{"id":3105,"date":"2015-12-21T00:03:36","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T00:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raizinvest.com.au\/investors\/2015-year-in-review\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T03:21:08","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T03:21:08","slug":"2015-year-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raizinvest.com.au\/investors\/blog\/2015-year-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 Year In Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s usually around this time of year that we start to look at the calendar, and ask ourselves where the year went. So we thought there would be no better time than now to reflect, and look at the big events that shaped the financial markets in 2015.
\nStocks slipping up on Oil
\nWhat?
\nThe price of oil has been in freefall. It\u2019s hard to believe that in 2014 the price of oil was US$115 a barrel. Since then, the price has fallen nearly 70%, and is now at just over US$36.
\nWhy?
\nIn short, supply and demand: Too much oil being produced, and not enough people buying it.
\nEffect?
\nSharp falls in some of the biggest Australian companies\u2019 share prices. Santos is at just 25% of the price it was in late 2014.
\nA near Greek Tragedy
\nWhat?
\nIt seems like an awfully long time ago \u2013 but over May, June, July of this year, Greece was on the verge of leaving the European Union.
\nWhy?
\nDebt. The Greek economy is in a bit of a mess, and they owed people a lot of money.
\nIn June they had a big debt repayment to make, and the only way they were going to be able to make it was by the rest of Europe helping them out.
\nBut they wouldn\u2019t help Greece out unless Greece agreed to some economic reforms. Greece were reluctant.
\nEffect?
\nGreece ended up agreeing to the reforms, they were bailed out, and managed to make their debt repayment.
\nThe markets were very volatile around this time, but they soon stabilised and the whole incident was actually quickly forgotten about.
\nTrouble in the Far East, sending markets south
\nWhat?
\nThe market had been worrying about a slowdown in Chinese growth for a while, and in July and August these fears came to a head.
\nWhy?
\nChina has experienced spectacular growth in recent history, and the data indicated a big slowdown.
\nEffect?
\nThe Chinese stock market fell spectacularly in one day, China\u2019s Black Monday, as it was dubbed. But before that, it had already fallen 15% in July. It is important to note that the Chinese stock market had grown by ~150% in the year before \u201cBlack Monday\u201d.
\nGlobal stocks fell with China \u2013 but now there is widespread agreement that China\u2019s growth is stabilising and not slowing down even faster.
\nRising interest in Fed Rates
\nWhat?
\nThe event everyone had been waiting for all year has come right at the end of 2015, with the Fed finally raising rates for the first time in 9 years.
\nWhy?
\nAfter the GFC, rates have been at rock bottom to support the US economy and help it grow. With strong data coming from the US and signs that the economy is on a good path to recovery, the Federal Reserve have begun to raise rates.
\nEffect?
\nThe symptoms (strong US economy), and anticipation of a rate rise has seen a very strong US dollar in 2015. We also saw a very weak Australian dollar with the RBA cutting Australian rates. If you went on holiday then this is probably a gloomy reminder, as it has basically meant you haven\u2019t been able buy as much foreign currency for your Australian dollars.
\nWhat\u2019s in store for 2016
\nWell the biggest news around the world in 2016 will surely be February\u2019s launch of Raiz Australia\u2026
\nBut other than that there is a lot of room for the Australian and International stock market to go up, especially after a disappointing 2016. But stock markets have risk and it is never a certainty. Let us know your predictions for 2016 on our Twitter and Facebook pages.<\/p>\n

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Important Information<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person\u2019s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.<\/em><\/p>\n

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and\/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.<\/em><\/p>\n

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.<\/em><\/p>\n

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.<\/em><\/p>\n

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s usually around this time of year that we start to look at the calendar, and ask ourselves where the year went. So we thought there would be no better time than now to reflect, and look at the big events that shaped the financial markets in 2015. Stocks slipping up on Oil What? The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[]}