It’s no secret interest rates are low. Have ten grand in the bank? If you’re lucky with a ‘high interest’ account, at the end of the year you’ll have made $200. That’s before the tax man and inflation come calling. For those with a small amount who can’t get their head around the concept of risk, it’s dire straits. We’re also told there are rough waters if you’ve got a few million. This from a recent article in The Australian (behind a paywall) by a financial adviser. I recently met a new client — a divorcee with two teenage sons…

It was an unceremonious occurrence. A few minutes into trading on the third of February 2020 the ASX released a list of companies whose securities had been suspended from trading for an unacceptable period of time. It was removing their listings from the exchange. Why? Various reasons, but most had gone bust. Many were now shells. Devoid of any assets or direction forward. On occasion, dormant shells might be picked up by brokers or corporate advisers. Recapitalised, with a new project dropped in and respruiked to the gullible masses. A market listing can be valuable in some circles, but the…

Farming is a tough business. One that almost seems in perpetual crisis. While we’re well aware of the drought disaster that has plagued Australian farmers, it’s seemingly no better in the world’s largest economy. Almost a decade of economic expansion hasn’t benefited America’s small farmers. A recent article in Time magazine highlighted how poor things are for America’s farms. “It is the worst crisis in decades. Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies were up 12 percent in the Midwest from July of 2018 to June of 2019; they’re up 50 percent in the Northwest. Tens of thousands have simply stopped farming, knowing that reorganization…