China

We asked our portfolio managers to share their views on potential surprises for 2019 which on balance of probabilities are unlikely to happen but shouldn’t be written off entirely. Here are ten potential surprises for 2019. Show More

The Australian economy performed well during 2018 with rising GDP, lower unemployment and stable inflation. Despite this, the outlook for 2019 is not as positive, as a number of factors are beginning to point to downside in the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) achieving their policy mandate including low inflation,... Show More

Last month we saw the FED raising rates for the 9th time in the last 3 years, now to 2.25-2.5% per annum. Also, this month, the FED might keep its Quantitative Tightening (QT) program to US$50 billion per month, in order to reduce its inflated balance sheet. Show More

2017 was a great year for well diversified investors – returns were solid (balanced super funds returned around 10%) and volatility was low. So optimism was high going into 2018 but it turned out to be anything but great for investors who saw poor returns (average balanced super funds look... Show More

There’s no shortage of big-picture issues playing on investors' nerves right now. Macro and geopolitical forces have a firm grip on sentiment, and 2018 will be recorded as the year that delivered the highest percentage of negative returns across asset classes. Show More

Apple significantly reduced its guidance for the December quarter, blaming China and a few other factors for the shortfall. This is Apple's first negative pre-announcement in over a decade, since at least the launch of the iPhone. The announcement came after the US market closed and Apple's shares are trading... Show More

Two of the world’s largest economies are going head-to-head and investors are fretting. Will the United States and China make a deal? Will tensions ensue and tariffs be raised? What will happen to markets? The stakes are high and with the G20 only a day away, it seems we are... Show More

There are 125 million people joining the Chinese middle class every year, and this supports long term investment opportunities. Adrian Warner, Managing Director and CIO of Avenir Capital discusses one of these when we asked him to share one of his most compelling investment ideas. Show More

In 2017, emerging markets delivered some of their best returns since 2009. However, a series of headwinds – which include a stronger US dollar, lower liquidity due to rising US rates, China’s attempts at deleveraging, and uncertainty surrounding trade – have now hit. This has meant some of those gains... Show More

Asia is the best structural growth story in the world driven by strong demographics, a rising middle class, infrastructure build and technological leapfrogging. We believe that the combination of high growth and reasonable prices offer a compelling opportunity. Show More

Sometimes it seems like there’s nowhere to hide. Equity investors were smacked in the face over the month of October, with waves of selling hitting sharemarkets from Sydney to Shanghai and London to New York. Something like $7 trillion was wiped off the value of global sharemarkets. Tighter financial conditions,... Show More

2018 was another eventful year for markets around the world, but what lies in store for the next 12 months for investors? Andrew Milligan, Head of Global Strategy, outlines Aberdeen Standard Investments’ 2019 global markets outlook. Here are five key takeaways. Show More

There was much fanfare on the 22nd May 1994 when millionaire Japanese dentist Akihiro Kabe and co-driver Takeshi Okano approached the start of Australia’s inaugural Cannonball run in a $750,000 Ferrari F40. At the time the most expensive new Ferrari in the world, it was about to tackle Darwin to... Show More

The performance of Shanghai Composite Index is lagging the US market by a massive 30% so far this year. Mary Manning says this divergence is extreme when compared to the ‘economic reality’ of the trade tariffs. She describes two scenarios both of which she believes would provide a positive catalyst... Show More

On my last trip to China, we were a little cautious despite the optimism displayed by China’s primary industries — a flow on from the stimulus-led recovery of 2016. Our caution proved warranted. Money supply tightened and key macro indicators weakened, which hit bulks in particular. This time around there... Show More

All major value equity indices show that the last five years, and in particular the last 12 months, have been a challenge for value as a style. If we look at any relative valuations or relative performance between value and growth in Australia, globally or the US, we see that... Show More

Food Revolution Group (FOD), trading at 9.5c, the producer of all-Australian juices, fibres and “infused fruits” is getting serious about China, having entered a distribution deal with Daigou channel Health More. Show More

What would you nominate as the most under-appreciated risk in the market today? There seems to have been an endless carousel of macro ‘bogeymen’, yet markets keep inching higher. So which risks really matter, and which ones have investors overlooked? Show More

So far, 2018 has been a difficult year for emerging market (EM) assets, which in the last few months have fared significantly worse than their counterparts in developed markets. This has been due mainly to worldwide issues but also country-specific political uncertainty. Many investors are now asking if the sell-off... Show More

Ah currencies. Just how important are they? Many pretend to understand, but are quickly confused. Even US presidents. I particularly like this exchange between President Nixon and his Chief of Staff, Haldeman: Show More