Finance News
If you're a Commonwealth Bank shareholder you'll be happy to hear the bank has returned a $10 billion profit and a lift in dividend – great news for many Australians who have exposure to CBA via their super funds or direct investment. There was caution in the comments from CEO Matt Comyn, who said, "…there are signs…
Read the rest of the entry »Despite the repeated "Lowe blows" over the past year, it's fair to say we weren't expecting yet another one yesterday. And yet, that's exactly what we got, with RBA Governor Phillip Lowe announcing the bank had decided to raise interest rates by another 0.25%. This is needed, he says, to continue battling inflation, which despite easing isn't…
Read the rest of the entry »As we digest the news of the RBA pausing rates we wonder if it might have been an 11th hour decision – with retail & inflation numbers last week being the straw that broke the camel’s back – then to confirm the hold the Porter Davis disaster. But in avoiding an 11th monthly increase it’s finally…
Read the rest of the entry »What a fortnight it has been in the global banking space. It has certainly consumed each night on Money News. Credit Suisse has retained the title of world’s biggest banking basket case over the weekend, with a situation that at the time of writing looks to be resolved. In a deal worth $US3 billion,…
Read the rest of the entry »Most days if I said you were getting 10 out of 10, you’d be pretty pleased with your performance. But yesterday the Reserve Bank board handed down yet another interest rate rise, for the 10th consecutive meeting. And that was not the scorecard that mortgage holders wanted to hear. What does it mean when your lender…
Read the rest of the entry »Yesterday the RBA released the minutes from its February meeting which revealed the RBA Board was seriously thinking about a 0.5% rates increase. Their argument was to combat the inflation challenges we are facing and explained that wages data exceeding expectations, as well as a risk that high prices "in the cost of living" would persist. These, amongst others, were all…
Read the rest of the entry »As expected yesterday the head of the Reserve Bank Phillip Lowe gave us another "Lowe Blow", by increasing interest rates by another 0.25%. The official cash rate now sits at 3.35% and despite hopes that the RBA might let interest rates sit steady for a while, it looks like there are more increases to come in the next…
Read the rest of the entry »What a month January was for shares! The S&P 500 was up 5.5% in the first four weeks of the year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 2%. Tech stocks had their best performance in decades with the Nasdaq Composite up 9.2% on the month, its best January performance since it notched a 12.2% gain in 2001. The…
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