Shareswatch Australia

At the start of last year I did not update my Australian stock market trends simply because I thought the market was basically going nowhere. This year however I feel it is worth looking at some interesting sectors again in an attempt to pick out some areas where investors might be able to find bargains and position themselves for the next bull market.

Over the last six months stock markets globally have become more volatile as Europe and the U.S. struggle to revive their economies.  To make things more complicated many advanced economies have racked up so much debt during the ‘good times’ that they now don’t have the capacity to spend their way out of trouble.  There will be no quick fixes and the situation is worrying enough to even rattle the commodities bulls.

This week the Australian stock market slid into what I would call a bear market although some would argue that it has avoided such fate by a whisker. The reality is however that the ASX All Ordinaries did close below 4000 recently and that represents a drop of just over 20% from levels seen in April. If it looks and feels like a bear market, then for me it is a bear market.

As the Australian ASX All Ordinaries Index slowly crawls towards the 5000 level again, now is a good time to look at how some stocks have come through the global financial crisis. Does it look like a global recovery has finally taken hold, and is the Australia stock market poised to surge higher over the next few weeks?

Another year, another decade and time once again to look at our shares portfolio and perhaps review our positions. Although the global financial crisis has been tough for investors the fact is that the Australian stock market did bounce back in 2009 and if history is any guide then we are likely to see it finish higher in 2010.

The current downturn in the world markets presents us with an opportunity to review or develop our investment strategy for the next few years. For some people it may mean a major overhaul such as moving from stocks to real estate, while for others it may mean just a realignment of stocks in a portfolio.

The last few months have been more kind to Australian stock market investors however I have mainly been on the hunt for stock bargains rather than in selling mode. Therefore since May this year my focus has been on trying to buy some small parcels of shares in companies that I feel will do well over the next few years rather than profit taking.

Australian Worldwide Exploration Limited (AWE)  is an Australian based oil and gas explorer/producer that over the past few years that has ramped up production and profits. Over the last year however the fall in energy prices has caused a drop in earnings and it’s share price, but if you believe that oil and gas prices will move higher over the next few years then AWE may be a good stock to watch.

Hover over the stock price change to see the stock price graph or click on the name of the stock or index to see more detailed information on the Yahoo Finance website.

Sometimes when confronted by a seemingly endless barrage of economic data it is beneficial to just grab a cup of coffee and calmly review a few stock market related charts to see if they are trying to tell us something. Yes it is pretty chaotic in the global economy these days but believe it or not, some order appears to be creeping back into the Australian stock market.

One of the most discussed economic topics at the moment in Australia is regarding whether real estate prices are about to plunge across the nation or if Australian residential property will generally be spared from the savage price falls seen in the U.S. and the U.K.  Rather than take sides in this debate, I will merely outline some of the arguments being tossed around in newspapers, online forums and blogs etc. and see how well they hold up to scrutiny.

This year there has been a lot of discussion regarding the role short selling has had in causing turmoil in the stocks markets and there are now actions under way in the many of the world’s stock to curb temporarily curb this practice. But if short selling has been causing problems in the markets, why not ban it completely? Is there anything good about short selling?

One thing that really annoys me about many financial journalists and market commentators is they often imply that that they have some unique insight into the market, yet they rarely disclose how they took advantage of their wisdom.