The first six months of the calendar year were volatile, punctuated by the conflict in Iran. Despite that, markets have performed very well. World shares are up an impressive 10.4 per cent, having been 9.5 down from their peak at the March lows. Some markets have been much stronger, with emerging market shares up 22.7…

It was another volatile week for global sharemarkets, with the S&P 500 in the US falling 2.0% as investors rotated out of technology stocks into other parts of the market. The local NZX 50 was flat for the week, although it has produced a solid 1.9% return this month and is edging back toward positive…

The news of a potential deal between Iran and the US couldn’t have come soon enough. The conflict had gone on for 15 weeks, much longer than initially expected and hoped. That had raised the stakes for the inflation outlook, threatening to force the hand of central banks and make 2026 a very challenging year….

One of the questions I get asked a lot is how worried we should be about rising government debt. It’s a very fair question. Budget 2026 showed that New Zealand’s books remain under pressure. If you prefer to listen to a podcast episode on this topic:  Alternatively, search ‘On Point Podcast’ and listen via Spotify or Apple Podcast. …

SpaceX is about to become one of the largest listed companies in the world. The Elon Musk-founded business is expected to raise US$75 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) and debut with the sharemarket ticker code of SPCX and a valuation of almost US$1.8 trillion. That would place it among the biggest publicly traded…

Wherever you go in the world, it’s very common for investors to have a home bias. People tend to anchor their portfolio with what they know, which is the local market. Kiwis will often have a healthy exposure to New Zealand shares, Australians usually start with what’s on the ASX, and Americans are renowned for…

We’ve seen a lot of economic releases over the last several weeks including the consumers price index (CPI), retail sales and housing market data. However, the most important of all were probably the two from that covered inflation expectations. If you prefer to listen to a podcast episode on this topic:  Alternatively, search ‘On Point…

The US sharemarket has had a great run of late, rebounding strongly from the March lows and hitting fresh highs. The S&P 500 is up almost ten per cent in 2026 (including dividends), and we’re only a third of the way through the year. That’s impressive, especially given the volatility we’ve seen lately. If you…

The Reserve Bank meets later this month, and there’s an outside chance the Official Cash Rate (OCR) will rise by 0.25 per cent. If there’s no move this month, the focus will shift to the July meeting, where markets see an 0.25 per cent move as almost certain. That would be the first hike in…

Inflation is always a hot topic in financial markets, and it’ll be even more prominent as fuel prices push it higher over the next quarter or two. There’s a healthy cynicism about our official inflation figures, and many people would argue their own cost of living has increased more than these would suggest. If you…