Market update: It’s been an exceptional week; the bulls were out with a vengeance – the market was up 5 consecutive days in a row. Friday saw the Rand rally briefly below 13 against the US dollar as news broke of the mining charter being suspended. Despite the stronger Rand, our market managed to close ½% in the green with Financials having an incredible run. Even retailers were stronger on the day (even WHL after their disappointing Trading Statement the day before). It’s not even worth talking about Eskom wanting to pay Molefe and Koko bonuses, even though they only have money to pay salaries until November unless they get another state loan. Brian Joffe’s Long4Life made it official that they are buying Sorbet (beauty therapy chain). Richemont’s head watchmaker George Kern has resigned. Of the 25 S&P500; companies that have reported, 19 have already beat analysts’ expectations; while US macro data on Friday disappointed – we do a quick overview.