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Big Fed rate slash sparks JSE recovery from new sharp fall 2008-01-23 06:00:01 The JSE recovered from a sharp fall yesterday, after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 3.75 percent. [Full Story...] Oil really is at records, but gold nowhere near 2008-01-08 06:00:01 While oil and gold prices have risen sharply in recent years and even more rapidly in recent months, oil has kept its inflation-adjusted value better than gold. [Full Story...] An all-too-possible retirement fund story 2007-10-12 06:00:01 Imagine being the human resources director of a large JSE-listed national company. It's a tough job. You want motivated employees, a satisfied employer, and you deal with complex issues, such as pensions. [Full Story...] For superior long-term returns, focus on philosophy 2007-10-15 06:00:01 An interesting development is occurring in South African equities: market leadership has narrowed substantially and most of the positive changes in the index over the past four months are as a result of the price changes of only three stocks, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and SAB. [Full Story...] Screened indices valuable for responsible managers 2007-10-11 06:00:01 We have always maintained that there are several attractive investment opportunities when approaching company analysis from a responsible investment perspective. [Full Story...] Top returns are made when expectations are low 2007-10-10 06:00:01 People, in life and when investing on the stock market, want instant gratification. [Full Story...] World banking regulation: expect things to get tight 2007-10-09 06:00:01 Watching Mervyn King in front of a stern panel of parliament's treasury committee at the end of last month, I wondered whether his contract would be renewed next month. [Full Story...] Mammoth task of managing investment managers 2007-10-08 06:00:01 The investment management industry has in recent times experienced tremendous growth. [Full Story...] Volatility shows why not to put eggs in one basket 2007-10-05 06:00:01 The end of September brought with it the end of the third quarter of the year and the usual re-examination of investment performance. [Full Story...] Place money offshore, but only for the right reasons 2007-10-04 06:00:01 Investing offshore offers diversification, exposure to international markets, a choice of products that may not be available locally and a hedge against the variables of the domestic economy and exchange rates. [Full Story...] Independence does not translate into integrity 2007-10-03 06:00:01 An International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) ethics committee exposure draft could spark wide-ranging professional ructions, which will, hopefully, address and eliminate critical issues of contention. [Full Story...] An easy way to a small fortune is to start with a big one 2007-10-02 06:00:01 Any asset management cynic will tell you that the easiest way for the average investor to make a small fortune is to give him a big one to start with. [Full Story...] Choosing valuation or momentum stocks is a question of style 2007-10-01 06:00:01 When describing investment style, the most common labels applied to equity investing are value and growth. [Full Story...] Successful investment has its price tag too 2007-09-28 06:00:01 Surely only the paranoid count the cost of making big gains. Yet it's not as wrong-headed as it seems. As your wealth "bucket" grows, the hole in the bottom may widen as well. [Full Story...] Insecurity about MPC's move can increase volatility 2007-09-27 06:00:01 Every now and then, financial markets are faced with events for which the outcome is difficult to predict. [Full Story...] Retirement fund consolidation threatens democratisation 2007-09-26 06:00:01 Democracy is being steadied for a backwards leap. As centralisation in government increases, so consolidation of retirement funds is inevitable. [Full Story...] Opportunity and uncertainty are like yin and yang 2007-09-21 06:00:01 The last few years have seen very strong gains for equity markets with the dramatic price action oscillating between bloody and buoyant. [Full Story...] The road to riches is paved with collective portfolios 2007-09-25 06:00:01 Investing in a collective portfolio each month has to be the easiest way to make real money - yet many investors just don't grasp the concept. [Full Story...] Sophisticated index funds can track any benchmark 2007-09-20 06:00:01 Although made popular by their low costs, index tracking funds are increasingly being recognised for their sophistication in terms of the variety of returns they can replicate. [Full Story...] Subprime volatility will revert to equilibrium in time 2007-09-19 06:00:01 The JSE's Top40 index has risen every month this year except June. [Full Story...] Investors who bail out in stormy seas may lose most 2007-09-18 09:10:01 The road to riches, and particularly l'Avenue de JSE, has been a decidedly rocky one of late. [Full Story...] New hedge fund rules may require health warnings 2007-09-17 06:00:01 The Financial Services Board (FSB) has just published the long-awaited hedge fund regulations, but what exactly do they mean? [Full Story...] Retirement reform calls for putting heads together 2007-09-14 06:00:01 The set of retirement reform papers released recently by the department of social development - nearly 200 pages of dense text - might seem to be complicating a long process, not simplifying it. [Full Story...] Risk is high but volatility also means opportunities 2007-09-13 06:00:01 For someone with a contrarian view, the period from last October 1 to mid-July was severely testing. But the market's subsequent selloff and repricing of risk on subprime and related concerns has vindicated conservative caution. [Full Story...] US housing collapse may bypass some local markets 2007-09-12 06:00:01 By now, it's clear where most of the pain is being felt in the US housing market. Rising foreclosures and financing rates, a growing housing inventory and tightening credit are hobbling areas that once led the nation in the home boom. [Full Story...] Our banks and hospitals give great value and service 2007-09-11 