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22 January 2025
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Central banks need data and sources as up-to-date as possible, yet Australia's Reserve Bank sees a new CPI only once a quarter. And the US Fed's rate committee waits two months for its next meeting.
The Australian economy is undergoing crucial changes. The Reserve Bank's attempts to slow activity is feeding into lending volumes and loan rates but can authorities manage inflation without economic contraction?
The suspension of ASX trading this week showed how real-time data is essential for investing. A strong API should integrate many sources of data, improve speed, automate tedious processes and reduce risk.
Fund managers are commonly using algorithms to derive and implement their investment strategies, and investors should be looking behind and beyond the computer code to understand the inputs.
A lot has been said about the fun things the Apple watch can do for you, and very little about the information you provide to it. This highly personalised data has Apple and app developers salivating.
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.