Markets are surprisingly good at handling one worry at a time. Give investors a single villain, an oil spike, a hawkish central banker or a wobble in technology stocks, and they will argue about it, price it and move on. What markets handle far less gracefully is a...
Inflation
From Kharg Island to Your Mortgage: How an Oil Shock Became a Rate Rise
Most Australians could not find Kharg Island on a map. It is a strip of rock in the Persian Gulf, roughly 32 kilometres off the Iranian coast, and it handles close to 90 per cent of Iran's crude oil exports. Almost nobody paying down a mortgage in Penrith or managing...
The Second Oil Shock, and a Reserve Bank That Has Stopped Apologising
There is a particular kind of market reflex that returns every time a barrel of oil moves. A headline crosses, prices spike, energy stocks jump, miners wobble, and the commentary immediately splits into two camps: those declaring the start of a new inflation era, and...
The Second Order Effects of Oil: Inflation, Freight, Fertiliser, and the Next Growth Scare
When investors think about an oil shock, the instinct is usually to look at the chart, watch Brent or WTI jump, and assume the story begins and ends there. Oil up, markets nervous, airlines down, energy stocks up, end of analysis. But that is rarely how the real world...
Ceasefire, but not Closure: Why the Oil Shock May Fade from Headlines Before It Fades from Markets
There is a particular kind of market mistake that turns up again and again. A headline improves, the immediate fear recedes, oil gives back some of its panic move, equity futures bounce, and the collective temptation is to declare the danger over. We have just seen...
A 2026 Global Equity Positioning Framework
There are periods in markets when everything feels orderly. Trends extend, volatility is contained, and investors begin to assume that tomorrow will look much like yesterday. Then there are periods of transition. 2026 feels like the latter. Not dramatic or...
Infrastructure Investing in 2025: A Quiet, Steady Cornerstone for the Long-Term Portfolio
Introduction: The Case for Real Assets in a Repricing World In the current investment environment, where rates remain elevated, growth forecasts are patchy, and risk sentiment oscillates week-to-week, there’s a growing argument for looking past the noise. At Tamim,...
Understanding Inflation and the Economy: A View from Australia
Inflation. It’s a term thrown around by newsreaders and politicians, often with a tone of fear. But what does it really mean for Australians? More importantly, what’s happening right now in the United States, and how will that impact us here? As Australians, we need...
Chalmers’ RBA Dilemma: Striking a Balance Between Reform and Free Market Principles
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...
Understanding the Latest CPI Data: Is Inflation Moderating?
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...
All Time Highs: Japan’s Revival
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...
2024: All About the Vibe
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...












