October was an extraordinary month for stock markets around the world. Every single major stock market around the world hit record highs last month, other than the Chinese CSI index which is still a long way off its pre-Covid highs.
Spain’s IBEX finally surpassed its 2007 highs, and even the big European countries with the slowest growth, Germany and France, managed to join in the act.

In response, South Africans have decided to take a punt - but not on the JSE, which is up almost 30% over the past year, but on online betting sites.
South Africans bet over R1.5 trillion in the past year, a 45% increase over the previous year. There are dangers and joys, in both methods of potentially losing money.
In this podcast Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss the season of having a punt.