News and updates about building wealth, retiring and achieving goals.

The recent sharp rise in bond rates may not be a big topic of conversation around the Sunday barbecue, but it has set pulses racing on financial markets amid talk of inflation and what that might mean for investors. The change may not seem like much, but to bond watchers it’s significant. Rates have since settled a little lower, but the market is still jittery.

After an eventful summer of weather extremes, on-again off-again lockdowns and the swearing in of a new US President, many will be hoping that Autumn ushers in a change of more than the season.

Just as we were recovering from the long drought and the worst bushfires on record, the global coronavirus pandemic took hold and changed everything. Suddenly, simple things we took for granted, like going to the office or celebrating special occasions, were put on hold. While life is still not back to normal, Australia is in better shape financially than many people expected at the height of the economic shutdown.