In my column today I write that the biggest winners from the royal commission are demonstrably the big banks while the largest losers are Australia’s mortgage brokers. Indeed, the top end of town have done an amazing job (as we predicted) convincing everyone that brokers should be made the “fall... Show More
In my AFR column I explain why UBS's banking analyst Jon Mott has jumped to incorrect conclusions in regard to the quality of Westpac's mortgage book (click on that link to read for free or AFR subs can click here for direct access). Excerpt enclosed: Show More
Sydney’s property market recently caught the attention of BBC News who wrote: “Is the Sydney market stable? Not according to the tellingly named UBS Housing Bubble Index. Released in September, it named Sydney the fourth most likely city in the world to face a housing correction. The most bubbly city... Show More
It’s been a quiet month for gold, with the yellow metal up slightly, despite a reduction in net longs, minor ETF outflows, and a rally in risk assets. Sentiment has definitely turned though, with a buy-the-dips mentality emerging amongst banks, including UBS and Credit Suisse, whilst Peter Grandich thinks “the... Show More
On Monday, a Swiss friend was bemoaning the dramatic fall in the share prices of Credit Suisse and UBS. Indeed, in terms of market cap UBS, CS and Deutsche Bank combined were worth slightly more than Commonwealth Bank. Despite working in finance, the Swiss friend has not heard of this... Show More
In the Beige Book, which gathers anecdotal information on current economic decisions by each Federal Reserve Bank ahead of the FOMC meeting, there were 11 mentions of “China.” (see UBS chart below) Show More
UBS says Orocobre, with its new long-life low-cost Olaroz mine in Argentina and large resource, is the standout in the sector, with other hopefuls still largely at the exploration stage. Tesla's much-hyped launch of its Powerwall lithium-ion home battery late last month has galvanised the market, focusing attention on the... Show More
“At this month's UBS Investor Forum, the recent weak economic data out of the United States was a key topic. The main question was how this would affect the Federal Reserve's willingness to raise interest rates. Participants could not agree on what the Fed was looking at, be it inflation,... Show More
UBS: Central Bank policy divergence the major theme for 2015. Andreas Koester of UBS Global Asset Management says the divergent movements of Central Bank policy settings will be the major theme of 2015. He says any move away from ZIRP is likely to have material disruptive impacts. 'As soon as... Show More
UBS: Bull markets die from excesses - not old age: The fundamental growth in the current five-year old bull market can be attributed largely to an impressive rebound in corporate profits. In the long run, while market valuations tend to oscillate within a wide range around their long term average,... Show More