25th October 2024 Australian Market Update The ASX 200 started October strongly, buoyed by optimism surrounding global economic stability and China’s stimulus package before reaching new record territory mid-month. On October 15, it briefly sat at 8,331 points, and according to Reuters is up overall more than 18% since the same time last year. This week however, the [...]

27th September 2024 Australian Market Update We’re at the end of September but its two data points from August that were released in the past week that are the headline news. First, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) preferred inflation gauge, “trimmed mean inflation”, rose to 3.4% in August, indicating persistent underlying price pressures. The RBA is expecting [...]

30th August 2024 Australian Market Update Having started the month with a 6% market correction in reaction to a sharper than expected uptick in US unemployment we finish the month exactly where we finished July. Nothing to see here, onwards and upwards!! After lukewarm if not cold predictions of a likely rate cut this side of Christmas, financial [...]

26th July 2024 Global Affairs and Market Update There is a lot going on in the world right now! The combination of favourable weather in the northern hemisphere, several major cultural and national celebrations, annual sporting events such as Tour de France, Wimbledon and The Open, in addition to the Olympics, has meant this July has been a [...]

28th June 2024 Market Update Another RBA meeting, another month of rates on hold at 4.35%. This remains unchanged for six months. Governor Bullock has expressed concern about potential upside risks to inflation and reserved the right for further rate hikes. So...No reprieve for mortgage holders just yet. Our view remains unchanged: a policy rate of 4.35% is [...]

31st May 2024 Federal Budget '24: Soothing Inflation Instead of Fighting it? Australian Federal Budgets rarely make anyone happy. Something about the media hype 48 hours or so around Budget night seems to infect broader Australia with the grumps as everyone makes hay piling in on the Treasurer and his economic plan. Economist Chris Richardson, writing in the AFR, confessed [...]

24th April 2024 Market Overview Just when we were getting used to the idea of markets looking ahead into a recovery, April has seen a reality check. Having rallied by 17% since October a combination of an escalation in the Middle East and the realisation by markets that rates might be higher for longer, saw the calendar year’s [...]

15th March 2024 Glass half-full approach as we see some silver linings When Treasurer Jim Chalmers took to the media lectern to welcome December quarter GDP figures showing the very slimmest of growth (0.2 per cent), he embodied the true definition of a “glass half-full” kind of person. “Even weak growth is welcome growth in the circumstances,” Treasurer [...]