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2025 Q3 September Quarter Review
Read more: 2025 Q3 September Quarter ReviewEconomic Overview Global markets posted strong gains in Q3 2025, backed by continued demand for all things artificial intelligence and technology, while also underpinned by solid corporate earnings and a rate cut from the Federal Reserve in the US. A large variety of assets saw strong rallies, with credit, digital assets and commodities, particularly gold and silver, doing well. The quarter saw President Trump continue his attack on the US Federal Reserve. Back in April, he threatened to fire Fed chairman Jerome Powell (not in his powers). And in August, Fed Governor Lisa Cook was the next target, with the…
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Will We Be Replaced by AI?
Read more: Will We Be Replaced by AI?If you haven’t heard, many industries and professions are said to be under serious threat by the rise of artificial intelligence or AI. It certainly makes for a good story, and there’s a financial angle. Lately the financial media have started doing stories on how investors are using AI to pick stocks and guide their financial decisions. It’s gotten around to stories asking can you replace your financial adviser with AI? It’s all good fun. And we don’t feel the need to defend ourselves with this one. We’d say financial advisers being replaced by AI is still a long way…
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Trouble Spending it?
Read more: Trouble Spending it?As tends to be the case these days, a large number of people head to the internet to ask questions. Sometimes anonymously, sometimes not. While more and more of these questions will likely be asked of AI as we go forward, plenty of people still like to ask questions and converse with each other online. The questions range across a lot of areas, but money, home maintenance, cars, medicine and health are popular categories. This is evidenced by the fact all of these areas have multiple forums on the internet set up to cater for discussion. If you’ve started a…
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Deeming Rates on the Rise – What you need to know:
Read more: Deeming Rates on the Rise – What you need to know:After a five-year freeze, deeming rates are set to increase on 20 September 2025. For some older Australians, this may not be a welcome change. An increase in deeming rates increases assessable income for Centrelink and Veterans’ Affairs, which may reduce entitlements and/or increase aged care fees. But for many people, the impact may not be significant. Why the change? Deeming is used to determine a level of assessable income from your financial investments – bank accounts, shares, managed funds, some superannuation and income streams, loans you have made and excess gifting. Deeming rates are usually reviewed twice a year,…
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Money as a Measure
Read more: Money as a MeasureIt’s a well-worn anecdote, but if you haven’t heard it before… authors Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller were at a party held by a billionaire investment manager. Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over its whole history. Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have…enough.” It’s a two-part commentary. Heller is inferring that internally he has a contentment with his status, success in his chosen field and his financial position. At the time, this…
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