Everyone is talking up whether our dollar will reach parity with the US. In my opinion, the Australian dollar will not only reach parity but move to between $1.10 and $1.20 over the next 6 to 12 months.
...read more
I read with interest an article in the September Choice magazine on option educators and their wealth creation seminars.
...read more
The issue confronting a lot of Australian’s right now is whether or not to fix interest rates on their housing loans. The banks have already raised their fixed interest rates potentially in an effort to entice home owners to lock in a rate now before they rise again. So should Australians be looking at locking in a fixed rate? To answer this, let’s look at where interest rates are heading over the coming years.
...read more
With the changes announced by the government’s recent budget in regard to superannuation, many investors are now looking to top up their super fund prior to the end of the financial year. But I would question whether this is really a wise move.
...read moreThe economic figures released this week suggest that the economy is in a better condition than many expected. However, is this outcome really a product of good management or good luck? What has worked in the governments favour is that the Australian dollar traded below the $0.70 USD level for most of the March quarter, [...]
...read more
The recent outbreak of swine flu has sent speculators scrambling to buy into Biota, the company responsible for the Tamiflu vaccine in the hope of making a quick dollar. But is this really smart investing or just plain gambling? On Friday 24 April Biota closed at $0.87 before rising 78.16 percent to a high of [...]
...read moreOver the past few months I have heard many people complain about the perceived lack of value they have received from their adviser in regard to their investments. I believe this is because many advisers fail to adequately manage portfolio risk, instead preferring to advise their clients to ride out the market volatility. The problem [...]
...read moreThe banks decision this week to put up fixed term interest rates on mortgages has shown once again that they are more interested in profiteering than supporting the community.
...read more
Australia’s fascination with Telstra has continued despite the news that the company may not be involved in the National Broadband Network being proposed by the government. People love to own this stock yet for the life of me I cannot understand why. Telstra floated in November 1997, and while the stock rose over the first [...]
...read moreOfficial interest rates fell once again this week, which is great news for those with home loans, but if you are a self funded retiree you are most likely suffering in the current low interest rate environment. As we all know self funded retirees get little support from the government, yet these are the people [...]
...read moreThe Australian market has risen strongly over the past 17 trading days since the low on 10 March and it looks as if the rise is set to continue. As a comparison, the market rose for 32 trading days following the previous long term low in March 2003 before falling for two weeks and then [...]
...read moreThis month has seen a renewed interest in the banking sector, especially since the US announced its latest package to support the financial industry. Of the big Australian four banks, WBC has risen around 19 percent, while NAB and CBA have each risen around 20 percent, with the standout performer being ANZ having risen around [...]
...read moreLast week I was in Malaysia speaking at the Asian Traders and Investors Convention and I have to say I was I surprised that many of the attendees had little or no knowledge yet they were attempting to trade highly leveraged markets such as futures and currencies. Now it would seem logical to me, given [...]
...read moreI received an interesting newsletter from a prominent investment institution last week attempting to allay investor’s fears in regard to the share market. Obviously many investors are either leaving the managed funds preferring to invest directly or they are simply losing faith that the funds can deliver. What concerned me most about the newsletter was [...]
...read moreLast week I was reminded of a quote by Warren Buffet who stated following the extreme market pull in 1974 that we are fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. Times have definitely changed, and people have swung from the greedy heights of the long bull-run between 2003 and 2007 to [...]
...read moreAs investors everywhere hope for a resurgent 2009, I have cast my eye over the year ahead. How will the share market perform? Sector by sector here are my predictions. XAO We are now entering a very interesting phase in the market: although we are still locked in a sideways move, we are now about [...]
...read moreOne concept that has dominated the financial services industry for decades and which has had a significant impact on the performance of portfolios in recent years is the notion of dollar cost averaging. According to industry experts, dollar cost averaging reduces the risk of investing in volatile markets and helps to avoid the ‘so called’ [...]
...read more