Jackson Hold

Market Scorecard

Yesterday, US markets wobbled and gave back some of their gains from earlier this week. The big question right now is whether the Jackson Hole symposium is going to provide any specific insights into the Fed's plans to taper bond buying, setting the trend for interest rate moves in 2022.

In data out yesterday, the US economy grew by 6.6% on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, which is an upward revision from last month's estimates.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) could pay Apple up to $15 billion to remain the default search-engine provider inside the Safari browser. Remember, Apple has over 1.65 billion active devices on its network. Our clients are on both sides of this transaction, since we own shares in both companies.

At the closing bell, the JSE All-share closed down 0.57%, the S&P 500 closed down 0.58%, and the Nasdaq closed down 0.64%.

One Thing, From Paul

A client sent me an email message yesterday, gently ticking me off for being a bit too opinionated. I had expressed my disdain for an article written in the NewYorker magazine about Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). He told me that it's no good only reading those articles (or writers) you agree with or who's views accord with your own. He's right, of course.

Here's a link to the annoying article, if you'd like to check it out for yourself: Why Facebook Is Suddenly Afraid of the FTC.

Anyway, this conversation reminded me of Julia Galef's recent book called "The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't".

She suggests that people should cultivate a "scout mindset," which can help you "to recognize when you are wrong, to seek out your blind spots, to test your assumptions and change course." The "soldier mindset," by contrast, encourages you to defend your positions at any cost. Be a scout, not a soldier.


Byron's Beats

The world is taking social responsibility issues more seriously than ever. Humans have a dark past of tribalism, nationalism and self-interest. That's slowly changing.

In my opinion, the corporate world is leading the way. Public perception of companies is more important to their ongoing success than ever, so it's crucial for them to embrace good causes. It is no longer forced on them by government regulation.

I was pleased to see that Nike (NYSE:NKE) shareholders can now vote on social proposals. At the upcoming AGM, diversity, political spending, pay equity, and human rights are key items on the agenda. Shareholders will vote to approve a project that will monitor Nike's progress in promoting these social themes. I endorse!


Michael's Musings

On Wednesday, Stats SA announced that South Africa's GDP has been revised higher by 11%. Every five years, the methodology for calculating GDP is updated to ensure that the reports are as accurate as possible.

Stats SA monitors various local activities across different sectors and regions and extrapolates the data to arrive at a national GDP figure. The change in methodology comes from tweaking the activities monitored and changing their weightings in the overall calculation.

The big increase in our GDP was the result of recognising more activity in the finance and real estate sectors. These two sectors are already the biggest part of our economy, and have both been growing quickly, so it isn't a surprise to see their significance being revised even higher.

The good news is that our debt to GDP ratio now looks slightly better at 71%, instead of the previous 79%. Sadly, SARS's tax collections can't jump 11% higher by making a few tweaks to a spreadsheet.


Bright's Banter

According to Bloomberg, Tim Cook is collecting the 10th and final tranche of incentive shares, part of a pay deal he signed a decade ago when he assumed the role of CEO. This last batch of 5 million shares is now worth around $740 million, at Apple's current share price. Wow, that's a lot of money!

The good news is that he plans to give most of his fortune away and has already donated hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL). He doesn't have to worry about keeping some back for his kids, because he doesn't have any.

Under Cook's tenure, the share price of Apple has gained over 1100%, pushing its market capitalisation to over $2 trillion. A great achievement at a company that was already massive when he took over the reins. We all got rich together.


Signing Off

Asian markets are not doing much, flat again after a positive start earlier. US equity futures are trading higher in early trade. The Rand is at R14.92 to the US Dollar, but may be "Jackson-holed" later, we shall see.

It's Friday morning mankind! Good vibes only and don't forget to smile.

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