Insights

Telstra has to break one of the taboos of big business if it wants Trujillo's survival strategy to work. Consumer expert Ross Honeywill says fewer customers might just be the tonic the telco needs.

The latest national accounts figures are glittering: they show growth to September of 5.1%, with increased income from commodities outweighing an easing of housing activity. Michael Knox of ABN AMRO Morgans reports.

Expect another good year on the sharemarket in 2006, but property is likely to stagnate, says economist Shane Oliver. China will remain a strong driver of commodity prices.

In 2006, investors will want growth assets with pricing power, that's good news for commodities (hard and soft) but bad news for infrastructure investments and property trusts, says Charlie Aitken.

Oil companies Santos and Woodside Petroleum have had a great run recently. But The Intelligent Investor finds there are plenty of reasons to remain excited about them.

Paul Xiradis, the managing director of Ausbil Dexia, impressed associate editor Michael Pascoe this week with his confident recommendations on resources and retail stocks. Xiradis broke ranks with many fund managers in his willingness to make clear calls on his favourite stocks. Today we publish an extended audio interview with Xiradis, along with a transcript of Monday's video interview.

Property editor Mark Armstrong answers subscribers' queries sent to questionmark@eurekareport.com.au. This week: Selling your home without using an agent; property easements; whether to rent or buy; and making a joint purchase.

The healthcare company DCA is one of the quiet achievers on the ASX and one of the best long-term investment opportunties in the market, thanks to David Vaux, its high-performance/low-key chief executive. Eureka Report editor James Kirby brings Vaux into the surgery for a check up.

If you are planning to develop a property portfolio through your DIY super fund, Barbara Smith has some bad news: new changes to the tax office views on "in specie" contributions are set to make property investing less attractive.

One of the most successful in a new generation of Australian equity specialists, Paul Xiradis, the outspoken chief executive of fund manager Ausbil Dexia, is confident enough to make regular "calls" on sharemarkets, writes Associate editor Michael Pascoe. As Michael reports, the Ausbil Dexia approach has very little to do with the Warren Buffett school; on video Xiradis names the resource and retail shares he's accumulating for his $4 billion fund operation.

Ralph Norris, the newly installed chief executive at Commonwealth Bank, has a job on his hands. The bank's 1.6 million shareholders are worried about a string of "sell" recommendations on the stock and Norris has made things worse by publicly revealing the failings of his predecessor, David Murray. What's going on? Banking writer Ian Rogers reports.

The unique nature of the Japanese stockmarket makes it difficult for Australian retail investors to buy stock directly, so the most practical approach to Japanese investment is through managed funds. The attached resources include: A guide to the most successful Japanese managed funds by returns; A guide to the most successful funds in terms of market share; and An article on the Japanese recovery by Keith Donaldson, a Japan specialist at the Martin Currie group, one of the leading fund managers in Asia.

Monday's Eureka Report published an article summarising the latest bleak predictions from the celebrated "Elliott Wave" analyst Robert Prechter. Reporter James Frost takes a closer look at Prechter and the Elliott Wave phenomenon.