Population decline is something of a hot topic at the moment, and it’s not difficult to see why. Over the last few years, a growing body of research has shown that global population growth is slowing down and will likely drop into negative territory within the next few decades. A University of Washington study published…
One of the big challenges we see for investors today is the disconnect between the investment returns that have been realised over the past few years, and the likely investment returns that await us in the years ahead. At face value this disconnect is easily understood. Recent history has been spectacularly good for most asset…
House prices have been one of the unexpected beneficiaries of the pandemic. Lockdowns and the working-from-home revolution have spurred demand for more space, a larger garden, or a more suburban location. This greater appreciation for a better home environment has also manifested itself in a surge in demand for home improvement goods and services, as…
Let’s talk about the 1%. No, not that 1%. Not “the top 1%” wealthiest people, a phrase popularised by the Occupy Wall Street Movement. I mean a different 1%. The world is heading for a baby bust, and it has a lot to do with the 1% – the nearly 1% drop in the global…
To say that government debt levels are high is nothing new. Even before Covid-19 hit, despite years of austerity, debt levels were already extremely elevated. But after the fiscal damage of Covid-19, debt as a percentage of GDP has now reached extraordinary levels that, when viewed from a long-term historical perspective, are jaw-dropping. Take the…
‘A lot of people die fighting tyranny. The least I can do is vote against it’. Carl Icahn. Capital markets have been wonderful inventions. Freed from self-interest and patronage, they allow Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ to unemotionally allocate scarce capital around the economy – investing where it will be most productively used. Society as a…
Be careful what you wish for. There was a time when most Brits would have given anything to have something other than Brexit dominate the news. For several years, in both the run-up to the referendum in 2016 and its aftermath, it felt to many like no other subject got a look in. Nobody would…
“OK boomer” You probably recognise the phrase. Among some Millennials, Generation Zers and maybe even Gen Alphas, it’s the verbal equivalent of an eye-roll. A way for young people to breezily dismiss the attitudes and opinions of Baby Boomers who they disagree with (or with whom they disagree, depending on the generation reading this article)….
The ability of countries to support their economies today turns on fiscal practices that were set well before this crisis. Even before the arrival of Covid-19, there were few topics as polarising in politics and economics as the size and rectitude of government debt levels around the world. In the face of the ‘once in…
January 2020 – twelve years after the start of financial crisis – marked an important milestone for Australian investors. The ASX 200 index finally crossed 6749, and in the process, passed its previous peak set in October 2007. It may have taken more than a decade, but Australia’s largest listed companies had finally recovered all…
