Happy Week!

We are very happy we were able to give you the right call last week. On what turned out to be a very unusual and painful for many stock market correction. It started in New York, but was felt all around the world.

As expected the market bottomed, against all the prognostications of the financial media, at the start of the week and has not looked back since. We have already seen a spectacular rally in the US, and Australia is not far behind. Just as everyone else said things like it was the start of another GST. We could see the fundamentals around the world, particularly in the US, were all improving.

It is not easy to stand against such an avalanche of dire sentiment, but it often pays off handsomely. That is not to say my services did not suffer a setback. They most certainly did. But this is perhaps the key point for all of us. You will not get it right all the time. So success is about keeping on going even after a setback. Those age old adages of if you get knocked down, get back up, come to mind. It is so important to understand that you cannot get it right every time in life. Michael Jordan the great US basketball player also set records for the biggest number of misses and errors. That is because he was relentless. We may not have to be as relentless as all that, but we do have to be determined.

With US stocks already screaming toward fresh all-time record highs again, where is the media talking about this great and impressive rally?

Where are the glaring headlines saying how many billions and trillions of dollars in wealth are being created each day and over the week? How great this is for everyone. Strong companies create jobs too after all. Where are all the people who said the big crash had begun?

Where, more importantly, and this is really interesting… where are the “media heads” apologising to their viewers for telling them to panic and sell at the bottom of the fall?

Now that’s a really interesting question. We have seen it before and we will see it again. Unfounded made up crises and sentiment swings to the downside. For nearly a decade now, they have only ever been great buying opportunities.

I like to say it is not rocket science, it’s the fundamentals. The economic fundamentals have never been better. Both globally and regionally. Australia will continue to be pushed along at the front of this wave due to our tremendous and highly desired commodity wealth. While others hesitate.. take advantage.

With such a dynamic global economic and investment climate I expect Australian property prices to re-accelerate. Have a happy week.

Clifford Bennett