Wall Street vs. Hauptstraße
24 August 2023 The last few days have seen both Nvidia, the US chip manufacturer, release earnings up by 429% over the past year and the German manufacturing ‘Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) well into contractionary territory. The chart below shows the divergence between global equity performance and the performance of the German economy, highlighting the […]
The global interest rate cycle
29 July 2023 Has the global central bank tightening cycle peaked? After inflation surged in 2022, over 80% of global central banks entered an interest rate hike cycle, a number not previously reached since 1990. The chart below shows the percentage of global central banks that have increased their policy rates since 1990 to the […]
Accelerating sustainable private capital in renewable energy
In the June 2023 edition of African Global Funds, on page 12, Rizaan Samuels, Investment Associate at Mergence Investment Managers, shares his insights on expediting private capital flow into renewable energy in Africa. He underscores the necessity for a multi-faceted approach.
What is the long-term outlook for inflation?
15 July 2023 With this week’s US CPI reading showing that headline inflation continues to fall, the question remains: what is the long-term outlook for inflation? Four broad drivers seem set to drive the inflation outlook over the next decade. On the inflationary side: deglobalization and reshoring of supply chains to suit a multipolar world, […]
Die privaatsektor gaan (dalk) die regering help om water aan Suid-Afrikaners te lewer
Kasief Isaacs, Head: Private Markets, chatted to Ryk van Niekerk, Moneyweb editor and RSG presenter, about Mergence’s investment in the only two private water concessions in SA and how this could form a model for Public Private Partnerships in the water sector, where the outbreak of cholera in Hammanskraal demonstrates the dire situation in the […]
Rising profit estimates mask SA’s frail equity outlook
Is the consensus forecast for SA’s equity market unrealistically high? Is it masking a frail background? Mergence Head: Equities, Peter Takaendesa, adds his voice to the comment on Bloomberg, citing some of the headwinds and outlining the Mergence approach to equity selection.
Visualising Eskom’s plant performance
8 July 2023Load shedding remains the most pressing near-term issue for South African assets. Eskom and the National Government have laid out a plan to reduce load shedding over the next twelve months that relies heavily on returning a number of large generating units at Kusile and Medupi to service. Improving the performance of the […]
A possible solution to SA’s water problem
Thinking big on a water solution – read what Chito Siame, Investment Principal at Mergence Investment Managers, says in this thinkpiece published on Moneyweb.
SA’s water crisis drains economic gains
Discussing the dire water situation in South Africa, Mergence Head: Private Markets, Kasief Isaacs, took part in a panel discussion on CNBC Africa. Mergence is leading the way in find a holistic solution through public-private partnerships, a model that could be replicated, with new procurement legislation possibly acting as an enabler. Adding to the debate […]
Should we be buying the AI stock theme?
1 July 2023 Last week, Nvidia, the maker of computer chips that are particularly useful in training large machine learning models, surged over 27% on a strong sales report. Further gains this week brought Nvidia’s market capitalisation to over one trillion dollars and its price-to-sales ratio to over 38 times. This means that at its […]
Solution to water needs – private concessions provide great potential
Mergence Investment Managers is the only asset manager in SA to be invested in both of the only 2 private water concessions. Could this form a model for the country’s water crisis? Read the view of Chito Siame, Investment Principal at Mergence.
The Yen vs the Rand
25 May 2023 While we often tend to focus on the USD/ZAR exchange rate, where the Rand has experienced significant weakness recently, the picture can be different against other currency crosses. The chart below shows the exchange rate of the Japanese Yen versus the Rand and compares it to our long-term Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) […]
