Uncertainty rules as markets see-saw
It was a traumatic week on world financial markets even for those of us with many decades of market experience. Intra-day volatility was even more dramatic than the end-of-day trading data. On Thursday the Australian sharemarket was looking extremely sick and was down more than 5 per cent at lunchtime, only to rebound and finish [...]
Read MoreHigh-risk notes can spell trouble
The recent volatility on world financial markets has been blamed on United States sub-prime mortgage problems. But a number of other issues are contributing to the nervousness. These include the huge amount of leverage and risk that investors have taken on in recent years and large potential losses that can occur when interest rates rise [...]
Read MoreCollapse raises questions about trustee
The first substantive announcement by Bridgecorp’s receivers was a dreadful reality check for investors. It clearly demonstrated that the company’s high-profile advertising campaign, called “minimising the risk”, was misleading and should have been dubbed “invest in Bridgecorp and maximise your risk”. The announcement indicated that John Waller and Colin McCloy of PricewaterhouseCoopers were surprised and [...]
Read More