Beware The Bear Market
Stock markets are forever cyclical, an endless series of alternating bulls and bears. And after one of the greatest bulls in US history, odds are a young bear is now gathering steam. It is being fueled by record Fed tightening, bubble valuations, trade wars, and mounting political turmoil. Bears are dangerous events driving catastrophic losses for…
Baby Bunting taking bigger growth steps
I fondly recall buying baby goods (or watching my wife buy them) before the birth of our children. Like many expectant parents, we bought new rather than used baby goods, sought advice from a specialist retailer and later regretted buying too much.The pricey baby-heart monitor seemed like a good idea at the time, but was…
A-REIT Sector – Defensive Phoenix Rising from the Ashes
Given the fact that A-REITS are required to return profits to shareholders in the form of dividends, they should act as defensive stalwarts in tough times. Dividend yield coupled with share price appreciation has historically provided attractive opportunities for investors. Then along came the GFC and the REIT sector turned out to be built of…
Fundamentals: By the Numbers – Sirtex Medical (SRX)
Few things get a retail investor’s blood pumping more than the risk/reward prospects in the biotech sector. New drugs mean the potential for big profits. If an experimental treatment receives commercial approval, the share price skyrockets. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. If clinical trials are delayed or fail, share price plummets in a heartbeat….
The Buy and Hold Investing Strategy – Will Rising Oil Prices be the Final Nail in the Coffin?
In January 2008, the price of oil reached the century mark – $100 a barrel – for the first time ever. By May 2008, American investment banking giant Goldman Sachs was predicting the price of oil would reach $200 a barrel within two years. It did not. In September 2008, another American investment bank –…
Renting for life? Housing shift requires rethink of renters’ rights
By Kate Shaw, University of Melbourne Australia is the world capital for property speculation. Australians play property like Monopoly: buying, selling, demolishing, rebuilding, extending, renovating, always with the promise of appreciation on resale. The contribution to GDP of real estate transactions alone is the highest in the world, and three times higher than that in…
PENNY STOCKS: 6 Recent Coal IPOs
Precious metal explorers dominated the float market in the past three years as companies took advantage of a higher gold price to raise capital. Coal explorers had less fanfare. Yet a group of six coal initial public offerings – one of the best-performed segments of the IPO market – may have further to go if…
Lifescience looks a sector to target in 2014
Freelancer Ltd’s soaring sharemarket debut has sparked predictions of a rush of information technology floats and further gains in small tech stocks in 2014. Less considered has been stunning rallies in several small lifescience stocks and the prospect of a breakout year for biotech. ASX-listed biotech stocks gained an average 53 per cent last year,…
The Graphene Promise – Disruptor or Disrupted
What’s the “next big thing” to hit the market? This question has tantalized rabid investors in search of the big payoff since forever. Next big thing candidates typically are involved in business operations that have the potential to make a significant impact on the way things get done in the world. Many are technology firms. …
Macpac dresses up Super Retail Group
My daughter needed a new winter jacket. It had to be from Macpac, the New Zealand-based outdoorwear maker Super Retail Group bought earlier this year.Like many teenagers, my daughter is growing quickly and is easily influenced in fashion. Others her age deemed Macpac the brand of choice and the rest was history. Buying the jacket meant…
