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22 January 2025
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To fly capital city routes such as Sydney-Melbourne, an airline needs landing slots at Sydney Airport. An extraordinary government policy prevented Rex Airlines from getting these slots and set them up to fail.
Australian banks are the Pilbara of the global financial system, with irreplaceable assets that are among the world's best. Current bank hybrid prices offer favourable rewards with limited risk for investors.
The prospect of Australia's superannuation industry becoming larger than the domestic equity market, and expected merger activity among super funds, has raised concerns about common ownership and capital concentration.
All aspects of media and broadcasting are changing, and in television, there are so many new ways to reach viewers that traditional players may be in an unavoidable death spiral.
The attributes of great growth companies are not all contained within the numbers that look at the recent past. Investors need to analyse the industry growth trajectory, the barriers to entry, and the corporate culture.
Despite what the textbooks tell us, a world of more dominant players has not led to higher prices. How does this affect investing?
Australian retail customers typically still pay a hefty fee on FX transactions at the airport or through the banks. Fintech solutions are more competitive, and global banks are also offering multi-currency accounts.
A decline in activity related to household construction, combined with the arrival of foreign retail brands, does not bode well for Australian retailers. And an online behemoth may be an even bigger threat.
Looking at the success and domination of Amazon, Google and Apple makes you wonder if the wealth management industry could experience the same type of market disruption as other industries have.
Telstra’s competitive advantage in regional areas may be under threat after the National Broadband Network is rolled out because wholesale costs are expected to equalise for smaller retail service providers.
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting returns from ASX stocks would trample those from housing over the next decade. One year later, this is an update on how that forecast is going and what's changed since.
The housing market was subdued in 2024, and pessimism abounds as we start the new year. 2025 is likely to be a tale of two halves, with interest rate cuts fuelling a resurgence in buyer demand in the second half of the year.
The renowned investor has penned his first investor letter for 2025 and it’s a ripper. He runs through what bubbles are, which ones he’s experienced, and whether today’s markets qualify as the third major bubble of this century.
This examines the performance of key asset classes and sub-sectors in 2024 and over longer timeframes, and the lessons that can be drawn for constructing an investment portfolio for the next decade.
Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.
Check out the most-read Firstlinks articles from 2024. From '16 ASX stocks to buy and hold forever', to 'The best strategy to build income for life', and 'Where baby boomer wealth will end up', there's something for all.