World Forex and Finance

Beware those bearing property investment advice

Anyone, regardless of their experience and qualifications, can give you advice on how to spend a considerable amount of money to buy an investment property - and you could be left totally unprotected.
That’s the warning from Margaret Lomas, who heads up the Property Investment Professionals of Australia.
These people can also make a commission from the sale and charge you for their advice, but there is currently no legislation that offers any protection against shonky advisors.
By contrast, the finance investment industry is arguably over regulated.
“If you have $20,000 cash to invest, your financial planner will be regulated to the wall in regards to how they can advise you on its investment, but mention you are looking to buy $500,000 worth of property and every shonky man and his dog will come out of the woodwork to help you part with it – and you will be left stranded when it falls in a heap,’’ Ms Lomas said

Doing the biz in manufacturing and fast food

Once again it seems the small cap world provides a ray of light for investors with a tiny niche player roaring, or at least shouting, on the world stage.
It is hard to argue that there's a more troubled industry than steel manufacturing in the wake of BlueScope's announcement that it is shedding more than 1000 workers from its Port Kembla and Western Port operations, which makes the company's share price slide of almost 60 per cent in the past four months.
In contrast, the shares of Bisalloy Steel Group, another steel manufacturer, have climbed about 67 per cent over the same period. The rise is primarily due to investor optimism about a joint venture the company announced to manufacture its Bisplate steel technology in China with Shandong Iron and Steel, and then to sell directly into that market.
Bisalloy uses German technology and feed stock from the likes of BlueScope to make high-tensile quenched and tempered steel plate, or “Bisplate”, at Unanderra, south of Wollongong in NSW. It's a high-strength, lightweight steel that's used in the manufacture of things like large dump trucks, dragline buckets and cranes – all used in, you guessed it, mining.

Asian stocks inch up after China CPI

Asian stocks edged up as Chinese consumer price data soothed fears over inflationary pressures building in the world's No.2 economy, but the mood was cautious after Western central banks failed to offer any fresh stimulus plans to revive their sputtering economies.
The US dollar eased against a basket of currencies and US Treasuries slipped as markets reacted coolly to a $US447 billion jobs package plan from US President Barack Obama, who faces a fierce battle to win over Republicans which could revive fears of political paralysis in Washington.
Global markets have been dominated in recent weeks by fears of a US relapse into recession and Europe's snowballing debt crisis. Citigroup analyst Jonathan Stubbs said in a note on Friday that "recession appears to be a more likely outcome now in Europe and/or the US than 3-6 months ago".
Worries about the darkening outlook for the developed world prompted Asian central banks including South Korea and Indonesia to hold interest rates steady on Thursday, following similar moves by Australia, Canada, Japan and Sweden this week.
China's annual inflation moderated slightly to 6.2 per cent in August from July's three-year high, in line with market expectations and raising expectations that Beijing too will hold off from further policy tightening which could dampen its demand for commodities and other imported materials.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 per cent, with the biggest regional gains in Australia and Taiwan , both heavily influenced by demand from China.

Global investors lukewarm on Obama plan

European stock index futures fell on Friday, following Asian markets lower, as a $USUS447 billion jobs package from US President Barack Obama failed to entice investors back into equities amid concerns that it could be hamstrung by political wrangling.
The euro languished near a two-month low against the US dollar reached on Thursday after the region's deepening debt crisis forced the European Central Bank to drop its tightening policy bias, a key driver in the single currency's rally this year.
Euro STOXX 50 index futures fell 1.1 per cent, with DAX and CAC-40 futures also in the red, and spreadbetters called the FTSE 100 to open down 0.3 per cent.
Asian markets were down around half a per cent, after see-sawing between gains and losses, while S&P 500 futures surrendered early gains and slipped 0.2 per cent.
"Obama's plan was in line with expectations, and US stocks are unlikely to rally on it," said Takashi Ushio, head of investment strategy at Marusan Securities Co. in Tokyo. "Uncertainty about the direction of the US economy remains."
Market confidence had been fragile after Western central banks failed to offer any clues on fresh stimulus plans this week, with a looming deadline for bond holders to decide on Greece's swap offer also adding to the nervousness.

German inflation at 2.4% in August

AFP
Inflation in Germany, the biggest European economy, stood at 2.4 per cent in August, driven up by higher energy costs, the national statistics office said on Friday.
Initial figures released late last month put the figure at 2.3 per cent, a 0.1 per cent drop on July.
The statistics office said that without increased energy costs, inflation would have stood at just 1.4 per cent for the month.
Source: The Age

Shell announces Guiana oil find

AFP
Shell has announced it has discovered oil about 150 kilometres off the coast of French Guiana.
The Anglo Dutch energy giant said in a statement on Friday that it was too early to put a figure on the reserves but said that the first results were "encouraging".
French Guiana is an overseas region of France located on the northeast coast of South America.

Source : The Age

In Unity on matters healthy, wealthy and wise

Australian Unity: the healthiest stakeholders are the directors.

HEALTH fund Australian Unity's first-ever remuneration report shows that it is certainly looking after the well-being of directors and senior executives.
Not that the mutual's earnings performance in the past year was shabby, or that it is not paying out ever-increasing amounts to its premium-paying members.
Australian Unity is also technically not required to even produce the numbers because it is not listed on the ASX. Chairman Alan Castleman and his board, however, have adopted ASX governance principles - which not only means a nice track record should the group actually decide to take the plunge, but Australian Unity gets an elephant stamp from Insider for electing to be more transparent than required.
Still, strip out the $1.2 million a year picked up by non-executive directors, and the total tossed to its five nominated senior management personnel rose from $2.9 million to $5.6 million - which is getting close to a near doubling in anyone's books.

Workers adjust beams of the Tribute in Lights on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Photo: Getty Images

ANNIVERSARIES are hard to resist for most media outlets. The stories are evergreen, the advertising potential plentiful. But in documenting the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there is a fine line between commemoration and exploitation.
Mindful of this, television networks, magazines and others planning special coverage of the anniversary have weighed issues such as how much American audiences can stomach, and how much such a solemn occasion should be viewed as a business opportunity.
There are no uniform answers, and media outlets are approaching it differently.