Dividend imputation: New tax grab or return to original purpose?

Under the proposed change, as many as 1.2 million Australian taxpayers--including between 200,00 and 600,000 self-managed super fund (SMSF) trustees--would be affected.

Dividend imputation: Is class war raging?

Proponents argue the current system of Australian Tax Office cash refunds for unused imputation credits--a measure introduced by the Howard-Costello Liberal Government in 2000 in an update to the original Hawke-Keating's Labor Government dividend imputation regime--is unsustainable.

Aussie bank among world's top dividend payers in 2017

The Commonwealth Bank of Australian (ASX: CBA) paid the 13th-highest rate of dividends in 2017, behind US-based oil major Chevron (ranked 12th). The top three dividend-payers were Royal Dutch Shell, China Mobile and Exxon Mobil, the Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index found.

Trump tariffs: Should you sell your mining stocks?

Global share markets endured a bumpy ride in the last couple of weeks, as US President Donald Trump's 8 March announcement of aluminium and steel trade tariffs rocked mining stocks.

USA today; More superannuation meddling

The U.S. February payrolls report was a cracker for financial markets. Strong job creation was positive for consumption, economic growth and equity markets. Subdued wages growth calmed an anxious bond market. While yields did move higher they were driven by the growth aspects of the report rather than January's inflationary influences.

Why active managers do better in some periods than others

Most active managers have struggled to beat their index counterparts over the long term. But active managers have had greater success in some periods than others. A theory known as Dunn's Law suggests that this pattern can be explained by stylistic differences between active and index portfolios.

Volatility useful gauge of risk, except when it's not

Heightened volatility has a lot in common with the recent snowstorms. We know to expect them from time to time, we have a reasonable idea of what drives them, yet they still come unexpectedly and with a force that gets people talking.

Global economies more susceptible to shocks

Recent growth momentum has been even better than expected across many economies, providing a strong ramp into 2018. It would seem in many ways that the stars are aligned for a continuation of the “Goldilocks” environment that we saw last year, with above-trend global growth and low but gently rising inflation.

Equity Star Ratings

For Australian and New Zealand stocks and credit securities, we are replacing our buy/accumulate/hold/reduce/sell ratings with the 5-star rating system of stocks--bringing us in-line with the same system Morningstar uses globally. This change will take effect from Saturday 17 March.

Top 10 articles of last 3 weeks

Using cash within your portfolio; the most appropriate asset classes for retiree investors; what Buffett would do; and the enduring appeal of Goldilocks markets--just some of the topics covered in our most-read recent articles.

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Glenn Freeman is a senior editor at Morningstar.

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