Japan and Korea know how to play the king. Anything Japan can do, South Korea can do better? A day after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi laid on the flattery during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Tokyo, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung welcomed him by presenting him with a golden crown. The Korean
In this week’s podcast, Nucleus Wealth’s Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen, explores why corporate earnings have remained surprisingly resilient—from pricing power and higher-margin business models to cost discipline and selective AI-driven productivity—and tests how long those supports can hold as wage growth, refinancing costs, and capex pressures build. Join us on Today, LIVE at 12:30
Sometimes markets are nothing more than denial machines. Iron ore prices are clearly bullish and set for a breakout. The basis of this could not be thinner. The price of 62% Fe grade iron ore fines from Australia delivered to China increased by US$0.80 to US$106.25. The rise was primarily driven by better market sentiment
Australia’s housing market is turning subprime. The proof is everywhere. For more than a decade, the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) flagged high loan-to-valuation ratio (LVR) mortgages as a key risk area. For example, in December 2014, APRA released guidance stating that “ADIs should not undertake large volumes of, or increase their share of, higher-risk
Economists at one of Canada’s largest banks, Toronto-Dominion Bank, published a report assessing the impacts of the Canadian government’s “population freeze”, which aims to alleviate pressures on the nation’s economic and social infrastructure. Last year, the government introduced an immigration plan to right-size non-permanent residents (NPRs) and permanent resident (PR) targets to allow for some
For a government so intent on staying in power, versus making good policy, the neglect of energy markets has come to define it. The great Alboflation of 2022/23 was mostly via energy costs. The government massaged its way out of that by plundering taxpayers to provide rebates to taxpayers, a classic bait and switch. But
The Market Ear on robots running wild for tech stocks. Perfection prevails NASDAQ extending the squeeze, approaching the upper part of the channel as RSI trades above 70 again. We are in overbought land again, but as we all know, things tend to stay in overbought/sold territory for longer than most think possible. Source: LSEG
Risk markets fell back overnight as the long expected cut from the Federal Reserve was followed by a lot of cautionary talk by Chair Powell, indicating that this may well be the last cut for awhile as the push through effect of tariffs on inflation might stall further cuts. Wall Street flopped back while the
DXY won’t go away. AUD pumped and dumped. Still running on the spot. CNY up! Gold and oil yuck. AI metals don’t care. RIO going parabolic. EM wants ATH, Tough with DXY. Junk rejection is a warning. As yields jackknifed on a not dovish enough Fed. AI doesn’t care. The Fed is confused. In support
For months, I have argued that Australia’s job market is far weaker than it appears. Government-funded non-market jobs, particularly the expansion of the NDIS, have artificially propped up the job market. The following chart from Justin Fabo at Antipodean Macro shows that government spending on “social protection”, which encompasses social security, welfare, and disability supports,