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4 May 2024
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The US market has pummelled Australia's over the past 16 years and for good reason: it has some incredible businesses. Australia does too, but if you want to enjoy US-type returns, you need to know where to look.
Stock markets are highly efficient in the long run yet share prices can fluctuate wildly near term. The art of investing is buying quality stocks when they’re temporarily down, and a current blue-chip may fit that profile.
The banks have reported results and it's a mixed picture of reduced margins from increased deposit competition, yet low bad debts and healthy capital positions. Here's a look at which banks stood out and which ones didn't.
While the ATO has many ways to watch taxpayer transactions and ensure tax is collected, for some unknown reason, it is legal to select from four different cost base treatments for capital gains tax. It's costing billions.
The May reporting season showed that Australia's banks are in good shape and face a better outlook than many sectors of the Australian market, despite rising interest rates. Patience should reward shareholders.
All the major banks have reported their results. With Covid largely behind us, low unemployment and minimal bad debts, they've largely had a good time of it. Here's a look at the major themes and what's to come.
A key feature of the May results for the banking sector was profits trending back to pre-Covid-19 levels, thanks to lower than expected unemployment and the growth in house prices.
I prefer not to make market forecasts but I need to take personal investment decisions. I'm expecting a stockmarket fall in 2022 as central banks tighten policies but the mainstays in my portfolio will not be sold.
The forecasts were wrong. In COVID, banks were expected to face falling house prices, high unemployment and a lending downturn. In the recovery, which banks are awarded gold stars based on the better performance?
Traditional SMSF asset allocations to cash, banks and property are changing as ultra-low interest rates start to bite, and SMSFs take on more diversified equity and fixed interest exposures.
Many of Australia's bank directors lack crucial skills in technology, operations and HR as part of a broader shortage of experience that is as important in dodging scandals as in business success.
Looking back over the last decade shows the factors which have driven success for some companies and failure for others, driven by falling interest rates, a lower Aussie dollar and technology changes.