Insights & Articles

As the end of the year approaches, investment minds naturally turn to the question: Have we had a good year? For most, especially those in...

In this QB, we’ll draw on the work that Martin Crabb of Shaw & Partners (Shaw’s) periodically produces to analyse equity valuations using informative charts....

The rise in the S&P 500 in 2024 has been one of the strongest since 1928. The current equity upswing began in October 2023, driven...

The world’s top financial leaders are in Washington, DC for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank annual meetings, which kicked off with fresh projections for...

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) in late September slashed its short-term rate target by 50 basis points (bps) and signalled more cuts are to come....

This week on The View, John Abernethy and Paul Zwi discuss recent trends in the bond market, government debt levels and the bull market entering...

In recent days, the sharp stock market rally in China has fizzled out as highly-anticipated announcements on plans to boost the country’s economy disappointed investors....

Today we have a look at ASX valuations as of the end of September 2024 and draw upon Martin Crabb’s well regarded analysis and charts,...

Everyone wants to know what the future looks like. Investors are no different: after all, investment performance largely reflects expectations of future growth. Get that...

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have climbed to fresh closing highs following the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate cut of...

Each month, the Bank of America (BoA) publishes its Global Fund Manager Survey — a report that canvasses the views of institutional, mutual and hedge...

The European bloc was jolted out of its complacency last week after Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank (ECB) president credited with saving the...

Last week, Brent crude fell below $70 for the first time since Dec 2021, adding to concerns that global economic growth could be softer than...

The copper price is important to the Australian economy. Last year, approximately $6.6 billion of copper was exported by Australian companies. Rio Tinto and BHP...

As most readers will know, ASX-listed companies must report their financial results to shareholders at least twice a year, within two months of the end...

Analysts are becoming increasingly sceptical that Beijing will reach its 5% economic growth target for 2024. A real estate collapse has made consumers cautious and businesses...

On Wednesday 4 September, we learnt that the Australian economy was in a slump: it hardly grew over the June quarter, with GDP up a...

While people in Asia are spending more time in the office, workers in the US and UK are not, according to a new report from...

We are getting to the pointy end of the US presidential election and markets are now focusing on the potential implications of policy differences. One...

See below a breakdown of the world’s 50 most valuable companies, which represent US$34 trillion in combined market capitalisation. This highlights the dominance of the...

We now expect with some certainty that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates following its upcoming September FOMC meeting. What does this mean...

If there is one factor driving investment markets at present, it is the belief that inflation is on the way down, allowing central banks to...

Plunging yields on Chinese bonds are a symptom of economic weakness. Since last November, yields on China’s 10-year bonds have fallen from 2.75% to 2.15%....

Now that the Fed’s easing cycle will most likely begin in September with rate cuts clearly signalled, it’s worth asking whether we should expect the...

In a dovish speech at the Fed’s Jackson Hole conference, Chair Jay Powell signalled in plain language that a rate cut is coming at the...

Strong US retail sales data and Walmart’s robust results have boosted Wall Street and investor confidence, suggesting the US economy will avoid a recession and...

Central bank independence is not a factor of modern economic management that we should take for granted. Indeed, there is a long and checkered history...

In her testimony before Australia’s parliament, Governor Michelle Bullock reiterated the RBA’s view that it is “premature to be thinking about rate cuts” given inflation...

The chart below illustrates the historical performance of the benchmark US index, the S&P 500, around the triggers of the so-called Sahm Rule, a US...

China’s economy is struggling. July data suggest the government will have to provide more stimulus to meet its 5% economic growth target for the year....

It’s been a week or two since the global mini-panic that sent markets tumbling and the VIX soaring for a few days. With the dust...

New Zealand’s central bank cut interest rates on Wednesday 14th August after it said that its economy was contracting faster than it had anticipated. The Reserve...

For the first time, Kamala Harris, and her new Vice President (VP) pick Tim Walz are at shorter odds on betting sites than Trump and...

Over the past few weeks, the narrative dominating investment markets has switched from the joys and wonders of Artificial Intelligence and the expected central bank...

On the 7th of August, the RBA decided to leave rates unchanged at 4.35%. This was what the market expected, and share markets, bonds and the...

It happens very slowly and then all of a sudden. The positive narrative in investment markets seems to have been upended in the space of...

China is slowing, Europe is slowing, and the US economy is also in the process of slowing down over the coming quarters. As a result, commodity...

July was a strong month for the ASX300, pushing the index to new record highs, however, the market is now looking a little stretched. With...

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at a two-decade high on the last day of July, while leaving the door open for rate cuts at...

Global primary energy consumption reached a new record of 620 exajoules (EJ) for the second consecutive year in 2023, up from 607 exajoules in 2022....

The betting odds have been suggesting for some time now that Trump would win the US presidential election, and most likely also gain a Republican...

The US economy accelerated in the second quarter as consumers increased their spending, businesses invested more in equipment and stocked inventories, and inflation cooled. Gross domestic...

Since US investors have become more optimistic about the likelihood of multiple interest rate cuts this year, a shift has been underway within the stock...

With the share market close to record highs, and wariness about property valuations and bond markets, many investors are looking at private credit as an...

The bull market in US stocks has been quite volatile over the past few weeks, as the strength appears to be broadening out as investors...

US share market indices have continued to hit all-time highs on a regular basis over the past year. Concerns that these indexes are too concentrated...

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7% year-over-year in the second quarter, falling below economist expectations of 5.0%. The 2Q rise was smaller than the 5.3%...

We have all likely seen the footage of real-time media coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, and of course it sends shivers down...

US inflation eased substantially in June, extending a recent slowdown in price increases that clears a path for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates...

Gold has performed well in 2024, rising by 12% year to date and outpacing most major asset classes. Gold has benefited from continued central bank...