Henry Thornton writes:

The government is again undertaking some serious soul searching on how we
treat people who arrive here illegally in search of refuge.

Henry cannot help observing that accepting many refugees made a massive
contribution to the US economy and it has already proved its benefit to
Australia. If part of the solution is to take more of these brave people, Henry
would vote for it, provided only that those we take agree to learn English and
to fit into our culture.

Equity markets “may surprise on the upside”, writes David Bassanese in The Fin,
“… based on last Friday’s close, the price to historic earnings ratio
for the S&P/ASX 200 has fallen to 15.7, compared with an average of
18.2 since the three-year bull market began in March 2003. On a monthly
basis, the P/E ratio has not been lower since February 1994. And the
P/E ratio is 17% below its average of 19 since the economic expansion
began in late 1991. Compared with the level of bond yields, the market
appears even greater value.”

On the other hand (of course), Matt O’Sullivan says in the Smage: “The sharemarket’s roller-coaster ride is set to continue until October as analysts
warn investors that the easy gains from stocks are over.”

Henry says both these pundits and their sources could be right. The
overall market could go sideways but with considerable volatility. While active
trading seems like the right strategy, do remember that time in the market beats
market timing. Trouble is, its as boring as catfood.

Being a democracy, or just being Brazil, is how to give yourself the best
chance of winning the world cup, writes Franklin Foer.

More from Henry Thornton here.