This is just a quick note to comment on the wildly erratic gyrations on the US stockmarket overnight. It seems that speculation, fear and quite possibly a few incorrectly processed trades have resulted in the kind of near-meltdown that we have seen in the past – except that this time the actual basis of the…
Markets
Discussion on the various areas of investment, such as shares, property, cash and collectables, as well as interpretation of those markets.
“Yes Minister” comes to Australia
by Michael O'Hara •
Monday morning and we sit down to digest the raft of professionally prepared updates from various analysts who have spent the weekend poring over the Federal Government’s announcements on tax simplification. The documents released on the government website are beautifully written. Someone has clearly invested a lot of time and energy distilling some fairly difficult…
Superannuation remains Largely Unexplained
by Michael O'Hara •
Todays Australian Financial Review (p3) carries an artile titled “Super funds warned” in which Jeremy Cooper (“chairman of the federal government’s review of the $1.2 trillion superannuation industry”) suggests that Australian super funds need to increase returns and gain greater scale to increase opportunities. The example given is “Two Canadian pension funds with a combined…
Comparing House and Share Prices
by Michael O'Hara •
Many, many people get hung up on whether houses are better than shares as long term investments and vice versa. Logic would dictate that over the long term, houses are a depreciating asset requiring substantial capital to buy or maintain with high transaction costs, and therefore are likely to underperform listed equity, which should overcome these hurdles. However, this ignores key characteristics of the property market as well as issues specific to Australia…
Noise – it’s all just noise..!
by Michael O'Hara •
My brother sent this photo yesterday. It is the view from his current workplace, in Laos. Here is my view… Sometimes the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day can stop us from seeing and thinking clearly. When considering money issues, this is the most common cause of mistakes being made. It may sound easy to…
Protected: Traders’ Update
by Michael O'Hara •
Things to consider when buying shares
by Michael O'Hara •
This article is an extract from a discussion on the merits of purchasing shares in Rio Tinto. It covers some of the points that would impact on such a decision. It is not exhaustive but it is a good start.
World Sharemarkets – a look at the long term…
by Michael O'Hara •
Vanguard have released a brilliant interactive chart on their website. In this post we look at some of the results from the chart and highlight just how much fun can be had in the nerdy world of money.
Should we rethink traditional approaches to home ownership?
by Michael O'Hara •
“Too many people bought too much house for too many years”. That is a quote from a New York Times article, published recently. The article looked at the impact of housing on the financial crisis from the point of view of a person in the United States. From here in Australia, the “seven new rules”…
Ever been told the story about ‘the Herd’?
by Michael O'Hara •
It is not a new story. It’s just the old adage about investors and the trends of markets resembling a “herd” of like-minded folk. Most often portrayed as sharing a common delusion in regards to where they are headed. Quite often the story includes images of the herd merrily stampeding off a cliff, while a…
