Pacific Perspectives

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares for his second inauguration in January, a majority of investors are optimistic on his impact on the U.S. economy, according to the latest CNBC Delivering Alpha Stock Survey. In all, 71% participants in the survey think Trump “will be great for the economy and markets,” while 29%… Read More »Most investors think that President-elect Trump will boost markets and the economy, a CNBC survey found

We began the year encouraging investors to lean into risk, and many of the positive market markers we saw at the onset of 2024 will continue as we head into 2025. Growth is slowing but not collapsing, inflation continues to moderate towards targets, and most central banks are lowering interest rates. Source:… Read More »Why investors should be cautiously optimistic about 2025

Shares wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading on Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1 per cent after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index was coming off a three-day winning… Read More »ASX to rise after US stocks waver in thin post-Christmas trading

Iron ore is tipped to trade below $US100 a tonne for most of next year as new supply from Rio Tinto’s long-awaited African project adds to giant stockpiles at Chinese ports, and US tariffs whack steel demand in the world’s second-largest economy. While markets are divided about the size and… Read More »Iron ore faces ‘riot point’ in 2025 as Rio Tinto floods the market

The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses and squeezed out a small gain in thin trading Thursday after the market’s strong back-to-back gains at the start of the holiday week. The blue-chip Dow closed the day 28.77 points, or 0.07%, higher to 43,325.80 after losing about 182 points earlier in the… Read More »Dow ekes out small gain in thin holiday trading, rising 5 days in a row: Live updates

As Michael MacGillivray saw artificial intelligence becoming more ubiquitous in everyday life, the 25-year-old wanted his investments to reflect that. It didn’t take long to figure out how he wanted to play the trend. “Whenever you look at AI, it’s like, all the roads lead to Nvidia,” said MacGillivray, who’s spent… Read More »Nvidia sees ‘remarkable’ influx of retail investor dollars as traders flock to AI darling

There is very bad news for risky assets in the humiliating policy reversal that a politically compromised US Federal Reserve has had to effect since the November presidential election. And the clear signal is in the savage price action: the S&P500 Index slumped more than 3 per cent after the Fed’s decision… Read More »The Fed’s humiliating reversal is toxic for stocks

IGO is struggling to find customers for its lithium hydroxide, as dismal prices cause the battery material to pile up at its Western Australia processing plant. The lithium and nickel miner on Monday warned that sales from the refinery were so slow that it did not expect to receive a… Read More »Lithium piles up at IGO’s WA refinery as demand slows

The Reserve Bank of Australia has signalled it could be ready to cut interest rates as soon as February if inflation and unemployment data meet or come in softer than expectations, bolstering the Albanese government’s re-election prospects. The central bank said on Tuesday that wages and economic growth data released… Read More »Soft wages, growth revive chances of first RBA rate cut in February

A group of banks and business groups are suing the Federal Reserve over the annual bank stress tests. The Bank Policy Institute, which represents big banks like JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, is joining the American Bankers Association, the Ohio Bankers League, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to… Read More »Biggest banks sue the Federal Reserve over annual stress tests