In the wake of the recent U.S. election and Donald Trump's return to the White House, global market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic; however, there is widespread speculation regarding the potential impacts on international trade and diplomacy. While many...
Introduction: A Timely Reminder from Howard Marks As Treasurer Jim Chalmers seeks to modernise the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) with one of the most substantial reforms in decades, Howard Marks’ latest memo serves as a reminder of the dangers of interventionist...
As investors, staying informed about economic indicators is crucial to making sound investment decisions. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is one such indicator, providing insights into the inflationary trends within the economy. Today, the Australian Bureau of...
On 22 February 2024, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed at ¥39,098.68, eclipsing the previous record high set in December 1989–a staggering 34 years ago. As we highlighted in a prior article, Japan went through a truly extraordinary boom in asset prices through the 1980s that...
It’s a common investing belief that higher interest rates are a negative for stocks. As the world’s most famous investor Warren Buffett creatively described at the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) 2013 annual general meeting, “Interest rates are to asset prices, you...
As we highlighted in our prior market insight, 2024 is set to be a historic year for elections, with more than 2 billion of the world’s population across 50 countries set to head to the polls. The most widely publicised is undoubtedly the United States, where...
Market Insight – Market Surprises, AI Evolution, and Geopolitical Strains
From Doom to Boom: The Story of 2023’s Economic Surprises 23/11/2023 As we highlighted in last week’s article “The Power of Positive Thinking,” 2023 began with many dire predictions about the economy and asset prices. So far, these forecasts have not borne fruit, with...
Japan went through an historic boom that peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Asset prices rose at an incredible pace, with the price of land absolutely rampant, increasing by as much as 5,000 per cent between 1956 and 1986. So distorted were land prices that...
U.S. Credit Rating Downgraded by Fitch 10/8/2023 Fitch announced last week that it downgraded the United States’ long-term credit rating from the AAA (the highest possible rating) down to AA+ (the second highest rating). For those that are unfamiliar, Fitch is the...
Diversification: Can You Have Too Much? 13/7/2023 Diversification is no secret, it’s a well-known part of investing. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is a common phrase that we learn at a young age, and something that most people put into action, at least to...
What is a recession and what does it mean for investors? 6/7/2023 Fearing a recession is natural. Recessions are an economic reality. They typically start before anyone realises they’re happening and end before economists have enough data to know they’ve finished....
