Magic Markets

Mar 05 2025 200 ep. 27 mins 190

Magic Markets Podcast artwork

The Finance Ghost and Moe-Knows discuss key market trends across stocks, currencies, fixed income, commodities, macroeconomics and geopolitical trends, helping you understand what's going on out there.

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Magic Markets #214: Tradition meets tech - buying gold on the blockchain

Mar 05 2025 33 mins

If there's one thing the markets taught us recently, it's that gold remains as relevant as ever. Mesh Trade brings you a new way to invest in this store of value, giving you a perfect example of tradition combined with tech. For a limited time, Mesh investors can buy Krugerrands at the best retail price in the market and on a fractional basis using blockchain technology. Mesh also

Magic Markets #213: Can Argentina-style reforms work in South Africa?

Feb 25 2025 23 mins

Having covered MercadoLibre in Magic Markets Premium this week, we had Latin America on the brain. Combined with the mess around the South African budget speech (or complete lack thereof), this triggered the idea to consider whether the reforms seen in Argentina under Javier Milei could work in South Africa. Moe certainly took this assignment seriously, with a detailed discussion o

Magic Markets #212: Expropriation, exaggeration and exports - the bull case for SA agriculture

Feb 19 2025 35 mins

Wandile Sihlobo is an agricultural economist, an advisor to President Ramaphosa and one of the leading voices in the agriculture space in South Africa. We value his balanced views and his approach to what he does, so we invited Wandile to join us at a time when South Africans are divided rather than united. Dealing with topics like expropriation, the view of Afrikaans commercial fa

Magic Markets #211: Private markets are a hive of activity

Feb 12 2025 30 mins

For companies seeking capital, founders wanting to exit their stake and investors who desire diversification and solid returns, private debt and equity markets offer a vibrant ecosystem. Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management joined us to discuss activity across the capital stack and some of the key trends coming into 2025, as well as the general levels of adoptio

Magic Markets #210: Tariff Tantrum

Feb 05 2025 26 mins

Given the widespread impact on the companies that we follow, it's hard to ignore the geopolitical fires that are raging around Trump and the countries that he has been targeting. Canada, Mexico and now South Africa - is anyone safe? Of course, these issues are nuanced and the relative negotiating power of each country becomes relevant. In this show, we talk about the response of Ca

Magic Markets #209: AI, Trump and turnarounds

Jan 28 2025 21 mins

As we sign off on January, it's been a month of major moves in markets. Globally, the valuation risks in AI were thrust into the spotlight in recent days based on the emergence of DeepSeek. Geopolitical risks are also a major feature of 2025, with some of Trump's recent actions showing that we are in for a bumpy ride. And yet, there are some turnaround stories out there that had a

Magic Markets #208: Banking on banking

Jan 21 2025 26 mins

The banking industry is part of the fabric of any economy. This is both good and bad, as success in that sector therefore depends on broader economic activity. This has been the problem for most of the South African banking sector options over the past decade, but could that change in 2025? And what are the key metrics to look out for? With reference to key macro points as well as

Magic Markets #207: Retail turnarounds: high-risk, high reward?

Jan 14 2025 23 mins

Stories like Nike and Walgreens in the international market (both recently covered in Magic Markets Premium), as well as Pick n Pay in South Africa, tend to grab the imagination of investors as they go through a turnaround. In this episode, we start off with some of the key macroeconomic indicators that investors and traders use to assess the health of the retail industry. We then

Magic Markets #206: The year ahead - buckle up!

Jan 08 2025 25 mins

To kick off the year, we couldn't resist talking about the major themes that have carried over from 2024 into a new calendar year. US - China relations, interest rates, frothiness in equity valuations - it's all in here, along with a sobering discussion that gives context to the JSE performance last year vs. global alternatives. Get excited about the markets this year in this episo

Magic Markets #205: A year of gold, bitcoin and the US

Dec 11 2024 22 mins

In our final free show for the year, we look back on a year that has been dominated by gold and bitcoin, along with US equities that have shot the lights out. We consider a strong finish for China, along with the ongoing disappointment of Europe. And of course, we talked about the positive surprise of South Africa this year and how political change can drive investment returns. As