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This year’s Sohn Hearts & Minds Conference, an annual one-day event that brings the finance and investment community together, saw a select group of fund managers fund manager share their best stock idea for the year ahead. This year’s recurring theme without doubt was COVID-19. But grief and tragedy aside, COVID-19 has forced us to…

ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) 1.3% higher, oil price hits nine month high, AUD rallies, Dow hits 30,000 The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) saw another strong day adding 1.3% on the back of the ‘trifecta’ of COVID-19 vaccines with hopes for an economic recovery resulting in the oil price hitting a nine-month high.  As can be expected, energy stocks benefited most,…

ASX 200 at nine month high, Ampol (ASX:ALD) announces off-market buy back, US markets stronger on vaccine hopes The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) got off to a positive start to the week, adding 0.4% and hitting a nine month high.  The strength was broad-based but primarily coming from travel and energy-based sectors with the latter adding 2.8%…

ASX keeps delivering, Commonwealth Bank’s (ASX:CBA) best week since 2011, US markets flat It was a strong week for the Australian market, the ASX200 (ASX:XJO) heading 2.1% higher despite an ASX shutdown on Monday and a weak close on Friday.  The strength was clearly driven by the financial sector with CBA enjoying its best week…

Seek (ASX:SEK), BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL) upgrade guidance, unemployment surprises, US markets offer positive lead The Australian market (ASX:XJO) eked out a fourth straight gain finishing 0.2% higher with the financial and IT sectors the biggest contributors; up 1.2% each.  For the financials Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) led the way adding 2.3% after the release of better than…

ASX delivers third straight increase but weak open ahead, Crown (ASX:CWN) shutdown, anaemic wage growth The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) experienced another positive, albeit somewhat mixed, day with the banking sector (+1.7%) forcing the market higher by 0.5%.  The travel sector was the key detractor as an outbreak in South Australia combined with profit taking hitting confidence. …

In a year of pandemic-forced lockdowns, record high government spending, lower corporate earnings and zero growth in interest rates, asking for a high dividend is a little Oliver Twist-like: “Please Sir, I want some more.” Even the most reliable of “reliable” dividend-paying companies ditched or lowered their dividend payouts because it simply wasn’t feasible to…

Australia is facing yet another round of export bans after Chinese authorities knocked back tonnes of lobsters, timber from Queensland and barley from a second grain grower. Without warning, paid goods that had arrived at ports were sent back in what is known as a ‘soft ban’ that falls outside of current trade agreements. Authorities…

Platinum Asset Management’s recently released September quarter update wasn’t pretty. The long-term value manager has been left behind by surging growth stocks, with recent underperformance placing pressure on fund flows. In 2020, over half the group’s funds have underperformed their relevant benchmarks but continue to benefit from longevity in the form of strong longer-term returns….

ASX up and running, to open weaker, Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) and Centuria (ASX:CIP) continue to acquire The ASX (ASX:ASX) managed to open on time Tuesday after significant issues to begin the week, though management flagged some ‘settlement’ issues had also arisen, sending the share price 1.5% lower.  In terms of the ASX200 (ASX:XJO) it was…

Sharemarket to open strongly, Moderna (NYSE:MRNA) vaccine 94% effective, ASX (ASX:ASX) system failure, US markets hit record The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) managed just twenty five minutes of trade this morning before it’s new settlement system failed, closing down the market for the day.  Before the shutdown it was a positive start, the market finished 1.2% higher on…

ASX stocks down 0.2%, ‘Go long’ says star investor Bill Ackman, Ramsay Healthcare (ASX:RHC) reports, positive open ahead The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) fell for the second straight day finishing down 0.2% but managed to add 3.2% for the week.  The reasons were clear, positive news on a COVID-19 vaccine coming from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) sent beaten down…