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High equity valuations require sober analysis

23 September 2014 | General

With the JSE All Share Index (ALSI) having reached its record high on 29 July 2014, before easing off slightly and enjoying a price/earnings ratio above 17.5 times, PPS Investments CEO Nick Battersby says that from this level it’s a sobering reality - given there have been few times in the last 20 years when the market has been at that level, that there appears to be little upside to this market.

Rate hikes still loom

22 September 2014 | General

It was a busy week for central bank watchers. The US monetary policy body, the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) reduced its monthly bond-buying programme by another $10 billion, and is set to completely end this programme by October. At that point its balance sheet will have increased to $4 trillion, reflecting the massive amount of bonds and mortgage-backed securities it bought in three rounds of quantitative easing (QE) since 2008. The FOMC’s statement reassured markets that interest rates will be kept low for a “considerable time” after the end of QE.