23 December 2005 DIAMONDS & DOGS By Jamie Carr

Diamond Aflease Many might have thought that Neal Froneman needed his crystal ball recalibrated when he traded in the grande dame Gold Fields for Aflease, which at the time looked not so much a trophy wife as a manky old slapper in need of a good scrub-up. But it's amazing what you can do with a nip and a tuck , and the slapper has been transformed over the past couple of years into the slinkiest of trophy wives. The main driver in the transformation has been the decision to concentrate on uranium, as well as the merger with Southern Cross, which has moved the company's listing to Toronto. Aflease has been the best performer on the Alsi this year, largely as a result of the uranium price going through the roof. Nuclear power has to be a banker , as sources of non renewable fuels get ever more expensive and the Middle East continues to press the self-destruct button. With a new mine under development in SA, and a number of feelers out on Canada and Australia, the company is clearly thinking big. And with the way Froneman's crystal ball seems to be operating, shareholders will be happy to go along for the ride. Dog Property There are a number of factors making me feel a little wobbly at the moment, and I'm not talking about the Sauvignon Blanc that appears to be dished out in buckets to alleviate the water shortage here in the Cape. China is the unknown Godzilla, whose economy devours everything before it but whose banking and political systems are so opaque that it's a bit of a toss-up as to whether they will maintain their extraordinary growth. Rising interest rates and an appetite for debt similar to that of an unknown rapper trying to make an impression give me the shivers about the US, while Europe looks so stagnant you could drop a meteor into it without disturbing its siesta. SA is a bright spot, with equities booming and the economy looking more than perky, yet the one thing we share with many of the world's major economies is a property market that has ingested a gallon or two of steroids and is beginning to get a strange look in its eye. Despite all the talk of soft landings, there is no reason why it shouldn't tank, and anybody considering bonding themselves up to the hilt would do well to consider the impact of a correction.