JobKeeper

In this regular quarterly analysis, we assess the key economic events of the March quarter and seek to identify key opportunities or drivers for the years ahead. Australia Government bond rates were the story of the quarter, with the Australian 10-year yield, an important input into property and other asset valuations, reaching a multi-year high…

ASX up 1.7% for the week, all action at the CEO-level of AMP and TPG, battery stocks on the charge  The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) finished the day 0.5% higher, with every sector but healthcare delivering a positive return. Telecommunications and IT were the highlights, finishing 1.3% and 1.2% higher, with a 2.4% jump in Telstra (ASX:TLS) offsetting a 6.7% fall…

Despite another week of solid economic and market announcements, the outlook for the economy and more importantly asset markets remain as uncertain as ever. On the one hand, Australian unemployment falling back below 6% should be seen as an emphatic show of strength, supporting a risk on view towards sharemarkets. Yet the threat of an…

Time is ticking. With less than two weeks left, 1.54 million Aussie JobKeeper recipients will have their beloved allowance winched away for good. On March 28, the government will completely wean approved businesses and employees off the JobKeeper wage subsidy of $1,500 per fortnight (later scaled back to $1,000). What was JobKeeper? JobKeeper is part…

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) season in Australia is becoming more of a forum for companies to update shareholders on the outlook for earnings, and for shareholders to push the ESG agenda, according to Martin Currie Australia, an active equity specialist investment manager. Reece Birtles, chief investment officer, and Will Baylis, portfolio manager, at Martin…

Aussie fund manager gives Budget an ‘F’ for FAIL The head of the Australian wealth and superannuation manager Nucleus Wealth, Damien Klassen, has drawn a pointed analysis of the Morrison/Frydenberg budget strategy. “The budget misses the mark bigtime, by focusing on the supply side of the economic equation when in fact the biggest issue by…

The Federal Government delivered it’s delayed but much needed annual Budget last week. The conclusion: massive deficits, tax cuts and a boon for businesses large and small. Whilst positive, there was little in the way of support for the businesses most impacted by forced Government shutdowns, being tourism, travel and education, with the Budget effectively…

Market risks appear more balanced, quality companies poised to win market share.

The scale of the human, social and economic costs wrought by COVID-19 has prompted some politicians to compare it with war. Although this might create some good political spin, which is always attractive to politicians, it is not correct. The differences between COVID-19 and actual war are many and varied. In truth, the only thing…