“World stock markets have rounded off a wild and difficult year,” the article began, pointing to multiple uncertainties in a polarised US political system, a crisis–ridden Eurozone and a rapidly slowing Chinese economy. Does that sound familiar? That was from a calendar year wrap–up of markets published by BBC News on 30 December 2011, more […]
Global equity markets posted their worst performance in seven years in 2018, although most of the damage was done in the fourth quarter. The step-up in volatility towards year–end was variously attributed in the media to US–China trade tensions, signs of a global economic slowdown and concerns about the US Federal Reserve’s plans for further […]
I was never a mechanically-minded kid. At the start of year 9 in school, all students were required to choose from a list of elective classes. The options were woodwork, metalwork or typing. Every other boy in my year 9 class chose woodwork or metalwork. I chose typing. This wasn’t due to any foresight about […]
Volatility is back. Just as many people were starting to think markets only ever move in one direction, the pendulum has swung back the other way. Anxiety is a completely natural response to these events. Acting on those emotions, though, can end up doing us more harm than good. There are several explanations from economists […]
The global fashion industry is fickle by nature, pushing and then pulling trends to keep hapless consumers forever turning over their wardrobes. Much of the financial services industry works the same way. Fashion designers, manufacturers and media operate by telling consumers what’s in vogue this year, thus artificially creating demand where none previously existed. What […]
If you like a good podcast and you want to stop doing stupid things with your money, check out this episode from Freakonomics Radio. We like this episode because it tells the same story we have been telling our clients for years. Thankfully they have been listening. The result – a successful investment experience. Image courtesy […]
A lot of people talk about the market, but what does that mean? The financial market is made up of millions of participants, many just like you. Buyers and sellers who voluntarily agree to trade shares of companies all over the world. Every year, millions of trades take place each day totalling billions of dollars. […]
Friday was an interesting day for Britain (and Europe) and as we all know, the Brexit vote has had an immediate impact on bond and sharemarkets around the world. These are the very kinds of market events our clients’ portfolios are built for. We never take risks that aren’t worth taking and the portfolios we construct […]
Dramatic market swings, US Federal Reserve deliberations and discouraging data from China have made headlines in Australia and around the world in recent months. We asked Vanguard’s global chief economist, Joseph Davis, for his perspective. Since the global financial crisis, economic growth in many developed countries has been modest, while share markets in New York […]