Key points Australian growth bounced back in the June quarter helped by consumer spending, investment and trade. There is good reason to expect growth to pick up further going forward: the drag from mining investment is fading, non-mining investment is looking better, public … Continue reading →

Key points The key lessons for investors from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) are that: high returns come with higher risk; while each boom bust cycle is different, markets are pushed to extremes of valuation and sentiment; be sceptical of … Continue reading →

Key points Tensions with North Korea have clearly increased causing volatility in share markets. The risk of war has grown but a diplomatic solution  remains most likely although there could still be more volatility before this is finally achieved. Historically, shares have … Continue reading →

Key points The $A has been pushed higher lately by a weaker $US, a rebound in commodity prices and technical considerations. The rising $A is a significant risk for the Australian economy and will constrain growth and keep inflation below target for longer. While … Continue reading →

Key points At its core, successful investing is simple, but we have a knack of making it look complex. These five great charts help illuminate key aspects of investing: the power of compound interest; the investment cycle; the roller coaster of investor emotion; the … Continue reading →

Key points Despite a lengthy list of worries including Brexit, Trump and messy Australian growth, the past financial year saw strong returns for diversified investors as shares recovered  from a rough time in 2015-16. Key lessons for investors from the last financial year include: … Continue reading →

Key points Central banks beyond the US are edging towards an exit from easy money. This is likely to cause bouts of volatility in shares and a rising trend in bond yields. However, its unlikely to derail the bull market … Continue reading →

Key points Geopolitical issues create much interest, but as we saw over the last year starting with Brexit this doesn’t mean they’ll have a big negative impact on financial markets. However, a backlash against economic rationalist policies and inequality and the declining relative … Continue reading →

Key points Annual Australian growth slowed to 1.7% in the March quarter hit by bad weather & weak consumer spending. A declining drag from falling mining investment, strong public infrastructure spending and a likely resumption of trade contributing to growth should all help … Continue reading →

Key points The increasing noise around global economies and investment markets since the global financial crisis highlights the need for investors to have a disciplined approach to investing. Economic and investment forecasts are often seen as central to investing, but while they can be … Continue reading →

Key Points The political scandal around President Trump is likely to speed up rather than stop his pro-business reforms. However, after a strong run, shares remain vulnerable to a short-term correction with worries around Trump, North Korea, the Fed, etc, providing potential triggers. … Continue reading →

Key points The closure of speculative short positions in the $A, a bounce in commodity prices, delays in Fed rate hikes and expectations the next interest rate move by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is up, have stabilised the $A over the last … Continue reading →

Key Points The 2017-18 Budget has a welcome focus on housing affordability and infrastructure. Subdued wages growth is keeping revenue collection down contributing to a slight deterioration in near term deficit projections (a deficit of $29.4bn for 2017-18) but a … Continue reading →

Key points The 2017-18 Budget has a welcome focus on housing affordability and infrastructure. Subdued wages growth is keeping revenue collection down contributing to a slight deterioration in near term deficit projections (a deficit of $29.4bn for 2017-18) but a return to surplus … Continue reading →

Key points The equity risk premium is the excess return shares provide over a ‘risk free’ asset like government bonds. It is often thought that shares should return more than 5% per annum (pa) over bonds, because this is what their excess return … Continue reading →