If you have children or grandchildren it would be smart to offer them some explicit advice about retirement – don’t expect to rely on the government. In recent years there have been changes and forecast changes that really should have younger generations focussing on how they’ll be providing for themselves in old age. Despite what they may say about unfairness in opposition when pandering to voters, both the Labor and Liberal parties have taken to modifying the age pension in recent years when in government. First Labor bumped up the qualifying age to 67 if you were born after July…

You may have noticed oil has been a consistent theme this year. Not because we’re predicting where it may go, or even have any interest in the price (beyond how it impacts us at the pump), but because the price fall lured plenty of financial forecasters out from under their rocks to tell us all where the price would be going next. Given the oil market can move quite fast, we have the ability to monitor and highlight how those bold calls have fared and further highlight why someone telling you about the financial future is either clueless or (most…

Economic Overview Major economies took varying paths in the first quarter of 2015. While the US Federal Reserve prepared to raise interest rates, central banks elsewhere continued to add further stimulus as they looked for economic growth. The US Federal Reserve responded to an improving US economy by signalling it would raise interest rates from record lows later this year, although it continued to emphasise it would be a gradual adjustment. In contrast, amid continued stagnation in the Euro Zone, the European Central Bank committed to another program of quantitative easing. And with the World Bank and IMF lowering growth…

With low interest rates continuing to heat up some property markets around Australia there seems to be an ever increasing number of real estate spruikers or “property specialists” (as they’re calling themselves) coming out of the woodwork to push their wares. Just this week we received a snazzy email from a slick looking company offering us a list of high commission investment properties. What was the list for? Here’s what they said: “We source and provide comprehensive lists of investment packages from all over the country, all of which are available by your clients and return industry leading commissions to…

Ever heard the saying “a lie gets half way around the world before the truth puts it pants on”? Well, when it’s a financial lie and it’s being repeated often enough by lazy journalists, a lie can do a few laps of the world before the truth puts it pants on. The lie in this instance relates to the oil production glut that may or may not be happening in the US. The oil price has suffered a significant fall from its peaks of 2014 after a combination of surging production in the US and OPEC’s refusal to accommodate that…