Financial markets can be subject to periods of event-related volatility during which investor confidence can be significantly undermined. Here, we provide 10 key messages to help investors steer their portfolios through volatile times. Show More
US CLO issuance is at record pace but credit quality is slipping. US high yield bond covenants are at their worst since records began in 2011, even B and CCC rated bond covenants are weak, but in Europe high yield bond buyers are starting to push back on terms. US... Show More
The recovery in global stock markets has turned into one of the strongest bull markets on record, eclipsed only by the 1990s bubble in technology, media and telecoms. That in itself need not necessarily be cause for alarm. Records, as they say, are there to be broken and bull markets... Show More
CommSec Advisory’s Justin Wynne speaks with Tom Piotrowski about the upcoming February reporting season, including the factors to focus on in the results of the banks & miners. Show More
In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the traditional method of lowering interest rates failed to promote meaningful growth or inflation. This prompted several major central banks, including the US Federal Reserve (Fed), to undertake ‘extraordinary’ monetary policy measures to stimulate their economies. The effect of such an... Show More
China’s central bank balance sheet is the biggest central bank balance sheet in the global economy, and has been for several years. That reflects China’s two bouts of QE over the past 10 years. Initially China carried out a type of QE we label ‘FX QE’, i.e. from 2009 through... Show More
We often lose sight of what drives markets. It’s a question as complex as it is simple. We can become lost in information, research and opinions, but ultimately we need to re-centre on this critical question: what drives markets? Show More
In the first in a series of three new interviews with Giselle Roux, we turn our minds to the big picture for 2017, and ask what she believes to be the market's single biggest market driver. Giselle is CIO at Wealth Management firm Escala Partners, which manages over $2 billion... Show More
In The Australian Financial Review I argue that it is misguided to conceive of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as irrational, a radical reformer, or a right-wing zealot—history suggests he is none of these things. While one can quibble with his ethics, morality, consistency and personal style, he is unambiguously the pure American profit... Show More
The Australian economy is showing signs of growing at an acceptably firm pace over the medium term and with inflation starting to lift towards the RBA’s 2-3% target according to recent commentaries by the RBA including the speech given by Governor Philip Lowe yesterday. There are several key assessments and... Show More