Market & Portfolio Update - July 2022
Prices of goods and services have continued to rise, with inflation numbers exceeding expectations around the world. In New Zealand we hit a 30-year high of 7.3%. Since this was released there has been a drop in a wide range of commodity prices, including oil, which has given hope to investors that we may be past the peak of inflation.
Central banks continue to raise interest rates in an effort to slow down business and consumer spending and to bring inflation back to more sustainable levels. NZ, Europe and US are amongst a long list of central banks that increased rates by another 0.50%-0.75% in the last month.
Labour markets remain historically tight, helping the perseverance of the economy. The most recent data shows unemployment in New Zealand at 3.3%, considerably lower than the 5% average that has been seen over the last 15 years.
Using Your Home to Grow Your Wealth: How to Leverage Equity to Buy a Rental
You have worked hard to buy your home. Paid the mortgage, watched the value rise, and chipped away at the balance over time. Now you might be wondering: can this be the foundation for something more?
If you have built up equity in your home, the answer might be yes.
Market & Portfolio Update - July 2025
The global share market (represented by the MSCI World Gross Index) was up +4.2% in NZ dollar terms in July as the Trump administration finalised several trade agreements, including with Vietnam, Japan and the EU. Although these new tariff rates are significantly higher than the average rate before Trump’s presidency, equity markets responded positively to the fact that the new agreements reduce the risk of an escalating trade war.