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Home / Author: Phil Ruthven AO

Phil Ruthven AO

Phil Ruthven is the founder and director of IBISWorld, Australia's best-known business information, forecasting and strategic services corporation

A discombobulation decade for investors

Every decade brings surprises, but discombobulating ones are more rare - being the 1910s, 1930s, 1940s and 1970s in the last century. We are just into the 2020s, but it already looks like a volatile decade.

In a short-term world, take a longer-term view

There are many reasons why the market places too much emphasis on the short term, but taking a long view on growth, inflation, markets and sectors will lead to better policies and investments.

Why does Australia’s skewed stock market underperform?

The Australian stock market is skewed towards mining and financial services which account for a whopping 55% of market capitalisation. In the US, these two account for only 17%. But there's more to our underperformance.

Changed visions: 2021 New Year resolutions

We need to think hard about how we work and live in the future. How do governments, health gurus, individuals, politicians, businesses and social groups need to act in 2021, both in dealing with COVID and thereafter?

Are debt and its servicing cost serious worries?

The impact of the pandemic on Australia's debt and deficit has forced the government into borrowing on a scale unimaginable at the start of 2020. What are the implications, and what is even more important?

COVID-19 and the madness of crowds

57 million people die every year, including over 3 million from respiratory diseases. Why is COVID-19 allowed to panic nations around the world and destroy so many businesses and jobs?

Latest Updates

Taxation

3 ways to defuse intergenerational anger

With the upcoming budget increasingly likely to include bold proposals to alter the tax code I’ve outlined three incremental steps with fewer unintended consequences.

Economy

Why an extended US-Iran war will punish mortgage holders

The impact of the Iran War is far more than expensive petrol. Higher oil prices have secondary inflationary impacts that reverberate throughout the economy which could be bad news for Australians with mortgages.

Infrastructure

Don’t forget the yield

Global Listed Infrastructure dividends are forecast to grow 5-6% p.a over the next two years. After a hiatus, share buybacks are back on the agenda and will play an integral role in shareholder returns.

Iran war hands politicians free ticket to blame oil prices for inflation

Past oil shocks offer lessons for investors dealing with the fallout from the Iran War and the ongoing impact on inflation.

Economy

Japan 2026: A new PM heralds a new golden age?

Former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating, once said "When you change the government, you change the country." We're about to see whether that holds true in Japan.

Investment strategies

Why are central banks moving from US Treasuries to gold?

Central banks now hold more gold reserves than US Treasuries, signalling a shift in safe-haven asset strategy and portfolio diversification as geopolitical risks increase.

Strategy

Has global human wellbeing peaked? What the data reveals

Historically economic progress is measured by GDP growth but there is an increasing body of work that explores quantitative measures of wellbeing.

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