Whether we like it or not the Australian dollar will rise further, and in my blog I recorded my estimate along with my views for world markets being that we will see it move up over $1.15 US in the not too distant future and probably to around $1.20 over the coming year. As investors we need to focus on investing in businesses that will thrive from a rising dollar, and as a country we again need to adjust to the changing times just like we have been with the slow disappearance of our manufacturing industry.

What do we expect in the market?

In contrast to the volatility of 2011, the market has continued to move cautiously upward which is a welcome sign to many investors. In 2011 investors of all shapes and sizes became sick and tired of a market that was more volatile than a war zone, and as such have stayed away. But before we get too excited about the continued move up over the past month, we need to remember this has occurred before in the preceding twelve months and as such need to keep a rational mind.

Whilst I still believe we will generally trade higher in the next month or so and move up to around 4500 points and beyond, we are not out of the woods totally.  Do not be surprised if the market has one or two weeks down in the next few weeks before rising to my target. As I mentioned last week I expect that the next high on our market should occur sometime between very late February and mid-March.