There was a great deal of excitement out there in the major traffic intersection near this office yesterday evening. Plenty of whooping sirens, hooters and flashing hazard lights.
There’s this belief that having all four of one’s indicator lights blinking can be used not only to signify that the vehicle is stationary but also the exact opposite. That the car is moving as fast as possible while ignoring as many road rules as necessary. I suppose that occasionally this may be a useful (albeit illegal) device for a driver with a genuine emergency, but these days it is used by convoys of luxury cars with darkened windows and tax-spending passengers still without the clout to summon a helicopter. I am disheartened by the world-wide trend of politicians and bureaucrats to assume powers and privileges beyond those they allow their employers – the taxpayers. I rather think that the citizens of Europe with their “no” votes are showing signs that they too feel that they have quite enough legions of legislators laying down the law and lapping up the loot.
At first I the thought commotion in the road was being caused by investors clamouring to reach their broker and participate in the bull market. The news that the rand was threatening to climb above 7 per US dollar triggered some serious buying fever in the resources shares. The gold index has gained almost 7% in just two days and Krugerrands have climbed to a 1 year high despite the dollar gold price of the yellow metal looking soggy. The New Gold ETF is doing OK too. So also is the New Rand ETF of rand-hedge counters.
Not enjoying the same buying enthusiasm are the shares in the Life Assurance sector, which was the only sector to record a loss last month. Some of this is due to what appears to be a large seller of Sanlam. This trade is probably related to the imminent closure of the Barclays/ABSA deal, but the other heavyweights in this industry are not doing well either. My theory is that baby-boomers like me, now entering retirement, are beginning to totter in to the offices to claim their pensions and other maturing financial products. There, to their horror, they discover how little is left for them after the company has paid for the advertisements of yachts and exotic companions that lured them to that same office all those years ago. Recently a slew of uncomfortable regulatory decisions and unfavourable press comments have been making things nasty for the assurers and I wonder if the share holder is going to lose out to the policy holder for a while. Just a thought.
When I last skipped a Tidemarks because I was out of the office on a Friday, there was an alarming but gratifying outburst of complaining. Hence I offer this scribbling a little early before nipping off again. I do hope there’s no TV where I am going, as I am not really a tennis fan – especially as some of the more intriguing players at Roland Garos have been eliminated already. For those who enjoy their televised sport to be a little slower there was the three day Durban judgement this week.
James Greener
2nd June 2005
