Shows / The Money Puzzle
The Money Puzzle
Unlock your wealth potential with The Money Puzzle.
Featuring two power-packed episodes each week packed with smart money-making strategies, from superannuation to investing in shares, plus in-depth analysis of property markets.
Get tips from leading experts and practical tools to help build lasting wealth.
Submit your questions at themoneypuzzle@theaustralian.com.au.
Episodes
- The Money Puzzle
House prices are going up, yes, really. Can Australia reset its trade relations with China? The winners and losers of rising super guarantees.
As we round into the home stretch of a dreadful year, things are starting to look strangely optimistic. House prices are going up, the recession appears to be…
- The Money Puzzle
Why Bitcoin is back. State budgets damn the deficits. The secret of multi million super accounts
After a year that has redefined turbulence, it appears that most investors are going to finish... flat? James and Alan talk about the surprisingly upbeat end…
- The Money Puzzle
Bitcoin – The Second Coming. The Vaccine Race- Will Big Pharma play fair? China's booming sharemarket. Share swapping and CGT.
Bitcoin’s second coming has Alan Kohler and James Kirby questioning whether people are losing faith in the US dollar. The duo also ponder what other reforms…
- The Money Puzzle
How to fix your rate regrets. Markets optimistic about a Trump transition. Beware faux ethical funds.
Rates are on everyone's minds at the moment. Can you beat the bank? Alan and James provide their opinions on fixing mortgages on this week's episode, and pick…
- The Money Puzzle
Back in the cafe! Market is pricing in a Biden win. A lot more than a rate cut from the RBA.
This week's episode was recorded as votes were being counted in the US Presidential election, but markets seem to have already warmed to the prospects of a…
- The Money Puzzle
Is there a recession or not? How bank dividend cuts hurt retirees hardest. What If AusPost's Holgate had offered cash instead?
As Victoria emerges from its lockdown, Alan Kohler and James Kirby take a closer look at Reserve Bank deputy governor Guy Debelle’s comment that a technical…
- The Money Puzzle
Gold regains lustre as an inflation hedge. Who wants a Crown with this much controversy? Investing in barrels can be whisky business
Gold is back in vogue with investors, but what about cryptocurrencies? James and Alan discuss the idea of reserve banks creating their own digital currencies…
- The Money Puzzle
Our top 3 best stocks. How low will Lowe go? Does government spending really drop next year?
With the RBA indicating another rate cut is imminent, Alan Kohler and James Kirby convene in the virtual Money Café to question how low Lowe will go. The duo…
- The Money Puzzle
Should you fix rates? The answer is obvious. What’s going on with super?
As the dust settles from Tuesday’s federal budget, Alan Kohler and James Kirby reconvene in their traditional Money Cafe time slot to trawl through the…
- The Money Puzzle
Budget 2020: searching for surprises in a blizzard of measures
James and Alan jump in to a spare room at the 2020 Federal Budget lockup to discuss a massive slate of fiscal measures largely already announced. It's a…
- The Money Puzzle
Budget predictions. Can you beat the house when fixing rates? The cities left behind in a housing recovery.
James returns to the Money Cafe just as an enormous Federal Budget looms on the doorstep. This week, he and Alan discuss what next week's budget could contain…
- The Money Puzzle
How to prepare for a Presidential punch-on. Setting the bar on fund manager experience. Could COVID crush small industry funds?
With James Kirby still on a locked down holiday, Alan is joined in the Money Cafe by Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. Together the two of them…
- The Money Puzzle
‘Buy the rumour, sell the fact’. The work from home revolution. A Minsky moment.
Alan Kohler puts the markets under the microscope in this week’s episode of The Money Cafe as he is joined by Author and Publisher of The Pain Report, Jonathan…
- The Money Puzzle
Rio's road to perdition. Insuring the vaccines. Tech sell off: If not this time, next time
This week on The Money Cafe, James and Alan chat about the widening gap between markets and the economy, vaccine insurance, the increased pressure on Rio…
- The Money Puzzle
Recession… or something else entirely? Why the Future Fund is cashing up. Can we believe these house price numbers?
