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This U.S. summer, a new investment frenzy – akin to the SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) exuberance of 2020/21 – has gripped Wall Street as companies transform their balance sheets into crypto vaults. And as September unfolds, the corporate dash into cryptocurrencies shows no signs of slowing.

From Japanese hotel operators to chipmakers, tech startups, and legacy manufacturers, they have all funnelled tens of billions into Bitcoin and altcoins, reimagining their cash reserves as bets on digital assets. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Digital Asset Funds Management, Global markets, Market commentary.

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• POSTED IN Digital Asset Funds Management, Global markets, Market commentary.

I joined Sean Aylmer on Fear + Greed yesterday to discuss Myer’s disappointing announcement of a 30 per cent decline in profit, which was followed by a 25 per cent drop in its share price.

So, what went wrong?

As a traditional bricks-and-mortar department store, Myer has been grappling with significant challenges. Its move into the highly competitive online retail space has brought debt and complex integration issues, while also placing it in direct competition with pure-play online retailers. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Market commentary, Podcast Channel.

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• POSTED IN Companies, Market commentary, Podcast Channel.

In the past 14 months, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has cut its cash rate on seven separate occasions by an aggregate 3.0 per cent from 5.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, as seen in Table 1.

Table 1. Reserve bank of New Zealand rate cuts Continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Global markets, Market commentary, Property.

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• POSTED IN Global markets, Market commentary, Property.

Over the last month, the U.S. stock market has shown signs of shifting priorities. That’s because, surprisingly, the top-performing sectors weren’t the usual suspects. They weren’t the high-flying artificial intelligence (AI), technology, or defence industries, but the more stable and defensive healthcare, utilities, and gold sectors. These sectors, seen as safe havens, suggest that at least some investors are bracing for turbulence.

It certainly raises the question: Are cracks forming in this bull market? Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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Since inflation peaked at 9.1 per cent in mid-2022, consumer prices have cooled dramatically, job growth has dwindled from nearly 4 per cent annually to a meagre 0.9 per cent, nominal gross domestic product (GDP) expansion has halved from 10 per cent to 4.6 per cent, and commodity prices have dropped 15 per cent. Despite all of this, bond yields have stubbornly refused to ease. Mainly hovering between 4 per cent and 5 per cent – and sitting at around 4 per cent today – bullish investors argue these yields are oddly, and unjustifiably, detached from the underlying economic slowdown. Real activity has tapered and consumer price index (CPI) inflation has plummeted to 2.9 per cent. So why haven’t yields collapsed? Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Global markets, Investing Education, Market commentary.

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• POSTED IN Global markets, Investing Education, Market commentary.

If you’re tracking equities, it’s vital to keep an eye on the bond markets, as they’re signalling genuine unease. That nervousness is now rippling through global economies. Continue…

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

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• POSTED IN Economics, Global markets, Market commentary.

In this week’s video insight, I tackle the question I’m most often asked  – is the market going to crash? The truth is, no one knows. While valuations across measures like price-to-earnings and market-cap-to-GVA suggest markets are expensive, they can stay that way for a long time. Rather than selling out, investors should consider rebalancing – trimming profits from equities that have grown beyond their target allocation and reallocating to alternatives such as private credit or arbitrage strategies. This approach helps manage risk and reduce anxiety without trying to time the market’s next move.

For more information, give David Buckland or Rhodri Taylor a call on (02) 8046 5000. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Video Insights.

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In U.S. trading overnight, Nvidia achieved a market capitalisation of US$5 trillion, after which Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Google’s parent company Alphabet delivered their September quarter earnings.

The results were impressive, as expected. Microsoft reported Q1 revenue of US$77.67 billion, beating estimates of US$75.33 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.13, surpassing the US$3.67 forecast. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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In the sun-drenched suburbs of Sydney and the graffiti-covered laneways of Melbourne, electric vehicles (EVs) are silently zipping around, charging up in garages, and bringing smiles to the faces of those who voted for Labor’s march toward net zero.

It is, without doubt, a feel-good story: cleaner air for the user, reduced emissions for the suburb, and tech-savvy signalling to everyone else on the road. But beneath the glossy ads and government incentives lies a darker undercurrent – one that cybersecurity experts, former military leaders, and national security advisors have recently shouted from the rooftops. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Manufacturing.

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We are in very unique times. In 1963, the late Sydney Homer published the first edition of his book A History of Interest Rates. Covering 4000 years of interest rate history, and now in its fourth edition, the book has become a classic in the fields of finance and economics. 

Nowhere in Homer’s pages however do you ever read zero interest rates.

So that is how extraordinary and abnormal the last 10 years has been. Human history has not hitherto experienced the zero interest rates we have all now experienced in the last decade or so. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Foreign Currency, Global markets, Market commentary.

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• POSTED IN Foreign Currency, Global markets, Market commentary.