(8 June 2019, AFR, p15, Patrick Commins, Columnist) ‘Perhaps the most disconcerting aspect among the many troubling features of today’s global financial markets is that few profess to know where we go from here. This is not a statement in the sense of “nobody knows what tomorrow will bring”, although that is undoubtedly true. Rather, … Continue reading
(8 June 2019, AFR, p33, William McInnes, Reporter) ‘Australian shares recovered from a sell-off on Monday to close the week higher as the RBA cut rates and other global central banks turned dovish. The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 47 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 6443.9 while the broader All Ordinaries added 33.4 points, or … Continue reading
(3 June 2019, AFR, p20, Tamar Hamlyn) ‘Market movements have seen bond yields pushed to multi-decade lows, with Australia leading the way on expectations of a cut in the cash rate on Tuesday.’ <snipped…> ‘But with a large chunk of the global bond market now yielding below cash or below zero, this is driving a … Continue reading
(31 May 2019, AFR, online, William McInnes) ‘Australian shares ended the week lower as fears of a recession in the US soured investor sentiment. The S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 59.1 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 6396.9 while the broader All Ordinaries closed the week 53.8 points, or 0.8 per cent lower, at 6491.8.’ Read … Continue reading
(31 May 2019, AFR, online, Tony Featherstone, Finance writer) ‘With expensive markets and a falling cash rate, you need to become more strategic about cash – both for buying opportunities in a fall and to maximise returns. Selling shares and adding cash to portfolios has low appeal with the sharemarket rallying and the Reserve Bank … Continue reading
(30 April 2019, AFR, p29, Vesna Poljak, Markets Editor) ‘The Australian sharemarket arrives at the flagship equities conference of the year fresh off an 11-year high, and with a select group of highly desired stocks – Pro Medicus, Magellan Financial Group, Breville, Technology One, ASX and A2 Milk – trading at record levels. That can … Continue reading
(29 April 2019, AFR, p16, Jonathan Shapiro) ‘The threat of class actions brought against trustees of failed corporate debt offerings could further derail efforts to grow a retail corporate bond market, as two looming defaults weigh on the sector. Individual investors that subscribed to bond offers by Mackay Sugar and ASX-listed Axsesstoday are facing the … Continue reading
(18 April 2019, AFR, p58, Mark Draper) ‘Investors should pay attention to the next few months of leading economic indicators, and position their investments accordingly. With the graphs of leading Australian economic indicators taking on the shape of a waterfall, investors would be wise to dust off the play book about how to invest in … Continue reading
(18 April 2019, AFR, p46, Patrick Commins) ‘After the best start to Aussie shares since 1991, investors are wondering whether this heralds a new beginning or the restart of an old, unwelcome trend. It might not feel like it, but the start of 2019 has witnessed a boom of historical proportions on the ASX. A … Continue reading
(25 March 2019, AFR, p23, William McInnes) ‘More than $10 billion is set to hit investors’ back pockets this week as Australian companies pay out a record level of dividends to their investors. Eighty-eight companies will return money to their shareholders this week, the biggest week in a bumper two months for dividend-hungry shareholders.’ Read more … Continue reading
(23 March 2019, AFR online, Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek) ‘New York | US equities ended the week lower and Treasuries rose amid more signals that global growth is slowing. The US dollar advanced against most major currencies, while the three-month/10-year yield curve inverted for the first time since 2007. Despite a dovish turn by … Continue reading
(23 March 2019, AFR, p23, Vesna Poljak) ‘The bull market is back on track after Wall Street decided the US Federal Reserve’s decision to remove all expectations of interest rate hikes in 2019 is positive for shares, setting off a rally in Australian stocks on Friday. Investors now turn to two critical catalysts for shares … Continue reading
(15 March 2019, AFR, p28, Bloomberg) ‘Some Chinese executives and large shareholders are cashing out of their companies’ stocks after an explosive start to the year for the nation’s equity market, raising doubts over the sustainability of the rally. Among them was telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp, whose Shenzhen-listed shares had soared 59 per cent … Continue reading
(14 March 2019, AFR, p27, Patrick Commins) ‘The world has borrowed an extra $US66 trillion since 2008, when a global financial meltdown triggered a “great recession” in the United States and brought the world economy down. The total global debt pile sits at $US178 trillion ($252.2 trillion) as at the middle of last year, an … Continue reading
(14 March 2019, The Age, Business, p26, By Sarah Danckert) ‘One of Australia’s largest brokers, Halifax Investment Management, is set to head into liquidation after administrators discovered that some of the $210 million of client money was used to cover off losses on bad bets on investment products by other clients. Investigations by administrators from … Continue reading
