menu_open
Karen Maley

Karen Maley

Financial Review

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

The two big threats haunting global sharemarkets

Investors appear to have moved on from the news that US interest rates will be higher for longer, but analysts warn of two lurking dangers that risk...

friday 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

The US presidential election is casting a long shadow over the Fed

Lingering inflation has caused hopes for US interest rate cuts to wither. That means the Federal Reserve risks becoming dragged into a divisive...

02.05.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Are we about to witness a rerun of the Asian financial crisis?

Investors are becoming increasingly alarmed as the buoyant US economy and high US interest rates risk triggering renewed instability throughout the...

30.04.2024 20

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Why US housing remains the big obstacle to rate cuts in 2024

Investors’ hopes of rate cuts are waning as problems in the US housing market look set to keep house price and rental inflation bubbling along.

26.04.2024 8

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Are the ‘Magnificent Seven’ at risk of having their wings clipped?

Perhaps investors are finally losing patience with the hundreds of billions of dollars being ploughed into artificial intelligence as the world’s...

25.04.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Elon Musk faces battles on three fronts

The billionaire is dealing with falling earnings at his EV-maker Tesla, a fight over his multi-billion pay packet and a stoush with the Australian...

24.04.2024 7

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Why Beijing’s latest manufacturing strategy could backfire

Chinese industrial firms are facing intense downward pressure on their profit margins because they lack pricing power in their domestic and export...

23.04.2024 20

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Powell worsens the carnage in bond markets

The US Federal Reserve chairman’s comments triggered a further sell-off in bonds, deepening the pain for investors who placed big bets that 2024...

17.04.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Why bond markets are worried about a 1967-style ‘soft landing’

It’s rare for central banks to be able to pull off a “soft landing”, and even rarer for them to do so when official rates are below nominal...

16.04.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Fed’s plans for three rate cuts this year thrown into disarray

The big question is whether the central bank can cut interest rates at all this year given the stubbornness of inflation – something it had tried to...

11.04.2024 60

Financial Review

Karen Maley

What the gold and oil price rallies are telling us

While some investors are celebrating the surge in gold and oil prices, outperformance of US energy stocks has historically been a bad sign for the US...

10.04.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Bond yields rise as investors brace for US-China trade war to escalate

As Yellen wraps up her China trip, it’s little wonder that US bond yields are rising and investors are bracing for the next salvo to be fired in the...

09.04.2024 8

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Are we on the brink of an Asian currency war?

As tensions over China’s push into high-tech manufacturing flare, analysts warn that it’s only a matter of time before China follows Japan’s...

05.04.2024 40

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Why gold is rallying and bitcoin is not

Gold has hit a record high as investors seek insurance against stubborn inflation, but bitcoin has been dealt a blow this week as rate cut hopes have...

04.04.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Higher oil prices, inflation and debt give investors plenty of worries

There’s little wonder US bond yields are pushing higher, sending sharemarkets lower. The big question is whether this will turn into a full-blown...

03.04.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Investors fear Fed will abandon three rate cuts this year

The sell-off in US bond markets suggests investors are anxious that stubborn US inflation will force the Fed to opt for “one and done”, writes...

02.04.2024 30

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Bankers cheer as the frozen IPO market shows signs of heating up

Local bankers are celebrating as the US public listing market heats up, but is this simply another sign of a US sharemarket bubble?

28.03.2024 5

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Trump’s new media company catches the ‘everything rally’ wave

The former US president’s paper wealth has surged with his social media platform listing at an opportune time, with investor risk appetite rising,...

27.03.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Five years after the royal commission, big banks have their mojo back

But the newfound assertiveness isn’t simply due to the fading of past humiliations. They are increasingly conscious their large size is now a huge...

26.03.2024 5

Financial Review

Karen Maley

It’s official: Fed confirms interest rates to stay higher for longer

The central bank is sticking to its forecast for three interest rate cuts this year, but buoyant economic activity means declines will be more modest.

21.03.2024 8

Financial Review

Karen Maley

You’ll hear it more and more – AI washing is a thing

It’s no surprise that firms in every sector, including finance, want to make money off the latest investor obsession. But regulators are watching...

20.03.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Michele Bullock is right to move cautiously on interest rate cuts

There are reasons to suspect that domestic inflationary pressures, from income tax cuts to wage pressures, could prove even more stubborn than in the...

19.03.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

There are plenty of reasons why inflation just won’t come down

Consumers, it appears, are used to paying higher prices, especially when finances are in relatively good shape. Some fear that means rates won’t...

15.03.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

TikTok finds itself at the centre of growing US-China tensions

One of the most popular apps in the US faces a potential ban due to claims the company, owned by ByteDance, represents a national security risk.

14.03.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

US markets shrug off inflation in wait for cuts

It has been relatively painless for the Fed to lower inflation to 3 per cent, but reducing it to 2 per cent – the fabled last mile – will be...

