> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.businessbagel.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Roundup — Monday, 2 November 2026 - URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/the-roundup-monday-2-november-2026/ - Published: 2026-11-02T04:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-02T03:59:59.000Z - Author: Christian Maidman Today’s edition Votes of Confidence Presented by[![All Weather](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/09/allweather-logo.png)](https://allweather.co.za/?ref=businessbagel.com) Good morning, and welcome back to a fresh new week. Today’s newsletter is our very first *Investors’ Corner*, a monthly edition built with [All Weather Capital](https://allweather.co.za/?ref=businessbagel.com), where we unpack what their investment team is keeping an eye on. This month: 2 elections, 1 war, and 1 AI bill that the tech giants can no longer pay in cash. Let’s get into it. --- MARKETS ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/markets--75-.png) --- VOTE OF CONFIDENCE ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/SA-elections.png) ## South Africa votes on Wednesday, and investors are watching the coalition, not the councils On paper, Wednesday is about who fixes the potholes. In Johannesburg, 68.7% of respondents told an eNCA/MarkData survey their city has been badly run, and several polls suggest no party will win an outright majority there or in Tshwane. That’s what’s called a hung council: when nobody wins more than half the seats, parties have to strike deals with each other to govern. The two most likely to be at those tables are the ANC and the DA, the same two parties that hold the national GNU together. Nick van Rensburg from [All Weather Capital](https://allweather.co.za/?ref=businessbagel.com) points out that an ANC-DA agreement could benefit South African shares. But he’s more concerned about what could happen if tensions between the parties cause the national GNU to collapse. He believes markets haven’t fully priced in that risk, warning that it could trigger a significant sell-off. **Where it stands:** - **A rocky relationship:** The ANC and DA have already had their share of disagreements nationally. In October, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula even called for a review of the DA’s place in the GNU. - **The other view:** Capital Economics believes concerns about the GNU’s stability are exaggerated and expects the elections to have a limited economic impact. - **A growing problem:** South Africa went from 27 hung councils in 2016 to 70 in 2021, showing how increasingly difficult it has become for parties to govern without coalition partners. For investors, the focus is less on who ends up running South Africa’s municipalities and more on what the coalition negotiations could mean for the stability of the national government. [**Read the full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/south-africa-votes-investors-watch-coalition-not-councils/) --- CASH BURN ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/big-tech-spending.png) ## Big Tech’s AI bill has outgrown its cash, and investors are now covering the gap For years, America’s tech giants paid for their ambitions with the cash their businesses threw off. AI has changed that. Last Thursday, Amazon revealed its free cash flow had swung from a positive $14.8 billion to a negative $42.4 billion over the past year. Alphabet has burned cash for two quarters running, and Meta went negative for the first time since 2012\. It then announced its first sale of new shares since 2013, raising $37.5 billion, with plans to raise up to $60 billion more. The AWC team believes investors have been slow to recognise how quickly these companies’ finances are deteriorating. The concern is that the AI boom is becoming increasingly dependent on investors and lenders continuing to provide money. Next up on the IPO list is Anthropic, which filed to list on the Nasdaq last week. The company behind Claude could reportedly sell as much as $100 billion worth of shares when it lists. That’s the size of the sale, not what the company is worth. But if the hottest AI listing fails to happen this year because investors aren’t willing or able to provide the money, the All Weather team sees that as a potential canary in the coal mine moment. Tuesday’s midterms are the next test: Polymarket puts the chances of Democrats winning both houses of Congress at about 70%, and Bank of America believes that could mean tougher regulations and higher taxes for big tech. [**Read the full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/big-tech-ai-bill-outgrown-its-cash-investors-cover-the-gap/) --- COAL COMFORT ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/SA-commodities.png) ## Expensive gas is pushing the world back to coal, while oil waits on Iran The world keeps talking about moving away from coal, but expensive gas is sending countries straight back to it. European gas climbed above €100 a megawatt hour last week, the International Energy Agency expects record global coal demand of 8.94 billion tonnes this year, and South African export coal is above $132 a tonne. Richards Bay Coal Terminal shipped 57.66 million tonnes last year, up from a record low of 47.2 million in 2023, though Transnet says rail volumes still need to climb to 65 million tonnes. Oil is still the big uncertainty. Brent closed at about $113 a barrel on Friday, against roughly $72 before the war, and Tehran is refusing to move until its conditions are met. At All Weather Capital, Nick van Rensburg’s biggest concern is any damage to energy infrastructure, which could send oil prices even higher, making everything from transport to food more expensive. Gold, meanwhile, plummeted below $4,000 an ounce on Friday. Although gold is traditionally seen as a safe haven during uncertain times, van Rensburg believes further escalation could hurt its price. Copper, however, could benefit if the war ends, as economic confidence and demand recover. [**Read the full story →**](https://www.businessbagel.com/expensive-gas-pushes-world-back-to-coal-oil-waits-on-iran/) --- BAGEL BITE **Stretched out, roughly how long is the DNA in a typical human body cell?** **A.** About 2 centimetres **B.** About 2 metres **C.** About 2 kilometres --- WEATHER ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/weather--73-.png) --- BAGEL GAMES ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/97/24/9724ffa3-48e9-48a7-a5f7-e38b7d2c9b36/content/images/2026/11/Wordle--75-.png) Have you got what it takes to win today’s Wordle? [**Play here →**](https://puzzel.org/en/wordle/play?p=-P5MdEiqXBFmGtFYRJJN&ref=businessbagel.com) --- THE ANSWER As for the Bagel Bite, the answer is: **B. About 2 metres** If you uncoiled all the DNA packed inside a typical human body cell, it would stretch to roughly two metres long. To fit inside a microscopic nucleus, that DNA is wound and folded incredibly tightly. If you added up the DNA in one person's body, it would stretch billions of kilometres, far enough to reach the Sun and back many times. Yet the DNA double helix is only about two nanometres wide. This remarkable packing allows an enormous amount of genetic material to fit inside a tiny space. --- That’s your Monday wrap, and the first Investors’ Corner done. Enjoyed it? Forward it on, a friend can subscribe in a click. Written by the Business Bagel crew. *Views quoted from All Weather Capital are their own and not financial advice. All Weather Capital is an Authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP 36722). Full disclosures are available at allweathercapital.co.za.*