Gold — hitting a triple top?
Gold keeps a firm bullish tone, marking its third consecutive weekly gain, now printing above $2,000 an ounce — a key psychological barrier. As uncertainty over the conflict in the Middle East continues, demand is fueled for safe-haven assets. However, investors also may remain cautious this week, which hosts a range of key macro-economic data events, starting with a focus on FED’s signals for interest rates, which could well remain high, US Jobs data, ISM prints and key Q3 Corp earnings. Key levels to watch this week as bulls continue their run would be the double top at $2,047 an ounce, from earlier this year and then the all-time high in Gold just above $2,080 an ounce. Given recent momentum, it would not be against the odds for this to be taken out before the year-end. On the flip side, should investors look at profit taking, in the short-run, we could see $1,980 again hold as a key support area.
NZ
The mortgage life > Kiwis paid about $4.6bn in interest payments on mortgages last quarter, putting New Zealanders on track to pay +$17bn in interest payments for the year. We’re not bullish on housing — that interest cost will continue to weigh as rates stay higher for longer.
Simplicity > Noting a $12bn “build to rent” fund for the KiwiSaver provider. While other developers (Ockham, etc) are slowing down, Simplicity is ramping up. Interested to see how it turns out. $12bn is an ambitious number…
NZX > good results for the quarter in the funds mgmt business (+49%) bringing revenue for the quarter to $9.5mn, but weaker results on the exchange side, with results sitting flat or declining. We love the funds mgmt. biz, but think the exchange side needs to think about how it will attract more growth…
Fletcher Building > tense AGM last week, with mgmt. defending the recent issues with faulty pipes across the ditch and slowing growth across major projects. One minor shareholder piped up and said he was exchanging his long-held Fletchers shares for some Fisher and Paykel Healthcare. We know which we’d rather be buying…it’s hard to own a litigation risk…
Mainfreight > sitting at ~$56.50 as of writing — we like buying it at these levels. A classic case of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. As we have noted, liking EBOS at these levels, too. Buy quality, and hold…