Pacific Perspectives

The country’s largest operator of tollroads has reported slowing growth on some of its major motorways as the conflict in the Middle East sends the price of petrol soaring and pushes drivers toward public transport.…

Investors’ expectations for global growth plummeted in April by the most in four years due to the Iran war, with local fund managers warning that a downturn could be even more pronounced in Australia. The…

First came the keynote speech and the fireside chat. Two years ago, press conferences after every monetary policy decision. Now the Reserve Bank of Australia is launching into the social media age – on Instagram.…

U.S. stock futures were little changed on Wednesday night after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose to fresh records during the regular session. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both traded around the flatline. Futures tied to the Dow Jones…

Prediction market volumes are booming in 2026, on pace to more than quadruple this year alone and reach an estimated $1 trillion in the next four years, according to Bernstein. Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/14/prediction-markets-will-grow-to-1-trillion-by-2030-bernstein-says.html

Investors are being forced to rethink a decades-old rule of thumb – that bonds will save the day if sharemarkets become too choppy – with sky-high oil prices leading to stagflation fears and stymying debt…

An unsteady ceasefire. Marathon negotiations without a peace deal. Now a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Investors are bracing for a long period of uncertainty, unsure how the conflict in the Middle East will…

It’s been two months since the war in Iran began, with no clear end in sight. But after some initial turbulence, Wall Street seems to be blocking out the noise. The S&P 500 Index has…

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/14/gen-z-investors-stock-market-volatility.html

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/09/core-inflation-was-3percent-in-february-as-expected-key-fed-gauge-shows.html