Safaricom hit a new 52-week low of Kshs. 32 today. The previous 52-week low was Kshs. 33.20.

This means all the price gains of the last one year have been wiped out!

KCB hit its current 52-week low of Kshs. 34 today. Again, all price gains for the last one year wiped out. Equity Group's 52 week low is Kshs. 39.5. The only reason its holding the 47 - 49 level is because it's trading cum dividend.

Why are share prices falling?

The Treasury, through CBK, floated two bonds for May 2022:

1. FXD1/2022/10

2. FXD1/2021/25

FXD1/2022/10 is a new bond.

FXD1/2021/25 is a re-opened bond. If your bid for the re-opened bond, FXD1/2021/25, is successful, you'll get a coupon (interest) of 13.924% annually paid every six months.

However, your return on investment (yield) can only be established after the auction.

Why?

As your grow older, your investment objectives change, your time horizon shortens and your tolerance for risk reduces.

In age-based asset allocation, you start with a high allocation to risk assets such as stocks and gradually reduce your allocation to risk assets in favour... ...of safer assets such as bonds as you grow older.

For example, at 30 you would have 70% of your portfolio in stocks & other risk assets and 30% in safer assets such as bonds.

"Take two businessmen, Kamau running an electroninc shop in nyamakima & patel an autospare shop along kirinyaga road. Both men take their sons to JKUAT for a degree course. Patel's son commutes daily from parklands while kamau's son lives in a small rented bedsitter in juja. Before joining college, Patel son used to spend the days at the autospare shop a routine he continues every sat when not going to college. Over the vacations, he even takes over the management. Kamau on the other side believes that nyamakima is not the place for his university...

When did the rain start beating @KenyaPower?

My take on Kenya Power.

In 2011, The Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) 2011-2031 was updated, the electricity supply interconnected system in Kenya had a total installed capacity of 1,533 MW made up of 761.0 MW of hydro... ...,525 MW of thermal, 198 MW of geothermal, 5.45 MW of wind, 26MW from cogeneration and
17MW of isolated grid.

The registered national sustained peak demand was 1,178 MW.

In the updated projections, demand was forecast to be between 2,301 MW on the lower side and 2,951...

Most of us grew up in a 'land is the ultimate investment' culture. In some communities, you're not considered mature if you don't own a place of your own.

This 'reasoning' I believe, partly explains why the real estate market is so inefficient. In the developed world, specifically in the US, the value of properties and indeed many assets, is often quoted as a multiple of annual earnings, rental yields or capitalisation rate (cap rate) if you like...5X, 10X etc.

Here in Kenya property prices are speculative in nature.