Australia, being a major global commodity producer, has the potential to become a ‘superpower’ in the new commodity currency order. This is especially true if we consider the current geopolitical events that are taking place: Australia’s strong position should benefit from the renewed focus on gold. Jodi Stanton, CEO of Rush Gold says, “As a…
While much of the world is recovering post-Covid, Shanghai has been forced into a Covid lockdown. In a surprising turn of events, the city’s 25 million people were forced into a strict lockdown almost four weeks ago by Government officials to cope with a new wave of Covid. This has since spread to Beijing. The…
I recently stumbled on Macquarie’s Open Table national seated dinners chart, which offered a stunning surprise for those commuting to still-empty cities. It shows that Australia is back at pre-Covid levels in terms of eating out, as “restaurant seated diners” numbers have fully recovered. In March 2020, COVID-19 had a disastrous effect as it shut…
While the crisis in Ukraine enters its fourth month, the knock-on effect caused by supply disruptions to energy and commodity prices has been a positive windfall for companies listing in April. In total there were 13 companies that listed on the ASX, with the majority being either energy- or materials-focused, in particular, battery minerals (lithium)…
The world is largely open for travel. As vaccination rates peak, governments across the globe are managing to contain COVID-19 and relax border restrictions. Travel in China, however, is heavily compromised by COVID restrictions. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), “North American and European international traffic rebounded to -42% of their 2019 peaks…
For as long as Warren Buffett has been value investing, which has been seven decades, gold bugs have been spruiking their favourite precious metal’s ability to safeguard a portfolio during times of war and act an inflationary hedge when fuel prices rise. An inflationary hedge is one that protects against the decrease of the Australian…
ETF Securities and 21Shares have confirmed the launch of Australia’s first Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds ( ETFs), allowing local investors to invest in both cryptocurrencies. According to a press announcement, the leading provider of exchange-traded funds will launch two funds offering simple and cost-effective access to cryptocurrency investments. They are: ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF…
The new-generation wealth management platforms, Praemium (ASX:PPS), HUB24 (ASX:HUB) and Netwealth (ASX:NWL) are once again gaining ground, with all three players delivering record net inflows over the March quarter of 2022; in stark contrast to the active funds management sector, which is seeing the opposite trend. Leading the pack was HUB24 (ASX:HUB), which posted…
With slowly moving into the distance, a myriad of negative pressures have created an inflationary outlook shaped by historically high levels of Government stimulus spending, rising interest rates and supply chain disruptions. The ongoing war in Ukraine has only exacerbated existing headwinds. The rapid onset of inflation has caught many advisers off-guard. It means that…
The recent earnings season triggered a market rotation out of high-flying growth stocks such as Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) and Kogan (ASX:KGN), back into cyclical energy/commodity stocks such as Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) and Iluka (ASX:ILU). Many of these Covid-winners, stocks that did exceptionally well during Covid, had an extremely poor time adjusting back to pre-Covid levels…
