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(30 June 2018, AFR, p24, by Keith Bradsher) ‘Months of struggling with economic problems at home and bickering with President Donald Trump over trade are starting to take their toll on China’s financial health. China’s stock market has now fallen close to levels not seen since a crash shocked global investors three years ago. An … Continue reading
(30 June 2018, AFR, p12, by Steve Matthews and Christopher Condon) ‘Two regional US Federal Reserve presidents warned that worries over escalating trade disputes were increasingly weighing on businesses and adding risks to the US economic outlook. St Louis Fed president James Bullard said he was hearing “full-throated angst” from regional companies, while Atlanta Fed president Raphael … Continue reading
(30 June 2018, AFR, p11, by Larry Schlesinger) ‘New homes sales fell 4.4 per cent in May to be down 12.8 per cent from the peak in December, as buyers struggled to obtain financing from the major banks and migration slowed, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA). “The first half of 2018 has seen a … Continue reading
(30 June 2018, AFR, p33, by William McInnes) ‘The Australian sharemarket has closed the quarter higher, with technology stocks among the best performers on the market for the period. The S&P/ASX 200 on Friday closed 20.8 points, or 0.3 per cent, lower at 6194.6, ending the quarter up 435.2 points, or 7.6 per cent. It … Continue reading
(29 June 2018, AFR, p27, by Martin Sandbu) ‘The first shots in US president Donald Trump’s trade wars (“good and easy to win”) have been fired. Who is most likely to be hurt? And, in particular, were some of us right to say when Trump first started rattling his sabre that it would soon become … Continue reading
(29 June 2018, AFR, p27, by The Lex Column, Financial Times) ‘The trade war is a seductive explanation for the sell-off in Chinese markets. Investors should look for reasons closer to Beijing to fathom weakness. Tight credit, a slowing economy and accumulated offshore borrowings all darken the outlook. Companies with big export revenues, such as … Continue reading
(29 June 2018, AFR, p15, by Jun Luo, Miao Han and Tian Chen) ‘A leaked report from a Chinese government-backed think tank has warned of a potential “financial panic” in the world’s second-largest economy, a sign that some members of the nation’s policy elite are growing concerned as market turbulence and trade tensions increase. Bond … Continue reading
(29 June 2018, AFR, p9, by Andrew Tillett) ‘British defence giant BAE Systems has won the $35 billion contract to build nine frigates in Adelaide, completing the final piece of the Turnbull government’s $89 billion naval shipbuilding plan and forming the backbone of the navy for the next three decades. And as forecast by The … Continue reading
(28 June 2018, AFR, p30, by Patrick Commins) ‘Who stands to win in the brewing trade war between China and the United States? If moves in equity and currency markets are any indication, investors are betting big on America. Stocks in Shanghai have now slumped 20 per cent from their peak in late January, fulfilling … Continue reading
(28 June 2018, AFR, pS3, by Nick Abrahams and Jim Lennon) ‘Privacy is big news. The data breach at Equifax has reportedly cost that company $US430 million ($580 million) and climbing, the PageUp People breach in Australia has impacted many of our biggest brands, meanwhile Barbra Streisand is intent on erasing your Memories. Privacy is … Continue reading
(27 June 2018, AFR, p31, by Nick Lenaghan) ‘Sydney’s CBD office market vacancy could hit 3 per cent within a year, the lowest on record, as new supply races to catch up with tenant demand. The big squeeze will put a rocket under rents.’ Read more at AFR.com (might need AFR login access, or try: … Continue reading
(27 June 2018, AFR, p13, by Janine Wolf) ‘The maker of Jack Daniel’s may be in need of a drink. Brown-Forman will have to raise prices for American whiskey sold in the European Union following the implementation of a 25 per cent tariff, according to spokesman Phil Lynch. The higher prices, which he said will … Continue reading
(27 June 2018, AFR, p13, by John Kehoe) ‘Donald Trump’s trade rows are starting to backfire, with Harley-Davidson announcing that tit-for-tat tariffs had forced it to shift manufacturing away from the US, sending Wall Street lower for the ninth day in 10 sessions. Equities slid in the US, Europe and Asia as investors became more … Continue reading
(26 June 2018, AFR, p36, by Carlotta Gall) ‘Turkish voters gave President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a decisive victory in national elections Sunday, lengthening his 15-year grip on power and granting him vastly expanded authority over the legislature and judiciary. The election was the first to be held since Turkish voters narrowly approved a referendum last … Continue reading
(26 June 2018, AFR, p11, by Ben Holland, and Erin Cunningham, Washington Post) ‘Recep Tayyip Erdogan, modern Turkey’s longest-serving ruler, won a mandate to govern with sweeping new powers after a double victory in presidential and parliamentary elections. Erdogan had 53 per cent of the presidential vote to 31 per cent for his closest challenger, … Continue reading
