We live in a complex world where even the most knowledgable among us possess only a tiny slice of insight into the ocean of unknowns. The news flow this morning again exposes the danger of definitive views – and the investment into absolute positions.
- Over the past month, the executive team at Prosus/Naspers has been criticised by money managers for an apparent inability to properly invest the bonanza from 2001’s investment in Tencent. Last night’s $1.8bn acquisition of 100m-a-month-visitor edutech business Stack Overflow may quieten the shrill voices. For context, the deal is the market cap equivalent of Barlows or Telkom. While the jury is out on Prosus’s venture into the highly-competitive, loss-making food delivery sector, its expanding stake in edutech may turn out to have been inspired. Click here for the story.
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- The trial-by-media of SA’s health minister Zweli Mkhize is approaching a critical point. Since the publication of his rational but now seemingly flawed public statement, Mkhize and his co-accused have gone to ground. Requests for clarity to the former KZN Premier and his erstwhile comms head Tahera Mather were seen but not responded to. Such silence speaks volumes. Click here for a summary of the story by Medical Brief.
- Those who supported Brexit as a way for the UK to rekindle its trade-based DNA will be delighted to see an invitation for the country to join a free trade pact between 11 Asia-Pacific nations led by Japan, Canada and Australia. The UK would be the first country from outside the geographic region to be admitted.
- Also from our partners at The Wall Street Journal this morning is a superb in-depth piece on how the US’s economic post-Covid rebound will be far more powerful than anyone expected. Instead of the projected years of recovery, the US economy is now expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels before the end of June – and kick on from here. That carries major implications for investors in US stocks. Click here.
- Finally, another stark reminder of the dark side of cybercurrency – and a further spur for a crack down by Western regulators. An exclusive report in today’s WSJ exposes how Palestinian militant group Hamas, designated by Western nations as a terrorist organisation, is enjoying a Bitcoin-fuelled funding boom. It helped finance the recent attack on Israel. Click here.
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