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Predicting fantastic investment returns in markets
My tea-leaf prediction…. we will start to see more and more fund managers and super funds start to brag about their investment returns.
A word of caution on cash rates
When everyone is crowding around the feeding trough, it can be hard to see who is providing the food. So it is with cash rates right now, at least in my eyes. i think it is time to air a word of caution on interest rates for cash. Not necessarily the usual worry of losing … Read more
The cost of renting…
Hard on the heels of my last post about Australia’s housing shortage/surplus comes some information^ on Australia’s top 25 Residential property rental increases as measured by council areas. The highest median rent in Australia belongs to… Port Hedland. Yes, the median rent in Port Hedland ($1,900 a week – that’s $98,800 a year people…) has … Read more
Australian Sharemarket Long Term Views
Investors and their financial planners have now endured over 5 years of turmoil since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis. The extended nature of this slump in markets of all types has sapped the energy, patience and temper of everyone connected to the world of money. As i have a number of times before, … Read more
Self Managed Super non-compliance penalties
Self Managed Superannuation Funds (“SMSF’s”) have long lived under a very harsh penalty regime. If a trustee failed to meet their obligations then the Australian Tax Office (ATO) was able or even required to declare the fund “non-complying”. That was a nuclear bomb option as it resulted in the fund assets being taxed at the … Read more
The Libor scandal and investor confidence
What is the “Libor scandal” and what does it mean to you? The term “Libor” stands for “London Interbank Offered Rate” (no, it does not stand for Let’s Investigate Banksters’ Organised Rate-rigging…) and it is a benchmark commonly used to determine interest rates on business loans worldwide. The real impact on you and i, dear … Read more
A hundred billion dollar error in the housing market
There are few arguments more heated than those based around the future direction for house prices. i am about to make some statements that many people will find disturbing so please, if you have a weak stomach for discussion on house prices, change channels now… A hundred billion dollar error One of the great difficulties that … Read more
“Risk On/Off” and the marginal pricing of shares
Financial media have started using the terms “risk on” and “risk off” to describe the daily swings that are so vividly apparent in market pricings around the world. Just what do these terms refer to? Markets are priced at the margin Deep breath, and please bare with me on this one because it is extremely … Read more
Should you buy now?
Is the market ‘high’ or is it ‘low’? Is it ‘time to re-enter the market’ or should you be buying cans of baked beans, a shovel and a gun? This site sticks with the Great Disclaimer – nothing here can be considered personal advice, so the title is more correctly referred to as a ‘rhetorical … Read more