The past financial year saw another 12 months of strong returns. Returns of around 20% from shares, solid returns from property assets and good returns from bonds saw balanced growth superannuation funds return around 13% on average. This was the second year in a row of double digit gains. By contrast the return from cash […]
I reckon the first wonder of the investment world is the power of compound interest. My good friend Dr Don Stammer even goes so far to refer to it as the “magic” of compound interest because it almost is magical. Compound interest can be the worst nightmare of a borrower as interest gets charged on […]
It’s now over 18 months since Japan embarked on a program designed to reinvigorate its economy under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which has become known as “Abenomics”. Growth has rebounded, deflation has given way to inflation and Japanese shares are up around 70%. But is Abenomics working or are we just seeing another cyclical bounce? […]
As we approach mid-year it’s worth reviewing the outlook for shares particularly with numerous warnings of corrections and crashes. Our view for this year has been that share market gains would be positive, but more constrained than seen in the last two years, and that volatility would increase – including the likelihood of a 10-15% […]
A big surprise this year has been the renewed rally in government bonds – both globally and in Australia. Since December 31 last year, 10 year bond yields have fallen from 3.03% to currently 2.65% in the US, from 4.24% to 3.74% in Australia and from 1.93% to 1.4% in Germany. The big question for […]
Since the high point of the Eurozone crisis in 2012, Europe has been steadily fading from the headlines as the risk of a break up in the Euro diminished and troubled peripheral countries started to get their public finances under control. Quite clearly the combination of various bailouts, Eurozone leaders focusing on “more Europe, not […]
During the past few years Australia has had a tough time in achieving economic reform. The first attempt in a decade at serious tax reform got bogged down with debate around the poorly designed Resource Super Profit Tax in 2010 leading to the less than optimal mining tax, the attempt to put a price on […]
The overwhelming victory by the reform oriented BJP led alliance in India’s recent election, has boosted hopes that the Indian economy will get India’s growth story back on track. In the clearest election outcome since 1984, the BJP led alliance won 336 of 543 parliamentary seats giving it a clear majority, with the BJP alone […]
With the Government winning the election with a mandate to fix the budget, a bout of fiscal austerity was inevitable. Against this backdrop and the fears of the last few weeks, the Budget is not as tough as feared. Many of the budget savings will only build over time. Download pdf Watch video commentary Key […]
A constant for investors over the last five years has been very easy global monetary conditions, with near zero interest rates and quantitative easing programs in the US, Europe and Japan. This has helped the global economic and share market recoveries since the GFC. But with the US economy on the mend the time will […]
