With the shortest day behind us, the longer days ahead will give us a chance to enjoy the outdoors, even if there’s still a need to rug up.
Technology stocks have driven Australian shares, and global markets, to new highs in the last 12 months. The S&P/ASX 200 finished the financial year 7.8% higher, slightly less than the previous year. Technology stocks gained 28% during the year.
In the US, the S&P 500 index rose 14% in the first six months of 2024 in one of the strongest performances since the dotcom bubble of the 1990s. Tech stocks were behind much of the gain, in particular AI chipmaker Nvidia, which overtook Microsoft and Apple as the world’s most valuable public company last month.
An interest rate cut is widely expected in September in the US but in Australia, many commentators predict another rate increase before the end of the year to help tame inflation. The RBA left interest rates unchanged at 4.35% at its June meeting but news that annual CPI was up by 4.0% in May compared with 3.6% in April will give the Bank cause for concern.
The Australian dollar ended the financial year almost where it began at just under US67 cents, after 12 months of volatility with highs of almost US69 cents and lows under US63 cents.
With the start of the new financial year I wanted to bring you up to date with some of the changes in tax and superannuation rules, and highlight some of the areas the ATO has advised they will be targeting this year. The rules concerning superannuation in particular are becoming more complicated, so please carefully check your eligibility if you are making a large contribution. The rules around salary packaging can also vary depending on what industry you’re in and how your employer is classified – for example, some people are eligible to salary sacrifice loan repayments tax-effectively, while for other people it actually would be detrimental,
Like many business owners, this is the time of year I take a few days to reflect on the last 12 months and think about the year ahead. I may even take a couple of days off this month to reset my focus after an extremely busy end to the financial year – it won’t be too many days off though, as there are a few people who very kindly agreed to wait until the new financial year for me to help them with their financial plans and they will be at the top of the list for the new financial year.
