Markets

Positive finish to the week, Seven gets serious on Boral, property lending spikes The ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) finished the week on a positive note, adding 0.5% behind a rally from the energy (+1.6%) and industrial (+1.2%) sectors. The dogs of last financial year were the biggest contributors on Friday, with Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) and A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX:…

Happy new year, markets fall as gold shines, retailers under pressure, PEXA lists The ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) finished the first day of trading in the new financial year on a weaker footing, losing 0.7% with every sector apart from materials finishing lower. The consumer staples and discretionary sectors were the hardest hit, falling 1.3% and 1.2%…

Markets are experiencing a “manic moment” around ESG investments and less exuberance now might not be “a bad thing in the longer run”, according to Fidelity investment director Tom Stevenson. Stevenson likens the obsession with ESG to the popularity of the “Nifty 50” – stocks like Kodak, IBM and Xerox – in the 1970s and…

Leading investment bank JP Morgan this month released an article titled “Are commodities still a good inflation hedge amid decarbonization?” The piece, penned by Kerry Craig, Ian Hui and Gareth Lam, offers a detailed analysis of what may be one of the most popular ‘reflation’ trades occurring at the present time. One would struggle to…

Christopher Joye and his growing team at Coolabah Capital regularly stand out among the smartest minds in the industry. Whether analyzing the topic of credit spreads in bond markets or COVID-19 infection rates, they have shown an innate ability to look beyond headline data and connect the dots with what is occurring in the real…

A confluence of largely unrelated trends is prompting advisers to rethink their former reticence about emerging markets for all but their better-heeled clients. They are taking a whole-world approach. According to Jorden Brown, Capital Group’s Sydney-based managing director in charge of financial intermediaries, advisers have long accepted the investment fundamentals of emerging markets (EM), such…

Markets were caught off-guard this week by news that the Federal Reserve had become more hawkish than expected. The issue that gained all the headlines was the fact that Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members now expected interest rates to increase twice before the end of 2023; a year early than expected. Further, 13 of…

Like all big investors, global asset managers have to have a view on China. Most also have a view on alternatives, even if seen only as competition to traditional investment management. Against this backdrop, UBS Asset Management held its inaugural global investor conference, virtually, last month (May 19-20), in which many discussions inevitably led to…

With inflation running at its highest level in decades and the global economy getting hotter than anticipated, investors are wondering what to do. Bonds offer slim returns. As inflation has jolted higher, and central banks keep interest rates low, the real returns on bonds in rich countries have hovered below zero.    Shares seem little…

Inflation and rate rises are back on the table it seems, after this week’s US Federal Reserve Board meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that rate hikes could come in 2023, but no mention of when scaling back of bond buying would begin. His comments took markets by surprise signalling a change in policy sooner than…

A feature of the investment markets in recent years has been the reduction in cash rates, as central banks attempt to stimulate economies by effectively forcing both lenders and investors to take, and tolerate, more risk. Ultimately, these policies are aimed at encouraging banks, companies, and investors to lend, invest or consume more in an…

In a world of new asset classes, automation and sustainable earnings, there’s no better way to diversify than through exchange traded funds. ETFs come in different shapes and sizes including, shares or bonds, domestic or international, small cap or large cap, hedged or unhedged. ETFs are growing in popularity. According to BetaShares, the ETF market…