Rising interest rates, falling house prices and persistent inflation may have left many Australians feeling pessimistic about the Australian economy, but not AMP Deputy Chief Economist Diana Mousina.
Most people’s experience of artificial intelligence has been the chatbot: ask a question, get an answer. That use is still growing. What is changing—and what matters for Contrarius’ Funds—is the next layer of demand.
Most people’s experience of artificial intelligence has been the chatbot: ask a question, get an answer. That use is still growing. What is changing—and what matters for Contrarius’ Funds—is the next layer of demand.
Reaching retirement age is a significant shift socially, emotionally and financially. A welcome change for many is that earnings in the retirement phase are tax free (subject to the transfer balance cap and your age being 60 or over), and you do not pay tax on your pension withdrawals.
If you know many gold bugs, and there are certainly more of them around these days, you may have observed that the number of them touting the arrival of ‘debasement trade’ is on the rise. However, this idea is far from being a new or short-term phenomenon, nor for gold bugs’ eyes only. It’s been a simmering issue for years, and is likely to matter for all investors for many years to come.
There are plenty of advantages to using superannuation to build wealth, such as the tax-advantaged environment, but that doesn’t always mean it should be your first port of investment call.
If you’re a news reader, you’re probably feeling like the world is engulfed in a crisis with no end date in sight. It sure feels like that as bad story after bad story is channelled toward news consumers around the world. Take your pick of which one that matters most. Trump’s latest offensive tweet, the housing shortage, the cost of living, the system, the list goes on.
For a long time, stability was something many people barely thought about.
If you stayed employed, avoided major mistakes and made reasonably sensible decisions, the system tended to reward you. Careers progressed in a fairly linear way. Property values rose over time. Superannuation ticked along quietly in the background. There were cycles, of course, but they felt familiar and manageable.
You may have heard the term ‘rising money supply’ being bandied around as a key driver of global markets of late. It’s no exaggeration. If anything, most investors aren’t as aware of this market driver as they should be.
There’s a particular kind of calm that comes from watching your portfolio during a violent market sell-off and feeling nothing. No urge to act. No creeping sense that something is broken. Just the knowledge that what you own was designed to survive moments like this.
We’re only one month into the new year and investors are already being challenged to think beyond predictable narratives. Who knew the U.S. was going launch a military strike on Venezuela and capture the incumbent president?
For most of financial history, oil has been the beating heart of the global economy as it has fuelled transport, industry, and economic growth. But in early 2026, oil may well hold a less impressive title: the cheapest major commodity in the world. It’s currently trading at a price that defies historical patterns and conventional market wisdom.
We often define success and performance purely in terms of market gains. Think performance markers such as whether your investment portfolio beat the S&P/ASX 200, or your salary increased a certain percentage.
The most expensive investment mistakes rarely stem from ignorance. They tend to arise from behavioural biases, poorly governed decision-making, and incentives that distort investors’ judgement over time. History shows that even professional investors, armed with the best data, experience, and market access, repeatedly make the same predictable errors.