Flat sharemarket poses questions for investors

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Sharemarket perspectives The CommSec ‘Mums and Dads share index’ – a way of tracking the performance of commonly-held shares – fell by 7.4 per cent in 2010, exceeding the decline... Read more continue reading

Lonsec releases its Global Property Securities Fund Sector Review

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Lonsec’s 2010 Global Property Securities Fund Sector Review encompassed 16 funds, of which three attained Lonsec’s top rating, Highly Recommended. These funds are the AMP Capital Global Property Securities Fund,... Read more continue reading

Trade surplus to moderate as coal volumes fall

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International trade Australia’s trade surplus narrowed by $636 million to $1,925 million in November. Economists had tipped a surplus near $2 billion. Exports were flat over the month while imports... Read more continue reading

AMP appointments to boost Group Risk

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AMP Financial Services has boosted its Group Risk team with three key appointments in Wealth Protection Products. Victoria Simpson has been appointed as Group Risk Product Strategy Manager, Jenny Vaitsas... Read more continue reading

Record slowdown in spending as job ads slump

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Retail trade; Job Advertisements; Weekly Petrol Price Retail spending rose by just 0.3 per cent in November after the 0.8 per cent slide in October. However Nonfood retailing rose by... Read more continue reading

Weekly market & economic update 07 January 2011

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Headline developments In a move that had been anticipated for some time, China raised one year lending and deposit rates by 0.25% as part of an ongoing effort to keep... Read more continue reading

Almost 250,000 families hit by unemployment

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Labour market statistics New figures raise questions about how tight the job market really is. As at June 2010 there were almost a quarter of a million families (244,900) where... Read more continue reading

Encouraging pickup in car sales

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Car sales In December, 86,587 vehicles were sold, down by 2.4 per cent compared with a year ago. In seasonally adjusted terms CommSec estimates that sales rose by 1.5 per... Read more continue reading

Investor Signposts: Week Beginning January 9 2011

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The big picture One thing we can never escape here in Australia is natural disasters. Whether it is drought, floods, bushfires, cyclones or hail storms, natural disasters are part and... Read more continue reading

Home approvals slump but renovation in vogue

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Building Approvals; PSI The outlook for home builders is gloomy. Approvals to build news homes slumped by 4.2 per cent in November. The slide in approvals marked the seventh decline... Read more continue reading