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26 August 2025
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If you are wondering whether bankers are really so mean as to withhold interest rate increases on deposit accounts to make more profits, the answer is yes. Banks will use the rate rises to increase margins. Plus we explore why 'running out of money' is overstated for retiree homeowners.
A retired couple with up to $419,000 in assets plus a family home can receive a full age pension of $40,000 a year (worth maybe $1 million) plus many other benefits. With home equity access, money should not run out.
An explanation of five areas of most interest to financial advisers and their clients, including home equity access, downsizing, Senior Cards, work tests and new transfer balance caps - all worth knowing about.
Favourable investment conditions created bubbles in 2021 but sectors such as BNPL with poor businesses and no profits have seen a payback. Is lithium next? At least small companies are potential takeover targets.
It feels like financial planning for retirement has been running up and down on the spot for 20 years. We still struggle with the difference between general and personal advice. What happened to the worthwhile schemes?
Value investing relies on a fundamental assessment of the intrinsic worth of a company, based on risk and reward. Time has come for the more stable sectors such as the Utilities, Health Care or Consumer Staples.
History will show Europe was ill-advised to rely on Russian fossil fuels, and the energy crisis has delivered stark choices on climate change, government finances, inequality, inflation, politics and social cohesion.
Neither Xi Jinping nor the Chinese Communist Party are as all-powerful and domineering as they seem. Given China's crucial role in Australia's fortunes despite slowing growth, understanding its politics is critical.
Each generation believes its economic challenges were uniquely tough - but what does the data say? A closer look reveals a more nuanced, complex story behind the generational hardship debate.
Australia could unlock smarter investment and greater equity by reforming housing tax concessions. Rethinking exemptions on the family home could benefit most Australians, especially renters and owners of modest homes.
The Labor government is talking up tax reform to lift Australia’s ailing economic growth. Before any changes are made, it’s important to know who pays tax, who owns assets, and how much people have in their super for retirement.
This goes through the different options including shares, property and business ownership and declares a winner, as well as outlining the mindset needed to earn enough to never have to work again.
Everyone has a theory as to why housing in Australia is so expensive. There are a lot of different factors at play, from skewed migration patterns to banking trends and housing's status as a national obsession.
China's steel production, equivalent to building one Sydney Harbour Bridge every 10 minutes, has driven Australia's economic growth. With China's slowdown, what does this mean for Australia's economy and investments?