RBA sees professionals quit for higher pay
SYDNEY, AAP – More Australians are quitting their jobs for better-paid ones as they make the career moves they put on hold earlier in the pandemic. Reserve Bank of Australia board members noted workers were encouraged by the strong labour market conditions after coronavirus lockdowns ended, the minutes of the central bank’s December 7 policy…
Steering a steady course
Hopes that the pandemic had peaked were dashed in November with the emergence of the Omicron strain. With markets also wary of inflation, we will focus on managing capital volatility in the short term – while looking for opportunities to deploy cash. Following the very dramatic moves late in October, fixed income markets were more…
Gold weathers hawkish Fed
Gold looked on the ropes heading into this week’s major Fed decision. With the Federal Open Market Committee expected to double the pace of its quantitative-easing tapering and pencil in more rate hikes sooner, gold-futures speculators were on a hair-trigger. The FOMC indeed proved every bit as hawkish as feared, yet gold rallied! Successfully weathering…
Treasurer moves to regulate cryptocurrency
CANBERRA, AAP – A plan for cryptocurrency regulation and an overhaul of digital payments has left some sceptical and others welcoming Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s ambition. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would emerge from the shadows under a financial licensing scheme for crypto exchanges, he announced on Wednesday. With more than 220 million participants, global cryptocurrency assets…
Housing wealth hits record high. Record prepaid & debit cards.
Housing wealth hits record high. Record prepaid & debit cards. Property prices; Credit/debit cards The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports that the total value of Australia’s 10.72 million residential homes rose by $487 billion in the September quarter to a record $9,259.2 billion. The average Aussie dwelling price hit a record $863,700 in the…
Sector spotlight: Supply chain inflation
With the inflation debate well and truly established as an investment theme, we spoke to Australian supply chain insiders to get a snapshot of exactly what is going on in their businesses. Perpetual SHARE-PLUS Long-Short Fund Portfolio Manager Anthony Aboud takes us through the findings. Fund manager quarterlies and stock broking strategy pieces are coming…
Could inflation be the painful hangover of excessive policy?
When Freddie Mercury penned the eventual smash hit “Don’t Stop Me Now”, little did he foresee how the lyrics and growing song popularity would be analogous to market conditions today. Originally released in 1978 on the group’s album Jazz, the song only reached 86 on the USA’s top 100. Forty years later, “Don’t Stop Me…
Unsustainable markets the new abnormal
Ferris Bueller would be proud. The RBA’s day off set the cat amongst the pigeons. That free market interest rate pricing bore no resemblance to the market price should have been obvious. It did not stop those accustomed to turning up at the auction every day to sell their overpriced bonds to an overly enthusiastic…
Will Australia see a volatile recovery?
The rotation to an economic recovery favouring value stocks continues but risks loom on the horizon. Perpetual’s Head of Equities, Paul Skamvougeras, looks at the lessons learnt from reporting season and the trends he expects to see as NSW and Victoria reopen. A strong August reporting season for our portfolios vindicated many of our positions….
Understanding the global energy crisis
Far from emerging from the COVID shock awash with fuel, as might be expected after an economic slowdown, the world is entering a new energy crisis the like of which hasn’t been seen since the 1970s. European and Asian gas prices are at an all-time high, the oil price is at a three-year high, and…
