Weekly Market Update 21 September 2018 Investment markets and key developments over the past week The past week saw “risk on” with the latest escalation in the US/China trade conflict being less than feared and reports that China is planning cuts to its import tariffs. This saw shares rally, bond yields rise, commodity prices gain, the US dollar fall and the Australian dollar rise. While the Australian share market participated in the global share market …
Are the troubles in Turkey easing? Investors may be eyeing off value in emerging markets after the recent sell-off triggered by concerns about the Turkish economy. Emerging market (EM) shares in local currency terms are down around 14% from their January high, and emerging market currencies are down 16% since their February high. Emerging markets are now trading on a forward PE of around 11 times, making them quite cheap, as are their currencies. …
Weekly Market Update 14 September 2018 Investment markets and key developments over the past week The past week saw most share markets rise helped by good economic data, talk of another round of US/China trade talks and a bounce in emerging market shares after Turkey raised interest rates. However, while US, Eurozone and Japanese shares saw strong gains, Australian shares only rose marginally, and Chinese shares remained under pressure. Bond yields mostly rose. Commodity prices …
Seven lessons from the Global Financial Crisis for investors Key points The key lessons for investors from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) are that: there is always a cycle; while each cycle is different, markets are pushed to extremes of valuation and sentiment; high returns come with higher risk; be sceptical of financial engineering or hard-to-understand products; avoid too much gearing or gearing of the wrong sort; the importance of proper diversification; and the importance …
A quick guide to property investment Not only is property the largest asset class in the world, for many Australians it’s also the largest component of their household wealth. Indeed, of the top five people listed on the AFR’s 2018 Rich List, three have accumulated their wealth through property investment. Part of the appeal of property has been that it has proven to be a great ‘store of value’ with prices rising over the long …
Weekly Market Update 7 September 2018 Investment markets and key developments over the past week The past week saw share markets fall on the back of worries around emerging markets, trade wars and the potential regulation of US social media stocks. After being resilient to global threats over the last few months Australian shares also got hit and fell 3.1% to their lowest since June. Bond yields were generally little changed although they fell in Italy. …
What’s next for house prices? The bottom line is we see more downside in Australian house prices. That is, of course, a broad generalisation and it depends on where you live. Australian house prices have fallen for ten consecutive months driven mainly by declines in Sydney and Melbourne, which are coming off the back of a huge boom. Nationwide, there is likely more downside to go with expectations of another 5% decline. We’ve seen a …
Get real: how we delude ourselves about investments In 1988, I bought $750 worth of special $5 coins, minted to commemorate the opening of Australia’s Parliament House. I figured it was a one-way bet to investment success. They were legal tender costing $5 and would always be worth at least $5, and if they became sought-after by collectors, the sky was the limit. I found the box of coins recently while cleaning the attic. They …
Five things you need to know about the Australian economy Key points The Australian economy grew solidly over the last year. While recession remains very unlikely, the combination of a slowing housing cycle, constraints on consumer spending and still subdued business investment will likely see growth slow going forward to around 2.5-3%. As a result, spare capacity is likely to remain significant, keeping wages growth and inflation low. We don’t expect the …
Weekly Market Update 31 August 2018 Investment markets and key developments over the past week The past week saw most share markets rise helped by US shares pushing further into record territory, but gains were capped by ongoing turmoil in the emerging world (notably Argentina and Turkey) and nervousness ahead of the next round of US tariffs on imports from China. Australian shares also rebounded after being hit by the previous week’s political turmoil. Bond yields …
