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21 April 2025
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Accounting losses from a pandemic inspired bond buying spree have wiped out the RBA's equity and more, pushing its balance sheet into negative equity territory. How did it happen and what lessons can be learned?
As investors navigate a potential recession and the possibility of higher interest rates for longer, the lure of fixed income is understandable. Here a primer to help investors decide which bonds may be best for them.
After a dismal year, bonds' prospects are brightening. For investors looking to maximise returns from investment grade assets while also reducing interest rate risk, asset backed securities and RMBS provide opportunities.
The Fed has finally signalled its intention to control inflation by reducing demand, and investors must become less comfortable with their financial prospects. Investing has changed and the consequences are serious.
It's complicated. Rising bond yields reflect optimism about economic growth and improving business conditions. But as the recovery matures, increases in bond rates prove counter-productive, kerbing economic growth.
The recent spike in US Treasury bond yields is a clear warning that investors globally are again starting to worry about inflation and the potential impact it could have on monetary policy and financial markets.
Government bond yields are so close to their lower bounds that they are unlikely to provide the returns of the past, nor act as a counter to falling equity markets. What are the investment choices?
Many investors who hold offshore securities do not realise that much of the return comes from the FX hedge rather than the asset itself. And now US rates have risen, the benefit for Aussies has turned around.
Many experts expected the Aussie dollar to fall rapidly when US rates rose above Australian rates, but the fall has been modest. What factors are holding it up and what's the outlook?
Thirty years ago, at a time when Commonwealth Treasury still told Commonwealth Bank what to do, zero coupon bonds were launched, known as DINGOs. But it was the koalas that really got away.
With the possibility of rising interest rates, 10-year government bonds have turned from 'risk-free return' to 'return-free risk'. In the search for fixed interest yield, investors are moving away from traditional benchmarks.
* Australia has $270 billion of gross debt, mainly long term bonds, rolling over at the rate of almost a billion a week. Half is foreign-owned.
The intergenerational wealth transfer, largely driven by a housing boom, exacerbates economic inequality, stifles productivity, and impedes social mobility. Solutions lie in addressing the housing problem, not taxing wealth.
With an election due by 17 May, we are effectively in campaign mode with the Government announcing numerous spending promises since January and the Coalition often matching them. Here's what the election means for investors.
With fixed term deposit rates declining and bank hybrids being phased out, what are the best options for investors seeking income? This goes through the choices, and the opportunities and risks involved.
The S&P 500's recent correction raises concerns about a bear market. History shows corrections are driven by high rates, unemployment, or global shocks, and that there's reason for optimism for nervous investors today.
The famed investor says the rapid switch from globalisation to trade wars is the biggest upheaval in the investing environment since World War Two. And a new world requires a different investment approach.
Trump's tariffs and China's retaliatory strike have sent the Nasdaq into a bear market with the S&P 500 not far behind. What are the implications for the economy and markets, and what should investors do now?