U.S. consumer delinquencies jump to highest in almost a decade

As reported by Bloomberg, delinquency rates on loans rose to 4.8 per cent of all outstanding U.S. household debt in the fourth quarter, the highest level since 2017. The rise in defaults was driven by delinquencies in mortgage payments, particularly in lower income zip codes, and student-loan delinquencies. Overall household debt balances climbed 1 per cent from the previous quarter to $18.8 trillion, with the share of credit-card loans at least 90 days delinquent rising to 12.7 per cent. The jobless rate for workers 16 to 24 years old stood at 10.4 per cent in December, near the highest levels since the depths of the pandemic in 2021. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Global markets, Market commentary.

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The stock market is experiencing a dramatic bifurcation. While traditional sectors surge – energy companies are up over 20 per cent and materials firms 15 per cent – a different story is unfolding in the technology and financial services sectors. Established players are watching their valuations crumble as investors grapple with the answers to a simple question: which companies will survive the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution? Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary, Technology & Telecommunications.

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ARB just dropped its half-year 2026 results, and if you only looked at the stock price as  – down 13 per cent by the close of 24 February 2026 – you’d think the wheels had fallen off the 4WD. But as any off-road enthusiast knows, sometimes you have to gear down to get through the mud. In fact, ARB is up by 14 per cent today (25 February 2026).

While the headline numbers from their report reflect some “short-term pain,” the underlying story suggests the “long-term gain” remains on track. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Small Caps, Stocks We Like.

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I joined Paul Turton on ABC Newcastle Mornings to discuss the recent volatility in global markets, driven by U.S. tariffs, political uncertainty and rapid developments in artificial intelligence (AI). I explained that because the U.S. represents around 30 to 40 per cent of global market capitalisation, what happens there inevitably affects Australia, and heightened uncertainty is making investors less willing to pay elevated valuations. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Radio, Technology & Telecommunications.

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Business is like a piano accordion. Sectors and individual companies expand and grow, then contract, necessarily becoming smaller than they once were. If you keep this metaphor in mind when investing, it can help you understand the business’s stage of life. 

There are exceptions, of course – those businesses that rise above the cycle of invention, adoption, scale, saturation, disruption and destruction, but they are few and far between. Most will eventually reach a natural limit to their size, and then they either sit there, churning customers for lower margins, or are disrupted, or their customers move on to the next trend. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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Over the weekend, Michael Howell from CrossBorder Capital updated his global liquidity analysis, concluding the sell-off isn’t over for Bitcoin, and elsewhere, accelerating global economic growth will draw liquidity from other asset markets, limiting their upside.

In Bitcoin, while some forecasters eye a rally to $90,000, Howell and the team at CrossBorder Capital have other ideas.

According to Howell, the wind has been knocked out of the sails of the “Everything Bubble”, and if you’re holding out for a vertical move upward, a skid toward $30,000 is the more statistically likely path. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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How do you produce a ball of wool? Pull on the thread of a woollen jumper! What was once a fine, handmade piece of clothing can quickly become a jumbled mess on the floor, and all one has to do is pull on the thread.

I wonder whether that’s a fitting metaphor for what’s going on in equity markets right now. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary, Technology & Telecommunications.

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Investors around the world are desperately trying to discern the future, and in particular, the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on it.

On the one hand, you have the hyperscalers warning of an apocalyptic future involving mass layoffs, business collapse and the creation of an omnipotent AI god.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says we’re nearing “the exponential”, where AI generates trillions of dollars and the economy grows 10-20 per cent a year. At the same time, Amodei says this new force with God-like abilities, requires regulation around “AI safety.” Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary, Technology & Telecommunications.

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