Alan Kohler and James Kirby are back in the virtual café to flesh out yesterday’s GDP figures and why the recession label doesn’t capture the current economic…
- The Money Puzzle
The secret of BNPL success. What happens if Biden wins? How much for financial advice?
Alan's back in the virtual cafe this week, and has a lot to catch up on as between market moves and corporate misbehaviour. He and James discuss the epic…
- The Money Puzzle
With special guest – Top financial adviser Sally Huynh. Early super withdrawal… is it taxed? A house in the city, a place in the country...can it be done?
Top financial adviser Sally Huynh joins James Kirby in this week’s episode of The Money Café for a discussion on the key issues and investment trends emerging…
- The Money Puzzle
Mining a rebound. Government guaranteed gold? Revealing the 'jobkeeper stocks'.
Resources expert Tim Treadgold joins James Kirby in the cafe this week for a detailed discussion about gold, iron ore, lithium, and how government stimulus…
The Money PuzzleForward Slash special: the buy now, pay later boom
Buy now, pay later companies are eating up an increasing share of the retail transaction market at a time when credit cards are on the wane. It's another…
- The Money Puzzle
Is investing in gold ridiculous? Why keeping an eye on US markets is a must. Suspension of insolvency laws and your portfolio.
With Alan on a lockdown holiday, James is joined by financial adviser Doug Turek for a distanced chat about how he is managing portfolios in 2020, and the…
- The Money Puzzle
The murkiest earnings season ever! Is something wrong at CSL? Early super withdrawal beats all forecasts.
This week on The Money Café, James Kirby and Alan Kohler look ahead to the upcoming earnings season, look at what’s going on at CSL, examine the magnitude of…
- The Money Puzzle
The fine detail of Australia's dire budget update. Could deferred loans be written off? The fix is in on Australian mortgages.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has revealed the incredible damage COVID-19 has wreaked on Australia's finances. But a closer reading of the budgetary…
- The Money Puzzle
Anticipating Frydenberg's huge budget update. Gold leverage explained. The super withdrawl disaster accelerates.
The Treasurer's mini-budget update on July 23 will be one of the most keenly anticipated Zoom calls of the year. Alan and James discuss the budgetary and human…
- The Money Puzzle
An exhaustive look at ETFs. A golden bubble? Income protection policies.
With Alan off-duty, James invites Vanguard's Robin Bowerman on for a comprehensive explanation of how exchange traded funds work, and the ways that ETFs can…
- The Money Puzzle
Special Edition - Modern Monetary Theory - What the hell is it and why is everyone talking about it?
Alan has created quite the stir through his recent fascination with modern monetary theory, or MMT. So, this week he and James thrash out the logic and…
The Money PuzzleIntroducing: Forward Slash
Introducing a brand new podcast from The Australian: 2020 has seen the world reshaped at an unprecedented pace. Eras that once spanned a decade fly past in the…
- The Money Puzzle
Recession brings a new wave of retail investors. Why fewer financial advisers should mean better advice.
This week on The Money Café, James Kirby and Alan Kohler look into the number of new investors coming into the market, Qantas’ latest job cuts, the risk-reward…
- The Money Puzzle
Market signals muffled as reserve banks buy up corporate bonds. The distancing rule that could ruin restaurants. Why Afterpay is soaring
Zombie companies loom on the horizon of this week's episode as James and Alan discuss the potential impacts of the US Fed buying up bonds from businesses…
- The Money Puzzle
Why Kogan is on a tear. Crazy credit card fees. Assessing the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement.
This week Alan Kohler and James Kirby make their long awaited return to the Money Cafe to mull over the stock market recovery following the best 50 days on the…
- The Money Puzzle
Why a GDP recession matters. Will rioting bring markets back to reality? Learning from a tale of ETF woe.
