Doom and gloom king says Qld will ride out coming market crash

US economist Harry Dent may be predicting a global crash in asset values, but when it comes to Brisbane with a surprisingly upbeat view on Queensland.

While Dent predicts Australian asset values also will fall significantly, he believes this country - and Queensland in particular - is the best-placed to ride out the storm.

US economist Harry Dent, who is predicting a global crash in asset values, is coming to Brisbane with a surprisingly upbeat view on Queensland.

The best-selling author is well-known for making economic predictions based on demographic trends, such as the age of a country’s population and the economic growth potential of its major population hubs.

Like many others, Dent (illustrated) is predicting a worldwide crash in shares and property - he forecasts Europe, the US and China will be particularly badly affected.

While Dent predicts Australian asset values also will fall significantly, he believes this country - and Queensland in particular - is the best-placed to ride out the storm. He says that’s because our population continues to grow and we still have enough people approaching their peak spending years - around 45 to 50. We also are on the doorstep of south-east Asia and India, which he believes will lead the next global economic boom.

Queensland is well-placed because, through any downturn, the sectors that will do best are those that cater to the Baby Boomer market, including retirement services and property development, health and travel, industries that are well represented in the Sunshine State.

Dent is the chief investment officer of the Dent Sector Fund, which launched in 2020 and has $10 million of investment.

The fund’s CEO is Andrew Stewart who is well known in Queensland investment circles. Dent will be speaking at a free investor seminar in Brisbane on November 14.

Harry Dent

Tech Drive

Mining giant Rio Tinto is on a recruitment drive in Brisbane as it seeks to create a global in-house, software development team of more than 500.

The company is partnering with digital transformation consultancy and agile software development expert Endava to build the team amid the growing high-tech adoption in the resources sector.

The program has started at Rio Tinto’s Brisbane hub, where the initial tranche of software developers will be based, but will expand globally across the organisation.

Rio says that over the next five years, the partnership will build out an in-house talent pool to drive the next stage of Rio Tinto’s growth.

Rio Tinto chief information officer Dan Evans says that developing in-house product software development capability will be core to accelerating the company’s digital transformation.

“We are a mining and metals company, but if you look at our autonomous trucks and drills, remote operations centres, advanced process automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence, there’s no doubt that we are also a technology company,” says Evans.

“With the rapid evolution of digital technology and incredible volume of data generated every minute across our global operations and offices, we want to improve how we integrate data and technology across the value chain to enable rapid insights and decision-making to improve safety, productivity and value.”

Driverless trucks loaded with ore at Rio Tinto's West Angelas Mine in Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Boro Hire

Queensland finance brokerage Borro has appointed senior home lending banker Alexander Watson as head of partnerships to build on the continued growth of the business that has expanded rapidly over the past two years.

Borro managing director Cara Giovinazzo says the appointment of Watson, who has worked in home lending at both Westpac and Commonwealth Bank, was a natural progression for Borro as the firm continues to expand its client base around the country.

“In this role, we are looking forward to Alex using his extensive contacts and networks to generate new strategic partnerships for Borro,” she says.

“We have been seeking a partnership executive for some time to join our growing team in this expansion phase. Alex will be meeting regularly with property and financial services industry connections to form new strategic alliances for Borro, while maintaining existing ones.”