Now Is The Time To Fight The Next Recession
This is part of a major series called Advancing Australia, in which leading academics examine the key issues facing Australia in the lead-up to the 2019 federal election and beyond. Australia’s nearly three decades of uninterrupted economic growth won’t last forever. Sooner or later policymakers will need to respond to a downturn that could come…
Gold bullion or gold equities?
Financial-market turmoil is strengthening the case to add gold exposure to portfolios as more “insurance” in the event of a sharper equities market sell-off. It is also providing an opportunity to capitalise on the precious metal’s improving medium-term prospects. Gold’s role as a ‘safe-haven’ has come to fore this year. The US-dollar gold price has…
The Federal Reserve: How does it work?
The US Federal Reserve is subject to intense scrutiny by governments and investors worldwide since its decisions can ripple throughout the global economy. But how does it really work? Dual mandate The Fed was created on December 23, 1913 under President Woodrow Wilson. Unlike most central banks, such as the European Central Bank, that focus…
The Market Is Toast. Protect Your Assets
The trader who became an internet sensation with his outburst on BBC television – declaring that “the market is toast” and that the smart money is moving its assets to safer investments like treasury bonds – has become an instant enemy of the corporate media. His views on the global financial crisis were belittled as…
Mining Services and Construction Stocks with Strong Earnings Growth Forecasts
Many investors seek safety with the service providers of the “hot” products or commodities of the moment. In the face of booming commodity prices in iron ore or oil, common sense suggests investing in a company that provides services for multiple miners and oil operators provides a level of diversification that suggests less risk. Conventional wisdom advises…
Lessons From The Resurrection Of The Iron Ore Miners
Fueled by the insatiable appetite of the Chinese Government to build, build, build; ASX iron ore miners led Australia on an unprecedented mining boom, with the price of iron ore eclipsing US$180 per tonne in early 2011. The price softened in 2012, leading to some opining the boom was about to end, with others in the…
Breville Innovates Its Way To International Success
I admire small Australian companies that take on global markets and succeed in industries where the odds are stacked against them. Companies that deliver good results over long periods, innovate and take risks, and usually prove the doubters wrong. Breville Group is an example. The kitchen appliances maker is one of Australia’s great small-cap companies. Breville’s…
A Contrarian View of a Battered Mining Industry
Newcomers to share market investing searching for “how to” advice quickly learn that most investing strategies have mirror opposites. Value investors follow the maxim, “buy low, sell high”. The opposite strategy is growth investing, where the maxim is “buy high, sell higher”. While some might call these trading strategies rather than longer focused investing strategies, trend…
Buying on the Dip
While stock price fluctuations are to be expected, during dire and even simply uncertain economic conditions the fluctuations can be wild, some bordering on the irrational. Such fluctuations often present buying opportunities for investors with an appetite for risk. In today’s market there exists ample opinion to support both a Bear outlook and a moderately…
Premium – How to Analyse Company Financials
For many investors financial analysis forms the foundation of their investment decision. In their minds, it is the essential component in the process of evaluating a company as a potential share market investment. By digging into the crown jewels of a company’s annual report -the income statement; the statement of comprehensive income; the balance sheet;…
