The RSA Medium Term Budget was out last week, along with optimistic new inflation guidelines.  Emerging markets are on a roll, and RSA forex is the best it's been for a while. Beware of the share concentration in the US and Chinese markets, though, especially with market cap trackers. 

We start to look ahead to 2027 - especially when it comes to markets - how about a 'average' year for a change? The UK might just be willing to impose austerity medicine on the economy, unlike the USA. The shutdown - who is going to blink first? 

This week, Cobie and dawn chat about Nvidia, AI and Trump's Middle East excursion. In addition to the interest rate cut, the Fed signalled some dialling back of quantitative tightening to a more neutral position. There is much more detail in our newsletter, get on the database at www.rexsolom.co.za  

AI is democratising access to information, especially for small and medium-sized companies. Cobie gives us some insight into how we do that at Rexsolom Invest. We have a look at Beyond Meat and the lessons to be learned in single-product, highly niche companies. The Rexsolom Newsletter has an in-depth story on bonds, and Cobie and Dawn touch on this topic this week. 

Economies all over the world are having to face new realities, mounting debt and changing dynamics. This week Cobie and Dawn also look at the Health sector in RSA and the possibility of the loss of the Med Aid Tax credit, and funding of the NHI. 

Government debt, especially in the US and France is front and centre of the issues at hand, what can be done to fix it? The USA doesn't care about Taiwan, they just want the chips from the TSMC - once they have it, then what? Why has it taken so long for the massive wastage at RSA hospitals to come under the spotlight? 

Dawn and Cobie have an in-depth discussion this week around the Gold bonanza that has been lifting the JSE. The Rand is at its strongest it has been for a while - can these greenshoots last? The US shutdown is an ideal opportunity for the US to bring down its debt burden, extra points if the pain can be blamed on the Democrats. Taiwan is stuck between a rock and a hard place - does it give up its major bargaining tool - high-end semiconductors - or continue with its brinksmanship with the US?

Dawn and Cobie drill down into some of the valuations, especially in the US, and ask - is this a good time to buy or are we topping out... We also look at Argentina, and closer to home, the local JHB Mayor elections, and some of the issues facing the new incumbent. 

This week, Jonathan Brummer and Dawn Ridler chat about the interest rate cuts and the independence of the Fed. We also have a deeper dive into the Chinese economy, which is cooling, and the prospect of increased dumping of manufactured goods.  This podcast is backed by our weekly free newsletter. Sign up at www.rexsolom.co.za

This week, Dawn and Jonathan discuss the buoyant markets, including the surprise bump from Oracle. Is 3% the new normal for inflation in the West, and with the 25 bps drop in interest rates backed in, might we see 50bps?