Property painkillers

The recent injection of property painkillers bodes well for the residential property market and makes the risk of a financial crisis now a more distant prospect.

Australian property – harsh comparisons from history

Our study of other developed markets suggests that after sustained periods of credit-fueled price appreciation, residential property often falls in the region of 15% to 30%.

Australian corporate bond market – February 2019

Statistics, facts, and analysis of the Australian corporate bond market. This report also includes sections on bond basics and the benefits of investing in bonds.

Never a better time to boost bank capital.

In our view, the recent discussion paper released by APRA on how to increase capital to meet global standards for our major Australian banks is not only spot on, but could not come at a better time.

Bank greed and latent risks.

The Royal Commission into Banking suggests that performance-based increases in the Big 4 banks fostered cultures where greed trumped controls in treating customers fairly.

Turning tide to reveal more credit uglies.

The saying goes that a rising tide floats all boats. In the land of credit, it has been a king tide enabling almost anyone to get a loan or issue a bond – as long the interest paid was high enough.

China – no hard landing – yet.

China’s government policy decisions are increasingly signaling near-term economic stability as a priority. This means the Australian economy is unlikely to suffer a shock from its largest trading partner in the next 6 to 12 months.

Our double Minsky risk.

The good times have long rolled on for both China and Australia. The concern is, as the famous U.S. economist Hyman Minsky said, “the longer things are stable, the more unstable they will be when the crisis hits.”

Trying to win the relatively ugly contest.

As a corporate bond fund manager, our quest in this environment is to be the least ugly. Protect capital, beat deposits and then ready ourselves for improving returns as investment conditions improve is how we plan to manage our funds.

Can the interest-only bomb be defused?

In our view, the Australian residential property market is a large debt-fueled financial bomb. To diffuse the situation requires APRA to up the ante on banks de-risking and hope the market backdrop remains benign.