The remainder of this year is going to be challenging. Following the stellar rise in stock prices last year, in our view, the coming  months will be volatile. Some sectors will outperform at the expense of others. Selecting the right stocks and sectors will be the key to beating the market. Timing will also be a formidable challenge. Despite this, we remain confident that we can outperform this year and lay the foundations for success in future years.

Here are some picks hitting a 52 week high

Centro Retail Group (CNP)

Centro Properties Group

Latest Share Prices -. 27 Apr 2010 (20 min delay). CNP: $0.260 … Centro Properties Group(Centro) is a retail investment organisation specialising in the …
www.centro.com.au/

Centro Properties Group (CNP) is a public company engaged in the operations of the Centro Property Trust and other entities of the company which are engaged in property management, property investment, funds management and property development. CNP was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on the 14th of August, 1997.

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Goodman Group (GMG)

GOODMAN GROUP (GMG) – ASX Listed Company Information Fact Sheet

GOODMAN GROUP (GMG). International, integrated industrial property development and services businesses. On this page you will find: …
203.15.147.66/asx/research/companyInfo.do?by=asxCode…gmg

Company Name:
Goodman Group

Stock Code:
GMG

Website:

www.goodmanintl.com

Market Cap ($M): 4,950

Equiv. Shares (M): 6,875

Charter Hall Group (CHC)

Charter Hall

Charter Hall Group is a specialist property funds management and development company, based in Sydney with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, …
www.charterhall.com.au/ –

Company Overview

CHC is an integrated property group operating across property funds management, development, property investment banking, property management and property investment. CHC has over $10B in assets under management post the acquisition of management rights on a number of ex-Macquarie managed funds.

 

Company History

The Charter Hall Group is a property funds management and development group. Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) as a stapled security in June 2005, the Charter Hall Group combines Charter Hall Limited with the Charter Hall Property Trust. Since its establishment in 1991, Charter Hall has established a very successful track record in property funds management and property development.

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Will the US dollar recovery continue through 2010?

Will a second wave of US mortgage defaults cause a repeat of the sub-prime crisis?

Will direct government investment begin to unwind and will the “too big to fail” companies be allowed to exist?

Dubai unnerved investors – are more shocks in the pipeline?

Where are the Property Markets heading?

How will china fare in 2010 ?

Who’s going bananas ?

http://video.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx?vid=0e55d1f5-d992-4529-8e84-2a579985434c&from=articleinline&fg=money^newsandanalysis^981507

Here is the spoof version of the Westpac Banana video clip

Ref :http://mumbrella.com.au/westpacs-banana-video-translated-14000

Westpac has been forced to remove an animated video on its website comparing its interest rate rise to the cost of bananas.

A spokeswoman for the bank said: “Following the feedback we have received today we have removed the video from our customer information site on the rate change.”

The video was originally created for staff to help understand the changes in the economic environment as a consequence of the global financial crisis.

Watch now: Westpac’s banana video in full

Westpac then made the decision to send the Banana video out in an email to customers on Monday. It followed the bank’s move to lift its standard variable mortgage rate by 45 basis points last week – nearly double the Reserve Bank’s 25-basis-point increase earlier that same day.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Westpac should take “a long hard look at itself” after the bank tried to explain its 45 basis point interest rate rise with an animated video about bananas.

The voice over in the video tells the story of when a storm damaged crops, diminishing the supply of bananas, the price of the fruit went up which in turn meant that the cost of a banana smoothie had to go up by 50 cents

At present, you can send applications for a mortgage online or over the Internet. Applying for a home mortgage loan had never been so easy. You only need to be ready to complete the online mortgage application. Following are some useful steps to apply for a mortgage online.

• Gather all the details. You would require your employment record and residential record. You would also require the income tax statements of the past year, your bank statements and a paycheck stub.
• Make a list of all your assets like boats, cars and IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts). Collateral might help you determine if you are eligible for a loan.
• Understand what is stated on your credit report. If there are any queries regarding your credit report, you would understand what to speak when questioned.
• Work out your payments and expenditures in order to ensure that the mortgage lender can help you determine what type of payments you’re able to afford.
• Study the prevailing interest rates to have an overview of what rate you might get for your particular financial condition.
• Determine what kind of mortgage you would like to take out, for example a 15-year fixed, 30-year fixed, 30-year fixed interest only and so on. Make a decision whether you wish to buy a house or refinance.
• Search for a mortgage lender online. You must be cautious while furnishing your personal financial details. Go for the one you think you’re convenient with.
• Get a few online mortgage applications and have the printouts. In this manner, you can complete them and be at ease with the application procedure prior to putting it forward over the Internet.
• Call up the number of customer service. Make queries till you comprehensively realize everything. If you don’t get a comprehensive idea, you must not sign on the documents. Go through the fine print carefully. Jot down your queries prior to calling them up.
• Complete the online mortgage application and submit that. If you’re refused for a loan, then try to ascertain why it happened. Take the help of a consumer credit counselor to solve any problem prior to submitting your application once more.

The Australian share market’s rise to a fresh 10-month high on Monday was erased by a fall in Asian share markets, leaving traders wary of profit taking after sharp gains in the Australian market since March.

Banks sustained their gains on the back of a positive trading update from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, while resources succumbed to falls in Chinese and Japanese equity markets.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 10.5 points or 0.2% at 4479.1 after hitting 4537.2 in early trading.

The index was up 43% from its March low and 21% above its July low, thanks to signs of global economic recovery and a better-than-expected Australian earnings period.

It rose 5.5% in August, notching up its sixth-consecutive monthly gain.

Australian economy shines

The Australian economy may be faring better than most, but the global economic crisis is hitting profits and wages hard

The slump in profits and wages is sizeable. Company profits fell by 7.8 per cent in the three months to June, Mark, to be almost 15 per cent lower than a year ago and wages fell by 1.1 per cent, they’ve fallen now for the past six months wages and it’s very unusual for wages to actually be going backwards.
It was a tale of different sectors however; you had a big fall in mining profits with the cuts to commodity prices, you had slight falls in profits in wholesale trade and construction as margins got squeezed, but in the retail sector, profits were up nearly nine per cent in the quarter and up more than 20 per cent on a year ago, so the retail sector, thanks to the government stimulus has had a boom.

THE big banks have been slow to react after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates by a larger-than-expected 0.75 percentage points yesterday.

The Commonwealth Bank was the first of the major banks to move after the Reserve Bank board’s announcement yesterday, chopping its rates by 0.58 per cent.

This was despite repeated warnings from Treasurer Wayne Swan to pass on the rate cut quickly, and in full.

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And with an increase in costs held to 7%, the cash profit figure – the industry’s preferred measure of earnings – came in at the level forecast by industry analysts. That saw cash earnings per share rise almost in line at 5% to 198.3 cents a share The percentage increase for net profits was even higher, up 12%, at $3.85 billion.

Shareholders will benefit to the tune of an 8% increase in the second half dividend to 72 cents, making a total of $1.42 for the full year.

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