A week of mass protest in the streets of America hasn't subdued Wall Street. Is this rally too good to be true? James and Alan ponder how long stocks can soar…
- The Money Puzzle
Capital raisings bonanza - did you get a fair share? Why tech titans will now extend their dominance. Inflation or deflation - which is the worry?
Stephen Mayne joins James in the Money Cafe this week for an episode largely focused on a rash of capital raisings. Is the current system set up in a way that…
- The Money Puzzle
Is Amazon propping up world markets? Travel titans play hardball. Reading the last recession.
Have we entered the Land of Oz? Where markets and the economy can persist in divergent realities? James and Alan space out on the big questions in this week's…
- The Money Puzzle
Australia's misleading unemployment arithmetic. How the big banks will decide what happens to house prices. Will we work from home forever?
After the release of today’s confronting employment figures, Alan Kohler and James Kirby unpack the numbers and reveal the true damage to Australia’s labour…
- The Money Puzzle
Wall Street Wakes! What to do if you regret accessing early super release? Using an SMSF to buy residential property.
Have markets found the floor, or are we looking at another dip coming down the tracks? James and Alan compare notes on recent history and consider the shaky…
- The Money Puzzle
Weasel words and banking dividends. Could Australia escape a recession? Markets punt on a Crown takeover.
Alan Kohler and James Kirby get stuck into a big week in finance which has been dominated by the banks and more big movements in the oil price. They also look…
- The Money Puzzle
Big oil's bad days. Why unemployment data hides a far uglier reality. Was Virgin flying in the wrong direction from the start?
James is back in the Money Cafe for a meaty discussion of a dramatic week of business news. Crashing oil prices have left some traders scrambling for space in…
- The Money Puzzle
An overly optimistic IMF outlook? How falling migration could hit the rental market. What’s the damage of a potential second wave?
As March 23 becomes further and further away, Alan Kohler is joined this week by Principal of Minack Advisors, Gerard Minack, to ponder whether we have in…
- The Money Puzzle
Battle lines drawn between industry and regulators on crisis management. Are capital raising at bargain prices? The mystery of the $100 notes.
Analysts have started to try and call the bottom, but could we see a bear market rally or just a dead cat bounce? James and Alan discuss the latest market data…
- The Money Puzzle
Industry super funds' defining moment. And the Jobkeeper package winner is... JM.Keynes! Bargain capital raisings on the way.
In this week’s isolation podcast, Alan Kohler and James Kirby unpack the government’s extraordinary JobKeeper package, the impact it will have on future budget…
- The Money Puzzle
Which stocks might bounce first? Day of reckoning for the fund management industry. Why you need to be consistent in your approach
In this week's isolation podcast, James and Alan look at where the big money is hovering ahead of the recovery, wonder how fund managers can withstand the…
- The Money Puzzle
After the rate cut: stimulus on steroids. Why you should avoid cashing in super. Can airlines steer through market turbulence.
The Money Cafe has gone remote, so it's now a BYO coffee affair. In this week's episode James and Alan ponder the current state of affairs facing the markets…
- The Money Puzzle
Stimulus struggles for cut through. Will oil stocks ever recover? What to do with my son the wannabe millionaire.
Indiscriminate sell-offs have swept through the ASX, but what companies can be seen as reasonable prospects in a recovery? James and Alan pick through the…
- The Money Puzzle
Markets crisis special edition. Everything you want to know about the shares rout and what it might mean.
Emergency edition! James and Alan sit down for an extra coffee to discuss a dramatic few days on the market, and what could come next for the nation's toilet…
- The Money Puzzle
Boom or bust – the dilemma ahead for sharemarket investors. We name the stocks that have defied the correction. Golden opportunities. The bidet bonanza.
Alan Kohler and James Kirby catch up in the chaos of this week to make sense of the market correction and whether it is a buying opportunity. They also…
- The Money Puzzle
Are we talking a global recession now? Rio confirms it – mining dividends are for real, Crown casinos looking cheap
After a turbulent week in global markets, Alan and James discuss how deep and how long this coronavirus hit will last and question whether a global recession…
- The Money Puzzle
Why the coronavirus is good for markets. Australia's wave of wage scandals. What's behind the local software sell-offs?
