🌍 Worldwide Markets – Episode 647 (9 Sept 2024)

This week on *Worldwide Markets*, Simon Brown dives into global markets, tech giants, crypto shifts, commodities, and currencies. Recorded a day early before heading to Leaderex, here's what's moving markets right now. Powered by Standard Bank and Shyft. 💳🌐

📊 US Jobs & Rate Cuts

• US jobs report was a mixed bag → +22k jobs, but mostly in healthcare.
• June revised downward to negative, July slightly up.
• Unemployment steady at 4.3%.
• Market expectation: Fed to cut rates next week after Jackson Hole signals.
• SA MPC unlikely to cut as inflation edges higher at 3.5%.

🔍 Alphabet (Google) Court Cases

Alphabet gets a gentle slap on the wrist in antitrust cases. Remedies minimal → no spin-offs of Chrome/Android, search payments (Apple $20bn/year, Firefox $750m) remain. Stock ran to **all-time highs 🚀 (PE still below historical mean). Another case pending on ad dominance – possible spinoffs (YouTube, DoubleClick?) could unlock hidden value.

₿ AltVest → African Bitcoin Corporation

• AltVest rebrands to African Bitcoin Corporation (ABC).
• Pivot: becoming a Bitcoin treasury company like MicroStrategy.
• Raising R11m at R11/share (vs. current ±R5). Proceeds to fund name change + Bitcoin buys.
• Ambition: raise R210m (maybe even $210m?) in tranches.
• Risky bet → doubling down on volatile BTC exposure. ⚡

🛢️ Oil & Sasol

• OPEC+ to increase output ~200k barrels/day.
• Saudi Arabia aims for market share → oil likely heading to $60.
• Sasol still strong 💪 → potential run to R135–R140 before Simon trims profits.

💡 ASML & Mistral (AI)

• Rumours: Dutch chip giant ASML investing \$1.5bn in French AI startup Mistral.
• ASML has cash $8.5bn, but risks blurring lines by funding customers' ecosystem.
• Simon skeptical: "Picking AI winners this early is messy."

📈 Bull Market Still Running

SA Top 40 at record highs (95k+). Possible push to 100k points this month. "This is still a bull market until it's not." 🐂🔥

🥇 Precious Metals

• Gold → holding gains, bullish above \$3,450.
• Platinum & Palladium → strong breakouts, holding support.
• Silver → resilient above \$40.
• Precious metals complex all looking firm. ✨

💵 Rand & Global Trade

• Rand currently at R17.55, with potential to test R17.00 if US cuts rates.
• Africa-China trade up 25% to $122bn → filling void left by US. 🇨🇳🤝🌍

🇺🇸 Trump's Tariff Exemptions

Trump exempts; uranium, tungsten, graphite, gold, bullion from tariffs. Good news for SA resources sector.

🎙️ Final Thoughts

• Markets remain bullish, metals are shining, oil likely weaker, and crypto experiments continue.
• If you're at Leaderex, come say hi 👋.
• Powered by Standard Bank & Shyft – the global money app for payments, travel, and investing.

Simon Brown

* I hold ungeared positions.

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