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Proposed changes to negative gearing, capital gains tax (CGT) and new Australian Taxation Office (ATO) rules for holiday homes could significantly alter the economics of property investing in Australia. By reducing the tax advantages associated with property ownership, the changes may weaken demand across several investor groups and influence property prices over time.

Drawing on supply and demand principles, this whitepaper paper examines how investors, rentvesters, property flippers, holiday homeowners and discretionary trusts could be affected. It also explores the potential impact on borrowing capacity, resale demand and the attractiveness of established residential property compared with new builds. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Aura Group, Economics, Editor's Pick, Market commentary, Popular, Property, Whitepapers.

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The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Artificial intelligence (AI) has ‘Conquered’; in the Middle East, ‘War’ is underway and could take years to resolve, and changes afoot in enterprise-level AI spending would be akin to ‘Famine’ for AI hyperscalers that have spent trillions on scaling out the technology. All that awaits is the ‘Death’ of the AI bubble. Continue…

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

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Last week, Google reported its first ever quarter of negative cash flow, surprising analysts who thought Q1 2027 would be when pressure on cash flows could seriously emerge, and causing the share price to plunge more than seven per cent.

With the clear exception of Tesla, most of the Mag 7 once deserved high earnings multiples because they were asset-light businesses with competitive advantages that didn’t require money to be defended. The artificial intelligence (AI) race has quickly eroded those moats and their characterisation as asset-light, because, over the last two years, they have had to spend hundreds of billions building data centres to remain competitive. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Insightful Insights, Manufacturing, Market commentary, Market Valuation, Technology & Telecommunications.

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Inside every smartphone, laptop, PC, smart speaker, smart TV, digital camera, USB flash drive and gaming console is a memory chip. And then there are industrial, medical and military applications. As an aside, Dramatic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and Not And (NAND) are the high-volume, commodity memory semiconductor components, working together in every device. DRAM requires power and manages your data, while NAND, which does not require power, stores your data. Continue…

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

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For some time now, I have been writing about the fundamental structural shift occurring in global asset allocation, and specifically, the figurative death of the traditional 60/40 portfolio.

For many years, the typical approach to wealth management and balanced portfolios was to allocate 60 per cent to growth equities for potential capital gains and 40 per cent to public bonds to provide stability and income. 

When a recession struck and equity markets ran into headwinds, central banks cut interest rates, driving bond prices higher and shielding portfolio returns by offsetting stock market losses. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Aura Group, Economics, Insightful Insights, Investing Education, Market commentary, Market Valuation.

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I joined Jess Maguire on ABC Statewide Drive to discuss the recent sell-off in technology shares and why rising interest rates, weakening cash flows and growing questions around artificial intelligence (AI) economics may be shifting investor sentiment. We explored how reported earnings across the major AI companies may be overstating the underlying picture, why relatively modest price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios do not necessarily rule out a market correction, and why diversification remains important in an increasingly uncertain environment.

Listen from 1:44:13: ABC Statewide Drive  

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

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I joined Niav Owens on ABC Newcastle Mornings to discuss what history tells us about oil-price spikes and share markets, and why falling oil prices are not always positive for equities. We also explored the growing excitement around SpaceX, including the bullish case for the company, concerns about its proposed IPO structure, and why investors should be cautious of getting caught up in market hype. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Global markets, Market commentary, Radio.

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I joined Juliette Saly on Ausbiz to discuss the ASX debut of FDC Consolidated (ASX), outlining why I believe the construction and fit-out business presents a compelling investment opportunity. I highlighted its 36-year track record, strong insider ownership, large work in progress, repeat client base and attractive forecast yield, while noting that quality businesses can still attract investor demand despite a subdued Initial Public Offering (IPO) market. We also discussed Australia’s fragile consumer confidence, with high household debt, rising rents and ongoing cost-of-living pressures continuing to weigh on sentiment, even as confidence gradually recovers from its 53-year low.

Watch here: FDC’s ASX debut – a builder with bite  Continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Companies, Editor's Pick, Insightful Insights, Market commentary, Market Valuation, Small Caps, Stocks We Like, TV Appearances.

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I joined Jess Maguire on ABC Statewide Drive to discuss how the rise of passive investing is changing the sharemarket, with index funds increasingly pushing money into the biggest companies regardless of valuation. Using SpaceX as an example, we explored how speculative companies can attract enormous valuations during periods of market optimism, and why that may not last forever. We also looked at what this means for Australians, many of whom may have exposure to these trends through their superannuation.

Tune in from 1:45:22 on ABC Statewide Drive Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary, Market Valuation, Radio.

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The rush to Electric Vehicle (EV) ‘adoption’ surged globally following the outbreak of the war in Iran and the subsequent spike in fuel prices. In Europe, new EV registrations rose by roughly 34 per cent year-on-year (YoY) across 17 major markets, while some automakers like Renault reported a 50 per cent jump in their EV order books. 

Here in Australia, new EV uptake jumped nearly 50 per cent in the first month of the conflict, nearly doubling YoY sales to account for 14.6 per cent of all new car sales.

That these buyers weren’t buying before the war began might say something about motivations: less about being environmentally friendly and more about saving the hip pocket. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Manufacturing, Market commentary.

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