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30 April 2025
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The recent bank reporting season saw all the major banks report solid results, large share buybacks, and very low bad debts. Here's a look at the main themes from the results, and the winners and losers.
The IT, consumer discretionary and real estate sectors were the winners from the recent reporting season, but there were disappointing earnings from miners, and the likes of Corporate Travel Management and Harvey Norman.
The banks have reported results and it's a mixed picture of reduced margins from increased deposit competition, yet low bad debts and healthy capital positions. Here's a look at which banks stood out and which ones didn't.
Over 10 years of surveying large super funds and the portfolio managers who help them to invest, significant changes include the move to in-house staff, the major decision-makers, fee competition and the top worries.
The May reporting season showed that Australia's banks are in good shape and face a better outlook than many sectors of the Australian market, despite rising interest rates. Patience should reward shareholders.
All the major banks have reported their results. With Covid largely behind us, low unemployment and minimal bad debts, they've largely had a good time of it. Here's a look at the major themes and what's to come.
A key feature of the May results for the banking sector was profits trending back to pre-Covid-19 levels, thanks to lower than expected unemployment and the growth in house prices.
The forecasts were wrong. In COVID, banks were expected to face falling house prices, high unemployment and a lending downturn. In the recovery, which banks are awarded gold stars based on the better performance?
Who knew? With some surprise results, the Government is on unexpected firm ground in asking people to draw on all their assets in retirement, although the comments show what feisty and informed readers we have.
In reporting season, companies must deliver their results and many issue guidance for the next year. The response often send prices up or down and the market may make swift and not well-considered decisions.
It's an incredible turnaround. One bank reported 121,000 home loans in deferral in 2020 but only 2,000 remain in hardship a year later. Profits have recovered, loan losses are tiny ... but which are the best banks?
Australian major banks reported a decline in financial performance in 2020 but as the impact of the pandemic evolves, the banks maintained a strong focus on customers. Is the renewed market optimism justified?
The famed investor says the rapid switch from globalisation to trade wars is the biggest upheaval in the investing environment since World War Two. And a new world requires a different investment approach.
Trump's tariffs and China's retaliatory strike have sent the Nasdaq into a bear market with the S&P 500 not far behind. What are the implications for the economy and markets, and what should investors do now?
Labor has announced a $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program, aimed at slashing the cost of home batteries. The goal is to turbocharge battery uptake, though practical difficulties may prevent that happening.
Are you living your life by default or by design? It strikes me that many people are doing the former and living according to others’ expectations of them, leading to poor choices including with their finances.
Larry Fink is one of the smartest people in the finance industry. In his latest shareholder letter, the Blackrock CEO outlines his quest to become the biggest player in private assets and upend investor portfolios.
Every crisis throws up opportunities. Here are ideas to capitalise on this one, including ‘overbalancing’ your portfolio in stocks, buying heavily discounted LICs, and cherry picking bombed out sectors like oil and gas.