Lower interest rates have been a cause for celebration for many people in recent months. Borrowers and homeowners have seen their costs fall sharply, and there’s more support to come. However, conservative savers with money on term deposit won’t be quite so enthusiastic about slumping interest rates. They were sitting pretty 18 months ago, with…

US credit markets have delivered strong returns this year. Companies have been issuing record amounts of debt, borrowing costs have remained manageable and bond investors have pocketed solid gains. It’s been a golden run. However, in recent weeks cracks have appeared beneath the surface, and the pace at which the problems have emerged is worth…

Investors will be watching US economic releases ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, with the September consumer price index (CPI) report a likely highlight. Inflation will be front and centre here in New Zealand too. The latest CPI report is due on Monday, with the headline measure likely to hit 3.0% (the highest in…

In recent weeks and months, the NZ dollar has weakened against most trading partners. It’s doing exactly what you’d expect it to against a challenging economic backdrop, and whether this is good or bad depends on your perspective. The NZ dollar is down six per cent against the US dollar since the beginning of July,…

The government shutdown is now into its 12th day and there aren’t any signs of a compromise yet. At least we can count on the private sector to remain open, and a slew of corporate earnings releases to fill the gap this week. More than 30 S&P 500 companies are set to announce results, including…

It’s been a fantastic run for the US sharemarket. The S&P 500 index is up 18 per cent in the past 12 months, and 83 per cent over three years. Even Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has commented on this, noting that “equity prices are fairly highly valued” during a recent speech. To be fair,…

A big week looms here in New Zealand, with the latest Official Cash Rate decision from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) the clear highlight on Wednesday. Another cut is assured, but will it be another 0.25% or will the RBNZ opt for a larger 0.50% move? Subscribe or follow for the latest insights,…

The first three quarters of the calendar year are behind us, and investors have again been well rewarded for ignoring the noise and staying the course. It’s been a cracking period for investors, despite the volatility. World shares fell 16.3 per cent in the wake of President Trump’s tariff announcements in April. This was an…

The latest quarterly investor confidence survey from ASB has got a lot of attention in recent days, with media reports noting that optimism was at its lowest ebb since the pandemic. This survey covered the June quarter, and the ASB team pointed out that concerns were very high around April, near the beginning of the…

What a week! The S&P 500 index rose 1.2% to fresh highs last week, buoyed by solid economic indicators and the first rate cut from the Federal Reserve since last year. The Russell 2000 (a US small-cap index) was up for a seventh straight week, while credit spreads tightened to levels last seen in 1998….