Travel exports hit 6½-year low
Travel exports hit 6½-year low; Record exports to US & China; Home building stimulus boost International trade; Government stimulus Foreign trade: The trade surplus eased to $8.8 billion in April (consensus: $7.5 billion surplus) from a record high of $10.4 billion in March (previously: $10.602 billion). The rolling annual surplus was a record high $76.1…
ASX soars 1.8pct to post-COVID high
The Australian share market has rallied to its highest level since March 6, with gains across nearly every sector on a wave of optimism about Australia’s economic prospects. The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index closed Wednesday close to the highs of the day, up 106.5 points, or 1.83 per cent, at 5,941.6 points, while the All Ordinaries…
GDP fell 0.3pct in the March quarter
Australia’s economy contracted 0.3 per cent in the March quarter, according to official figures that mostly predate the economic damage from the COVID-19 lockdowns. Gross domestic product grew just 1.4 per cent in the 12 months to March 31 as the economy took a hit from the bushfires and the beginning of the coronavirus crisis,…
Oil prices up on production quota expectations
The market is reacting favourably to expectations OPEC + will extend its May/June agreed-upon production quotas for further two months at its upcoming virtual meeting. The short extension of the deepest initial phase of the production cut agreement maintains a reduction at 9.7 mb/d will assure markets rebalance in Q2 and simultaneously boost oil prices….
The psychological effects of the pandemic
These social, political and economic changes can be grouped into four categories; new, accelerated, busted and possible trends. In 1930, 1,028 economists signed a letter to Herbert Hoover urging the US president to veto a bill that would raise tariffs once it became law. Hoover refused and the US raised taxes on about 20,000 imports…
Diversified Financials in a Post-Pandemic World
“Investors Should Brace for another Market Sell-off, Analysts Warn” That was the title of an 11 May article appearing in thenewdaily.com.au. Given the bullish tone of late in the ASX in particular and global markets in general, this appears a minority sentiment and an outright contrarian view. Within the article lies a kernel of common…
Agriculture a cyclical investment opportunity
Agriculture as a sector is largely uncorrelated to, and unaffected by, COVID-19. There have been other pressures, notably the severe drought on Australia’s east coast. As many companies started to feel the impact of the drought, the share prices fell to levels well below our assessment of fair value. For cyclical sectors, such as agriculture,…
Agriculture Niche Players to Watch
In a simpler world, “reality” would present a single face. It is arguable whether the world has ever been “simple,” but few could debate the complexities of the times in which we live. Today reality can present multiple faces, further distorted by perceptual filters. On the morning of 21 May in the US, where trends…
Mid-tier gold miners in a sweet spot
The mid-tier gold miners in the sweet spot for stock-price upside potential have enjoyed a massive run since mid-March’s stock-panic lows. They’ve already more than doubled in the couple months since! Their just-released Q1’20 operational and financial results reveal whether these huge gains are righteous fundamentally, whether this uptrend is likely to persist, and how…
Myer reopening all stores by Wednesday
Myer says it will reopen all 35 of its 36 stores that remain closed on Wednesday, with the last one set to reopen the following week once a refurbishment project is complete. Nine of its stores reopened on Friday and 15 opened earlier. Its store in Karrinyup, WA, will reopen on May 30. The department…