06:00:01 With all the bad press our banks and hospitals get, one would think these are oligopolies that rip the consumer off and earn superprofits. While that may be the public's perception, it's not the truth. [Full Story...] Socially responsible investors can get high returns 2007-09-10 06:00:01 There is a mistaken perception that socially responsible investing (SRI) generally yields lower returns and carries a higher level of risk. However, this need not be the case; it depends on the nature of the underlying SRI strategy. [Full Story...] Market volatility gives investors a sporting chance 2007-09-07 06:00:01 While the home nation sets the rugby ball rolling against Argentina at the Stade de France tonight, cricket fans will be champing at the bit for the start of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup Championship. [Full Story...] Structural shifts keep world profit party up all night 2007-09-06 06:00:01 The main risk to global profits, which are at unprecedented highs, would be a sharp slowdown in global economies - an event that is very unlikely to occur any time soon. [Full Story...] Volatility offers opportunity to assess unit trusts 2007-09-04 06:00:01 Markets are providing the toughest credibility test in several years for a category of unit trusts designed to withstand downside pressures. [Full Story...] Business reporting gets its own barcode system 2007-09-05 06:00:01 Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is revolutionising global business and financial reporting. [Full Story...] Shop stewards show how to stand up to interference 2007-09-03 06:00:01 Unsung heroes are sometimes found in the unlikeliest places. Hardly can there be an unlikelier place than the retirement fund industry. So sing praises for the union-elected trustees of a large union fund who stood up against union pressures to do what they believed was right for their fund independently of the union, and won. [Full Story...] Time to rethink your view on retirement annuities 2007-08-31 06:00:01 There is nothing like imminent financial reform to clear one's thinking. Especially when advantages that were once taken for granted suddenly don't seem quite so entrenched. [Full Story...] High growth, small sector call for sharp management 2007-08-30 06:00:01 One of a portfolio manager's toughest jobs is managing expectations. The challenge sharpens as profits rise. [Full Story...] Subprime turmoil fails to dethrone risk in Asia 2007-08-29 06:00:01 The subprime turmoil of the past few weeks has failed to dethrone inflation as the biggest challenge facing Asian policy makers this year. [Full Story...] It takes vigilance to detect procurement fraudsters 2007-08-28 06:00:01 Procurement fraud is one of the world's most problematic crimes; it also most often escapes detection. [Full Story...] Relax and take long-term view of short-term fluctuations 2007-08-27 06:00:01 Imagine there was a ticker tape running along every wall of every room in your house. [Full Story...] Locals can now trade lucrative currency futures 2007-08-24 06:00:01 With the opening of the market in listed-foreign currency futures recently, local retail investors are finally able to trade directly in dollars on a regulated JSE exchange - whether for speculative purposes or for hedging currency exposures on offshore portfolios. [Full Story...] Slow maize deliveries cast doubt on harvest estimate 2007-08-23 06:00:01 Maize deliveries to silos slowed sharply last week, casting more doubt on the official harvest estimate and adding sheen to this season's fairly bullish market. [Full Story...] BHP Billiton posts record full-year profit 2007-08-23 06:00:01 Stocks gained for a fourth day yesterday as concern eased that a credit crunch would curb economic and profit growth. [Full Story...] SA's road now fraught with international potholes 2007-08-23 06:00:01 Global markets are in turmoil, and fingers are being pointed at the subprime market in the US. Mortgage lenders, banks and fund managers reveal increasing losses as the extent of bad debt underlying this asset class continues to increase. [Full Story...] Crude oil stocks on the rise 2007-08-23 06:00:01 Oil prices gave up gains yesterday after latest US weekly oil inventory data showed an unexpected rise in crude oil stocks. [Full Story...] Phased-in exposure costs more, but may feel better 2007-08-22 06:00:01 Many investors understand that investing in equities can be risky, and that the risk associated with equity investing declines as their investment horizon lengthens. [Full Story...] Mall management unlocks value of retail property 2007-08-21 12:33:01 Current market volatility has highlighted the double-edged sword of liquidity, in terms of not only trading volumes but also the speed at which prices respond to investor sentiment. [Full Story...] Even now, it's riskier to be out of equities than in 2007-08-20 06:00:01 Suddenly, people are stopping to chat about markets again in the corridors or at airport lounges. [Full Story...] Strict credit law acts like rate hike in curbing excess 2007-08-17 06:00:01 Although the Reserve Bank's official mandate is to control inflation, there is no question that continued exuberant consumer spending will result in rising inflation sooner or later. [Full Story...] Plan for a long retierment: make sure your money grows 2007-08-16 06:00:01 Two key risks facing retirees these days are the likelihood of living until 90 and having to finance 30 years of retirement; and the fact that these days the investment risk falls squarely on the shoulders of the retiree. [Full Story...] A sound process beats one-off wagers in dicey times 2007-08-15 06:00:01 A question we portfolio managers are asked regularly is how portfolios should be structured for market turbulence. The questioner supposes that we know what will happen and expects to get a list of stocks or assets that will do best given our perfect foresight. [Full Story...] Proceed with caution to smother market turbulence 2007-08-14 06:00:01 The JSE is enjoying its fifth year of positive returns. From a low of 7 360 points in April 2003 to the recent peak of 29 500 points, the market provided a massive total return of 318 percent. [Full Story...] |
