Musing on Interest Rates

Reserve Bank of Australia cash rates chart August 2013

Australia’s cash interest rates are currently at record low levels. If your cash account earns that interest rate of 2.5% then you are probably just keeping ahead of official inflation rates – currently noted as 2.4%. If you are paying tax then that means your purchasing power is slowly being eroded. In other words, the … Read more

Risk on, Risk off but do you want to play the game?

risk on risk off it will lead to repetitive strain injuries if you let it

“Risk on, risk off” is a phrase used to denote the massive trading shifts taking place at institutional levels in the post-GFC (“global financial crisis”) world. The phrase encapsulates the skittish approach investors have taken to the day-to-day news and data feeds that are highlighted on the evening finance news segment. The question for us … Read more

Australian Sharemarket Long Term Views

Long term investing involves the old trees and the forest idea

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

The Libor scandal and investor confidence

Bank fraud erodes investor confidence at all levels, and levies a cost on everyone

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

Economic World Title Fight for the minds of government

Two competing schools of economic thought

Like it or hate it, our little blue planet spinning in space is currently focussed on money. Sport, gardening and cooking shows may interrupt for a while but all across the globe the big competition is money. Economic World Title Fight It is not really a stretch to say that looking at the way countries and … Read more