[COMMENT: Now this is interesting. In recent years there has been concern amongst investors and traders that HFT was taking over the markets and making it harder for retail investors to trade for a living. But if this report is true, then it’s not so bad.] (12 December 2018, AFR, p17, by Jonathan Shapiro) ‘The … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Technical analysts (aka chart readers) could have spotted a potential loser here, some months before the share price tanked. They would have trimmed any losses and quite the stock.] (12 December 2018, AFR, p17, by Simon Evans) ‘Old-school investors who believe share sales by directors and top executives are a potential danger signal have … Continue reading
(10 December 2018, AFR, p19, by Misa Han) ‘On May 9, a day before AMP’s annual general meeting, boutique class-action specialist Quinn Emanuel filed the first class action against the wealth giant in the NSW Supreme Court.’ <snipped…> ‘It turns out Quinn Emanuel wasn’t the only law firm working towards a tight deadline. At 10.56 … Continue reading
[COMMENT – I am always amused by those who proffer forecasts such as this – that the Top 200 index will be at 6000 in a years time. How can this be anything but sheer ‘educated’ guess work?] (6 December 2018, AFR, p28, By Tim Boyd) ‘Morgan Stanley strategists have set their 12-month price target … Continue reading
[COMMENT: This article from Marcus Padley includes some great comments and insights – well worth reading the full article.] (28 November 2018, The Age, MONEY supplement, p2, By Marcus Padley) ‘Last year, RCR Tomlinson was a billion-dollar company. Last week, it went into administration. RCR went bust with a market capitalisation of $231 million. Two … Continue reading
[COMMENT: I cannot help but comment on this article. It includes a good discussion about the usefulness, or otherwise, of the PE multiple when looking for shares to buy. After reading this one I became even more convinced that the PE might generally be useful (eg. lower PE is better), but that it cannot be … Continue reading
(23 November 2018, AFR, p19, by Jenny Wiggins) ‘Engineering group RCR Tomlinson will be sold after being put into administration because it could not afford to complete its solar farm projects, despite the company raising $100 million from investors just three months ago. Administrators McGrathNicol will put RCR up for sale immediately, and it is expected that … Continue reading
(10 November 2018, CNBC, Fred Imbert ) ‘Stocks fell on Friday as further losses in oil prices sparked fears of a global economic slowdown, but the major indexes still managed solid weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 203 points as losses in Caterpillar and Goldman Sachs offset gains from Disney. The S&P 500 … Continue reading
[COMMENT: This is one topic that has puzzled myself for a long time – How on earth can we compare all of the ‘balanced’ super funds, for example, when they don’t use the same definition for ‘balanced’? We’re actually comparing apples with oranges, so to speak. So performance comparisons are out the window. And then, … Continue reading
(8 November 2018, AFR, p31, by Sarah Turner) ‘Hedge funds are making no excuses for their poor performance in October, which was a bloodbath for most long-short strategies unable to overcome “hostile” conditions. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 6.1 per cent for its worst monthly performance since August 2015 as higher US 10-year bond yields prompted investors … Continue reading
(29 October 2018, The Age, Business, p20, Timothy Moore) ‘The return of volatility has been a key market theme this year and appears likely to intensify, at least in the short term, from Wall Street to the ASX, which is set to open weaker on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung wildly on Friday … Continue reading
(26 October 2018, AFR, p15, by:Vesna Poljak, Sarah Turner, Jonathan Shapiro, Michael Smith) ‘The Australian market has finally tipped into official correction territory (Thursday) led by a 21 per cent fall since September in the value of CSL, which has crumbled in a flight from growth stocks linked to rising US interest rates. The S&P/ASX … Continue reading
(24 October 2018, The Age, MONEY supplement, p2, Marcus Padley) ‘It is different walking into the office. As it was in February. “How many points was Wall Street down,” a colleague says as he walks in this week. That morning the Dow Jones was down 127. The assumption that markets will fall instead of rise … Continue reading
(23 October 2018, AFR, p17, by Jonathan Shapiro) ‘Legendary investor Howard Marks says he can’t predict how the stockmarket will respond to rising interest rates as central banks end a multi-year period of cheap money. But the uncertainty around the impending end of the unprecedented monetary “policy experiment” should force investors to reduce risk taking. … Continue reading
[COMMENT: This article discusses the pros and cons of value investing versus growth, and the notion of the same. I still don’t understand it. Can someone clearly define value investing for us? And as a technical analyst who follows the charts, I still think that just about everything we need to know is locked up … Continue reading
