Over the last two weeks investors have had a wild ride with the markets fretting over the outcome of the US election, and in the middle of this the Australian banks reported their profit results which gained very little attention. We have no intention of adding to the pile of “expert opinions”, nor commentating on what a Trump presidency means for Australian equities, as we see it as having a pretty minimal impact. Market pundits fretting over the impact of the US starting a trade war with China; ignore the fact that China holds 10% of the $10 trillion publically traded US debt. Given the new government’s fiscal stimulus plans and the associated deficits and thus increased borrowing; it makes little sense for the US to antagonize its largest creditor.
In this piece we are going to look at the common themes emerging from the banks’ results, differentiate between them and hand out our reporting season awards to the financial intermediaries that grease the wheels of Australian capitalism.
Read more here.