13.03.2024 8

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Biden just prolonged the private equity jam

The dearth of deals has left buyout funds sitting on 28,000 unsold companies worth a record $US3.2 trillion ($4.8 trillion).

12.03.2024 9

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Investors find a fresh reason for jubilation

Investors have abandoned hopes of a volley of rate cuts this year, but they remain hopeful that strong US economic activity will boost corporate...

10.03.2024 9

Financial Review

Karen Maley

In the battle between Apple and Nvidia, the gap is clearly narrowing

For more than a decade, the iPhone maker was the world’s most valuable public company. But the arrival of generative AI is boosting the stocks of...

08.03.2024 7

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Regional banking angst could force the Fed to cut rates faster

Jerome Powell insists that he’s not in any rush to cut rates, but the worsening situation among some smaller US lenders could force him to pick up...

07.03.2024 30

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Bitcoin mania is in full swing – with no end in sight

The cryptocurrency was trading at just $US16,000 at the depths of a crisis brought on by the FTX collapse. It set a fresh high early on Wednesday...

06.03.2024 8

Financial Review

Karen Maley

What Beijing does next could hasten a global recession

China has encouraged what it terms the “new three” growth areas of electric vehicles, batteries and renewable energy. But this strategy poses two...

05.03.2024 40

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Comyn digs in for a protracted mortgage market war

CBA boss Matt Comyn is astute enough to realise Macquarie’s determination to become a major player in the mortgage market means home loan margins...

14.02.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Macquarie unveils its major mortgage market ambitions

Rivals had been quietly hoping the investment bank might ease back now that it has 5 per cent of home loans but it has different plans.

13.02.2024 5

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Can China escape its debt deflation trap?

Chinese export prices have been falling at their fastest clip since the financial crisis, helping to dampen inflationary pressures worldwide.

12.02.2024 4

Financial Review

Karen Maley

The cracks deepen beneath the market’s surface

Investors are decidedly upbeat, but analysts warn there are disturbing currents beneath the US sharemarket’s calm surface.

11.02.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

McEwan’s mission almost accomplished at NAB

Although he has NAB’s banking business running smoothly, McEwan will be slightly disappointed it still doesn’t command the same share price...

07.02.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Bullock bets on sharp lift in productivity

The problem is that if productivity growth remains disappointing, the RBA’s hopes for a gradual reduction in inflation will be thwarted.

06.02.2024 7

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Elon Musk pay ruling will have venture capital firms worried

It’s hard to justify a judge interfering in a commercial bargain, even if it turns out to be more advantageous to one side than the other.

05.02.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

The ACCC’s supermarket inquiry will only benefit Woolworths and Coles

The grocery giants have responded in an astute way – cutting meat prices. That could spell the end for the remaining independent butchers around the...

04.02.2024 40

Financial Review

Karen Maley

The market’s guessing game over interest rates continues

US stocks tumbled after Fed boss Jerome Powell poured cold water on the market’s hopes for a March rate cut, but some investors still think the Fed...

01.02.2024 9

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Beijing faces tough choices as its real estate crisis deepens

China has the invidious choice of either ploughing more money into its property market or sitting back as mini-bubbles develop.

30.01.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Can the tech giants live up to all the AI hype?

Investors will be closely watching to see if Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Meta can report a rise in earnings that would  justify the surge...

29.01.2024 20

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Why investors expect the Fed will keep this sharemarket party going

Bulls are hoping that 1995 is the template for a market rally, as the US central bank starts cutting rates after pulling off an elusive “soft...

28.01.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

China’s advanced manufacturing investment stokes trade tensions

China’s ambitions to increase output – and exports – of advanced manufactured goods is creating friction with other major economies.

25.01.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

What’s not to celebrate – the real reason the US sharemarket is soaring

The US central bank may be trying to douse investor optimism about rate cuts, but it’s also looking to slow the rate at which it drains liquidity...

23.01.2024 20

Financial Review

Karen Maley

The big question surrounding bitcoin after its ETF approval

The cryptocurrency has dropped more than 10 per cent in less than a fortnight following the excitement surrounding the SEC’s green light, and...

21.01.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Can India replace China as the new engine of global growth?

There are growing doubts that stronger Indian demand for commodities will be able to plug the gap as China’s growth slows and its appetite for...

17.01.2024 6

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Is generative AI coming for your job?

Generative artificial intelligence will disrupt many high-skilled occupations, but some will benefit from the resulting increase in productivity and...

17.01.2024 10

Financial Review

Karen Maley

What could derail this ‘risk on’ rally?

The big risk is that the huge easing in financial conditions may prevent the Federal Reserve from delivering the interest rate cuts that investors...

16.01.2024 8

Financial Review

Karen Maley

Should investors worry about Taiwan’s election result?

Many analysts believe that Beijing is too preoccupied with China’s own economic woes to contemplate using military force to bring Taiwan to heel....

14.01.2024 7

Financial Review

Karen Maley

fb254164b7c7331965cb0db15f9e416c