Market Scorecard
It was the first Friday of the month last week, which is 'jobs day Friday' in the US. Their economy only added 266 000 new jobs over the last month; economists expected at least 1 million. The lower increase in new jobs also meant a slight uptick in their unemployment rate from 5.8% to 6.1%.
The bad news was good news. The market interpreted the big jobs miss as confirmation that the Fed will continue with their stimulus programs. A low interest rate is bad for the Dollar but good for stock markets, as a result we saw the Dollar drop and tech stocks fly.
On Friday the JSE All-share closed up 1.35%, the S&P 500 closed up 0.74%, and the Nasdaq closed up 0.88%.
One Thing, From Paul
A team of academics at the University College London did some investigation of the following question: why do rich parents have rich children?
The findings were rather predictable. The children of rich families tend to go to better quality schools, have higher cognitive skills, and complete more years of study. Many of these early childhood factors go on to have long-run impacts on an individual's lifetime earnings, perpetuating a cycle of wealth.
Byron's Beats
I am really excited about AirTags, both as a consumer and as an Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shareholder. I feel it could be another bumper product for the company. Apple has the tendency to produce quality and over quantity in terms of product range but when they get it right, they sell millions of items. The Apple Watch and AirPods are recent examples of this.
This article looks at a few commercial applications for AirTags. According to the article, one area where the AirTag can be really useful is in tracking stock in warehouses and stores for retailers.
I have already received an email from Apple saying they are arriving in SA soon. Get your orders in now!
Michael's Musings
Just to help us ease into a new week, here is something light-hearted for a Monday morning. Last month I posted a link in Linkfest about 12 bottles of wine being sent to space to see how their ageing process will differ from the equivalent wine on earth. At the time, I wondered what a bottle of space wine could cost. Now we know.
Christie's is selling a few bottles of the space wine for $1 million each. To give you value for money on the purchase, it comes in a case designed by an artist. Inside the case is the equivalent wine from earth, wine glasses, a decanter and a bottle opener made from a meteorite. Sounds like a bargain? These are the first-ever space aged wines, and there are fewer than a dozen bottles left because scientists opened a few to experiment.
I wonder if the buyers will drink their wine or keep it for display purposes and then sell it again later?
Signing Off
Asian markets are mixed this morning, but US futures are pointing towards a green open this afternoon. The Rand has capitalised on the weaker Dollar, now trading at $/R14.05.
