Brett Careedy

The rise in Australia's July unemployment rate was overstated in the headline data, but participation fell back after a strong June. Overall, the data suggests a gradual cooling in the labour market, consistent with RBA forecasts. The published rise from 4.4% to 4.5% in today's Australian seasonally adjusted unemployment rate exaggerates the rise. The official ABS figures show that the increase was from 4.432% to 4.462% when expanded. -15.8k jobs were lost, compared to consensus estimates of...

Global equities made fresh record highs but receded on Friday as benign US inflation was offset by signs of slowing consumer spending. Softer retail sales pared back expectations of a near-term US rate rise, though underlying price pressures persist. Oil prices climbed as US strategic reserves continued to decline and tensions between the US and Iran remain unresolved. The RBA held rates steady but retained a clear hawkish bias, while financial shares fell on signs of a cooling mortgage...

Portfolio Performance Over the quarter, our Investment Committee remained constructive on the longer-term investment outlook, while becoming increasingly selective around where we were prepared to deploy capital. Equity markets continued to be supported by resilient corporate earnings, particularly across technology and semiconductors, but this was occurring against a more complex macroeconomic backdrop. Persistent inflation, higher bond yields, geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and...