The task of being an investment analyst comes down to choosing a few prices and indicators that interest you and then making them your own. Then ensuring that when the press need an opinion and quote about them, yours is the name that they think of. If by some incredible luck, a reasonable number of consecutive forecasts prove correct, one becomes a guru and gets to wear a bowtie or some other notable gaudy trademark for TV appearances. This week one particularly over-analysed and hyped indicator – the US consumer prices inflation statistic -- was published and turned to be just one significant figure lower than expected. A hullaballoo ensued and some share prices went up. The talking heads declared the end of all that was bad and horrible in share investing. Which of course it's not. It never is. Every single day each of the numbers either goes up or down or nowhere. At the moment we are all very keen to be able to declare that the covid monster and its impact on our lives, especially on our economic status has gone. Unfortunately, a significant sized cohort are calling the exact opposite.
The story about the Russian cargo ship, Lady R, calling silently into port at Simonstown, loading a secret cargo in complete darkness and slipping back over the horizon without ever showing up on any marine monitoring services is fascinating. But unlikely to be regarded as friendly towards most of the rest of the world. I doubt President Frogboiler was told any more than the rest of us. After all he regards his sofa to be a secret hiding place, We are probably way out our depth here. I wonder who scored the biggest kickback?
The final whistle at the Soccer World Cup will blow on Sunday and the folk who ran around and kicked the ball will all go home. Then the real serious sport will now begin as the lawyers squabble about who owes what money to whom. The more interesting of these skirmishes will surely involve Budweiser, the holders of the exclusive right to sell alcoholic beer in the stadiums. This is one of the costliest concessions offered by FIFA, the organisers of the tournament. But this year, just days before the tournament began, the Qatari hosts changed their mind and decided that the activity of selling beer to football fans would offend many people. And so, they reneged on the agreements. Budweiser thinks this unexpected decision cost them almost USD50 million and are looking for someone to sue. Surely not! The other rather amusing sight has been the luxurious individual seating provided above the half-way line for the great and good. The individual armchairs are so wide that conversation with one’s fellow spectators was mostly impossible, and communication is limited to waving and smiling.
It has at last dawned on the Durban City Grandees that the attractions of the city they are supposed to run, are the long clean golden beaches with the sparking waters of the Indian ocean crashing on to them. But the current situation has, since the massive floods in April this year, has been far from this idyllic scene. The floods caused massive damage to untold millions of rands worth of infrastructure – the pumping stations designed to lift the sewage away from the coast and over to treatment plants behind the sand dunes. Whatever the excuse for failing to carry out the repairs or in many cases even begin them, the tourists and visitors – especially ones with both money and a working knowledge of the pathogeny of that nasty little critter eColi – are staying away. The most visible and hilarious response to this utter calamity has been a splash party comprising a selection of city officials decked out in swimsuits, goggles and in some cases wet suits. The pictures from this photo op showed that the guinea pigs were far from convinced that they were safe. It is still a nasty smelly mess and some recent heavy rain has unfortunately reinforced the present closure of the beaches.
James Greener
Thursday 15th December 2022 (Dingaans Day Public Holiday tomorrow)
