A surplus for now but stormy seas ahead Treasurer Jim Chalmers bills his 2023 Federal Budget as an economic strategy to help ease cost-of-living pressures. To that end, he has delivered a modest but welcome package of cuts to healthcare, housing and energy costs as well as boosts to welfare payments for single parents and […]

Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month. March was marked by banking failures in the US that sent ripples through global sharemarkets. However, the first quarter of 2023 ended on a note of optimism in Australia due to better-than-expected inflation figures and expectations of a […]

  Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month. China’s plans to kickstart its economy after the pandemic shutdown have been dominating the news this month and will have worldwide implications, not the least for Australia. Australian shares were up nearly 8% in January while US […]

Stay up to date with what’s happened in Australian and global markets over the past month. Our July update video takes you through key economic indicators so you can understand how the Australian economy is faring as we recover from the COVID-19 induced recession of 2020. Please get in touch if you’d like assistance with […]

Fears of a resurgence in inflation has been the big topic of conversation among bond and sharemarket commentators lately, which may come as a surprise to many given that our rate of inflation is just 1.1 per cent. Yet despite market rumblings, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) appears quite comfortable about the outlook. Inflation […]

The government’s July budget update gave an insight into the economic impact of the health crisis, below is a video to assist you to stay up to date with the latest indicators. The economy contracted by an estimated 0.25% in 2019-20, with a further fall of 2.5% in 2020-21. The budget deficit is estimated to […]

Paving the way to an election Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has delivered a ‘back in the black’ Budget aimed squarely at voters, stressing the Morrison Government’s commitment to financial discipline and low taxes. As expected, the Treasurer signaled sweeping tax cuts and major infrastructure spending if the Coalition wins the upcoming federal election widely expected to […]

US Interest rates have been making headlines in recent months, but do they really matter to Australian investors? The short answer is they do, a lot.  Changes in US interest rate settings have made a big impact on investment returns from bonds and shares over the past year, while uncertainty about the future direction of […]

It was a year of extremes, with shares hitting record highs and interest rates at historic lows. Yet all in all, 2019 delivered far better returns than Australian investors dared hope for at the start of the year. The total return from Australian shares (prices and dividend income) was 24 per cent in the year […]

Investors started 2018 full of hope, with the global economy and financial markets in good shape. But by year’s end they were uncertain and a little anxious about what lay ahead. Markets responded with last minute falls across all asset classes.  The issues that weighed heavily were the unresolved trade dispute between the US and […]