[COMMENT: Since I did some research a few years ago, I am convinced that the average retail investor should NOT participate in an IPO (see more details here). The research that is described in the news article below simply confirms this, with some further facts. Please read it for yourself.] (31 December 2018, The Age, … Continue reading
(29 December 2018, The Age, by Matt Wade) ‘Investors are flirting with the possibility of an interest rate cut in 2019 as falling property prices and wild fluctuations on global share markets cloud the economic outlook. On Friday, money markets were pricing in a 28 per cent chance that the Reserve Bank would cut interest … Continue reading
(29 December 2018, The Age, Business, p2, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares closed a shortened week of trading higher, as the market closed in positive territory in all three sessions. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index closed the week 186.7 points, or 3.4 per cent, higher at 5654.3 points while the broader All Ordinaries Index rose … Continue reading
(28 December 2018, The Age, Business, p24, by Clancy Yeates) ‘Bankers running the big four’s key divisions often have a tendency to put a positive spin on things. But when the head of National Australia Bank’s flagship business bank, Anthony Healy, is asked about the outlook for business credit growth, he admits to being “nervous”. … Continue reading
(28 December 2018, AFR, p23, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares soared on Thursday, the first session for local stocks since the Christmas holiday, lifting on the back of a historic night on Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 103.4 points, or 1.9 per cent to 5597.2 points, its best performance since November 2016, as … Continue reading
(28 December 2018, AFR online, by Jeff Kearns and Shobhana Chandra) ‘Washington | US consumer confidence slumped in December to the lowest since July as a gauge of labour market expectations fell by the most in 41 years, the latest sign Americans are growing less optimistic as stock markets gyrate and the expansion moderates. The … Continue reading
(28 December 2018, AFR online, by Timothy Moore) ‘US stocks closed higher, extending the previous day’s record point-setting leap, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied more than 830 points in the final 90 minutes. It was a wild day. The Dow shed more than 500 points in the first hour, and was down as … Continue reading
(28 December 2018, AFR, online, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares closed a shortened week of trading higher, as the market closed in positive territory in all three sessions. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index closed the week 186.7 points, or 3.4 per cent, higher at 5654.3 points while the broader All Ordinaries Index rose 182.7 points, … Continue reading
(28 December 2018, AFR, p37, by Vesna Poljak) ‘President Donald Trump’s Plunge Protection Team didn’t have to do a thing. A sensational rally on Wall Street sparked by the President’s assurance that the chairman of the Federal Reserve’s job is safe, and Amazon’s declaration of successful holiday sales, was enough to save the S&P 500 … Continue reading
(28 December 2018, AFR, p11, by: Sarah Ponczek, Vildana Hajric and Elena Popina) ‘New York | Bludgeoned for weeks, a bull market is left for dead, its fate seemingly sealed as session after session of red ink show no sign of letting up. Suddenly, at the last second, a rally – death is averted – … Continue reading
(28 December 2018, AFR, p10, by: Stella Qiu, Min Zhang and Ryan Woo) ‘Beijing | Earnings growth at China’s industrial companies in November fell for the first time in nearly three years, highlighting once again gathering risks of a sharp slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. Thursday’s gloomy data points to a further loss of … Continue reading
(27 December 2018, AFR online, by Mohamed A. El-Erian) ‘The US economy, if left to its own devices, probably wouldn’t even come close to falling into recession in 2019-2020, even amid the uncertain outlooks for Europe, Japan, China and the large oil producers. But the economy is not being left to its own devices. In … Continue reading
(27 December 2018, AFR online, by Nir Kaissar) ‘The stock market is calling the White House to account, and it won’t be easily distracted. The S&P 500 Index tumbled 15.8 per cent from its recent high on September 20 through Wednesday. On Monday, the index was down almost 20 per cent – a decline that … Continue reading
(27 December 2018, AFR, online, by: Bo Seo) ‘US President Donald Trump may have questioned the existence of Santa, but on Wall Street, the Santa Claus rally was undeniable, with the Dow advancing more than 1000 points. At the bottom of it all was an announcement from retail giant Amazon: they had broken their own … Continue reading
(27 December 2018, AFR, online, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares soared on Thursday, the first session for local stocks since the Christmas holiday, lifting on the back of a historic night on Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 103.4 points, or 1.9 per cent to 5597.2 points, its best performance since November 2016, as … Continue reading
