From the monthly archives:

February 2009

Will the gold rush continue?

February 27, 2009

This note looks at the surge in the gold price since October. The key points are as follows:
Gold has been about the best performing investment this year. It’s been driven by a combination of collapsing interest rates, concern that monetisation will drive inflation, fear of the collapse of the global financial system and general investor [...]

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Reduction to minimum pension drawdowns for 2008/09

February 18, 2009

The Government has announced today that investors in account based pensions, allocated pensions and term allocated pensions (TAP’s) will only be required to draw down half of their calculated minimum income requirement for 2008/09.
In practice, this means that pension investors who have already received 50% or more of their minimum payment amount for 2008/09 will [...]

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Will rising budget deficits just push up inflation and bond yields?

February 16, 2009

This note looks at the surge in budget deficits and public debt now underway in Australia and around the world in response to the global financial crisis and economic slump. Specifically, will this just push up inflation and bond yields (and hence broader interest rate levels)? The key points are as follows:
- Fortunately, Australia is [...]

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Falling household debt and rising savings – how big a problem?

February 5, 2009

A key determinant of the severity of the recession in the global economy and in Australia will be the extent to which households in the US and Australia boost their level of savings in order to cut their debt levels.
Some are claiming that we are about to see a massive cut in household debt in [...]

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