Pythagoras

2020 in review. Stock market reactions. Governmental reactions. China’s importance. Trade Wars. US leadership. Where are the markets are up to and where to from here? Should we continue to invest?

No matter what your philosophical position on vaccines, they are about to influence our lives in a way never seen before. (In fact, they already have been).  To understand more we examine the front runner for the Covid-19 vaccine and its’ importance to the whole world. Right now, AstraZenica is the front runner in the…

China-Australia trade war and the 14 reasons why. RCEP and why it is ho-hum for Australia. The Australia-Japan defence pact – are we throwing more sand in China’s face? Stock markets and where to from here.

Market love certainty – and a coronavirus vaccine is giving confidence that businesses can open and be able to trade and recover. Where else should you invest?

The US election looms as a point of great uncertainty.  As we get closer I expect some uncertainty to rise – with Melbourne Cup, The RBA meeting and the US Election all on the one day! This week we wanted to review the arguments for the bulls and the bears to understand the differences –…

This week the RBA announced it would keep interest rates at 0.25%. They are likely to fall further and little chance we will see much of an interest rate rises for years.  Property has been knocked and investment property has suffered due to huge impacts on the rental markets with rent freezes and bans on…

Reporting Season August was the fifth successive month of growth, albeit modest.  With earnings season finished we can now make some overall observations.  Earnings per share in the second half of financial year 2019/20 fell by 38%.  The worst of the earnings fall in the 2008/09 GFC was about 20%.  This health induced recession has…

If you would like to be added to the Weekly Wrap Newsletter please register here. Capital raisings set to continue The uncertainty about the impact of the pandemic has sparked many capital raisings on stock exchanges around the world. Australia has raised $30bn of capital from the beginning of the year to the start of August…

If you would like to be added to the Weekly Wrap Newsletter please register here. Decoupling or Boycotting Australia China wants the US to accommodate a different political, economic and values system.  But the US believes China wants to erode free-market norms and democracy.  America has wanted to protect itself from and terms of trade imbalance…

If you would like to be added to the Weekly Wrap Newsletter please register here. Chinese Trade Whilst analysts had expected exports from China to fall by 0.6% for July they actually rose 7.2% due to demand for medical goods and automobiles as COVID-19 restrictions relaxed around the world.  This sort of strength means Australia’s raw…

The Australian Dollar From the middle of the GFC the A$:USD appreciated from 65c to $1.00+.  Similarly, from the end of March 2020 our currency has surged from a low of 58c to 72c.  This is a mammoth move.  Exporters must cope with these currency moves as foreign buyers pay more Australian dollars for our…

Gold Prices Gold is a highly speculative metal.  It is a different type of asset as it isn’t based on an income stream like most shares, property, bonds and cash. In addition, the supply of every ounce produced still exists and can come back on to the market, however unlikely.  Herd mentality plays a huge…

Economic Update The budget has been deferred and this week’s economic update was the first chance to see the “damage” and understand what is likely to occur in 2021.  There are a lot of numbers but critically unemployment is forecast to peak at 9.25% by Christmas and drop from there.  Unemployment is now 7.4%. Going…