Lacking in energy
Tuesday, 07 December 2010
Australia's energy providers are struggling to meet the online needs of their customers, with text-heavy websites delivering poor navigation.  ...

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Housing affordability improves but rising rates cloud 2011 outlook
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Housing affordability improved slightly during the September quarter due to a stall in prices but the market is still much too expensive and no change is expected for some time, according to the latest Housing Industry Association-Commonwealth Balk Affordability ...

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Craig Gore dodges bankruptcy with record insolvency deal, despite debts of $494 million
Friday, 19 November 2010
Fallen Gold Coast entrepreneur Craig Gore has managed to dodge bankruptcy after his creditors agreed to the biggest ever personal insolvency arrangement ever seen in Australia.  ...

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Placing clamps on the banks could hurt the property market: Gottliebsen
Friday, 19 November 2010
I am not sure that the chairman of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Rob Johanson, fully grasped the power and potential impact of the words he used in his KGB interview.  ...

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Ireland's struggle to cope alone: Maley
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Pressure on Ireland to sign up for emergency rescue plan has intensified after Portugal warned that it risked becoming collateral damage of the collapse in investor confidence in Ireland.  ...

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The worrying consequences of abolishing exit fees: Bartholomeusz
Friday, 12 November 2010
Goldman Sachs has produced a couple of pieces of research that ought to be required reading for all the politicians currently engaged in big bank bashing. It confirms that there is a law of unintended consequences when the political desire to be seen to be ...

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Madlener’s high price
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Villa & Hut founder Franz Madlener tried his hardest today to put a positive spin on what must loom as one of the toughest days in his career.  ...

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Experts warn banks will come under pressure to scrap exit fees, but ASIC enforcement still required
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Experts say major banks will be under pressure to scrap their exit fees now, following ANZ's decision to remove its own penalty charges, combined with the release of guidance for mortgage lenders by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.  ...

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Villa & Hut founder Franz Madlener facing bankruptcy, administrators shut 10 stores
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Villa & Hut founder Franz Madlener says he is almost certain to be declared personally bankrupt, with more than 12 landlords, suppliers and finance companies chasing amounts that Madlener personally guaranteed when he owned the Villa & Hut chain.  ...

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Five sectors that will be hit hard by the interest rate hike
Wednesday, 03 November 2010
Businesses have reacted angrily to yesterday's interest rate increase, with several sectors including retail, property and hospitality furious ahead of what they believe will be a disappointing holiday sales period.  ...

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Banks are playing a dangerous game: Maley
Wednesday, 03 November 2010
Commonwealth Bank boss Ralph Norris is playing a dangerous game with his decision to lift home loan and business lending rates by almost twice as much as the Reserve Bank's official interest rate rise.  ...

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Banking competition must increase
Friday, 29 October 2010
ANZ chief executive Mike Smith doesn’t get it. Why do we need an inquiry in to the banking sector, he wonders?  ...

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ANZ profit rises 53%, Senate to conduct banking inquiry: Economy roundup
Thursday, 28 October 2010
ANZ has recorded a cash profit of $5.13 billion for the year to 30 September, up from $3.38 billion during the previous corresponding period, the company announced today.  ...

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Meet the man most likely to become Warren Buffett’s successor
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Two days ago, Todd Combs was a little-known fund manager running a little-known investment fund in Greenwich, Connecticut.  ...

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A new era for our property markets
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Our residential property markets have moved into a new era. We've moved from property boom conditions to a phase of slower growth.  ...

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New small business minster tells banks to work harder to understand SMEs
Friday, 15 October 2010
New Federal Small Business Minister Nick Sherry says a lack of specialist small business knowledge among Australia's leading banks is hampering the supply of credit to SMEs, but he has ruled out direct government intervention in the banking market with the ...

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Ireland's warning for America: Maley
Friday, 01 October 2010
The losses inflicted by the vainglorious Irish bankers are staggering. Overnight, the Irish government estimated that the total cost of bailing out the Irish banks had risen to a sickening at €45 billion ($US61 billion), and could climb to $67.5 billion if ...

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Cash for clicks
Thursday, 30 September 2010
High-profile financial comparison websites are charging banks big bucks for referrals and promotional opportunities. What's more, the websites – or "infomediaries" – in some cases hand out awards to products that appear deficient on closer inspection.  ...

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Sixty days to go…
Friday, 03 September 2010
Smart companies will soon know which form of government will be run by Treasury in Australia and have 60 days to know whether the Obama administration is going to be the latest victim of elector volatility in their mid-term elections. As indicated in earlier ...

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The small business vote
Friday, 20 August 2010
This has been a very difficult and disappointing election campaign to watch for those in the SME community. Unlike few elections before, the agenda and the focus of the major parties has been dominated by a number of problems that aren't problems at all, most ...

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