The December quarter has delivered relief for investors with the S&P ASX 200 finishing the quarter up 6% closing at 4,648 due to two rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and market commentary predicting further rate cuts in 2013. The impact of the rate cuts has created a chase for yield, which has driven the market to levels not seen since March

The quarter has seen a gradual recovery in equity markets, particularly the S&P 500 achieving record highs set in mid 2000 and late 2007.

The optimism has been driven by policy action by the major G7 governments to stimulate growth. Below is a recent chart prepared by Fidelity Funds Management Group highlighting the current downturn and recovery. The downt

The ASX 200 closed the financial year at 4094.60 which was down -5.55% for the quarter and -11.14% for the year. Throughout this quarter there has been continued volatility due to overseas influence from the USA and European countries. The news flow from Greece and Spain remains negative, the world is waiting for news on a decisive course of action to begin to so

The Australian sharemarket rose for the quarter closing at 4,335. The trend during the quarter saw a decrease in volatility however there have been no strong economic signals to drive the market. The market continues to be affected by the high level of political malaise.

This quarter saw growing activity in the hybrid notes market with companies such as ANZ, T

The volatility is continuing with investors remaining nervous and uncertain in respect to the future. The quarter was marked by days of extreme volatility and poor investment sentiment due to concern in slowing economic growth in Australia and China, companies reporting lower profit expectations and/or downgrades prior to the commencement of the profit reporting

The September quarter has been the most stressful since 2008 / 2009. Notwithstanding that the Australian and Chinese economy are resilient. The volatility has been driven by Europe and the daily movements on Wall Street.

The years 2011, 2012 and possibly 2013 of this decade, I consider to be the years that will be most difficult, primarily due to the time requ

Over the past year your portfolio has been changed to have exposure to investments which we believe will assist with recovery of value over the next few years.

The June quarter has seen much of the hard work eroded as a consequence of the continued volatility and debt issues from Europe and uncertainty due to the Federal Government rushing to lead the world wi

The quarter has been one of two distinct periods with the Australian sharemarket making a high of 5032 on 17 February 2011 and within four weeks making a low of 4560 on 17 March 2011.

During the quarter the volatility maybe attributed directly to outside events, namely the earthquakes and the tsunami in Japan, that crippled the nuclear power station, and the r

The ASX All Ordinaries Index is continuing on its recovery path. The index has increased by about 4.5% for the period.

The performance is encouraging but still the Australian Share Market continues to underperform the S&P 500 and the major European markets.

The themes outlined in the October commentary and are not disappearing, briefly, those themes wer

It’s been a long, albeit, slow recovery with the ASX All Ordinaries October quarter closing up 6% at 4852. While it’s definitely a step in the right direction, the recovery isn’t matching the levels experienced back in March this year.

Six months ago Australia was in a strong trade position. Exports were healthy and our growth was looking good com