February 25, 2020

Reducing exposure to volatile assets

By Jukka Viljanmaa Senior Investment Manager, TPT Wealth   The impact that the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak will have on the global economy and financial markets is still barely predictable. COVID-19 has already infected more people than SARS (2003) or Swine flu (2009-2010). Apple Inc., Starbucks, and countless other businesses have temporarily closed stores and corporate offices in selected areas in China to avoid face-to-face contact, while travel bans are impacting global travel and tourism industries. With China’s significance for global growth and now representing approximately 34% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, global equity markets tumbled and interest rates reduced in bond markets in the first week of February as…

February 25, 2020

New Directors’ guide to ethics in the boardroom

Ethics has increased in recent years as an issue of importance in society and in particular in boardrooms. With an increasing focus on the ethical implications of board decisions, the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and The Ethics Centre have released Ethics in the Boardroom: A decision-making guide for directors. The guide helps directors navigate moral judgements and ethical issues in boardroom decision making. Ethical issues vary in scope. Some relate to organisational matters, such as conflicts of interest. Others are of broad societal concern, such as how to respond to climate change. “There is a growing focus on the ethical implications of board decisions and high expectations of…

February 25, 2020

A health system to aspire to

By Paul Lupo CEO, StLukesHealth   With the importance and performance of the Tasmanian health system always being at or near the top of the community’s mind, I thought it may be timely to assess the comparable performance of Australia’s healthcare system and ask ourselves what we can do to further improve it. When compared to other Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries, Australia’s health system is ranked at or near the top, this is due to the higher life expectancy it delivers and the relatively lower GDP spend it takes to get there. It is therefore of little surprise that data from the 2019 Ipsos Global Views on Healthcare…