Analysis & Opinion

Obsessed with the dollar? What to expect from the Aussie in 2015

By Richard Holden, UNSW Australia Business School The Australian dollar is a curious currency. It is the fifth most traded in the world and it gyrates pretty wildly – having traded below 48 US cents and above 110 in the decade or so from mid 2001 to 2011. And to listen to the financial press…

Gold-stock prices have never been cheaper relative to their underlying profits

Gold miners’ stocks have been brutalised this year, leaving them bleeding in the gutter as the most hated sector in all the markets.  Plunging prices always lead to fear and excessive bearishness, unsustainable anomalous extremes that investors desperately try to rationalise as righteous.  Today the bears’ primary rationalisation against gold miners is the notion they…

IPO Watch

On 21 August the operator of our share market, ASX Limited (ASX) provided hard evidence of a trend of which many Aussie investors are already aware – the IPO market is booming.  ASX Limited reported a 3.1% revenue increase year over year along with a 10% rise in profit, attributing these results in large market…

Gold Miners In A Sentiment Wasteland

Gold’s precipitous decline in the first half of 2013 sent shockwaves throughout the entire mining industry.  Its scary panic-induced 28% plunge over just six months has forced the miners to revisit their development plans.  And this will no doubt have an adverse impact on global mine production in the years to come. It’s actually quite…

4 Big-Growth Asian stocks fund managers are buying now

Fund managers favour Asian stocks wired to the region’s growth story. Hugh Young Managing Director Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Sydney 1)    Jardine Strategic Holdings (SGX:J37) A Hong Kong-based holding company with principal interests in Jardine Matheson, Dairy Farm, Hongkong Land, Mandarin Oriental, and Cycle and Carriage, Jardine Strategic Holdings Limited has consistently ticked the right…

The China Threat

There are no shortage of worries for investors these days but at the top of the list is China. The following chart illustrates how important China has become for our Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The Bank of America Merrill-Lynch survey of international fund managers polls large funds with assets under management in excess of $708…

Online Businesses The Winners This Earnings Season

Investors are always looking for clues for hot stocks to buy and the recent flurry of earnings reports points to a potentially powerful indicator of future growth – online presence. It is no secret that online sales are on the rise globally.  Some of Australia’s best performing stocks operate exclusively online and in many cases…

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…