The Treasurer Joe Hockey and the Coalition Government delivered their first Federal Budget on Tuesday 13 May 2014. We are pleased to provide a summary of some of the key announcements from the 2014 Federal Budget. Temporary Budget Repair Levy The Government has announced that it will introduce a ‘Temporary Budget Repair Levy’ of 2%
Director's Perspective By Mario Isaias The GFC was the trigger point for governments to embark on massive spending without finding new sources of revenue. Australia now faces the hard reality that this cannot go on forever. The upcoming Federal Budget on 13 May will most likely take the first steps to addressing this imbalance which will
Director's Perspective By Noel Hucker There’s a great saying about seeing the forest for the trees and it’s easy to fall into this trap when there is so much information and news out there – Russia and Crimea/Ukraine, Chinese production, tapering of the US Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing programme, etc. etc. Issues like these have
Director's Perspective By Inbam Devadason Global share markets were down around 5% over the month of January 2014 with concern over slowing Global growth and a natural correction after a strong rally in the 2013 calendar year. Over the month of February most of these losses have been recouped. Confidence in the Global recovery has
The March 1, 2014 deadline is almost here and if you were born on or before 19 September, 1944 (males) and 1 January, 1946 (females), then the information contained here could be worth a lot of money to you (up to $47,242.50 !!) Background The Pension Bonus Scheme (PBS) was a Federal Government initiative designed to
Director's Perspective By Mario Isaias Welcome to the New Year and I trust you had a wonderful festive season with family and friends. The previous calendar year will be remembered as one of the better investment years. With low interest rates and central bank support, most markets performed very well, led by the U.S. -
Director's Perspective By Noel Hucker With 2013 drawing to a close we'd like to thank you for your ongoing support of our business. The team at Harvest wishes you and your family a very happy holiday and a prosperous 2014. We look forward to working with you again in the New Year. In our newsletter
Director's Perspective By Inbam Devadason Global share markets have continued to trend upwards, with some stabilisation over the month of November 2013. Global economic growth has improved over the last 6 months and in particular, even Europe has returned to modest growth. In Australia, business and consumer confidence levels have improved over the last 3
Investment Market Update Global equity markets have performed strongly in 2013 year to date. Since the US debt ceiling was raised this month equity markets have continued to rise strongly. The equity market performances reflect increased confidence that the global economy is recovering. The delay in the US Federal Reserve reducing its bond buying from
Investment Market Update Global equity markets have performed well in 2013 year to date. August was a strong month for the Australian market but a weak month for most Global equity markets. Tension with respect to potential military action against Syria caused some weakness in markets in August 2013. Other factors affecting markets in recent
