Danger of hedging your bets

The promise of high returns and low risk proved too good to be true. more

The art of making do

Gary Crockett. Compared with Paul Keating's "recession we had to have" and the global downturn we seem to have sidestepped, the Great Depression had a profound impact on Australia. more

Profile: Geoff Cohn

An eye specialist's capacity to see the big picture continues to inspire others. more

Hot stock

Although Woodside is Australia's premier oil and gas producer, the company is certainly not mature. more

Loose change

Mortgage stress has risen 0.7 per cent between January and February, with about 581,000 households in some degree of mortgage pain. more

How the stars are lining up

There are many encouraging signs out there for investors, writes David Potts. more

Diversify on a road less travelled

Investing is not all about shares and property, writes Bina Brown. more

Dig in for a joyless upturn

Miners are among the few who'll benefit from a pick-up dogged by rising interest rates. more

Fast track out of the red

Penny Pryor Midyear reporting by our companies shows recovery gathering pace. more

A low-cost, easy winner

David Robb. Follow the lead of the big institutions and invest in an index fund. Barbara Drury reports. more

Profile: Michael Carew

The   News
01/03/10
picture Justin McManus.
Michael Carew, who is building an Orphanage in Zambia called the Children of Destiny project. An investment in the welfare of vulnerable people is slowly showing returns. more

Little margin for error

Under the new law, margin call procedures will be covered by strict notification rules. more

Deco aficionados tune in

Peter Sheridan. Interest in radios from the art deco period has boomed in the past few years. more

Loose change

Interest rates are on the way up but how high can they go? more

Ask Noel

Noel Whittaker dinkus. If you were travelling to China next year what cash currency would you take? Some say that US dollars have lost their flavour. more

Profile: Gina Anderson

Gina Anderson the CEO of Philanthropy Australia. Working for philanthropic causes is proving to be a most satisfying role. more

Ask Noel

Noel Whittaker dinkus. My daughter intends to continue her education in Melbourne in the next four years. With this in mind, my husband and I are thinking of buying either an apartment or a house. Can you give us some guidance? more

Hot stock

Greg Fraser from Fat Prophets What's new? Boral's new chief executive, Mark Selway, has inherited the proverbial "bucket half full" scenario. more

Avoid a tax slug

Sea slug. The strategy: To keep my self-managed fund pension payments on track. more

Savings make a comeback

A hand in the jar. Spending up big was all the rage in the noughties but attitudes are changing, say the experts. more

Investment Tools

INVESTMENT FACTSHEETS

Shares: the basics

Owning shares (sometimes called stock) means you have a part-ownership of a company. more

Broker/client relationship

For some time now there has been a class of brokers commonly known as "discount brokers". more

Buying shares

So what happens if you do not get the full allocation (or any) of shares you applied for in the prospectus application? more

Selling shares

This is simply a matter of placing a "sell" order by phone or online with your broker. more