[COMMENT: The headline says “Top investors cautious…”. I wonder if this sort of observation is relevant to the average retail investor? Or to the short term share market trader?] (17 October 2018, AFR, p23, by Stewart Oldfield) ‘Beyond the current bout of market volatility, some of the country’s most influential investors are growing more concerned … Continue reading
(12 October 2018, AFR, p1,by:Vesna Poljak, Sarah Turner, Michael Smith, Jacob Greber) ‘Donald Trump escalated the sell-off sweeping global markets by firing a shot at the Federal Reserve, laying the blame for the worst losses for shares since February at chair Jay Powell and saying the central bank has “gone crazy”. Sharp falls in high-flying … Continue reading
(12 October 2018, The Age, Business, p27, William McInnes & Nick Toscano) ‘Australian shares have suffered a sharp fall amidst heavy selling in global markets as investors worry about the prospect of a trade war with China and the impact of rising interest rates in America. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed 166 points, or … Continue reading
[COMMENT – Now I have a real problem with this article. It talks about buying opportunities in the market, even though the share prices of some stocks might still be falling. This is crazy “advice”.] (9 October 2018, AFR, p28, by William McInnes) ‘Investors keen on snapping up a bargain could use recent falls in technology … Continue reading
(6 October 2018, AFR, p27, by Sarah Turner) ‘A spike in US 10-year bond yields to seven-year highs this week is sending a clear signal that the days of equity market strength may be numbered. Treasury yields moved over 3.2 per cent this week for the first time since 2011 after a flurry of upbeat … Continue reading
(6 October 2018, AFR, p33, by William McInnes) ‘Three positive trading sessions in the back half of the week were not enough to wipe a poor start to the week for the Australian sharemarket, which closed the week lower. The S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 9.2 points, or 0.2 per cent, on Friday to close at … Continue reading
(4 October 2018, AFR, p24, by Simon Evans) ‘Australia has managed to avert a recession for 27 years, and the extent of a house price surge in Sydney and Melbourne after the country came out of the Global Financial Crisis relatively unscathed, had many experts baffled. But there are some worrying signs starting to emerge … Continue reading
(2 October 2018, AFR, p27, by Joyce Moullakis) ‘Small and mid cap fund manager Ben Griffiths has an unequivocal view that sharemarkets are at the start of a euphoric stage, offering plenty of upside rather than teetering toward a correction. He draws on the theory coined by the late Sir John Templeton, a legendary stockpicker, that bull markets have four … Continue reading
(2 October 2018, AFR, p13, by Simon Evans) ‘A growing number of founders selling down part of their stakes in ASX-listed companies has added to fears the Australian sharemarket could be in for a correction because of high valuation levels after a strong run, with dangers increasing that the housing slowdown could spill over into … Continue reading
(20 September 2018, AFR, p33, Lex Column, Financial Times) ‘Americans who resent Wall Street are not just angry towards the people who helped crash the economy a decade ago. They are also annoyed by the ability of finance professionals to benefit from a recovery that eludes others. The Office of the New York State Comptroller … Continue reading
(19 September 2018, AFR, p24, by Elio D’Amato) ‘The dust has settled after the reporting season, with most pundits saying it was a winner. Seasoned investors will know, however, that being flippant is not the way to establish a view as to whether the recent run in the market is sustainable.’ <snipped…> ‘Most investors focused … Continue reading
(18 September 2018, AFR, p17, by Duncan Hughes) ‘Westpac will announce a new round of residential lending policy changes for existing borrowers on Monday as it prepares to become the first of the majors to lift standard variable rates. It is the fifth round of tightening in the past six months aimed at ensuring borrowers … Continue reading
[COMMENT: An interesting insight into the world of financial market derivatives, and the Nasdaq.] (17 September, 2018, AFR, p19, by Philip Stafford) ‘Swedish markets regulators are to investigate the Nasdaq as the exchange and its customers began rebuilding their defences against defaults in the derivatives markets, after they were badly damaged by soured bets from … Continue reading
(14 September 2018, AFR, p5, by John Kehoe) ‘The stock market’s most popular dividend-paying stocks including the banks, miners and Telstra could have billions of dollars wiped off their valuations if Labor wins the next federal election, as polls suggest. A new report by Citigroup financial analysts finds that Labor’s proposal to curtail the generosity … Continue reading
(14 September 2018, AFR, p31, by Sarah Turner) ‘Most Australian active fund managers in a majority of categories failed to beat their benchmarks in 2017-18, lending further ammunition to the case for passive investing in the enduring active versus passive debate. Over the past year, general Australian equity funds recorded an average return of 12.3 … Continue reading
