Changing of the guard
August 25 - 31, 2010
HAVING read some of his books and articles I was a bit of a Niall Ferguson groupie before seeing him speak at Diggers and had high expectations. He exceeded them. Someone commented afterwards that his slides were of very poor quality to which I could only respond, “did he have slides – I didn’t notice?” It was powerful stuff, entertainingly delivered, but admittedly painting on a canvas that extends well beyond the average attention span of attendees who just want to know where copper or gold will be at Christmas.
Irrational moi
August 4 - 10, 2010
BEHAVIORAL finance (or as it is sometimes called, behavioural economics) is a relatively new field. It is the study of the psychology behind the behaviour of financial market participants. It seems to be largely ignored by classical economists because the very essence of their belief/faith is that markets reach rational outcomes; whereas, the behavioural economist observes the regular irrationality of markets and market participants and seeks to understand the drivers. Keynes clearly had sympathy with their view when he quipped, “markets can remain irrational for longer than you can remain solvent”.
Quick prime minister, there’s not much time
June 23 - 29, 2010
DEAR prime minister, congratulations on your recent elevation. You must be exhausted after a day like that. We were exhausted just watching it.
Get up and go and visit a mine
June 16 - 22, 2010
LAST week I had the pleasure to attend the official opening of the White Dam gold project in South Australia. It’s a long time since I have actually been to a mine site – too long.
Heads you win
June 2 - 8, 2010
HEAD ’em up, head ’em up, come in spinner, they cry, as the punters bet on heads or tails. Two-Up’s history in Australia dates back to the goldfields in the late 1800s and it was the spread of the discovery of gold that propelled the game across the country. It was very much a working class game which is why it found its way into the trenches in World War One and from there into the hearts of a generation of Australians and into the very fabric of our nation’s story.
The great divide
May 19 - 25, 2010
WHEN I lived in Perth the Swan River tribalism was a source of great amusement. Not a substantial body of water but a clear demarcation zone. In fact it seemed to me the two halves of Perth were so divided that two people from the north side wanting to have an extra marital affair need only meet up south of the river and they were unlikely to be seen by anyone they knew (or that they cared knew of their arrangements).
If the salary cap fits
May 5 - 11, 2010
FOR heaven’s sake what’s all the fuss about with the Melbourne Storm? Firstly, it’s only rugby league. Secondly, they made league outside State of Origin almost watchable. Given the word on the street is that “half the clubs are doing it” perhaps the guys who should be getting the bollocking are the ones that are breaching the cap and still can’t produce watchable games or winning seasons.
GFC over and not forgotten or forgotten and not over?
April 14 - 20, 2010
AN ECONOMIST with a sense of humour seems to be rare in my experience so I took great delight in watching a presentation by Bill Evans of Westpac recently. He observed that the public perception of bankers has become so bad that where he once described himself as a banker when he filled in his customs and immigration forms, Bill now owns up to being an economist!
Wise heads ... after the fact
March 31 - April 6, 2010
YOU have got to try hard to be loved less than a banker, I know, but this is one of those times.
Flying and banking behind the curtain
March 16 - 22, 2010
I HAVE just returned from my first visit to PDAC. It certainly won’t be my last. What an amazing forum. It is testament to the scale of the mining industry worldwide and its still bright future mixed with a reminder that we share a great deal with the gaming industry, but their odds are better. If they had cocktail waitresses and punters that could buy stocks with “PDAChips” I think they could run it 24 hours a day for the three and a half days it is on.
Once bitten, twice worth a try
March 9 - 15, 2010
WHY is it okay to remarry (several times) after a shocking experience(s) but one bad hedging experience, it seems, is enough to have people swear off it for life?
Gold markets and urinals ... How I had to travel to Cape Town to realise the gold market and football stadium urinals have much more in common than it might first appear
February 16 - 22, 2010
FROM a distance it might be easy to imagine Indaba is nothing more than an excuse for Europeans and Canadians to fly south for a brief respite from the winter chills and let’s face it, Cape Town is certainly a fabulous place to do just that. I love the place. If you’re a soccer fan go straight there for the World Cup and skip Johannesburg.
There's nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
February 2 - 8, 2010
IT WAS Toad’s friend Rat (or Kenneth Graeme for the pedants) who once said, “Believe me, my young friend, there's nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats”. After two weeks of doing just that I have to heartily agree.
My life was saved by a fridge magnet (others weren’t so lucky)
December 21 - 27, 2009
IT’S TRUE! My life was saved by a fridge magnet. Well not saved as in I was about to die but I was saved from a slow death in a life I had come to enjoy less and less, my life as an employee; a bank employee in particular.
Now it's Peak Gold, oh dear!
December 7 - 13, 2009
I AM not sure how I missed this but scanning some old articles I noticed an interview with The Daily Telegraph in London where Barrick Gold president Aaron Regent said worldwide gold production has finally hit “terminal decline”. In fact he went so far as to argue that we have reached “Peak Gold”.
Dear Weekend AFR editor, please refrain from putting our metal on your cover
November 23 - 29, 2009
THE AFR Weekend Edition ran a cover story on gold the weekend before last. Norman May would have been proud: it was gold, gold, gold and $US2000/oz was nothing to be laughed at. I call on all people who are involved in, or benefit from, gold mining to write to that venerable publication and plead for them to cease and desist. Feel free to copy the following and send it to them.
Are you my mother?
November 9 - 15, 2009
IF YOU are a similar vintage to me, or my parents, then you may recall that 1960s children’s book about the little bird that fell out of the nest and wandered around asking various animals and even an earthmover, “Are you my mother?”. “Are you my mother” came to mind twice last week.
We're from the G20 and we're here to help
October 26 - November 1, 2009
FOR many of us the movement of the Mighty Aussie Dollar (currently not answering to Pacific Peso) is all a bit academic unless we have a French champagne habit or we want to go overseas on holidays. It’s amusing to watch the way politicians take credit for it going up (sign of strong economic management) and then blame “traders” when it falls, but really we don’t care too much. Of course it’s a different story if you are an importer or an exporter.
Aussie dollar giveth, Aussie dollar taketh away
October 12 - 18, 2009
IN THE past 18 months the Aussie dollar has been as high as US98.5c, as low as 60.09c and is now trading at 90.25c, with reports soon expected of party planners getting enquiries for themed 'Parity Parties'.
Pirates to starboard, politicians to port
September 28 - October 4, 2009
I LUNCHED this week with 700 other people at the Brisbane Mining Club. Such was the interest in the speaker Cynthia Carroll CEO of Anglo American that the venue kept being changed as the numbers swelled.