70 is the new 53. The International Monetary Fund just put out a report called 'The Rise of the Silver Economy: Global Implications of Population Aging,' in which they state that the functional capacity of older individuals is improving over time.

Using micro-data of individuals aged 50+ (including physical and cognitive tests) from a sample of 41 developed and emerging economies, they found that "on average, a person who was 70 in 2022 had the same cognitive ability as a 53-year-old in 2000".

But wait, there's more. "The physical frailty of a 70-year-old today corresponds to that of a 56-year-old in 2000."

The fact that we are not only living longer, but also managing to remain sharper and fitter than before, is very encouraging. For one thing, this is very positive news for consumer demand, and ongoing economic growth.

The Rand feels strong at the moment, currently fetching around R17.70 to the US Dollar. This strength has more to do with a weakening Dollar than a stronger Rand. The Rand is slightly weaker to both the Euro and British Pound this year.

The USD has lost ground against most other currencies, due to the policy uncertainty originating in the White House and ongoing concerns about their debt levels.

To be fair, the USD has had a great run over the last decade and is still historically high. All our recommended stocks sell a lot of goods and services outside of the US, so a weaker USD will boost their reported earnings. We haven't had that tailwind for ages.

The Comrades Marathon last weekend was a great success, and some excited finishers are still walking around with their medals around their necks. Well done to them. The Running Mann created an interesting post on Facebook showing the shoe brands worn at the race.

Overall, Asics was the leader with a 34% share. Adidas improved in 2025, up to 20% from 16%, and Nike lost ground dropping from 16% to 13%. Those numbers make sense. Asics has always been pushed by the local brand rights holder in South Africa, and viewed as the best choice for weekend warriors. Adidas has made up some lost ground, and Nike has lost its lustre a bit.

When looking at just the fastest 100 qualifiers, Nike's share jumps to 39%. They would have used Nike's elite Alphafly shoes, with the carbon fibre plate in the sole for extra spring. At their level, any competitive edge is welcome.

Baidu's autonomous taxi efforts are showing signs of life and scale. The company clocked 1.4 million public rides in the first quarter, up 75% from last year, although not all were fully driverless.

True robotaxis only hit Chinese streets in February. To date, Baidu has logged 11 million cumulative rides, spread across 15 cities including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but its global fleet is still modest at just over 1 000 cars.

Waymo, by contrast, has now completed 10 million fully driverless rides, half of which came just this year, and is currently doing 250 000 a week. As robotaxi players rack up mileage in a few concentrated cities, the real question remains: can anyone scale this?

All eyes will be on Tesla's long-awaited robotaxi rollout later this year. Despite the current LA riots, I'm personally cheering for Waymo.

Negotiating is a handy skill. It is useful at work, in your travels, and even in wartime - Learn to negotiate like an expert.

Vaccines haven't always been around. Back in the day some very nasty diseases spread like wildfire - Smallpox was a killer, now it's not.

Asian markets are looking glum this morning, all down. Nothing too serious, just backtracking a little.

In local company news, Multichoice reported a more than 100% drop in full-year earnings, swinging from a R1.3 billion profit to an R800 million loss. Revenue fell 9% to R50.8 billion, dragged down by an 11% drop in subscription income. Oops, that's rough.

US equity futures are also softer pre-market. The Rand is still at R17.71 to the US Dollar.

That's all folks, we'll be back tomorrow.