Are we burning down the house? Does the combination of low interest rates and Australia's national obsession with housing put us at risk of a debt blowout? Craig Balenzuela and Dr Matthew Peter discuss household and business debt in today's QPod.

Can Australia avoid going from hero to zero? We're lagging behind in the vaccination roll out race - will this damage our economy, in spite of the strong economic data released this week? Tune in as Craig Balenzuela and Dr Matthew Peter debate our status and the impacts of long-term international border closures.

Got a question for Matthew or Craig? Email us at [email protected].

All aboard the fiscal stimulus train! In a rare two-part series we discuss the size of Biden’s fiscal package and today, we explore what implications have been unleashed across asset classes and the opportunities on offer for institutional investors. Listen now.

Will MAGA rise again? US President Joe Biden has unveiled his US$3 trillion stimulus package and in today’s QPod, Craig Balenzuela and Chief Economist Dr Matthew Peter explore if this will be just another massive fiscal splash that overheats the US economy or will it affect economies across the globe?

Disclaimer:

This information is solely for general information purposes. It is not financial product advice or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services. In preparing this information, QIC has not taken into account any investor’s objectives, financial situations or needs. QIC does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this information has been maintained or that the information is free of errors, virus or interference. You are not permitted to rely on this information, and any reliance on it, or decisions made based on it, are your responsibility. QIC therefore accepts no liability for any reliance on this information.

Copyright QIC Limited, Australia. All rights are reserved. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.

QIC's Stuart Simmons, Head of Currency, discusses the latest COVID-19 updates, asset market performances and themes, and domestic and global updates, including an outline on the recovery plan that Scott Morrison has recently introduced.

Beverley Morris, Director of Fixed Income & Absolute Return, comments on unemployment as the APD release and Nonfarm payrolls report highlighted a drop in unemployment rates of 14.7%, with over 20.5 million jobs lost in April. Beverly also discusses Australian rates and the statement of monetary policy released last Friday.

Paul Nicholson, the Director of Global Absolute Return & Income Funds updates on the European bonds, peripheral spreads, and on the EU vs Germany court ruling. Phillip Mall, the Director of Credit, provides insights on the latest corporate earnings update, and Richard Garland, the Senior Portfolio Manager & Research Analyst of Global Credit, provides a macro credit update.

Disclaimer:

This information is solely for general information purposes. It is not financial product advice or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services. In preparing this information, QIC has not taken into account any investor’s objectives, financial situations or needs. QIC does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this information has been maintained or that the information is free of errors, virus or interference. You are not permitted to rely on this information, and any reliance on it, or decisions made based on it, are your responsibility. QIC therefore accepts no liability for any reliance on this information.

Copyright QIC Limited, Australia. All rights are reserved. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.

QIC's Stuart Simmons, Head of Currency, discusses the latest COVID-19 updates and currency market impacts with staged openings starting to happen across the developed world, including locally where we are looking to ease restrictions in states such as Queensland. The backend of last week saw markets faring better with the front crude oil contract recovering and the passing of another stimulus package in the U.S. Beverley Morris, Director of Fixed Income & Absolute Return, discusses the weekend's bond market activity, noting a shift in sentiment over the weekend and questions whether the job keeper fiscal stimulus package will be unwound too early. Credit markets also continue to see support while Paul Nicholson, Director of Global Absolute Return ＆ Income Funds, looks at the disagreements in Europe over proportion of grants over loans. However, the big news was locally with the latest NAB announcement dissected. Listen here for these topics and others.

Disclaimer:

This information is solely for general information purposes. It is not financial product advice or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services. In preparing this information, QIC has not taken into account any investor’s objectives, financial situations or needs. QIC does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this information has been maintained or that the information is free of errors, virus or interference. You are not permitted to rely on this information, and any reliance on it, or decisions made based on it, are your responsibility. QIC therefore accepts no liability for any reliance on this information.

Copyright QIC Limited, Australia. All rights are reserved. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.

