Products & Services

A solid base for investing

The Australian
Page: 6 : 12 March 2008
Original article by Robin Bromby

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

Many Australian stockbrokers are recommending investment in metals in early 2008. Grant Craighead, of Stock Resource, believes that the metals market is strong. He favours companies close to production and stocks with leverage to a specific metal. Stock Resource is launching an open-ended resources fund, Lime Street Capital, in mid-March. The preferred resource stocks of Perth-based stockbrokers, Patersons Securities, are Sally Malay Mining, Western Areas, Equigold and Straits Resources

McPherson's offers resilient brands

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 34 : 12 March 2008
Original article by Trevor Hoey

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

McPherson's has managed a slight rise in its share price since the start of 2008, contradicting general market trends. Its share price could rise further, with brokers upwardly revising consensus forecasts for 2007-08 after a strong interim result and positive comments by management about the outlook for the second half. The Australian distributor and printing group's core consumer products business includes brands such as Multix, Manicare, Lady Jayne, Swisspers and Wiltshire, many of which cover non-discretionary areas of consumer spending and should not be affected by a spending downturn. McPherson's printing operations continue to underperform

E-Business

Murdoch fears for US economy

The Australian
Page: 33 : 12 March 2008
Original article by Nick Tabakoff

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

Rupert Murdoch, executive chair of Australian-listed global media group News Corporation, has commented on the US economy. Speaking at a conference organised by financial firm Bear Stearns, he warned that a slowdown for about 12 months was very likely. He also noted that News would be sufficiently insulated, and that it had reduced its share of revenue stemming from advertising from 41% to 23%. Murdoch believes that classified advertising especially in the jobs area will migrate further to the internet and that this will harm local newspapers. He also seemed to rule out a competing bid by News for Microsoft takeover target Yahoo!, and highlighted the internet presence of recent acquisition Dow Jones & Company

Consumer Behaviour

Banks hit us hard, but we lap it up

The Sydney Morning Herald
Page: 3 : 12 March 2008
Original article by Jessica Irvine

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The ANZ Bank and St George Bank have both moved to increase their standard variable interest rates by 0.35 per cent. All of Australia's major banks have now lifted their home loan interest rates by a higher amount than the latest rise in the official cash rate. The banking majors began increasing their rates by more than the Reserve Bank's cash rate in January 2008, which coincided with a sharp rise in the banks' share of new mortgage loans. Meanwhile, 22.3 per cent of new home loans written in January were at fixed interest rates rather than variable rates

National market in 2008

The Estate Agent
Page: 16-17 : February 2008
Original article by Noel Dyett

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

In Australia, housing affordability has fallen to its lowest level in 22 years. First home buyers are reluctant to enter the market, with first home buyer loans representing 17.7 per cent of total loans in September 2007. The long term average is 20 per cent. In Victoria's residential market, growth for areas in the 20 km radius from the CBD is expected to be between 10 and 20 per cent for the next 12 months. Industrial markets are expected to experience slower rental growth