People like to set target dates for when they will start doing something and the end of the year must be one of the most popular of those targets. But before we can start thinking about our new year’s resolutions, we have to usher out the current one.
South Africa’s investment rating has been downgraded further into “junk” but there was no real reaction from our currency because once you are declared junk the outflows have already taken place. We read about South African share prices jumping by double digits daily and that makes us all very happy, but it is from a very low base and many companies are still deep in the red for the year.
It seems like the US presidential election outcome is settling down and the president elect, Joe Biden, is getting on with the transition process. On the other hand, Brexit is still a mess and we will unfortunately feel the negative impact well into 2021.
South Africa is also getting its share of the resurgence in Covid-19 infections and there is a tangible breathless anticipation of how government is going to deal with it, especially in as far as it will be impacting our carefully laid-out plans for the end-of-year holidays.
But then, if we focus on the broader picture, we see much that is positive and cause for celebration. Space X has had multiple successful launches, taking people to the international Space Station; China has launched its own spacecraft to go and collect rocks from the moon; and some governments have committed to freeing their roads from petrol-guzzling motor vehicles by 2030.
And if you think back a bit, you will remember Elon Musk’s mention of a new transport system called the “Hyperloop” some years ago? Well, Virgin Hyperloop has announced that it has conducted a test of its ultra-fast transportation system with human passengers for the first time! If you are anything like us here at JWR, you will immediately start thinking about the investment potential of alternative transport companies …
