Confidence can come in many forms. Lots of people focus on self-confidence, either consciously or subconsciously. There are other aspects of confidence relevant in our everyday lives – one of these is within financial markets.

With the unprecedented rise in interest rates of recent times, the confidence of the market and general public has been tested. It’s a fine line for the reserve bank, in particular, as they only have one lever to pull in respect of monetary policy – interest rates going up or down.

The language of the reserve bank is closely watched and it’s fair to say, in recent times, the messaging has been somewhat inconsistent. The reserve bank is relying on the perception of the general public to either speed up or slow down the economy through investment and spending.

Things can change in a week in relation to financial markets and how that flows through to interest rates.

There were some issues with overseas banks that had no material effect on any Australian banks but, because the international money markets are intrinsically linked, the lack of confidence found its way into the local financial market as well.

This change in circumstance overseas – and ensuing reduction in confidence – may well mean we are a lot closer to the peak of interest rates in Australia.

In some ways, the canary in the coal mine are equipment finance loan rates.

These have come off their highs in the past few weeks as long-term bond rates have reduced.

Confidence or lack thereof can play out in other areas that relate to farming. I had a conversation with someone recently about the state of the fertiliser market.

The economic maxim of supply and demand plays out in this market – as someone on the periphery of it, it seems to be driven by speculation and perceived market forces, whether valid or not.

I’m sure the same story could be applied to many other parts of the agricultural supply chain. Ag in Australia is inherently linked to global market forces.

I normally see two types of responses to speculation, relating to various commodities. There are those with long-term plans, who tend to execute those plans as best they can.

These people can pivot, if necessary, but they tend to plan well in advance and always have a Plan B up their sleeve.

Others seem to jump at shadows and spend a lot of time ruminating on the scuttlebutt prevalent in their social and business circles. They spend so much time thinking about different options that they don’t end up making sound decisions.

With so much information at our fingertips, it’s important to have clear objectives and goals in mind to execute the strategy of the business. Information overload can lead to procrastination.

Some people obtain professional advice, others go it alone. The main thing is to make a decision based on the information at hand. Then follow through, and don’t get hung up on the what ifs.