For the best part of the past decade, CommSec has produced “The Big Issues” report – a report that has sought to highlight issues that are expected to influence on the economy over the forthcoming 12 months. Now this is no crystal ball gazing exercise. The aim is not just to forecast where certain economic [...]
continue readingThe past week saw most share markets rise with Chinese shares up 4.3%, European shares up 1% and Australian shares up 0.7%, but fiscal cliff worries weighed on US shares dragging them down 0.3%. So far this month US shares are down marginally, but the first few weeks of December are normally pretty flat with [...]
continue readingThis edition of Oliver’s Insights provides a review of key developments of relevance for investors in 2012 and the outlook for 2013. The key points are as follows: While 2012 has had its fair share of worries, it has turned out far better than feared and share markets and growth assets have been able to [...]
continue readingIs there a Santa Claus effect? CommSec has always been sceptical about research showing whether there is a ‘right’ time to be buying shares. But we decided to re-visit the data, dissecting monthly figures on the sharemarket over the past 70 years to assess whether there are consistent trends on ‘good’ and ‘bad’ times to [...]
continue readingThe past week has seen reasonable gains in share markets despite fiscal cliff worries as economic data has generally been supportive. December is normally a strong month for shares but most of the Santa Claus rally normally comes around Christmas/New Year. There are four things of note for investors from the past week. Firstly, while [...]
continue readingEmployment rose by 13,900 in November after a revised gain of 10,100 jobs in October (previously +10,700). Economists had expected a flat result. In November, full-time jobs fell by 4,200 after rising by 17,600 in October. Part-time jobs rose by 18,100 after falling by 7,400 in October. Full-time jobs have only fallen once in the [...]
continue readingThe record-breaking economic expansion has notched up another quarter of growth. The Australian economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the September quarter to stand 3.1 per cent higher than a year ago. The biggest contributions to growth came from business equipment spending (+0.4 percentage points), followed by inventories (+0.3pp), household consumption (+0.2pp), and net [...]
continue readingThe Reserve Bank Board reduced the official cash rate by 25 basis points (quarter of a per cent) to 3.00 per cent. The next Board meeting is on February 5 2013. The accompanying commentary is relatively upbeat, suggesting that the Reserve Bank wants to sit and pause – especially with the so-called US “Fiscal cliff” [...]
continue readingThe attached edition of Oliver’s Insights looks at the decision by the RBA to cut the official cash rate to its 2009 GFC low of 3%. The key points are as follows: While the RBA has cut the official cash rate back to its post GFC record low of 3%, overall policy settings are nowhere [...]
continue readingCompany profits fell for the fourth straight quarter, dropping by 2.9 per cent in the September quarter. Profits stand 13.0 per cent lower than a year ago. Sales fell in 8 of 15 sectors in the September quarter while inventories rose for the fourth straight quarter, up 1.1 per cent. Wages & salaries fell by [...]
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