Insightful Insights

First published in Cuffelinks newsletter on 8 November 2013

Amid the recent emergence of rising prices, all the talk of bubbles in stocks or in property is simply premature. We’ll leave US Treasury bonds and the US Federal Reserve out of this discussion until the Postscript and focus on Australia for now.

That is not to say that prices will not decline. They may fall, but any drop from current levels would not be due to the presence of a bubble, nor evidence of it bursting. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Insightful Insights.

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Every year, thousands of young people arrive in Australia on temporary working visas. Drawn by an apparently attractive economy, employment opportunities, high salaries and not to mention golden beaches, there were some 155,325 Working Holiday visa holders and 5,178 Work and Holiday visa holders in Australia as of June 30 2013, according to the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. continue…

by Madeleine Taylor Posted in Insightful Insights.

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In the past year the Slater & Gordon (ASX:SGH) share price has doubled to $4.00, giving the company a market capitalisation approaching $800m. Specialising in personal injury insurance and litigation services including everything from asbestos and medical law to workers compensation law, Slater & Gordon has 69 offices in Australia. The company also has, we believe, strong medium-term prospects thanks to an aggressive acquisition strategy into the highly fragmented UK law industry. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Insightful Insights.

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We have discussed previously the ingredients required to invest successfully over the very long run. And it is encouraging that the two essential ingredients, the ability to value a business and understanding how the market works -particularly its bipolar nature and tendency to treat temporary events as permanent – can be taught. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Insightful Insights, Montgomery News and Updates.

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Many punters who spent Tuesday standing and watching their favourite thoroughbred gallop around the Flemington track will be pleased to learn of the mounting evidence showing sitting down all day is bad for us. continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Insightful Insights.

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To be successful as investors over the long haul, we mortals must overcome some big obstacles. Some of these are obvious – the volume of news and information published daily on companies and the stock market presents a daunting challenge for anyone without the luxury of being able to study it full time, and the complexity of modern finance theory seems designed to confound anyone with less than PhD level qualifications. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Insightful Insights.

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We found this comment interesting from a global analyst we really like… continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Insightful Insights, Technology & Telecommunications.

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The ASX 300 Accumulation index is up 14.7 per cent so far this financial year. The long run annual average return on Australian equities is around 11 per cent, comprised of 4-5 per cent dividends and 6-7 per cent capital growth, so we have seen more than a year’s worth of gains in under 4 months – about 4 times the normal rate. continue…

by Tim Kelley Posted in Insightful Insights.

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Bruno Altin recently asked a very interesting question about Australian wages on my Facebook page. Here’s his question, and my response…

Q: Roger, do you think that wages in Australia will fall to be comparable to the rest of the world? And if yes, do you also think Australia will see a period of unprecedented recession like Europe is experiencing due to lower wages and high debt levels? continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Insightful Insights.

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Between 1995 and 2000, the mere mention of the word ‘internet’ in your business plan, IPO or marketing material was enough to set your stock on fire. Over that five-year period, the Nasdaq climbed from under 1,000 to 5,000 despite few businesses in the index actually making any money. continue…

by Russell Muldoon Posted in Insightful Insights.

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