The S&P 500 index in the US fell slightly during February, dragged down by higher-growth and technology stocks. However, it was an extremely strong month for many other global markets and assets. Japanese shares surged 10.4%, while UK shares rallied 6.7% and emerging market equities were up 5.4%. The ASX 200 in Australia rose 3.7%,…

It’s been a sluggish start to the year for the US sharemarket. The S&P 500 is up slightly, but it’s well behind the UK, Europe, Japan and emerging markets. It’s also been more volatile of late, having fallen for five of the past eight weeks. It feels like it could be another bumpy year, and…

Inflation is well down from the multi-decade high of 7.3 per cent that prevailed a few years ago, but it remains stubbornly above that elusive two per cent level. We’re not the only ones grappling with pricing pressures, and there’s a growing chorus of commentators asking whether something more structural is at play. In New…

The local reporting season kicks off this week across the NZX, and we’ll get some useful insights into the state of the economy. These will tell us if the long-awaited recovery is truly upon us, or if it’s another false start like we saw a year ago. Many higher profile economic releases tell us more…

The first month of the year is behind us and despite what feels like a year’s worth of market drama, the US sharemarket posted another healthy gain. It rose 1.4 per cent in January, a very solid return that was above the 1.1 per cent average for all of the January’s since 1950. That bodes…

There were plenty of lessons for investors in 2025, as is the case every time we close the book on a calendar year. The one that stood out for me was the need to ensure your investments were globally diversified. If you didn’t do that and instead hunkered down in New Zealand assets, you didn’t…

It’s been prediction season on Wall Street, with all the gurus consulting their crystal balls to firm up their forecasts for where the S&P 500 index will finish 2026. It ended last year at 6845.50, and the 17 estimates I could find range from 7100 to 8100. That implies a gain of anywhere from four…

While almost every country in the world has been reducing interest rates from multi-decade highs, Japan has been doing the exact opposite. The Japanese economy isn’t as dominant as it once was, while its sharemarket is only 4.8 per cent of world share indices. However, it is critically important in terms of global financial markets,…

Every summer economists, analysts and strategists dust off their crystal balls and confidently predict how the year will play out. Within a few short months, markets have often made fools of them. I’m sceptical of the whole exercise, as will others who’ve been around long enough to know what they don’t know be. Having said…

As 2025 draws to a close, let’s reflect on a challenging, volatile, yet fruitful 12 months for investors. We started the year with Donald Trump being inaugurated as US President for the second time. Investors knew tariffs were on the cards, but his “Liberation Day” announcement in early April was still a shock. World shares…