mrd

	My Finance Broker Said I Should Have ABN & GST Registration But My Accountant Said It’s Not Needed. Why Would They Differ In Their Opinion Please?
	They are both right! It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. I am not going to give you financial advice nor tell you to ‘defy’ your accountant but I tend to agree (more) with your Finance Broker. Let me give you my opinion…

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I regularly teach on:

• The right financial structure
• Solid research that considers future demographics etc
• Having ALL necessary information and understanding to ensure any investment decision is made “fully informed”
• And so on

I don’t usually say so, but I believe financial success will elude the ‘wrong people’… in the long term! With that statement as my backdrop please allow me to share three helpful thoughts with you.

1. Honesty in Business

Like me do you ever become irritated by the way you are treated by salespeople? It annoys me when a question I may ask of a sales representative is interpreted as giving him a licence to sell me something. I also find it disturbing when the sales representative omits vital information that may influence any purchase decision. Let me give you a recent personal example…

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This week NAB’s chief economist talking on Sky Business speculated about how low interest rates could go.
He said the cash rate moving from the current level of 7.25% to 6% would still mean the interest rate policy would still be tight. That means it would still be working to contract the economy.
Even with a cash rate of 5%, Oster said monetary policy would be neutral. This means over the next 12-18 months, home loan rates could fall from around 9.5% to 6-7%.
I suspect 7%+ rates of interest will be more likely than 6%+ but if a recession turns up then I would change my guess!

A leading economist says Australian homeowners could enjoy interest rate cuts for the next two years as long as inflation falls.
ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake said there was no doubt in the financial markets that the Reserve Bank would cut official interest rates by 25 basis points – amounting to $43.39 on a $250,000 mortgage – when its board meets on Tuesday.
Looking further ahead, Mr Eslake told Fairfax newspapers he expected further rate cuts to follow.
“I think that on top of tomorrow’s cut there will be a further cut in October-November, three next year and two more in 2010, provided inflation is on the decline.”
Mr Eslake’s comments follow an announcement at the weekend from Wizard Home Loans that it would pre-empt the Reserve Bank’s widely tipped move, cutting its variable home loan rates by 0.25 of a percentage point.
Australian banks and lenders will have no excuse not to follow Wizard Home Loans’ lead and cut their interest rates if conditions continue, Treasurer Wayne Swan says.

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The mining, cattle and sugar industries have triggered a housing boom in Queensland’s regional centres.
The ANZ Regional and Rural Quarterly Report shows house prices in Gladstone have jumped 25 per cent in the past 12 months, followed by Ipswich on 22 per cent, Gympie and Bundaberg on 16 per cent and Toowoomba on 8 per cent.
Economist Paul Deane says things are looking good for the sunshine state.
“I guess what it’s really a reflection of is generally how well economic conditions are in Queensland,” he said.
Mr Deane says while there may be some slowing in the next quarter, investment is expected to remain strong which will continue to support house prices.
“Perhaps there will be some slowdown, but signs are that certainly investment will remain strong in the area which will certainly help support house prices moving forward,” he said.
The report also says the unemployment rate in southern Queensland fell to 1.4 per cent in July.