Well, that clears up the Gautrain funding mystery. Among the critical decisions to be made by the planners, is the design of the logo that will adorn the rolling stock, stations, stationery, beverage cups and bathroom fittings of this mega-project. In a flash of brilliance, they have invited the public to make the choice for them by submitting a vote via the cell phone message system. This has the advantage not only of passing the buck but also of raising a spot of cash at R1 a time charged for each vote cast. No news yet on the number of votes cast, nor on how much this exercise has contributed towards the R20bn cost of this train set. I anticipate many more such public ballots about other difficulties that Gautrain will face. But by the time that they are asking our opinion about what sort of sandwiches to offer in the buffet cars, the cost of a vote will be much higher, I assure you.
The echoes of that once-in-a-lifetime cricket game at Wanderers last Sunday are still ringing around the country. Not even the futures close-out event that has just finished nor the test match that has started beneath The Mountain have removed the silly grins from the faces of those of us who were lucky enough to be there. Corporate email servers are battling to filter out all the wonderfully tasteless jokes and cartoons, that are flying from desk to desk about the Protea victory over the Aussies under the guise of “important inter-office memos”.
About half the market believed that the All Share index would be spurred through the 20 000 level by the close-out. This did not happen and indeed the event was unremarkable for most people. The share prices should now settle down to reflect the balance of “real” buyers and sellers and early indications are that neither side has overwhelming superiority. And then we are heading into one of those unofficial extra long weekends which will be luring many players away from their workstations. The only screen they intend to use in the next few days will be the Factor 20 sun sort.
The news that the JSE has announced a probable listing date for itself on its own market has not soothed the tempers of those of us still waiting for that organisation to deliver February month-end statements and portfolios for some of our clients. The JSE enjoys a captive customer base and obliges all stockbrokers to use a central administration system run by themselves. The benefits of outlawing all competition are evident in the JSE’s income statement. Earnings are up 60%. Buy the share, hate the service.
You will have guessed the reason why the Tidemarks has come in early this week. I too am going to struggle with two shortened working weeks and I am off to a spot where the only electronic gizmo that works will be my GPS receiver. So at least I’ll know where I’ll be this weekend even if I never have many clues about where the markets are going. Keep an eye on all the sport for me please and watch for the frightening fall-out forecast by those French fellows for next week.
James Greener
16th March 2006
