Sky Business with Carson Scott featuring Andrew Macken: 10 January 2018
Andrew joined Carson Scott on Trading Day Live Sky Business to discuss global markets. Which businesses are being structurally challenged by Amazon?
Scenarios for a Chinese financial crisis
It is no secret that China’s credit bubble is the largest in the world today, and one which poses the greatest systemic risk to global financial stability. With the quinquennial Chinese Communist Party congress concluded and the veneer of stability no longer required, it is an opportune time to consider how China’s credit growth might […]
Higher rates = negative government stimulus
Last week we wrote about a near-term bullish potential scenario for the US economy. This scenario is based on a confluence of long-term and short-term trends. As we wrote: From a longer-term perspective, we note that the health of the US consumer has improved significantly over recent years. And this is important for consumption – […]
Same-store sales numbers aren’t always what they seem
Same-store sales growth is one of the most important metrics for evaluating restaurants and retailers. Although widely reported by companies in these industries, and followed closely by analysts and investors, this metric can be manipulated in ways that may distort the underlying performance of the company’s stores.
Do not lose sight of the big picture
With so much noise coming in on a daily basis, it is sometimes hard for investors to keep a clear mind. Whether it’s distractions from President Trump, fears of the Fed, missiles launched from North Korea, the Brexit negotiations, the Qatar blockade or rumblings of a Chinese (and Australian) property bubble, investors could be forgiven […]
Understanding the mantra: look for sustainable returns
In this column published in the ASA magazine, Andrew Macken discusses the Australian banking sector and several promising global trends. Read here.
The Decline of Cash
The Montaka team is constantly scouting for longer term technological shifts that may produce opportunities on either the long or short side of the portfolio. One such inexorable trend is the move toward cashless transactions, in place of traditional cash-based payments. Despite being the predominant way of transacting for centuries, cash usage has been in […]
Will Balance Sheet Normalisation Deflate Asset Prices?
For the first time since the Fed began its quantitative easing program in 2009, the FOMC announced in June it would start a gradual unwind of its balance sheet sometime this year. For those who could benefit from a simple explanation of what this means, see the following bullet points: Prior to the Fed embarking on […]
Australia’s credit-fuelled growth story
Every year around this time, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) delivers its Annual Report on the state of the global economy. It is always worth reading, in our view, and is full of a number of really important insights that investors need to be mindful of. One such insight is the difference between those […]
What will be of the new financial year?
Australia is one of the few countries in the world that close out their financial year in June. So to Australian investors, we wish you a happy financial new year and ask what will be of the twelve months to come? The 2017 financial year was kind to equity investors. The MSCI Total Return Index […]