Some would argue that the sharemarket makes no sense in the long term either but that is an argument easily dismissed through 4 or 5 years of intensive discussion, research, correspondence, argument and analysis. So for the moment, let’s just say that it does make sense in the long term but there is room to…
The Reserve Bank today released the minutes of its Monetary Policy Meeting held on the 5th April. You may recall that the end result of that meeting was that rates were left alone, much to the relief of borrowers around Australia. The commentary was interesting, even if only for the suggestion that interest rates were…
Much has been made over the last year on the relative merits of a “mining tax”, which has also been called a “super profits” tax. Very learned folk have invested a lot of time and energy into looking at Australia’s economy and trying to work out how to better spread around the benefits of the…
A quick look at the Australian sharemarket reveals a few interesting trends of late. Here is my take on some of the ‘flavour of the month’ trends. Remember the Great Disclaimer – Nothing in this post or on this site is to be considered personal advice. It is information and observations of a general nature…
Money, power, bias – and truth. The Global Financial Crisis (now simply designated ‘the GFC’) brought all of these priorities, and the conflicts they cause, into stark view. A new movie “The Inside Job” successfully highlights the interplay of vested interests, hidden compensation and regulatory policy stupidity that suggests not only that the eventual crisis…
Gold, like diamonds, holds a fascination much greater than its simple financial value. It is malleable, resistant to tarnishing, highly conductive and a fantastic metal to work with (in a previous life i completed a jewellery making course and came to appreciate just how easy gold is as a medium). In some countries, the open…
The RBA has increased interest rates by another 0.25%. Most people won’t notice for a while, as they are still busy enjoying Melbourne Cup luncheons and the like. It is an interesting move, this one. Obviously, any move of rates is a keenly watched event – much like the 150 year old horse race –…
Back in the depths of the Global Financial Crisis (the “GFC”…) investors in the United States were paying money for the right to hold Treasury Notes. In other words, the notes showed a negative return. How is that for strange? Why would you put your capital into cash when you know it is going to…
Financial planners are fond of using the phrase “long term” when talking about investing. It is a concept based upon an awful lot of research and analysis of markets, investor behaviour and trends. However, the phrase quite rightly gets questioned every time there is a significant fall in markets. A lot of people worry about…
There is a raging debate flowing through academic, economic and financial markets at the moment concerning the future direction of house prices in Australia. It seems everyone has an opinion, and the stronger that opinion the less likely that any facts are going to get in the way of the argument. On one side we…
