is expanding into industrial AI through a long term collaboration with Dassault Systèmes to power Virtual Twins and AI driven factory deployments. The company is partnering with Opentrons Labworks to bring its Isaac and Cosmos platforms into laboratory robotics and automation for life sciences. NVIDIA is also working with EPRI, Prologis, and InfraPartners on distributed infe...
NVIDIA (NasdaqGS:NVDA) is expanding into industrial AI through a long term collaboration with Dassault Systèmes to power Virtual Twins and AI driven factory deployments. The company is partnering with Opentrons Labworks to bring its Isaac and Cosmos platforms into laboratory robotics and automation for life sciences. NVIDIA is also working with EPRI, Prologis, and InfraPartners on distributed inference micro data centers at utility substations to support localized AI compute. NVIDIA,...