The gold price has been falling since 2011 and this trend will be difficult to reversehe US Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates this year on the back of an improving American economy, and that is taking the shine off gold.Why? Because gold is a store of wealth for investors, but generates no returns from regular interest payments or dividend income. Investors have been happy to park their money in gold over the past six years while retu.....
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China's SharesShare prices had risen strongly but steadily in the nine months to March before rallying between April and June, fuelled by an explosion in investment lending to retail investors. By mid-June the Shanghai market had risen by around 150% from June 2014 levels. By June 2015 valuations were looking extremely stretched in a number of sectors in the context of underlying earnings prospects.The average market Price to Earnings (PE) ratio .....
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Diversity Capital city housing markets remain extremely diverse. Home values have recorded strong growth over the past year in Sydney and Melbourne, and moderate growth in Brisbane and Canberra. Values fell across the remaining capital cities. The diversity in the housing market highlights the different growth drivers that are evident from region to region. Outside of the capital cities, regional markets linked to the resources sector are general.....
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Australian Shares Australian equities suffered over the September quarter with the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index falling -6.47%. Investor worries over a slowdown in China and the relatively fragile state of the Australian economy continued to weigh on share prices. Major Australian banks added to the selling pressure via ongoing equity raisings required to meet higher capital requirements demanded by regulators. Australian economic data was .....
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IntroductionDividends can provide a degree of security in volatile times and are likely to provide a relatively stable and attractive source of income combined with 'earnings growth' giving a relatively high proportion of returns going forward.Up until the 1950s most share investors were long term investors who bought stocks for their dividend income. This changed in the 1960s when investors started to shift focus to capital growth. However, with.....
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Australia near the top of all measures of overvalued housing.The international body that represents central banks has released data that puts Australia near the top of all measures of overvalued housing.In its latest quarterly update, the Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has published extensive historical analysis on historical home prices in a large number of countries for which reliable data is available.Confirming a recent .....
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Why do I need insurance? Most people wouldn't dream of taking their car on the road without car insurance, or living in a house without home and contents insurance. But when it comes to taking up insurance to protect their life or income, most Australians act indifferently. Common reasons for not taking up insurance are a lack of knowledge, a belief that insurance is too expensive and the age-old ‘it won’t happen to me’ mentality. If this sounds .....
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Australians flock to set up their own self-managed super funds (SMSFs).Industry funds are the biggest losers in the race to keep their most lucrative members, as Australians with the most retirement savings flock to set up their own self-managed super funds (SMSFs).Around 38 per cent of Australians who set up SMSFs did so by switching from industry funds, according to new research from the Financial Services Council and UBS.Retail super funds suc.....
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Australian shares The September quarter was a choppy one for Australian shares driven largely by global macro events. The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index fell -0.56% over the quarter as a whole but this hides dramatic movements within the quarter. Australian shares started the quarter positively as investors gained confidence that the US economy was continuing to improve, and the slowing of Chinese growth may not be as sharp as feared. Whilst.....
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G20 agree to strategies for 1.8% global growthThe Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers and central bank governors agreed to deliver strategies to help achieve 1.8% of additional growth across the global economy.Australia's treasurer Joe Hockey explained this means the G20 are 90% of the way to meeting the 2% global growth ambition."The world economy is gaining some momentum, though it is uneven and risks remain. We must avoid being complacent,.....
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