(26 June 2018, The Age, p15, Orhan Coskun) ‘Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared victory in a pivotal election, saying voters had “handed him” the presidency. Speaking early on Monday, Supreme Election Council head Sadi Guven said 97.7 per cent of votes had been counted and declared Erdogan the winner.’ Read more at SMH.com.au
(25 June 2018, AFR, p33, by Su-Lin Tan) ‘The slowdown in house prices is expected to continue until 2021, with Sydney emerging as the capital city with the worst prospects while Brisbane surprises as the city with the most upside, economic forecaster BIS Oxford Economics says. Sydney house prices are about to do a flip … Continue reading
[COMMENT: This is an interesting article to do with investing, and challenges some of the age-old investing paradigms.] (25 June 2018, AFR, p13, by Jemima Whyte) ‘Buying stocks just because they are expected to continue to rise, the so-called “momentum trade”, is a “fool’s paradise”, according to a global equities fund manager. Causeway Capital’s Harry … Continue reading
(25 June 2018, AFR, p10, by Nick Lenaghan) ‘The winter blues are adding their weight to Sydney’s softening market, which had a clearance rate of 55.3 per cent on preliminary figures this week. Sydney’s clearance rate could well fall below below 50 per cent for the third time this year when all the week’s results … Continue reading
[COMMENT: I can’t help but comment that any astute investor in this stock would have seen the writing on the wall many months ago, and ought to ahve quit their position. Sadly, many investors get emotionally attached to stocks, and can’t let go, and many hold on to a belief in the stock – a … Continue reading
(23 June 2018, AFR, p24, by Sarah Turner) ‘Blue chip names such as Telstra, AMP, Perpetual and QBE will come under scrutiny over the final trading week of the financial year as investors consider dumping the stocks to crystallise tax losses. TMS Capital portfolio manager Ben Clark said because the market has performed strongly – the … Continue reading
(23 June 2018, AFR, p33, by Sarah Turner) ‘Australian shares ended a stellar week on a lower note, as caution crept into the market after traders pushed the index to a level not seen for ten years earlier in the week. The S&P/ASX 200 index dipped 6 points to end the day at 6225, with the … Continue reading
(22 June 2018, The Age, p1, By David Crowe) ‘The Prime Minister is moving to add to his victory in Parliament on personal income tax cuts by striking a deal on $35.6 billion in company tax reform, as Labor antagonises One Nation in a bitter dispute before the July 28 byelections.’ Read more at TheAge.com.au
(22 June 2018, AFR, p5, by Mark Mulligan) ‘Australia’s housing slump could prove short-lived, according to a report from CoreLogic and Moody’s, with solid employment growth, loose monetary policy, decelerating supply and easing of some controls on lending helping to lift prices across the country after this year’s shallow dip. CoreLogic-Moody Analytics’ latest Home Value … Continue reading
(22 June 2018, AFR, p1, by Phillip Coorey) ‘The Turnbull government is redoubling efforts to secure the passage of its company tax cuts after the Senate handed it its biggest victory to date by passing the three-stage, $144 billion income tax cuts package. Passage of the income tax cuts, the federal budget centrepiece, was achieved on … Continue reading
(22 June 2018, AFR, p29, by Robin Wigglesworth) ‘Of all the fashionable alarm bells that market-watchers keep an eye on, the yield curve is the most timeless. It is Coco Chanel’s proverbial “little black dress” of economic indicators.’ <snipped…> ‘In other words, on a global aggregate level investors no longer get a premium to hold … Continue reading
(21 June 2018, The Age, Business, p27, by: Vesna Poljak and Sarah Turner) ‘A rally in bank stocks and a record high for Macquarie Group pushed the Australian sharemarket to a fresh decade high on Wednesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed at 6172, up 70 points. or 1.2 per cent, topping the previous 10-year high … Continue reading
(21 June 2018, AFR, p15, by: Vesna Poljak, Sarah Turner) ‘Australian equities have defied a shrinking Telstra to close at a new 10-year high fuelled by a record price for Macquarie Group shares and a cooling of concerns over the impact of the trade war on China’s economy. The S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 70 points or … Continue reading
(21 June 2018, AFR, p12, by Sarah Ponczek and Richard Clough) ‘General Electric suffered a crowning ignominy on Wednesday (AEST) as overseers of the Dow Jones Industrial Average kicked the beleaguered company out of the stock gauge it has inhabited for more than a century. Once the world’s most valuable company, GE will be replaced … Continue reading
(20 June 2018, AFR, p30, by Matthew Cranston) ‘Slap, slap, slap. That’s the sound of early back slapping from the commentators who picked a correction of Australia’s housing market – most especially the biggest market Sydney. There is no need name names – they will do it themselves – but it’s official, the federal government’s statistics collector has recorded the first annual price … Continue reading
Aussie Sharemarket Barometer 