Oliver’s insights – Australian dollar

Five reasons to expect the Australian dollar to rise into next year: it’s undervalued; short term interest rate differentials look likely to shift in favour of Australia; sentiment towards the $A is negative; commodities still look to have entered a new super cycle; and Australia has a solid current account surplus.

Is it time to throw out the retirement planning rulebook? | Money & Life

Is it time to throw out the retirement planning rulebook? A ‘mix and match’ approach to advice is replacing one-dimensional thinking around retirement income. Based on their attractive tax treatment, other than the Age Pension, account-based pensions (ABPs) remain a retirees’ primary and often only source of retirement income. However, given that the likes of ABPs and term deposits are agnostic to the individual objectives of retirees, there is a growing appetite by financial planners …

Why the $A is likely to fall further and shorting it is good protection against things going wrong globally

Why the $A is likely to fall further and shorting it is good protection against things going wrong globally Key points The downtrend in the $A from 2011 likely has more to go. The $A is near fair value, but the increasing negative interest rate gap to the US & a messy outlook for commodities suggest a fall to $US0.70 by year end. Given the downside risks for the $A and that being short the …

What the rise of the $A means for global investors

What the rise of the $A means for global investors The recent rise of the Australian dollar has been surprising but not confounding for experts who believe the its natural level is closer to US70 cents. Indeed, it’s the weakness of the US dollar that’s pushed the Australian dollar higher relative to the benchmark currency in recent weeks even though US economic growth and a resurgent commodities segment had most market watchers expecting the Australian …