Achilles Heel
Key themes and stocks discussed today: Wall Street benchmarks reversed earlier gains to close sharply lower, with much of the late session selling coming in technology. Nvidia and Tesla accounted for much of the slide in the tech sector. The market weighed Nvidia’s result versus a slowing growth rate and a shadow cast over increased AI […]
Gold Hits Record Highs!
Dollar weakness continued with the DXY declining sharply while gold hit a new record at $2900oz. The psychological $3000 level is now within sight as spot gold is snapped up as a “universal hedge” against tariffs, trade wars, inflation/disinflation and geo-political tensions. The dollar index declined around 0.5% to 107.5 and is now 2.5% below the January peak. Gold […]
Top Stock Picks to Watch in 2025
Market Snapshot: Optimism Amid Volatility US markets rebounded on Wednesday, with benchmarks closing in the green despite tech sector weakness following Alphabet’s earnings miss. Meanwhile, trade policy uncertainty and declining bond yields signaled expectations of a slowing US economy. The ASX200 snapped a two-day losing streak, rising 0.51% to 8416, driven by a rally in […]
Australia’s Big Four Banks: NAB, ANZ & Westpac Outlook
Today, we briefly review our exposure to the majors banks and update our take on the group. Australia’s banking sector has proven to be resilient over bumpy 2024. The Big Four — Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB), ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ), and Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC) — delivered stellar performances in […]
Crowded House
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell sharply on Monday as shares of chipmaker Nvidia and other companies investing heavily in AI were knocked following the surging popularity of a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek. The Chinese AI model is believed to be as good as the much more expensive US versions but uses […]
Trump’s $500B AI ‘Stargate’ Initiative with OpenAI & Oracle
President Donald Trump announced a mammoth AI initiative that could see spending rise to $500 billion. Named Stargate, the project will aim to develop cutting-edge data centres in the US. The joint venture includes OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle as the headline partners, though a Middle East entity, MGX, is another financial contributor. With a potential budget […]
Where we took profits and losses in 2024
Global stock markets delivered strong performances in 2024, fuelled by a resilient American economy and investor optimism about global rate cuts, although the RBA has held steady at 4.35% due to persistent inflation. The ASX 200 rose +9.5% year-to-date as of December 17, 2024, setting record highs earlier in the year but facing slight pullbacks […]
ASX 2024 Wrap & 2025 Outlook: RBA Pivot in Focus
Global stock markets have performed solidly overall in 2024 as the American economy continued to run smoothly, and investors began anticipating a global interest rate-cutting cycle, which has begun playing out across many economies, albeit not in Australia just yet due to stubborn inflation. The Australian economy has proved resilient in an aggressive rate-hiking cycle, but headline […]
A contrarian’s dream
US benchmarks led by tech rose on Wednesday after a benign CPI print and release of the Fed minutes cemented expectations for a rate cut next week. The reaction in the bond market was very different, however, with yields rising across the curve. Financial markets seem divided over the future direction of inflation. The US dollar rose while precious […]
China Politburo Signals Major Stimulus | Fat Prophets
The Politburo pledged “more proactive” fiscal policy, raising expectations for Beijing to widen the fiscal deficit from 3% at the annual parliamentary session in March. That would open the door to more central government borrowing to shore up the faltering economy and target consumer spending. Morgan Stanley’s China economist (who was pessimistic at the conference I attended […]
WebCast: American Exceptionalism
Did you know US stocks now dominate nearly 70% of the leading global stock index, up from just 30% in the 1980s? Could this indicate a market bubble, and what alternative opportunities should you explore? Hear from our Founder & CIO Angus Geddes and CEO Matthew Phillips, as they provide valuable insights into: Market Trends: S&P 500, […]
Trump’s BRICS Tariff Threat
Incoming President-elect Donald Trump issued a new tariff threat over the weekend, which this time was levelled against countries seeking to find US dollar alternatives. His last administration saw most of the anti-trade rhetoric and tariffs directed at China, but this time around, it seems to be most of the world. Mr Trump said that “the […]
