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(30 April 2016, AFR, p41, by Stephen Cauchi) ‘Australian shares overcame a weak start to the session on Friday as banks found some buyers, helping the market eke out a modest gain for the week and thus extend the strong recovery rally of the previous two weeks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 0.5 per cent on Friday … Continue reading
(30 April 2016, AFR, p42, by Philip Baker) ‘It’s been going on since the global financial crisis and there’s no sign it will stop anytime soon. For all the daily ups and downs that local investors have weathered since March 2009 – considered to be the bottom of the GFC – shares have left them well out of pocket when compared … Continue reading
(30 April 2016, AFR, p41, by Clancy Yeates) ‘Banks have nudged up interest rates on term deposits this year, a sign the very skinny returns from bank deposits may be starting to lift from historic lows. Average interest rates on a range of term deposits have risen since the beginning of this year, especially among three-month, six-month and … Continue reading
(30 April 2016, AFR, p25, by Patrick Commins) ‘The big news this week was, of course, Australia’s first experience of deflation in seven years. Economists called the 0.2 per cent fall in headline CPI a “game changer” for the RBA, and many scrambled to factor in a rate cut as soon as this coming Tuesday. … Continue reading
(30 April 2016, AFR, p21, by Paresh Dave) ‘Billionaire business magnate Carl Icahn, whose investment decisions can influence the stock market, dumped what was left of his nearly 1 percent stake in Apple on fears that Chinese authorities would bully the iPhone maker.‘ Read more at AFR.com (might need AFR login access, or try: AFR.com/trial)
(29 April 2016, AFR, p31, by John Kehoe) ‘Facebook’s incredible profit result was met with a sigh of relief from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, after the social media network snapped a run of disappointing earnings results from technology firms during the latest US corporate reporting season. First quarter profit for Facebook surged to $US1.5 billion, from … Continue reading
(29 April 2016, AFR, p28, by Philip Baker) ‘Investors can be excused for thinking all the big dives and then rallies on a daily basis in the sharemarket this year are taking them back to the heady days of the global financial crisis. They are. According to Bell Financial Group’s director of institutional sales and trading Richard Coppleson, author of the … Continue reading
(29 April 2016, AFR, p27, by John Authers) ‘Corporate America is swimming in cash. There is no great news about this, and no great mystery about where it came from. Seven years of historically low interest rates will prompt companies to borrow. A new development is that investors are starting to ask in more detail … Continue reading
(29 April 2016, AFR, p13, by Greg Earl) ‘One of Australia’s large superannuation fund managers has warned that the credit growth numbers in China “look very scary” and need a lot of research before new investment can be justified. AustralianSuper chief investment officer Mark Delaney said that of all the economic data is China the credit growth numbers are the … Continue reading
(28 April 2016, AFR, p33, by Larry Schlesinger) ‘Sydney office rents will surge 90 per cent between now and the end of 2018 as market power shifts back to landlords, according to bold new forecasts from BIS Shrapnel. The forecasters expect net face rents to rise by about 30 per cent over the next three years, with … Continue reading
(28 April 2016, AFR, p22, by Angela Macdonald-Smith) ‘It may be too early for energy investors to breath a sigh of relief on oil markets, despite the near two-thirds rebound in prices since January, according to the World Bank. The bank has followed JPMorgan in nudging up its forecasts for crude oil prices this year but neither is … Continue reading
(28 April 2016, AFR, p12, by Clifford Krauss) ‘Standard & Poor’s stripped Exxon Mobil of its top credit rating on Tuesday for the first time since the Great Depression, signalling that even the mightiest oil company cannot escape the worst oil and gas slump since the 1980s. Only two US companies now have an S&P … Continue reading
(28 April 2016, AFR, p11, by Angus Grigg) ‘Easy credit and an increase in government spending has led to the re-opening of at least 41 Chinese blast furnaces shuttered last year, as producers on the mainland reap their best profits since 2008. Despite an over-supply of steel globally and an increasing number of countries levying … Continue reading
(28 April 2016, AFR, p1, by Jacob Greber) ‘The Reserve Bank of Australia might intrude on the Turnbull government’s crucial pre-election budget on Tuesday, with an interest rate cut that could trigger alarm about the health of the economy. Financial markets were left reeling after official data showed the economy was in a deflation-like state last quarter, thanks … Continue reading
(28 April 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p27, Jessica Sier, Reporter, View more articles from Jessica Sier) ‘The Australian dollar plunged almost 2 per cent on Wednesday after a lower-than-expected inflation print put a rate cut back on the agenda for next week’s Reserve Bank meeting. Chances of a rate cut have soared to 50 per cent, … Continue reading
