Adding some ASX gold shares to a diversified investment portfolio can be a great way to hedge against market downturns. Investors see gold as a safe-haven asset, so its value tends to rise during times of economic uncertainty. Indeed, so far in 2024, the spot gold price has risen from US$2,077 an ounce to US$2,312 an ounce (at the time of writing). This keeps ASX gold shares firmly in the spotlight — albeit tempered today by a slightly less glittering trading week for some gold miners and the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD). The index has slipped 1.6% this week but is trading ..read more

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares were on form last week. The banking giant's shares rose 2% over the period to end at $34.40. This compares favourably to the performance of the ASX 200 index, which was up 0.2% of the week. Why did NAB shares outperform? Investors were buying NAB shares after responding positively to the release of its half-year results for FY 2024. As a reminder, for the six months ended 31 March, NAB reported a 0.9% decline in net operating income to $10,138 million and a 12.8% decline in cash earnings to $3,548 million. While on paper this may not look overly go ..read more

The Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price had a good month in April compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). Fortescue shares rose by 1.4% while the index dropped 2.9%. As we can see on the chart above, Fortescue shares have seen a lot of volatility over the past year, but on the whole, they have risen over the past 12 months. What happened in April? The main headline for Fortescue was the release of the quarterly production report for the three months to March 2024. It included a record month and ongoing progress for its green energy efforts. The ASX iron ore share reported iron ore ..read more

Two ASX shares that have made their shareholders smile this year are DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) and Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX). Since the start of the year, their shares have risen by approximately 120% and 50%, respectively. As a comparison, the Australian share market is up around 0.5% over the same period. However, one leading broker believes that one of these high-flying ASX shares could have peaked for the time being. This has led to its analysts downgrading its shares to a hold rating. The good news for the other share is that its analysts have gone the other way with it. Despi ..read more

Attitudes towards retirement are changing with the majority of Australians planning to continue working beyond retirement age, according to a new national survey. Just published by Colonial First State (CFS), the Rethinking Retirement report canvassed the views of 2,247 Australians, including 430 current retirees, on a range of subjects. One of them was work. "It is … clear that attitudes towards retirement are shifting," says CFS Superannuation CEO Kelly Power. "Less than a third plan to stop working completely once they reach the retirement age." When is the retirement age? The retirement a ..read more

ASX shares can be a great choice for passive income because of their ability to pay good dividend yields and deliver long-term growth. Businesses have the capability of investing in themselves, growing their operations and potentially creating new products, services or locations. High dividend yields are attractive, but I want to ensure there's a good chance the businesses can grow earnings too. I like a number of stocks for passive income, but these three are among my favourites. Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) This business is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns various farm types ..read more

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) enjoyed an energetic finish to the trading week this Friday, recording a strong rise. By the time the closing bell rang, the ASX 200 had added a confident 0.55%, which leaves the index at 7,629 points as we head into the weekend. Today's end-of-week ASX flourish follows an equally bullish session up on Wall Street overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) had a cracker, rising 0.85%. Meanwhile, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) did one better, shooting up 1.51%. But let's get back to the local markets now and ta ..read more

"Good drive… but don't do it too much." No, I wasn't behind the wheel. And no, I wasn't at the golf course or the driving range. We were at barefoot bowls, and I think the greenkeeper was a little concerned it'd go to my head. I had just – thank you very much – cleared the jack (the little white ball) out from its position close to our competitors' bowls at a work team-building exercise. Maybe he thought I was grinning a little too widely… or that the success would go to my head. Now that I think of it, what is the bowls equivalent of Happy Gilmour, anyway? But I digress. We all work ..read more

Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB) shares have made stockholders very happy this year. How happy? Well, on 2 January, shares in the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) biotech company were trading for 31 cents before dipping as low as 26 cents in early February. But by 25 March, Mesoblast shares had rebounded to 33 cents, up 6.5% for the year. And soon after, the share price went ballistic. Earlier on Friday afternoon, shares were up 3.5% at $1.11 apiece. That's up an eye-watering 258% so far in 2024. (And 326% higher for investors fortunate enough to have bought the February dip.) Sticking wi ..read more

It has been another busy week for Australia's top brokers. This has led to the release of a number of broker notes. Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here's why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone: Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating on this auto parts company's shares with a reduced price target of $4.95. The broker was disappointed with Bapcor's trading update, noting that its earnings will now be well short of expectations in FY 2024. In addition, Morgans not ..read more