Petrol prices & Coronavirus
Petrol prices & Coronavirus Weekly Petrol Prices; China inflation Petrol prices: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price of unleaded petrol fell by 0.6 cents to a 5-month low of 139.7 cents a litre last week. China inflation: Consumer prices rose 5.4 per cent in the year to January (forecast 4.9…
Investor Signposts 10 Feb 2020: Quiet week ahead
Australia: Quiet week ahead In the coming week, there is only a spattering of economic indicators. Main interest will be on the profit-reporting season. On Tuesday, there are three indicators to be released. ANZ and Roy Morgan issue the consumer sentiment index for the week ended February 9. The National Australia Bank issues the January…
Coronavirus Presents Buying Opportunities
On 30 December of 2019 Dr. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist practicing at Central Hospital of Wuhan posted a warning on social media of a “SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) like” virus originating from the seafood markets in Wuhan. Dr. Wenliang was reportedly detained by authorities for rumormongering but released within a few days. On 30…
IPOs Have Something for Everyone
In theory, investors considering an investment in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) should follow many of the same principles that apply to picking winning stocks already trading in public markets. In practice, the “must read” information contained in the IPO Prospectus published by about to list companies can be challenging to interpret. In August of…
Federal Reserves Risky Q4 Stock Ramp
The US stock markets dramatically surged mostly in a straight line since mid-October. This extraordinary rally started when the Federal Reserve announced it would resume expanding its balance sheet for the first time in years. The deluge of new liquidity from that quantitative-easing bond buying has again acted like rocket fuel for stock markets. After…
Trader thoughts for the Asia open
Asia has one thing on its mind – the Coronavirus – although, we must consider US politics and the fact that Bernie Sanders is now a firm favourite. Not just to convincingly take out the Iowa caucus (on 3 February), but is now 8 ppt ahead of Biden to take the full Democrat nominee to…
Did BlackRock Pull the Plug on King Coal?
While coal has lost its grip on the title of “King of Commodities”, it has defied the oddsmakers predicting its ultimate demise. Numerous “King Coal is Dead” articles and contrarian views touting coal’s resilience litter the financial news. Yet the King stubbornly hangs on, defying the skeptics and delighting the contrarians. The “king coal is…
Gold Mining Stocks Are Wavering
The gold miners’ stocks are wavering, frustrating traders. For the better part of a half-year, this sector has neither broken out nor broken down. Instead it has mostly ground sideways since the last upleg’s peak. Gold stocks being mired in a consolidation so long, even a relatively-high one, is steadily eroding bullish sentiment. That ups…
Energy Regulator backs SA-NSW power link
The Australian Energy Regulator has backed the proposed interconnector between South Australia and NSW but has slashed the estimated benefits to consumers. The AER says the $1.5 billion proposal will help the long-term transition to low emission technologies and help prevent blackouts in SA. Chairwoman Clare Savage says it assessed ElectraNet’s proposal across a range…
ASX powers higher for 5th straight day
Australian shares have powered to new highs for a fifth consecutive day as the unprecedented bull run continues. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Monday up 15.4 points, or 0.22 per cent, to finish at 7,079.5 points after reaching a new high of 7092.5 in morning trade. The broader All Ordinaries gained 16 points, or 0.22…