(27 December 2018, The Age, p21, by Keiko Ujikane & Tan Hwee Ann) ‘Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 5 per cent into a bear market on Christmas Day as the global equity rout continued unabated in the last week of the year, with renewed turmoil in Washington rattling investors. Tuesday’s selloff took its … Continue reading
(27 December 2018, The Age, online, by: Vildana Hajric & Jeremy Herron) ‘Dead cat bounce or phoenix rising from the ashes?’ ‘Wall Street staged one of the biggest rallies of the 9½-year bull market after coming within points of seeing it end, with major indexes surging at least 4.9 per cent. Crude jumped almost 10 … Continue reading
(27 December 2018, The Age, p1, by Eryk Bagshaw) ‘Department stores are set to be hammered by one of their worst holiday shopping periods since the global financial crisis, with a survey commissioned by its own retailers association predicting a measly 0.4 per cent growth rate over the crucial post-Christmas sales. The paltry figure is … Continue reading
(26 December 2018, CNBC online) ‘Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the day higher by 0.89 percent, a partial rebound from its steep losses in the previous session. The Japanese share average plummeted around 5 percent on Tuesday, putting the index well into bear market territory — more than 20 percent off its recent high.’ Read more … Continue reading
(26 December 2018, The Age, p25, by Elena Popina) ‘Not even the truncated Christmas Eve session could halt the US market rout that’s gripped investors for three months. The S&P 500 plunged almost 3 per cent to end at a 20-month low, in what was the worst final session before the Christmas holiday on record … Continue reading
(26 December 2018, The Age, p1, by Shane Wright) ‘Victoria is the only state in the country not to downgrade its growth forecasts, with gross state product expected to rise 3 per cent this financial year and 2.75 per cent in 2019-20. All state governments, however, are concerned about the nation’s key property markets and … Continue reading
(24 December 2018, The Age, p24, by: Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Katie Rogers) ‘Washington: As the White House and Democrats remained locked in a standoff over funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, sent his colleagues home for the Christmas holiday, virtually ensuring that the government will remain partially … Continue reading
(24 December 2018, The Age, online, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares snapped a four-day losing streak on Monday, rallying from a 1 per cent fall at the open to end the final trading session before Christmas in the green. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 26.2 points, or 0.5 per cent, higher at 5493.8 while the … Continue reading
(22 December 2018, AFR online, Ryan Vlastelica and Jeran Wittenstein) ‘New York | The world’s most famous collection of growth stocks just lunged into a bear market, the starkest illustration yet of the growing divide between investors and professional forecasters about the health of the US economy. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 3 per cent … Continue reading
(22 December 2018, Thomas Franck, CNBC online) ‘Stocks plunged again on Friday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst week since the financial crisis in 2008, down nearly 7 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed in a bear market and the S&P 500 was on the brink of one itself, down nearly 18 … Continue reading
(22 December 2018, AFR, p50, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares closed the week’s trading at a fresh two-year low as the local market extended its losses for what is set to be the worst December quarter since the global financial crisis. The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 134.4 points, or 2.4 per cent, to 5467.6 this … Continue reading
(22 December 2018, AFR, p46, by James Weir, director of Steward Wealth) ‘When you build your portfolio, start with the big picture. Like any project, when you construct a portfolio you’re best to start with the big picture and work toward the detail, which means you start with the overall asset allocation. Asset allocation is … Continue reading
(22 December 2018, AFR, p39, by Vesna Poljak) ‘Australian shares are headed for the worst December quarter since September 2011 as Wall Street reckons with rising interest rates and the risk of a partial government shutdown in the United States. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed at a two-year low of 5467.6 points on Friday, after … Continue reading
(21 December 2018, AFR, p35, by Su-Lin Tan) ‘The reduction in new dwellings supply will be worse than predicted as lagged risks have yet to hit the market, analyst RiskWise and private lender DFP warn. Earlier this week the NSW budget half-year review indicated dwelling construction would still be high in 2019, with a contraction … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Is this yet another albeit small impact to the housing market?] (21 December 2018, AFR, p35, by Michael Bleby) ‘Investor owners of the 37,000 homes built under the National Rental Affordability Scheme will have to put those properties on the market or accept a lower return because the Commonwealth government will not extend the … Continue reading
