AND DAYS OF AULD LANG SYNE

A simple but crude indicator of how the shares which meet the criteria to be included in any average share price index are faring is simply to multiply the index by the earnings yield of that index. Doing that today for indices representing non-mining shares (supposedly resources companies are considered to be dancing to a different tune) reveals that the average industrial/financial company is reporting record earnings. That is, using the JSE as a gauge, nothing bad has happened to the nation’s wealth-creating capacities. In fact the opposite is happening. Prices of high-end luxury goods and homes corroborate this. However, the queues of people at the post offices awaiting their very meagre state-handout is the other side of this very weird coin. This observation ought to be keeping members of the ruling elite worried and awake at night but no such luck. Well actually they are wide awake late into the night consuming those ridiculously over-priced liquors that appear in bottle store catalogues every festive season. Cynics assure us that this year’s 60 year old tipple is merely last year’s unsold 50 year old, rebottled! It certainly looks identical! The exact status and location of our previous president, Jacob Zuma is unclear. At least one government agency wants him back in prison as they believe his medical parole has expired. Aside from the rather unfriendly and unseasonable timing of this development, the only people gaining any cheer will be legal eagles flocking to gain a share of the fees that the arguing for and against this idea will undoubtedly be racking up. In the meantime, our sitting president (Cyril the Frogboiler) has unfortunately tested positive for the current virus doing the rounds and VP David Mabuza is in the hot seat. So far he has been low profile and cautious despite chairing the most recent meeting of National Coronavirus Command Council. This body is known often to surge down tangential paths in pursuit of redder herrings but so far all is quiet. All we got on the recent public holiday, named ironically “Day of Reconciliation”, was a very non conciliatory speech praising murderous terrorists long gone and hopefully soon forgotten. There is a very long list of special things that the Webb space-based telescope will be directed to look at after it takes up position next week about one and a half million kms above the earth. The one thing it won’t do however is take any photos in the visible light part of the spectrum. All the very special detectors work in the infra-red and so presumably we’ll be fed reconstructed false colour images. It’s a red-shift thing! Reportedly the Webb has cost US$ 11bn and is 10 times over budget. The US taxpayer had paid for the largest share by far. The world will certainly miss these generous and inquisitive Americans when one day they run out of money! Has anyone thought to invite those protesting the plan to conduct a seismic mapping program in the ocean off the Wild Coast, to nominate a small team to go aboard the seismic survey ship towing the large arrays of equipment. It is rather boring though, as it steams steadily along long and predetermined tracks for the duration of the survey. Days of tedium will provide ample opportunity for them to learn that this exercise has been carried out along the whole South African coastline since about 1975 without any reports of mass extinctions (or even disturbance) occurring in the marine wildlife. But do warn the nominees that near fatal sea sickness is likely and the principal distraction will be retrieving the equipment for repair, following the inevitable shark bites to the towed arrays. Oh, and there is also the fun of watching the GPS spot trudge across the screen. This will be the final Tidemarks of the year and I want to thank all the readers, fans and critics for providing just enough feedback to keep me from realising that these jottings are really quite silly and pointless. Mind you I must note that several times a year, a point raised in TM shows up elsewhere. But that’s just coincidence I suppose. So please have a Merry and Happy Christmas and a Safe and Healthy New Year. James Greener Friday 17th December 2021.