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John West

Why China and Russia's partnership threatens the West

China's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine has deepened their strategic partnership, challenging the West and reshaping global power dynamics, despite their complex historical relationship and differing long-term interests.

How powerful are Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party?

Neither Xi Jinping nor the Chinese Communist Party are as all-powerful and domineering as they  seem. Given China's crucial role in Australia's fortunes despite slowing growth, understanding its politics is critical.

Book review of 'Putin’s People' and his motivation for war

Author Catherine Belton argues Putin’s sole ambition is to hold onto power. Her book seeks to understand why Putin invaded Ukraine after he became isolated and out of touch with reality during the pandemic.

Michael Lewis on pandemics and Nigel Inkster on technology

Book reviews: Michael Lewis’ stranger-than-fiction take on how America’s public health mechanisms failed during Covid-19, and Nigel Inkster’s look at China, America and the struggle for technological supremacy.

Is manager selection worth the effort for financial advisers?

Financial advisers spend an inordinate amount of time selecting fund managers for their clients, but is the impact/effort matrix worth it. It's hard enough for good managers to even beat the index.

Latest Updates

Retirement

Is Gen X ready for retirement?

With the arrival of the new year, the first members of ‘Generation X’ turned 60, marking the start of the MTV generation’s collective journey towards retirement. Are Gen Xers and our retirement system ready for the transition?

Retirement

10 ways to fix Australia’s broken retirement income system

Our retirement income system has too many rule changes, too many options, poorly explained and then seemingly at odds with each other when decumulation kicks in. Key experts weight in on how to fix the mess.

Investment strategies

What Warren Buffett isn’t saying speaks volumes

Warren Buffett's annual shareholder letter has been fixture for avid investors for decades. In his latest letter, Buffett is reticent on many key topics, but his actions rather than words are sending clear signals to investors.

Shares

An odd and wild ASX reporting season

This is probably the most interesting earnings season in my 20-odd-year career, with share prices meaningfully diverging from earnings and prospects. It’s reflected all the greed and fear of investor behaviour.

Is the Paris Agreement on climate change dead?

The 2015 Paris Agreement is in jeopardy after the withdrawal of the US and Trump announcing plans to bolster fossil fuels production. It has significant implications for the push towards net zero emissions, including for Australia.

Investment strategies

A new capital cycle is driving US exceptionalism

A new capital cycle is upon us and instead of funding dividends and buybacks, many companies are funding tangible projects. This could result in a whole different set of stock market winners and losers.

Property

What does the rest of 2025 hold for commercial property?

Several macro tailwinds seem to have gathered behind high quality commercial properties. Meanwhile, a fresh wave of domestic capital could see more competition for deals and support values in one asset class especially.

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