(28 April 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p21, Mark Mulligan, Senior markets and economy writer, View more articles from Mark Mulligan) ‘Australia saw deflation for the first time in seven years in the first quarter, as falling petrol, food, and clothing prices drove down the cost of a basket of goods and services. The surprise drop in the price … Continue reading
(27 April 2016, The Age, MONEY supplement, p6, Marcus Padley) ‘There are a few elephants in the room when it comes to stockmarket advice. Things that no one will admit but we all know to be true. They include: Predictions… Inside information… Broker research… Reasonable basis… Lack of conviction… Biased research… Read all the details at … Continue reading
(26 April 2016, AFR, p31, by Larry Schlesinger) ‘Strata office values in Melbourne have doubled in the space of 24 months in some developments, driven by demand for office space from small businesses, according to commercial agents CBRE. “We have seen a sharp increase in inquiry for office space ranging from 90 square metres to 450 … Continue reading
(26 April 2016, AFR, p25, by Dan McCrum and Elaine Moore) ‘The US sharemarket is set to reach a milestone this week , surpassing the postwar boom as the second-longest sustained period of rising share prices, even as questions intensify on the health of corporate profits. The milestone will come in a week when statements from … Continue reading
(26 April 2016, AFR, p8, by Yuji Nakamura, Anna Kitanaka and Nao Sano) ‘They may not realise it yet, but Japan Inc.’s executives are increasingly working for a shareholder unlike any other: the nation’s money-printing central bank. While the Bank of Japan’s name is nowhere to be found in regulatory filings on major stock investors, … Continue reading
(26 April 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p27, Stephen Cauchi ,Business reporter, View more articles from Stephen Cauchi) ‘The Chinese steel rally driving the price of iron ore is “only starting”, with a “major restocking event” about to deliver a very strong year for steel demand, Credit Suisse has said. Iron ore made plenty of headlines last week as … Continue reading
(25 April 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p25, Oliver Renick) ‘Disappointing earnings reports erased $US68 billion ($88 billion) from shares of Netflix, Microsoft and Alphabet and sent the Nasdaq 100 Index to its biggest weekly drop since February.’ Read more at Theage.com.au
(25 April 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p24, David Wethe) ‘The head of the world’s largest provider of services to oilfields has warned of a “full-scale crisis” as the industry is lashed by an unprecedented slump in trading conditions. Paal Kibsgaard, chairman and chief executive of Schlumberger used a conference call with investors over the weekend to detail … Continue reading
(25 April 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p21, Jessica Sier, Reporter, View more articles from Jessica Sier) ‘Contrary to the popular belief that households and businesses tighten their belts around election time, a new interpretation of consumer spending and equity performance data suggests business actually picks up when election worries are in the air.’ <snipped…> ‘UBS found Australian sharemarket … Continue reading
(23 April 2016, AFR, p19, by Alan Mitchell) ‘It’s getting on for a decade since the global financial crisis. Why is the world economy still struggling to recover, with the International Monetary Fund’s Christine Lagarde warning that “growth is fragile, growth is weak and risks on the horizon are increasing”? Every IMF forecast since 2011 has … Continue reading
(22 April 2016, AFR, p28, by Vesna Poljak) ‘George Soros has likened the Chinese economy to the United States before the sub-prime mortgage crisis. It might be typical fund manager hyperbole, but his comments are echoed by growing concerns about signals emerging from China’s equity and bond market right now. China “eerily resembles what happened … Continue reading
(22 APril 2016, AFR, p16, by Bonnie Cao and Ye Xie) ‘Billionaire investor George Soros said China’s debt-fuelled economy resembles the US in 2007-08, before credit markets seized up and spurred a global recession. China’s March credit-growth figures should be viewed as a warning sign, Mr Soros said at an Asia Society event in New York … Continue reading
(22 April 2016, AFR, p14, by Will Wainewright and Nishant Kumar) ‘Hedge funds suffered the worst withdrawals last quarter since the tail-end of the financial crisis as wild swings in stocks and commodities caused losses at some of the best-known firms. Investors pulled a net $US15 billion ($19 billion) between January and March, reducing assets … Continue reading
(22 April 2016, AFR, p3, by Jamie Freed) ‘The average price of domestic airfares fell by 5.77 per cent in the first quarter of the calendar year, after having risen by 8 to 9 per cent last year when demand was stronger. “We are now seeing cheap fares available right up to five and three … Continue reading
(22 April 2016, The Age, BusinessDay, p28, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard) ‘The collapse of OPEC talks with Russia over the weekend makes absolutely no difference to the balance of supply and demand in the global oil markets. The putative freeze in crude output was political eyewash. Hardly any country in the OPEC cartel is capable of producing more oil. … Continue reading
Aussie Sharemarket Barometer 