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I joined Jess Maguire on ABC Statewide Drive to discuss rising U.S. interest rates and bond yields, what is driving them, and the potential flow-on effects for Australia. We also explored government debt, artificial intelligence (AI) investment, equity markets and what higher borrowing costs could mean for investors.

Listen from 1:43:51 here: ABC Statewide Drive 

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

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Codan (ASX:CDA)  is an Australian technology company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets communications and metal-detection equipment. Its two main operating segments are Communications and Metal Detection. Within those businesses sit brands and operations including DTC, Zetron and Minelab, giving Codan exposure to tactical and defence communications, unmanned systems, public-safety communications and gold detection. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Editor's Pick, Manufacturing, Market commentary, Market Valuation, Popular, Small Caps, Stocks We Like.

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Australia’s housing crisis has reached a tipping point, but listening to the federal government, you’d be forgiven for thinking everything is running smoothly and under control!

2026 would have to be the first year the budget is still in the headlines three months after it was delivered. And that’s because it is proving to be an unmitigated disaster for the economy, investors, and homeowners, and now renters.

At the centre of the latest policy storm is the Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing Minister Clare O’Neil’s insistence – backed by Treasury ‘modelling’ – that recent tax adjustments impacting property investors will lead to a mere $2-a-week rent increase.

As an aside, we have to remember the almost universal failure of all modelling Labor has relied on, from electricity bill reductions of $275 by 2025 to house prices rising by a gentle two per cent. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Property.

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Recently, a friend recommended John Anderson’s Conversations podcast on Spotify. 

One of the more immediately relevant is Anderson’s interview with former senior Treasury official David Pearl.

Listening, I discovered, beyond the discussion about the energy transition, that Australia’s decline – a decline I believe many are now witnessing and believing – is not fate but the product of bad choices made by the people running our institutions.

David Pearl is a former assistant secretary of the Australian Treasury and now a full-time writer and commentator on economic and cultural policy. He spent some three decades in the federal bureaucracy, with postings to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the late 1990s and a period as the Treasurer’s representative in the United States, working across taxation, fiscal management and energy policy. He writes regularly for The Australian and The Spectator Australia and appears frequently on Sky News, where he has been among the most persistent critics of Treasury’s modelling of the renewable energy transition. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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Australia’s August reporting season is now underway, with investors turning their attention from macroeconomic headlines to what ultimately matters most over the long term: company earnings and outlook statements.

This reporting season arrives against the backdrop of uncertainty in the economy. We expect strong results from major resource companies following a favourable year for commodity prices, while many consumer-facing and housing-related businesses may disappoint and are likely to deliver more cautious guidance as elevated interest rates, higher operating costs and ever-changing tax settings continue to pressure margins. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Popular.

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BCA Research (BCA), a global investment research firm, recently released its August 2026 market update, in which the authors argue against becoming defensive too early.

According to BCA, the current bull market contains many of the necessary ingredients for a future bust – geopolitical risk, an extraordinary artificial intelligence (AI) capital expenditure boom, and a looming wave of very large initial public offerings (IPOs) – but BCA believes the immediate evidence still favours investing in risk assets such as shares. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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The Energy Institute’s “Statistical Review of World Energy” for 2025 provides an interesting snapshot of how the world’s energy is supplied and, importantly, where Australia fits into the picture. The numbers reveal just how dependent we (and the rest of the world) are on oil, gas, and coal. But most interestingly, this report raises questions about Australia’s approach to nuclear energy, coal exports and decarbonisation. Continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Editor's Pick, Energy / Resources, Insightful Insights, Market commentary.

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I joined Kylie Morris on ABC Newcastle Mornings to discuss the recent increase in market volatility and the shift underway beneath the surface of equity markets. We explored how years of momentum-driven investing and record inflows into index funds have fuelled the outperformance of a handful of large technology stocks, and why that trend may now be reversing. We also discussed the next phase of the artificial intelligence (AI) investment cycle, where investors are becoming more selective about which businesses are likely to benefit, as well as the sharp correction in South Korea’s technology sector as a reminder of the risks that can emerge when markets become concentrated.

Tune in from 33:30 here: ABC Newcastle Mornings Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Insightful Insights, Market commentary, Market Valuation, Radio.

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FDC Consolidated Holdings Limited (ASX: FDC), a major Australian construction, fit-out, and building services company, has had an auspicious beginning as a public company after listing for $3.00 per share on the ASX on 13 July 2026. FDC reported a 13 per cent increase in revenue for the year to June 2026 to $1.69 billion, whilst underlying Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (excluding listing costs) rose 18 per cent to $96.5 million. Continue…

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

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When the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields pierced five per cent on September 14, they reached their highest level since October 2023, and signalled a potential conflict between sovereign debt realities and a relentlessly optimistic equity market. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Editor's Pick, Global markets, Insightful Insights, Market commentary, Market Valuation.

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