Economics

The mood at this year’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, the annual gathering of the world’s top central bankers, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, was noticeably more relaxed. The message resonating through the picturesque landscape? The worst appears to be behind us.  continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics.

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Reggae legend Bob Marley might have been channelling the Bible when he wrote the lyrics for Zion Train and famously observed, “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold”. 

Warren Buffett once famously noted, “We’ve never succeeded in making a good deal with a bad person.”  continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics.

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The Sahm Recession Indicator has signalled nine of the previous U.S. recessions over the past 65 years, and the move to 0.53 per cent in July 2024 is now pointing to the tenth. The indicator signals the start of a recession when the three-month moving average of the U.S. national unemployment rate (U-3) rises by 0.50 per cent or more relative to the minimum of the three-month average from the preceding 12 months.    continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Economics.

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As a Gen Xer myself, it seems the press has left us behind, sandwiched as it were, between the Baby Boomers and Millennials. So, when an article purporting to describe me occasionally appears, I sit up and take notice. What do the media and financial experts think of my generation? Did they get it right? Or are they necessarily broad generalisations that don’t apply to me or my friends?  continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Editor's Pick.

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 In presidential campaign speeches in 1959 and 1960, John F. Kennedy noted, “In the Chinese language, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters, one representing danger and the other, opportunity.” It’s not quite correct but that didn’t stop the handy anecdote becoming a popular trope adopted by business consultants and in motivational speeches and calls to action.  continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics.

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Over the past 17 years, Chinese economic growth has decelerated from an approximate average annual 10 per cent to sub 5 per cent, whilst the Shanghai Composite Index has halved to under 2,900 points. Pressure on the Chinese residential property market and China’s ten-year bond yield at 2.1 per cent has been well highlighted, whilst the slowdown in sales from many big brand businesses is pointing to a deflationary environment, yet to be fully reflected in the iron-ore price.   continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Economics, Global markets.

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The easing cycle for the Western world has thankfully begun with each of the Canadian Central Bank, the European Central Bank and the Swedish Central Bank cutting their official cash rate by 0.25 per cent to 4.75 per cent, 4.25 per cent and 3.75 per cent, respectively. continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Economics.

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In this week’s interview with Paul Turton on ABC Newcastle radio, we discussed the disconnect between the share market and the broader economy, noting reasonable retailer profits despite rising living costs and declining discretionary spending. We covered the interest rates and the prevalence of variable home loans in Australia. The economy is slowing, with unemployment at a two-year high and discretionary spending low, yet sentiment for technology and artificial intelligence (AI) remains positive, with indexes at all-time highs. We also touched on how super funds might not fully benefit from the share market boom, even as industry super funds grow larger.   continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Economics, Radio.

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Australian governments at all levels are not known for thinking beyond the electoral cycle. Take the fact that Australia took on 540,000 immigrants last year, whilst births exceeded deaths by 110,000. Hence an additional 650,000 Australians, or 2.5 per cent of our population, at a time when our country is going through an unprecedented housing crisis.  continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Economics, Editor's Pick, Property.

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The Magnificent Seven (Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Meta (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), which rose by an average 111 per cent over calendar 2023, continued their strong upward trajectory, increasing a further 37 per cent, on average, over the six months to June 2024. This helped drag up the Nasdaq, which jumped 18.1 per cent and 28.5 per cent for the 6 and 12 months to June 2024, respectively. The S&P 500 also did very well, up 22.7 per cent for the year and up 14.5 per cent for the six months to June 2024.   continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Economics, Editor's Pick, Foreign Currency.

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