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The financial topic discussed this fortnight was investing with the market. The latest edition also contained the following Market Update:
Market News
Market Indices
Since our previous edition, Australian and global sharemarkets have seen strong volatility. The S&P ASX200 Index has fallen 2.00% from the 14th to the 25th of January. It is up 1.57% from the same time last year but down 7.56% for the calendar year (2008) so far. The S&P Global 1200, a measure of the global market, has fallen 6.18% over the same period. The index is down 2.82% from the same time last year and down 9.38% for the calendar year so far.
Emerging markets have also seen negative movement with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index falling 7.88% since the 14th of January. It is up 15.67% from the same time last year but down 10.70% for the calendar year so far.
Property trusts have also experienced a rebound since the 14th of January with the S&P ASX 200 Property Trust Index rising by 3.46%. The index is down 22.08% from the same time last year and also down 9.73% for the calendar year so far.. The S&P/Citigroup Global Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Index, a measure of the global property market, also rose 3.42% over the same period. It is down 22.52% from the same time last year and also down 4.58% for the calendar year so far.
Exchange Rates
As of 4pm the 25th January, the value of the Australian dollar had fallen since the 14th January with the Aussie dollar down 1.17% against the US Dollar at .8847. It is up 13.48% from the same time last year and up 0.35% for the calendar year so far. Since January 14th the Aussie has also fallen 1.30% against the Trade Weighted Index now at 68.3. This puts it up by 6.22% since the same time last year but down 0.58% for the calendar year so far. (The Trade Weighted Index measures The Australian dollar against a basket of foreign currencies.)
General News
Since our last edition the Australian Bureaus of Statistics has released the official Consumer Price Index data indicating that the CPI had risen 0.9% in the December quarter of 2007 and 3% for the year to the end of December. The ABS has also released labour force data for the month of December. The data shows the unemployment rate falling to 4.3%
