And that’s a wrap. As reporting season 2021 draws to an end, the consensus appears to be that this reporting season would have to be one of the best for corporate earnings in decades; but that the next half-year will be fraught with volatility, due to the Delta variant. In total there were 293 companies…
As part of the Government’s ‘Your Future, Your Super’ (YFYS) reforms, all APRA regulated super funds will be submitted to a performance test on a yearly basis. The test has been derided by the industry but ultimately forces every fund to measure itself against the index or ‘average’ fund. Where is persistently underperforms it will…
ETF Securities recently launched a Semiconductor ETF (ASX Code: SEMI) which offers investors exposure to the hottest sector of the moment, the global semiconductor market. The semiconductor market is largely controlled by the US and Taiwan, with the majority of its manufacturing centred in Taiwan. Semiconductors or chips are a vital component in most modern-day…
As Australia rolls up its sleeves for a Covid-19 jab, the number of people who have received at least one vaccination in Australia pushes past 54.4% (11.2m). The number of people fully vaccinated has quietly climbed past 31.6%. This takes Australia’s total vaccination progress to 24.29%, placing us just below Sri Lanka, which has a…
According to the Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index, dividends rose by 26.3% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2021 on a headline basis. This number recovered to A$628.3 billion, which was 6.8% below the second quarter of 2019. What does this all mean? Dividend payouts look set to return to pre-pandemic highs in the next…
Dual-listed kiwi A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) posted another disappointing year, as Covid-19 headwinds and changing conditions in China hit the bottom line. In its FY21 report, the company says the once-booming Chinese market has shrunk significantly due to cross-border trade implications. Its primary issue is that the “daigou” buyers, individuals buying goods to on-sell in China,…
You might recall that earlier in the year, Australia managed to pull off two rip-roaring quarters of economic growth, following last year’s recession, in which GDP fell 7%. That came in the wake of the crippling pandemic, which smashed exports, adding to the destruction China’s trade tariffs had already caused. According to Guardian Australia, in…
23-27 August 2021 Economics here and abroad… The ASX200 closed the week up 0.37 per cent, following an easing of Covid-19 cases throughout NSW and Victoria. Australian trade data is due out this week, but the market looks to be more focused on the second quarter GDP numbers and monthly building approvals. Australia could be…
Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX:SHL.) – The global healthcare provider delivered a solid profit result which was a touch above expectations. Net profit rose 149 per cent from the prior year to $1.3 billion in FY21, above an expected $1.285bn. However shares closed the day down 2.76%. Revenue was up 28 per cent from the prior…
Structured products made their way into investment markets a decade ago, but never really grew in popularity. As the name suggests, structured products are a combination of a stock, a bond, an index or a commodity such as gold or oil together with the use of one or more derivative instruments which creates specific payout…
