Australia’s productivity challenge – why it matters and what to do about it | AMP Capital

Australia’s productivity challenge – why it matters and what to do about it Key points The last twenty years have seen a sharp slowdown in productivity growth in Australia from over 2% pa to around 1.2% pa. This has adversely affected growth in living standards and real wages. It will adversely affect asset class returns if allowed to persist. Policies to boost productivity growth include: labour market reforms; more skills training; ongoing high levels of …

Seven key charts for investors to keep an eye on in assessing the investment outlook | AMP Capital

Seven key charts for investors to keep an eye on in assessing the investment outlook   Key points While we are optimistic on a 12-month horizon, shares are at high risk of further falls and a re-test of their June lows in the short term given hawkish central banks, heightened recession risks and geopolitical risks. Seven key global charts worth keeping an eye on by investors are: global business conditions PMIs; US inflation and our …

Market Update 09 September 2022 | AMP Capital

Market Update 09 September 2022 Investment markets and key developments over the past week Sharemarkets were mostly up over past week, with the US lifting by 2.1%, Australia +0.7%, Japan +2.1% and China +2.3%. The exception was in the Eurozone where equities fell by 0.9%. After global sharemarkets rallied hard from mid-June to August on expectations of a “central bank pivot” from aggressive rate hikes, shares had been on a downtrend since then as central …

Market Update 02 September 2022 | AMP Capital

Market Update 02 September 2022 Investment markets & key developments Global share markets remained under pressure over the last week on the back of continuing mostly hawkish comments from the Fed and ECB and ongoing concerns about recession. Australian shares had remained a bit more resilient through August than global shares did (helped by mostly positive earnings reports) but are now coming under pressure too with falls over the last week led by miners, energy, …

Home price falls accelerated in August – three reasons why this property downturn will likely be different | AMP Capital

Home price falls accelerated in August – three reasons why this property downturn will likely be different   Key points Australian home prices fell another 1.6% in August and are now down by 3.5% from their high. Rising mortgage rates are the main driver and there is likely more to go. We continue to expect a 15-20% top to bottom fall in home prices out to the second half of next year, followed by a …

Econosights: Have we reached peak inflation? | AMP Capital

Econosights: Have we reached peak inflation? Key points A peak in inflation (in annual terms) has likely been reached in the US while Australia is lagging behind and is likely to see a peak in December 2022. Extremely high European energy prices means Euro inflation will increase further and may not peak until 2023. But, inflation is unlikely to be headed back to its pre-Covid levels of ~2% per annum or less and we expect …

Market Update 26 August 2022 | AMP Capital

Market Update 26 August 2022 Investment markets and key developments over the past week Sharemarkets were down slightly over the week reflecting 1) a pause in the rally that started in mid-June and 2) uncertainty before Fed chair Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole meeting on Friday morning (US time). US shares were down 0.7% so far, with the largest falls in tech, healthcare, consumer discretionary while energy and materials were up. Australian shares are down slightly …

Market Update 19 August 2022 | AMP Capital

Market Update 19 August 2022   Investment markets & key developments The global share market rebound faltered a bit over the last week with mixed economic data and mostly hawkish messages from central banks. US and European shares were little changed, Japanese shares rose and Chinese shares fell. The Australian share market rose solidly though helped by strong earnings results for some companies led by strong gains in retail, resources and industrial stocks. Bond yields …

Market Update 12 August 2022 | AMP Capital

Market Update 12 August 2022   Investment markets & key developments The share market rebound continued over the last week helped by weaker than expected US inflation data. Australian shares were little changed though with strong gains in resources largely offset by sharp falls in IT, health and property shares. Bond yields generally rose as the fall in yields in prior weeks had gone a little too far too fast. Oil prices rose partly due …

Investment cycles – why investors need to be aware and wary of them | AMP Capital

Investment cycles – why investors need to be aware and wary of them Key points Cyclical fluctuations are a key aspect of investment markets. Most are driven by economic developments but are magnified by swings in investor sentiment. Of particular importance are the long-term cycles which are often driven by waves of innovation and the 3-5 year business cycle. Right now, we are still in the downswing phase of the business cycle and may have …