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Sharemarkets around the world continued to rally overnight, with the S&P 500 up 1.5% marking the strongest quarter since 1998. The Eurostoxx 50 was comparatively weaker adding just 0.06% whilst the Nasdaq rallied another 1.9% as investors ignored the existential threat to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).

The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) followed a negative lead from Wall Street, falling 1.5%, albeit on lower volumes amid the beginning of school holidays. The market traded as low as 2.2% throughout the day, with chronic underperformers in the property sector like Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX:URW) seeing significant tax loss selling as 30 June nears.

If anyone was thinking that recovery from the Covid-19 economic downturn would be quick and perfectly V-shaped, Qantas certainly had news for them, with its commentary around its recovery plan and $1.9 billion capital raising. “It will take years before international flying returns to what it was,” said CEO Alan Joyce. Qantas foresees flying to only…

Mergers and acquisitions have come to a grinding halt this year. But activity in the renewable energy sector is heating up with a number of deals. According to Bloomberg data, in the wider market, Australia’s deal activity dropped to $13.8 billion in the first quarter of 2020, a 32 per cent drop from the 12…

Portfolio construction is a function of possibilities. Equity versus fixed income is the obvious; equity the potential of capital growth, and fixed income the promise of low-yet-secure returns. You can test returns based on evidence from whatever historic time frame you care to choose to prove the point. Click and drag the forecast, QED, quod…

Matthew Scholten is the executive chair of Scholten Collins McKissock in Melbourne. He is a Certified Financial Planner and has qualifications from the Australian Insurance Institute (AIA), the SMSF Association and the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA). Scholten became a member of the Inside Network in May 2020, seeking to create better outcomes…

The pandemic lockdown has forced businesses to rethink modes of distribution and introduce automation in response to an increase in online shopping for essential items. Qube and Goodman Group have welcomed the opportunity to expand operations with some of Australia’s biggest retailers. Integrated port and logistics provider Qube is at the forefront of driving automation…

As a change of pace, I’ve taken a look at the outlook for Telstra both during and post COVID-19. The share price fell from a high of around $4.0 in February to around $3.04 in mid-March and still sits around $3.15 today. That’s a 20% fall despite the company being significantly sheltered from the events…

Global sharemarkets will begin the week on a negative footing as it appears the second wave is upon us. Several of the US largest southern states contributed to an all-time high in cases, whilst similar outbreaks in Germany and to a less extent in Melbourne, are making investors nervous once again.

It was another bumpy day for investors on Thursday, with the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) following global markets lower and falling by -2.5% as global infection rates and the threat of the re-imposition of restrictions increased.

The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) finished marginally higher again on Wednesday, adding 0.2%, driven primarily by technology names including Afterpay Ltd (ASX:APT) and Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) after both reached all-time highs. These gains will be reversed today as US markets tumbled heavily, down between 2% and 3%, as the resurgence in COVID-19 cases continued to grow; this must be investors worst nightmare.

The listing on the ASX this month of the Magellan Group’s Airlie Australian Share Fund as the first “Quoted Fund” – the first dual unlisted unit trust and active exchange-traded fund (ETF) structure in one listed unit – has been cited as a game-changer in many respects, with the primary emphasis being on its benefit…