ep 288 | Should I pay off the mortgage faster, or invest?
Should I pay off the mortgage faster, or use that extra cash to invest? This is always a common question, and it’s especially relevant today. While mortgage rates are way down from the highs of 2023, borrowing costs are still above the average of the past 15 years. Let's crunch a few numbers and run through some pros and cons.
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7:26
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7:26
ep 287 | The week ahead - Trade talks, jobs, the Fed and more Mag7 earnings - it's all on!
A massive week looms for investors. Trade negotiations will remain front and centre, with markets particularly focused on developments between the US and the European Union, as well as talks between the US and China. Outside of trade, there is no shortage of economic releases and central bank decisions for investors to digest, including the US jobs report and a Fed decision. If that's not enough to keep you busy, there are more than 150 S&P 500 companies due to report earnings, including Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Apple!
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13:58
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13:58
ep 286 | Where’s the long-awaited housing market recovery?
The country has dragged itself out of recession and mortgage rates have been falling for 18 months. However, against conventional wisdom the long-awaited housing market recovery still hasn't arrived. For the first time in a long while, the housing market is working more for buyers than sellers, and that rebalancing might be exactly what we need.
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10:50
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10:50
ep 285 | The week ahead - Brace yourself for a hotter CPI report here in NZ
Here in New Zealand, the June quarter inflation report will be the key release this week. Markets are bracing for an increase in the annual inflation rate to 2.8%, the highest in 12 months and above Reserve Bank expectations. Elsewhere, the international earnings season will ramp up after a good start, with more than 100 S&P 500 companies set to announce results over the coming days.
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14:19
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14:19
ep 284 | This is almost as good as it gets for borrowers
The RBNZ isn’t done with cutting rates just yet, but an important insight borrowers should take from last week’s "no change" decision is that we are nearing the end of the easing cycle. The upshot here is that most of the downward move in mortgage rates is behind us. I wouldn’t say this is quite “as good as it gets” for borrowers, but we’re much closer to that point than many think.
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