Market Updates

Plunging bond yields & weak share markets amidst talk of recession – what does it mean for investors?

Only last month share markets in the US and Australia were at record highs. But ever since President Trump ramped up the US-China trade war again at the start of August, financial markets have seen a significant increase in volatility Find out what does this all mean for investment markets.

August 20th 2019

Escalating US-China trade war – triggering (another) correction in share markets

After the third round of talks made little progress last week, the US/China trade war has escalated badly with tit for tat moves on an almost daily basis by each side. This note looks at the key issues.

August 12th 2019

The Fed cuts rates

As widely anticipated, the US Federal Reserve has cut its key Fed Funds cash rate by 0.25% to a range of 2-2.25%. This is the Fed’s first rate cut since December 2008 and follows nine 0.25% rate hikes between December 2015 and December last year.

August 2nd 2019

The longest US economic expansion ever – does this mean recession is around the corner?

Issues around the trade war and tensions with Iran certainly pose a risk to US growth and could drive short term volatility in share markets.

July 24th 2019

Why interest rates will keep falling

On the 2nd of July, we saw the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate again by 0.25%, pushing rates down to a new record low of 1%. But despite those all-time lows we believe investors can expect rates to fall even further.

July 16th 2019

2018-19 saw a rough ride for investors but it turned out okay

Returns are likely to be okay over 2019-20 as conditions are not in place for recession. But expect constrained returns - say around 6% for a diversified fund - and bouts of volatility.

July 3rd 2019

Australian growth will be constrained but here’s nine reasons why recession is unlikely

There must be some positives around. And there are! So, to inject some balance into the debate around Australia here is a list of positives. They are partly why we don’t see Australia as being about to plunge into recession.

June 19th 2019

The nine most important things I have learnt about investing over the past 35 years

I have been working in and around investment markets for 35 years now. A lot has happened over that time. As someone once observed the more things change the more they stay the same. And this is particularly true in relation to investing. So, what I have done here is put some thought into the nine most important things I have learned over the past 35 years.

June 11th 2019

RBA cuts rates to a new record low

So what’s driven this? Will it help the economy? How low might rates go? And what does it mean for investors?

June 5th 2019

It's possible

understanding with invest blue