There have been increasing concerns over “stagflation” risks in recent months, as economic indicators weaken and tariffs threaten to push inflation back up. The term is used to describe the highly undesirable combination of low growth, high unemployment, and high inflation. US continuing unemployment claims have hit the highest since 2021, while the Institute of…

Looking ahead, events in the Middle East will be a focal point, as investors watch for any further escalation between Israel and Iran. The G7 Leader’s Summit takes place in Canada early in the week, ahead of the NATO summit next week. It’s also a very big week for central banks, with monetary policy decisions…

Navigating the investment world is hard — even for the professionals. For everyone else, it’s tougher still when the advice comes wrapped in jargon and spreadsheet-speak. I’ve seen analysts talk down a company’s prospects but still rate it a ‘buy’ because their model said it was cheap. Other times, they’ll rave about a business but…

Turning to the week ahead, the key economic release will be the May CPI report in the US, which is due overnight on Wednesday. Here in New Zealand, a steady stream of releases are due over the week including March quarter manufacturing figures, migration, and potentially a fresh housing report from the Real Estate Institute….

The 2025 UBS Global Family Office Report offers some fascinating insights into how the world’s wealthiest families think about risk, time and opportunity. UBS captured the views of 317 family office clients. The average net worth of participating families was US$2.7 billion, with their family office teams managing US$1.1 billion each. Attitudes to risk, governance…

The last ten days or so have been very eventful. President Trump imposed a 50% tariff on the European Union before delaying it by five weeks, then the US Court of International Trade ruled that many of the tariffs are illegal anyway. That saw the Court of Appeal grant a temporary stay that leaves them…

The US has found itself under increased scrutiny this year, with markets questioning whether it deserves to be on a pedestal. Its success has been built on foundations of free enterprise and trade, the rule of law and strong immigration. Those pillars have been supported by the traditional safety of US Treasury bonds, independent monetary…

We have a lot of clients from farming backgrounds, either past or present. They’re great people, and many have spent decades overcoming a plethora of challenges to build very successful businesses. When the time comes to think beyond the farm, investing in a portfolio dominated by shares, listed property, private equity and fixed income doesn’t always come…

This week will be an extremely busy one, both internationally as well as here in New Zealand. The latest Reserve Bank of New Zealand decision will be the main event locally, and while another cut to the Official Cash Rate is widely expected, markets will be interested in any clues about how many more cuts…

Intra-year sharemarket drawdowns (that’s financial jargon for the peak to trough decline) like the one we saw in March and April aren’t uncommon. In fact, a fall of at least five per cent at some point during any given year is extremely likely. In the 76 calendar years since 1950, there have been just five…