Australia's June quarter GDP grew +0.4% YoY, lifting annual growth to +2.1% YoY against a +1.8% YoY consensus. US payrolls added 162,000 jobs against 55,000 expected, with prior months revised up by 55,000. The growth scare that shadowed August has faded, and with it much of the case for near-term rate cuts.

Last week's growth scare unwound almost entirely. The US S&P Global composite PMI jumped to 56.0 against a 54.0 forecast, with services at 56.8, contradicting the weak retail sales that had unsettled markets seven days earlier. Europe's PMIs also beat.

Last week's growth scare unwound almost entirely. The US S&P Global composite PMI jumped to 56.0 against a 54.0 forecast, with services at 56.8, contradicting the weak retail sales that had unsettled markets seven days earlier. Europe's PMIs also beat.

Residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) are one of the fastest-growing areas of Australia’s fixed income market, yet the asset class remains relatively unfamiliar to many investors.

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it" - Mark Twain Cartoon of the Week Source: www.hedgeye.com Funds Snapshot Movers & Shakers (week ending 14th August): Stocks (ASX 200 ↓1.60%, S&P 500 ↑0.36%, NASDAQ ↑0.14%) Bond Yields (ACGB3Y 4.53%, ↑ 4 bps / ACGB10Y 5.01%, ↑ 8 bps) Bond Curves (A$ 3s10s +48 bps, ↑ 4 bps) Credit Spreads (Major Bank 5Y Senior +63 bps, ↓1 bp / Tier 2 +127 bps, ↑ 4 bps) Oil (Brent US$88.52/bbl, ↑5.95%)

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin Cartoon of the Week Source: www.hedgeye.com Funds Snapshot Movers & Shakers (week ending 7th August): Stocks (ASX 200 ↑3.20%, S&P 500 ↑3.58%, NASDAQ ↑5.19%) Bond Yields (ACGB3Y 4.49%, ↑ 5 bps / ACGB10Y 4.93%, ↑ 8 bps) Bond Curves (A$ 3s10s +47 bps, ↑ 3 bps) Credit Spreads (Major Bank 5Y Senior +63 bps, ↓1 bp / Tier 2 +120 bps, ↓ 3 bps) Oil

“If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?" - Charles Kettering (American inventor) Cartoon of the Week Source: www.hedgeye.com Movers & Shakers (week ending 31st July): Stocks (ASX 200 ↑2.33%, S&P 500 ↑1.05%, NASDAQ ↓1.78%) Bond Yields (ACGB3Y 4.49%, ↓ 22 bps / ACGB10Y 4.93%, ↓ 16 bps) Bond Curves (A$ 3s10s +44 bps, ↑ 6 bps) Credit Spreads (Major Bank 5Y Senior +64 bps, ↓2 bps / Tier 2 +123 bps, ↑2 bps) Oil (Brent US$90.12/bbl, ↓6.88%) Gold (US$4,04

“Two halves, two different worlds" July 2026 | For public consumption Twelve months ago, the consensus view was that FY26 would be the year duration finally rewarded the faithful, as the RBA worked its way through a steady easing cycle. For six months, that thesis held. Then it broke — comprehensively. The financial year split neatly in two. Through the December half, the RBA continued cutting, inflation appeared to be behaving, and the market priced a terminal rate materia

“Thinking is one thing no one has ever been able to tax." - Charles Kettering (American inventor) Cartoon of the Week Source: www.hedgeye.com Funds Snapshot Movers & Shakers (week ending 10th July): Stocks (ASX 200 ↓0.28%, S&P 500 ↓0.61%, NASDAQ ↓3.32%) Bond Yields (ACGB3Y 4.72%, ↑ 23 bps / ACGB10Y 5.09%, ↑ 19 bps) Bond Curves (A$ 3s10s +37 bps, ↓4 bp) Credit Spreads (Major Bank 5Y Senior +66 bps, ↑1 bp / Tier 2 +121 bps, ↓1 bp) Oil (Brent US$96.78/bbl, ↑9.85%) Gold (US$4

“If at first you don't succeed, find out if the loser gets anything.” - William Lyon Phelps Cartoon of the Week Source: www.heraldsun.com.au Funds Snapshot Movers & Shakers (week ending 10th July): Stocks (ASX 200 ↓0.43%, S&P 500 ↑1.23%, NASDAQ ↑1.74%) Bond Yields (ACGB3Y 4.42%, ↑ 2 bps / ACGB10Y 4.84%, ↑ 4 bps) Bond Curves (A$ 3s10s +42 bps, ↑2 bps) Credit Spreads (Major Bank 5Y Senior +63 bps, ↓1 bps / Tier 2 +124 bps, ↔)) Oil (Brent US$76.01/bbl, ↑5.39%) Gold (US$4,11

Last week produced a set of Australian data releases that, taken together, present a genuinely mixed picture of the domestic economy. The most significant surprise was May's trade balance swinging to a deficit of $3.0bn — against a survey expectation of a $2.2bn surplus — driven by a 6.9% fall in exports and a 2.6% rise in imports.

Sticky inflation and resilient economic growth kept markets volatile as investors reassessed interest rate expectations. Read the latest outlook on equities, bonds and the RBA.

Markets spent the week balancing two competing forces: evidence of continued economic resilience and a more cautious outlook from central banks. In the US, retail spending remained firm, labour market conditions stayed broadly stable, and manufacturing surveys improved modestly. However, housing activity softened, import prices accelerated, and the Federal Reserve's updated policy rate projections signalled a higher interest rate path than previously expected.

Global risk assets largely consolidated over the past week as investors balanced optimism around global growth and AI-driven earnings momentum (in the US at least) against renewed geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and a firmer interest rate outlook (US Fed).