QIC's Stuart Simmons, Head of Currency, discusses the latest COVID-19 updates and currency market impacts and provides a breakdown of the elevated rate of infections in the U.S. – which has been flagged as a recurring theme in the second half of the year.

Beverley Morris, Director of Fixed Income & Absolute Return, discusses the weekend's bond market activity, which are caught between monetary and fiscal policies.

Credit markets reacted to news from the Fed in regards to primary and secondary market corporate credit facilities beginning to purchase in early May. Richard Garland, the Senior Portfolio Manager & Research Analyst of Global Credit talks more to this, with a further breakdown from Phillip Mall, the Director of Credit, and Paul Nicholson, the Director of Global Absolute Return & Income Funds.

Disclaimer:

This information is solely for general information purposes. It is not financial product advice or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services. In preparing this information, QIC has not taken into account any investor’s objectives, financial situations or needs. QIC does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this information has been maintained or that the information is free of errors, virus or interference. You are not permitted to rely on this information, and any reliance on it, or decisions made based on it, are your responsibility. QIC therefore accepts no liability for any reliance on this information.

Copyright QIC Limited, Australia. All rights are reserved. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.

QIC’s Liquid Markets Group takes a timely look at the liquidity challenges that institutional investors are facing during this current COVID-19 market crisis.

QIC’s Director of Overlay Solutions and Implementation, Scott Rissman, talks to:

-The main drivers behind the desire from institutional investors to create more liquidity in their portfolios

-The challenges these investors might face with this need to create or find liquidity

-The options portfolios have besides selling off assets to create liquidity

-How an overlay program can maintain SAA while generating liquidity for funds

Disclaimer:

This information is solely for general information purposes. It is not financial product advice or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services. In preparing this information, QIC has not taken into account any investor’s objectives, financial situations or needs. QIC does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this information has been maintained or that the information is free of errors, virus or interference. You are not permitted to rely on this information, and any reliance on it, or decisions made based on it, are your responsibility. QIC therefore accepts no liability for any reliance on this information.

Copyright QIC Limited, Australia. All rights are reserved. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.

Today’s QPod features QIC Executive Director of Human Resources, Glenn Jackson. Listen to the discussion as he takes us through the dramatic change QIC employees faced amidst the COVID-19 lockdown. Glenn also breaks down the importance of strong organisational culture and community, particularly during prolonged phases of isolation. Other topics he discussed with our General Manager for Marketing and External Communication, Marc Joshi include:

-Building culture with a remote work force

-The role of technology and flexibility in the transition to working-from-home

-The vital importance of communications

-Flexibility in a post-COVID world

-The principles QIC is adopting when planning the return to a “new norm”

Disclaimer:

This information is solely for general information purposes. It is not financial product advice or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services. In preparing this information, QIC has not taken into account any investor’s objectives, financial situations or needs. QIC does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this information has been maintained or that the information is free of errors, virus or interference. You are not permitted to rely on this information, and any reliance on it, or decisions made based on it, are your responsibility. QIC therefore accepts no liability for any reliance on this information.

Copyright QIC Limited, Australia. All rights are reserved. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.

Robert Swan, the Head of Risk Premia & Equities at QIC, provides investors with insights following the recent fall in oil prices. He highlights some of the opportunities investors can consider when looking at the oil markets, and the role oil plays within a typical balance fund portfolio. Robert covers a range of topics including:

-The effects that COVID-19 has had on global supply and demand for oil

-How other governments have responded and have used the opportunity to increase its strategic supply volumes

-The liquidity and risks with oil and energy contracts

-What institutional clients should be aware of with opportunistic movements

-What other ways you can use contracts to unlock premia in the market

Disclaimer:

This information is solely for general information purposes. It is not financial product advice or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services. In preparing this information, QIC has not taken into account any investor’s objectives, financial situations or needs. QIC does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this information has been maintained or that the information is free of errors, virus or interference. You are not permitted to rely on this information, and any reliance on it, or decisions made based on it, are your responsibility. QIC therefore accepts no liability for any reliance on this information.

Copyright QIC Limited, Australia. All rights are reserved. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.