After a brief dip, the ASX has resumed its soar towards blue skies despite global fears over the impacts of coronavirus. Could the disease actually be a good…
- The Money Puzzle
Blind bullishness takes hold on ASX. AMP’s infuriating bonus bump. Sayonara to the Calombaris empire
After a revealing week of reporting season, Alan Kohler and James Kirby catch up on The Money Café to discuss the fallout from AMP’s dividend cut, CSL’s…
- The Money Puzzle
The stocks that will swing markets this earnings season. Why are investors flocking to gold? Tesla shocks the shorts.
What does it mean when markets are forging on while analysts predict a serious coronavirus shock? Alan thinks this is a sign of perverse markets, and James has…
- The Money Puzzle
Can markets contain coronavirus panic? Australia: home of the world's dearest exchange. Three takeover targets to watch.
James and Alan reconvene the Money Cafe for another year with coronavirus fears swirling in the air. Will an epidemic force a recession in China and a broader…
- The Money Puzzle
2019's fliers and flops. At last, some super data. What's more likely: inflation rise or asteroid strike?
The Money Cafe wraps up a big year in business by reflecting on the wins and dramatic failures, and trying to get through as many listener questions as…
- The Money Puzzle
Rate cuts coming to an end? Japan stops the shorts. Australia's property recovery: nuts or nice?
After a week where markets fell out of bed, what will a fresh decade bring? James and Alan discuss rates, houses, markets and more in this episode of The Money…
- The Money Puzzle
Westpac's unforgivable indifference. What's to celebrate in a new ASX record? High drama at Harvey Norman AGM.
It's been a week of highlights for the ASX and lowlights for Westpac. James and Alan chew over the fallout from the major bank scandal in this week's Money…
The Money PuzzleWhat's the value of a charismatic CEO? Household debt stress a GFC throwback. How to jump into small caps, safely
James and Alan have packed up the Money Cafe and taken it to Sydney for their first live podcast! In this episode they discuss the tug between stimulus and…
The Money PuzzleDoes Afterpay deserve a tick or a kick? Australia's unhappy financial marriages. Could a bear market be good news for battling fund managers?
With a new boss at the big Australian, James and Alan begin their conversation in the Money Cafe this week by weighing up the merits of internal promotion in…
The Money PuzzleThe Money Cafe hits a million downloads! Are Australian banks stuffed? Why you shouldn't - ever - take investing advice from your tax agent.
It's drinks all round at the Money Cafe this week as James and Alan toast a million downloads, wonder about the long-term outlook for Australian banks, not the…
The Money PuzzleWhy punters are being steered away from the track. What hope for the next crop of advisers? The winners and losers among Australia's richest.
The Australian's John Stensholt joins Alan in The Money Cafe for a spring update on the list of the nation's wealthiest, as well as a look at the state of…
The Money PuzzleStanding up for shorts.The incredible shrinking AMP. The hard to believe housing rebound.
James and Alan begin this week's Money Cafe with a little remeniscing about the Black Thursday crash, before moving on to discuss the state AMP, shorters, and…
The Money PuzzleIntroducing: On the Fence, a new property podcast from The Australian
The Australian's economic editor Adam Creighton drops into The Money Cafe feed to introduce a new podcast about Australia's property obsession. To hear more…
The Money PuzzleWhy the IMF and its global growth forecasts are way off. A stake through the heart of financial adviser commissions. What links a revolving door, a pokies king and an asthma device?
The IMF's latest update casts a gloomy shadow over this week's Money Cafe, in which James and Alan also discuss the next steps for Brexit, and Trump's smokey…
The Money PuzzleHow to get a bite of the alternative meat craze. The WeWork killer sets his sights on Afterpay. Is paranoia the best reason to keep your money in a bank today?
Where's the beef in this week's Money Cafe? Alan and James talk fake burgers, the market giving up on AMP, the factors that will govern the success of buy…