(13 March 2019, AFR, p16, Jonathan Shapiro) ‘Investors in a Blue Sky fund that backed start-up Shoes of Prey are set to lose all their money, including a portion of the $1 million in management fees that were paid five years in advance. On Monday, Blue Sky told investors in its Blue Sky Private Equity … Continue reading
(11 March 2019, AFR, p1, Joanna Mather, Jemima Whyte and Jonathan Shapiro) ‘Super funds are set to threaten the role of the Australian sharemarket as they grow larger under the weight of trillions of dollars of funds and move to take full ownership of companies rather than invest in them through shares. The biggest super … Continue reading
[COMMENT: Now this is some interesting behind-the-scenes reporting regarding share trading in the equity market, and some of the things that happen away from the retail share traders and investors.] (8 March 2019, AFR, p17, Sarah Thompson and Anthony Macdonald) ‘It’s the week after Australia’s interim results season and focus on equities desks and in … Continue reading
(5 March 2019, AFR, p29, Patrick Commins) ‘Almost nine in 10 actively managed mainstream Australian equity funds failed to beat the market last year, according to the latest figures from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The SPIVA scorecard is promoted by S&P as the “de facto scorekeeper of the ongoing active versus passive debate”, and surveys … Continue reading
(2 March 2019, AFR, p22, by James Thomson and Jonathan Shapiro) ‘The least important lesson investors could take from Warren Buffett’s billion-dollar loss on his investment in Kraft-Heinz is that even the greatest can get things wrong. This is much more than a story about Kraft-Heinz shares falling 25 per cent in a day – … Continue reading
(1 March 2019, The Age, Business, p25, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares recorded their biggest monthly percentage gain since July 2016 in February, as positive earnings and a better-than-anticipated royal commission report boosted the local sharemarket. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed the month 304.4 points, or 5.2 per cent, higher at 6169 while the broader … Continue reading
(27 February 2019, The Age, MONEY supplement, p2, by Marcus Padley) ‘You don’t have to be a genius to work out that if only we could avoid the losses, we would all be winners. The first rule of making money in the share market is not to lose it. So here are my top-10 tips … Continue reading
(27 February 2019, AFR, p23, Michael McCarthy) ‘Many investors are surprised that key resource stocks BHP and Rio Tinto are trading at or near their highest share prices since the global financial crisis (GFC). Both individual and institutional investors are generally underweight in these stocks. The prevailing market narrative has Europe on the verge of … Continue reading
(26 February 2019, The Age, Business, p27, by Cara Waters and Lucy Battersby) ‘Shares in the search and language dataset company Appen rocketed on Monday on the back of its full-year results driven by the “mega trend” of artificial intelligence. Appen’s revenue increased 120 per cent to $364 million and underlying post-tax profit increased 148 per … Continue reading
(26 February 2019, The Age, Business, p27, by Colin Kruger) ‘GetSwift shares tested record lows as the market reacted to Friday’s late news that the company and two of its executives, Bane Hunter and former Melbourne Football Club player Joel Macdonald, had been sued by the corporate regulator. GetSwift said it would vigorously defend itself against … Continue reading
(25 February 2019, AFR, p19, by Alistair Gray and Leila Abboud) ‘Shares in Kraft Heinz dived 27 per cent on Friday as Wall Street reacted with alarm to a “disastrous” update in which the company took a $US15 billion writedown and disclosed it was the subject of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission … Continue reading
(25 February 2019, AFR, p15, by Yolanda Redrup) ‘Impressed by aerial imaging company Nearmap’s ability to make headway in the sizeable US market, investors have pushed the company’s shares up 70 per cent already this year. The company, which was trading at $2.55 on Friday, soared past the $1 billion market cap milestone this month … Continue reading
(22 February 2019, AFR, p30, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares ended a volatile day of a trading higher on Thursday as earnings, labour force figures and additional talk of rate cuts swayed the market throughout the day. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed the day 42.7 points, or 0.7 per cent, higher at 6139.2, while the … Continue reading
(16 February 2019, AFR, p22, by Sarah Turner and Vesna Poljak) ‘Solid trading updates and signs of stability in financial conditions have investors feeling more confident about the earnings outlook for Australian companies. “Reporting season is 37 per cent of the way through by market cap and so far most of the results are in … Continue reading
(16 February 2019, AFR, p33, by William McInnes) ‘Australian shares closed the week lower after a major week of earnings saw a number of weaker outlook statements weigh on investor sentiment. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 5.4 points, or 0.1 per cent, lower for the week at 6066.1 while the broader All Ordinaries actually rose … Continue reading
