House prices were up 6.2% in the third quarter over the same time last year, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. House prices in the capital cities are surging. Stocks are surging. Gold and oil are surging.
November 17th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 5 comments | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "Murray Dawes"
A Trader’s Market or an Investor’s Market?
Is it a fragile little market after all? You can’t really tell by appearances. For example, the world’s largest bond insurer (MBIA) fell 27% in New York trading. It reported a $727.8 million loss in insured credit derivatives. Yes…those credit landmines are still out there.
But the proper question – if you’re sitting on the fence about this move – is how broad the rally is.
November 11th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 2 comments | Continued
The Fed Has Put a Rocket Under the Market
The unconventional wisdom is that the Fed has learned nothing from the last bubble – or is so scared of deflation it’s willing to gamble on another bubble in asset prices. The trouble , the eventual bust in asset prices has to be reckoned up. And the Fed, along with all central banks who key off the Fed’s policy, are just kicking the can down the road, hoping asset values improve.
November 10th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 7 comments | Continued
Price of Gold Communicates U.S. Monetary and Fiscal Policy is Lousy
It’s also possible that the Fed thinks a weak dollar will reduce America’s trade deficit, boost its export competitiveness, and lead to higher employment. We think this is a pipe dream. And we’re not talking about a lead pipe. We’re talking William Blake-style opium.
November 5th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 3 comments | Continued
Banks Could Face Larger Asset Writedowns and Losses than IMF has Modelled
Next time around, though, we reckon the losses – when they come – will be on domestic real estate assets. And with so much exposure to domestic real estate (mortgage loans), the assets could face a world of hurt. But even if bank asset quality doesn’t crash (housing prices don’t crash), an external shock affects Aussie bank liabilities.
October 28th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 2 comments | Continued
The Only Thing Really Going Down Right Now is the U.S. Dollar
Okay. Who put the financial world in a time machine and took us all back to 2007? Seriously. Oil traded above $80 overnight. Gold is hovering near $1,060. Stocks are up. Bonds are up. The Aussie dollar is up. Will anything ever go down again?
October 21st, 2009 | Dan Denning | 2 comments | Continued
Stocks Better than Bonds When Inflation is a Big Threat
What we make of it is that dividends used to account for a much larger percentage of your total return in stocks than they have in the last twenty years. Times change. There’s no rule that says the future has to be just like the past. But if stocks beat inflation, should you invest in stocks for income or capital appreciation? That’s the second question.
October 19th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 4 comments | Continued
Aussie Dollar is Crushing Long-time Rivals Like the Pound and the U.S. Dollar
One way to view a currency, we read somewhere recently, is as a national obligation secured by national assets. Those “assets” are loosely defined as economic growth (GDP) or the tax revenues a government can generate. A growing economy generates royalties and income taxes and demonstrates to international bond investors Australia’s ability to service interest and principal on debt.
October 9th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 18 comments | Continued
Looking at WPL and Oil Side by Side
“A simple comparison of the Brent crude price and WPL (see below) shows how impressive Woody’s rally has been from the lows.
October 8th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 0 comments | Continued
Aren’t You the Least Bit Suspicious that Goldman is Talking Up the Banks?
Goldman Sachs has raised its rating on large banks to “attractive.” In related news, Neal Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program has said that the Feds may have, er, not quite told the truth about the health of the banks receiving TARP funds. He didn’t use the word, lie though. How are these two items related? We’ll explain below.
October 6th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 4 comments | Continued
Big Difference Between Stark News in Job Market and Behaviour of Stock Market
There have been jobless recoveries from recession before. But you still have to wonder how there can be such a big difference between the stark news in the job market and the behaviour of the stock market. True, economists will tell you that jobs are the last thing to recover from a recession. Businesses don’t hire until they are sure everything is in the clear.
October 5th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 4 comments | Continued
