Insights

Manufacturing expanded in February at the weakest pace in a year, limited by weaker growth abroad and a work slowdown at West Coast ports. The Institute for Supply Management's index dropped to 52.9, the lowest since January 2014, from 53.5 a month earlier, the Tempe, Arizona-based group's report showed Monday.

Like Wiggles, the "home breed" blue ribbon winner, there's a similar contest going on in global financial markets where the "home country" seeks to outdo the competition in a race to the interest rate bottom. None dare call it a "currency war" because that would be counter to G-10/G-20 policy statements

In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Chairman and Chief Executive Warren Buffett continues his tradition of delivering all sorts of cleverly worded musings on the markets. Here are 13 of the choicest quotes.

A senior manager at a passive fund management firm noticed a younger colleague doing something he shouldn't have. The senior manager yelled at the junior colleague, "Don't just do something—sit there!"

A senior manager at a passive fund management firm noticed a younger colleague doing something he shouldn't have. The senior manager yelled at the junior colleague, "Don't just do something—sit there!"

China's central bank cut interest rates on Saturday, just days before the annual meeting of the country's parliament, in the latest effort to support the world's second-largest economy as its momentum slows and deflation risks rise.

Monetary policy has become increasingly unconventional in the last six years, with central banks implementing zero-interest-rate policies, quantitative easing, credit easing, forward guidance, and unlimited exchange-rate intervention. But now we have come to the most unconventional policy tool of them all: negative nominal interest rates.

Once upon a time, we all thought that the lowest interest rate could possibly go was zero. However, the actions of European central banks have thrown this assumption on its head. Fifteen percent of global sovereign bonds are now trading with a negative yield.

I have previously warned that the combination of the demographic avalanche of retiring baby boomers, low interest rates and a disproportionately large amount of their wealth in cash would mean that stocks and property would continue to rise for a while. I call it 'The Boom We Have to Have.' But like all booms, this one will also bust.

The 2007-08 "Great Recession" (or Global Financial Crisis as Australians prefer to call it) was a financial crisis that saw some of the largest losses and contagion effects across asset classes in at least 30 years and was coupled with one of the deepest recessions experienced in the USA in terms of job losses, since 1930. Arguably the only reason we are sitting here typing (or reading) this, is thanks to the deep and unprecedented government interventions in both fiscal and monetary policy.

With the strong rise in the Australian share market over the past month, concern has naturally arisen over whether the market is now overvalued.

The share market looks likely to finish the week and the reporting season focussed mainly on company results. The broad macro lead from international markets was largely neutral for our market this morning.

Stronger than expected results from Qantas, SAI Global, Nine Entertainment and Adelaide Brighton are likely to drive the share market higher today against a backdrop of calm overseas markets. Rising oil and copper prices should lend support, but the picture is clouded somewhat by today's stock options expiry.

Aussie stocks took a breather on Thursday, breaking a three session winning streak. The local bourse switched back into teetering at the 5900 level following a 40 point pull-back as the week's trading profits materialised.

Australian banks and other blue-chip stocks no longer satisfy some fund managers.

In the second of our series of fund manager interviews, we look at a global fund with consistent performance.