Investing

Jun
19

Bitcoin futures could be hurting bitcoin’s price

A Wall Street analyst known for his bullish stance on bitcoin has flagged the possibility that bitcoin futures contracts could be hurting the cryptocurrency’s price. Bloomberg reports that Tom Lee, the cofounder of the research firm Fundstrat, said in a note last week that bitcoin futures contracts could be behind bitcoin’s recent “gut-wrenching” price declines. Lee said in his report that there was “significant volatility” in bitcoin’s price around the expiration date of CME Group and Cboe futures contracts. Both CME Group and Cboe launched bitcoin futures products in December, when bitcoin was trading close to record highs of about $US20,000. Bitcoin has tumbled since then. Bitcoin was down 0.35% […]

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Jun
18

ETF Securities says ROBO ETF surpasses $100m as investors embrace global opportunities

ETF Securities Australia today announced that ETFS ROBO Global Robotics and Automation ETF (ASX code: ROBO) has achieved inflows of $100 million since its launch in September last year. This is the fastest growth of any ETF offered by ETF Securities since its founder and Australian philanthropist Graham Tuckwell launched the world-first GOLD product in 2003. ROBO is the first exchange traded fund in Australia to provide investors with access to global companies focusing on robotics, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. It represents a partnership between ETF Securities Australia and US-based specialist robotics and automation index and research provider ROBO Global, tracking the ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index. […]

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Jun
18

Automated advice to help Australians’ money grow

Cotton farmer George Stacey grows crops for a living and he’s also focused on watching his finances flourish. A long way from the hustle and bustle of city life, the 24-year-old works on a 97,000 hectare farm in Goondiwindi, 300km southwest of Brisbane, and said he loves investing in companies all over the world “from my couch in remote western Queensland.” Following in his father’s footsteps of investing, Mr Stacey said “ever since I was a young kid when the finance news would come I had a bit of an interest in it and my dad invested in a share portfolio”. “When I went out west and I started to […]

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Jun
15

Bitcoin’s collapse is raising suspicions about price manipulation

Bitcoin extended losses, bringing its four-session slide to as much as 20 per cent, as questions mount about whether the world’s biggest cryptocurrency was manipulated during last year’s record price surge. After rallying more than 1,400 per cent in 2017 amid an investor frenzy for digital assets, Bitcoin is down almost 70 per cent to around $US6,325 as of 2:52 a.m. in New York, from its record high of $US19,511 set in December. It traded at a few cents after being launched in 2009. “Things have changed for Bitcoin and the crypto space,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at online trading firm Oanda Corp. in London. “There doesn’t seem […]

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Jun
11

Burgeoning innovation culture an opportunity for investors: Equitise

Australia may lag behind Silicon Valley when it comes to start-up culture, but the growing space is presenting increasing opportunities, an equity crowdfunding company has said. Chris Gilbert, managing director and co-founder of Equitise, which facilitates investment in start-ups and businesses, told Nest Egg that while Australia isn’t quite at the level of Israel, the UK or the US when it comes to innovation, Australia’s “evolving” landscape supplies opportunities. Responding to questioning around whether Australia lacked a strong business mindset, as Bernard Salt has previously opined, Mr Gilbert said, “I think that it definitely is true to a certain extent. “It was far more true when I was getting in […]

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Jun
11

AMP’s stumble has smaller players smelling blood

Amid the storm unleashed by the commission, these tailwinds have become something more like a gale. The market has arguably moved a long way ahead of the eventual facts on the ground, perhaps too far. The royal commission is still in fact-finding mode. Reports won’t be finalised until early 2019. Even then, what will and won’t be taken up in law is another issue entirely. It could well be two years before the dust settles. Yet the theme looks well entrenched in the share prices. Hub24, Netwealth and Praemium all trade at 12-month forward price-to-earnings multiples of around 66, on Bloomberg numbers. That looks difficult to swallow. The Bell Potter […]

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Jun
11

Prospa founders admit float lost ‘vital momentum’

The co-founders of small business lender Prospa maintain the company can return to the public markets for a future float, after a last-minute regulatory query this week created “confusion” that sapped the listing of vital “momentum.” Prospa was meant to be one of most-watched floats of 2018, but these plans were thrown into disarray this week as scrutiny from regulators apparently caught the company, and its investment bankers, off-guard. After Thursday night’s decision to postpone the float, on Friday, co-founders Greg Moshal and Beau Bortoli said Prospa was taking the opportunity to “regroup” and one day return to the public markets. Prospa had been due to list around lunchtime on […]

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Jun
08

2018 Budgeting & Savings Apps worth checking out

Looking to take control of your finances, but don’t know where to start? Your smartphone could possibly help you, thanks to these new budgeting and savings apps that have grabbed the public’s attention. According to a recent study by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s average household savings ratio (the ratio of income saved to household net disposable income) is currently at a record low of 4%. Furthermore, a study by UBank found that in 2017, two million Australians had less than $1,000 set aside in their savings accounts. There’s no doubt that saving money, tracking expenses and sticking to an allocated budget can be tough, not to mention that […]

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