Visa is Mr Reliable in the Vestact portfolio. What a wonderful business! The company reported impressive results again on Wednesday night. Net income rose by 6% to $5.4 billion, which resulted in a solid earnings per share beat of $2.76 versus estimates of $2.51.

Cross-border volumes, their highest margin segment, grew by 13%, while total payments volume came in at a whopping $3.34 trillion. The board has authorised a $30 billion multi-year share buyback program, showing that the company is in great financial shape.

Since listing in May 2008, Visa is up over 2 000%, comfortably crushing the overall index which is up 'only' 642% in the same period. It has also proved pretty resilient in the wake of the tariff tantrum, currently only 5% off its March all-time high of $366.54 per share.

Despite being reliable, Visa is far from boring. They have a lot of innovative products and stakes in smaller businesses that operate in the fintech space. They are also leveraging off their massive database and networks to create new products. For example, CEO Ryan McInerney believes that value-added services such as AI-supported anti-fraud technologies could account for half their revenues in the coming years.

Visa is in the top 3 of must-own Vestact stocks. Everyone should have solid exposure to this great business.

Was this a restful week for you? Just three days of work, and two public holiday, what a win!

Popular philosopher Jonny Thomson (pictured below) reminds us that good rest is more than "not working".

He says: "Leisure shouldn't feel "meh", it should be time to grow, to learn, to improve, and to connect. Not vegetating on the sofa, getting drunk, doing chores, or idling the hours away."

To maximise rest, focus on activities, especially outdoors with family and friends. Make some plans now for the weekend ahead.

There's a new plastic EV being launched in the US. It's called a Slate, and its key selling point is that it's low cost - a $20 000 American-made electric pickup.

To keep costs down, the body is made from grey plastic instead of metal. That means it won't need to be painted, which is a big saving. Also, any scratches are harder to see. There isn't a radio, it can only go 150 miles per charge, and its load bay is just big enough to carry sheets of plywood. It sounds like a perfect workhorse - nothing flashy, just the essentials.

Most modern cars are crammed with gadgets, which adds unnecessary costs for extras that hardly get used. I like how Slate have kept things simple, although a radio would be nice.

EssilorLuxottica delivered a solid first-quarter update recently, with revenue up 8.1% year-on-year to EUR6.85 billion, a touch below consensus expectations but still broadly positive given the current operating environment.

Growth was well spread across geographies and channels, led by Europe and the Middle East (up 10%) and supported by double-digit gains in Asia-Pacific, thanks to surging demand for myopia treatments in China. North America was more subdued, up 4%, partly weighed down by currency headwinds and looming US import duties.

The direct-to-consumer segment was solid, growing 10.1%. Online sales also impressed, especially Ray-Ban.com, buoyed by early demand for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Flagship brands like Oakley, Miu Miu, and Stellest lenses also contributed meaningfully to the momentum.

EssilorLuxottica is also eyeing US factory expansion. With its large American customer base, the group is under pressure to localise production to dodge rising import duties. Building domestic capacity cushions margins and ensures faster delivery, better control over quality, and protection from geopolitical crossfire.

We like this company's long-term growth story.

Money matters a lot when it comes to your health. In rich countries, people live longer - Income is strongly correlated with longevity.

How many movies have you seen about robot uprisings? If that ever happens, you can just outrun them - Robot marathoners trip up, emit smoke, and fall apart.

Asian markets climbed to their highest levels in over a month, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.4% as hopes for renewed US-China trade dialogue lifted sentiment. Mainland Chinese equities gained on optimism after senior US officials signalled openness to talks, while Japan's market added 0.5% following encouraging remarks from its chief trade negotiator.

In local company news, MTN Nigeria kicked off the year with a strong turnaround to its bottom line for the March quarter, adding 3.2 million new subscribers and boosting the total user base to 84.1 million, up 8.2% year-on-year. The growth points to a solid rebound in performance, helped by stronger demand and stability in the Naira.

US equity futures rose pre-market. The Rand is trading at around R18.47 to the US Dollar.