News

As the old saying goes “no one ever picked up a newspaper to look at an empty page”. Actually, we just made that saying up. However, it does ring true because even if there are no stories to write about reporters can usually fill column space by asking someone desperate for attention to speculate on something. Outside of politics, if a reporter is looking for blustery talk they’re guaranteed to find a voice ready and willing in the finance and investment sector. Brexit was only a few weeks back and there was a litany of cataclysmic predictions. Now they’ve been…

After the RBA left interest rates on hold last week the commentary quickly shifted to when they would be cut next. To co-opt a line from Star Wars, you may have felt a great disturbance in the force “as if millions of conservative investors suddenly cried out in terror”. There won’t be much joy if you wander into the branch of your local big four and ask for a sit down in their frosted office with the cheery customer service rep. If you demand the best deal they can give you, at the bank with the big red W they’ll…

Today we’ve witnessed a significant event and its real time impact on financial markets. Britain voting to leave the European Union. Despite a final week “Remain” rally that pushed up equities, commodities and the Australian dollar, someone was clearly reading the tea leaves the wrong way. Financial markets love certainty (Remain) while they hate uncertainty (Exit) and they certainly hate this outcome. However, this is just another bump (or dip) in the investing journey that will likely look remarkably benign when we look back on it in the years to come. This decade, still living with the lingering aftereffects of…

Technology has a way of turning today’s roosters into tomorrow’s feather dusters. Paying attention to once seemingly indestructible companies that have fallen over should serve as a reminder to investors that no one company can ever serve their investment needs. Kodak, Polaroid and Blockbuster Video are well known examples of companies crushed by digital alternatives. And the Fortune 500 list (largest US companies by total revenue) shows the changing nature of business. Only 12% of companies on the list in 1955 remain and back in 1955 you wouldn’t have found an Ebay, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Symantec or Facebook. Of…