This Month
This billionaire started his company to avoid paying bank fees
Kristo Käärmann found a cheap way to send British pounds to his native Estonia. His solution now has 16 million global users.
- James Eyers
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Forty years after $A float, no brave new world of prosperity in view
The anniversary of the bold decision is a reminder that the float set off a domino-effect of policy liberalisation that reversed Australia’s economic decline.
- The AFR View
- Analysis
- Currency wars
‘Bleeding sore’: Why the $A float 40 years ago was such a big deal
It took a lot of nerve to cut the Australian dollar loose, but former PM and treasurer Paul Keating says it was the moment the Australian economy grew up.
- John Kehoe
How to optimise your stock portfolio for a high $A
Citi expects the currency to rise to US76¢ by late 2025. Some companies will benefit from that surge, outlined in a note by the bank’s equities strategists to clients.
- Updated
- Joshua Peach and Cecile Lefort
November
$A forges fresh highs as traders eye US70c
The local currency has jumped almost 4 per cent in November, buoyed by the diverging interest rate outlook between the Australia and the US.
- Cecile Lefort
Super funds are investing based on performance test
Funds may be factoring in the Your Future Your Super benchmarking even if it means reducing their exposure to potentially lucrative sectors, a new survey shows.
- Hannah Wootton
Aussie dollar accelerates to near US66¢ as tailwinds build
The Australian dollar is trading near a four-month high as a faltering US dollar, stronger yuan and rallying iron ore prices lift the local currency.
- Joshua Peach
- Opinion
- Inflation
Three reasons $A looks cheap
Our comparatively colossal cash buffers will take far longer to run down, which implies that the RBA will find it challenging wrestling inflation down.
- Christopher Joye
‘Stars align’ for the Aussie dollar ahead of RBA meeting
The Australian dollar held above US65¢ on Monday bolstered by a weak US counterpart and expectations of the first interest rate rise in Australia since June.
- Cecile Lefort
October
Tokenisation of real-world assets is the killer app for crypto
What if crypto was not only a speculative asset class but a new technology stack for financial markets?
- James Eyers and Jessica Sier
$A plunge boosts foreign equity position, RBA finds
The banks hedge their currency risk so extensively that Australia’s improved ledger has little real benefit to them.
- Updated
- Jonathan Shapiro
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Pension funds hit reverse on $A bets
Real money investors globally – big pension funds, insurers and mutuals – were happily overweight the Australian dollar. Then they sold en masse.
- Anthony Macdonald
- Opinion
- Bonds
Why the rush to safe haven assets isn’t likely to last
The question for investors is how to make sense of the volatility arising from the tension between the higher-for-longer interest rate environment, and capital flows to assets deemed safe during times of turmoil like war.
- Chris Dickman
Hot US inflation hits $A, lifting chance of RBA rate rise
The Aussie is trading near an 11-month low after US consumer prices rose more than expected overnight, strengthening the case of high rates for longer.
- Cecile Lefort
‘Nice to charge in USD’: Aussie start-ups’ unexpected boon
Australian technology companies that have their workers in Australia and most customers in the United States are winners from the dollar’s weakness.
- Nick Bonyhady and Tess Bennett
Why your favourite prosecco may be getting harder to find
Importers, such as Melbourne’s Boccaccio Cellars, are hit hard by the Aussie’s plunge in value against the euro and the $US over the past year.
- Gus McCubbing
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Policy contradictions threatening return to low inflation
The Australian currency’s depreciation follows hopes the new oil price pressures would prompt the new governor to do more to shore up the Reserve Bank’s low inflation credibility.
- The AFR View
- Updated
- Interest rates
ASX, $A hit 11-month low as bond rout pressures RBA on rates
A surge in long-term bond yields has pushed the Australian dollar and the sharemarket to an 11-month low and may force the RBA to raise the cash rate.
- Michael Read
September
$A tumbles as oil rally fuels bond market sell-off
The Australian dollar dipped to US63.4¢ overnight as further oil price gains strengthened inflation fears across global markets.
- Joshua Peach
ASX snaps four-day losing streak, buoyed by miners, banks
The S&P/ASX 200 ended Monday up 36.6 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 7192.3 as iron ore prices helped lift BHP and Fortescue Metals.
- Joshua Peach
