Insights

Stockland has boosted its industrial portfolio by buying the Forrester Distribution Centre at St Marys in western Sydney for $72.85 million from Goodman Australia Industrial. It is the first acquisition Stockland has made in the sector for some time and is part of the strategy to focus on growing assets under management. The 12-hectare site at 40-88 Forrester Road includes three warehouses totalling 60,239 square metres. It is next to rail tracks and is close to the Great Western Highway, the M4 and the M7. It is leased to ACI, a subsidiary of Owens-Illinois. Stockland chief executive Mark Steinert said one of the group's ambitions was to grow the industrial business. "This asset is a strong addition to our industrial portfolio," he said.

The sharemarket fell for a third session despite the Reserve Bank keeping the cash rate at 2.5 per cent but continuing its campaign to talk down the value of the dollar.

Private equity companies are offloading assets to sharemarket investors at a rate not seen since before the global financial crisis, as the sector rushes to cash in on strong investor demand.

The banks are doling out aid, but only to a select few, writes Katharina Pistor.

They do things big over in the west, with the world's largest floating structure hitting the water.

Port Hedland may yet get a new outer harbour, with Fortescue Metals Group considering such a development for its new magnetite joint venture with Baosteel and Formosa.

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh confirmed the resources company will be well placed to deliver strong returns to shareholders in the coming years after exceeding its cost cutting targets and confirming capital investment will nearly halve in two years to about $US8 billion.

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh has signalled he will take more costs out of the aluminium business before any potential spinoff, after taking what he says was ''one of the hardest decisions of my life'' to close the loss-making Gove alumina refinery in Arnhem Land.

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh says he is still optimistic about long-term demand for the commodities Rio sells. He even thinks the group's wounded aluminium business will one day have its "day in the sun", possibly as China's transformation into a consumer-driven economy sucks electricity away from the Chinese aluminium smelters that are keeping prices low.

As everyone knows, the GFC blew a mighty hole in superannuation accounts. The road to recovery has been a long and winding one. But the improvement in returns has really kicked up over the past 18 months and into this year.

54 per cent

If there is one thing that riles Australians more than the taxman, it's banks. Feisty forums, such as Whirlpool, Product Review and notgoodenough.org, document the resentment, with customers wasting no time making their feelings known.

Big money is made in the stock market by changing expectations, and being aware of the risks and industry trends very early. That has been a secret behind our stock picks in the food sector such as Freedom Foods, Tassal and Warrnambool Cheese, which have more than doubled in value.

Each week during the spring property season, Money's team of experts will come up with strategies for getting the best result before and after the hammer falls.

If you want to avoid the financial blues after your summer break, adopt these simple strategies to cut down on spending, writes Christine Long.

For the market's sake, Nine Entertainment's sharemarket debut under new management better rate well with investors.

You don't need to spend the earth to have a good time over the holidays. Money finds out more. INSIDE

Is now a good time to lock in a fixed-rate mortgage? It's a question that's received plenty of attention this year, after the Reserve Bank cut official interest rates to their lowest level on record.