Insights

Courtesy of the digital age, petty criminal Herbert Ellis has now become an international star. In real life he was a Sydney shop breaker of the 1920s who had his mug shot taken after one of his several arrests.

A cheap, cheerful and stress-free Christmas can be yours if you stick with a simple mantra - plan, plan plan. Find out more. INSIDE

Legendary investor Warren Buffet famously said the way to make money is to be "fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful".

Sooner or later, you may need to dip into funds for an unexpected emergency. Whether your car breaks down or your laptop goes on the blink or worse still, you find yourself without a job, money set aside for a "rainy day" will help you keep your head above water.

In our last article I introduced you to Harold, a friend of mine who writes in the Marcus Today retirement newsletter. He "lives the dream" of retirement and last week started telling us about his retirement portfolio, how he sees asset allocation for the income-hungry retiree. His first decision, you might remember, was to bin the concept of diversification, which seemed more suited to financial advisers not wanting to get sued than to retirees wanting safe income.

Each week, financial adviser and international best-selling author Noel Whittaker answers your questions.

I am 31, have $160,000 in shares and a $170,000 mortgage on a property worth $320,000. I recently moved back into the property after almost six years to keep it listed as my main residence. I recently quit my $70,000-a-year job and plan to take a break of six months before returning to the workforce, moving out of the property and renting it again.

The big banks have made much of the action in the stock market run during the past year as investors sought yield, strength and stability. The recent reporting season saw the big four own up to $27 billion in profits compared with $25 billion the previous year and boost dividends by between 10 and 15 per cent.

Interest rates have more than halved since David and Tanya Popovski began investing in property in 1995.

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.

Sue Cowden doesn't make gifts and cards specifically to save money at Christmas; it's just a happy accident.

Count yourself lucky you missed a talk I gave on super on Friday, somewhat improbably at the Gaelic Club, but you're not getting off that lightly. Here's the gist of what I said, or at least the sober version of it. The topic was Superannuation — How Safe Is It? Are Regulatory Safeguards Sufficient?

Woolworths chairman Ralph Waters has asked shareholders to be patient with the struggling Masters business. But questions remain over the company's core retail strategy and capital commitments.

Listed fund manager Cadence Capital (CDM) is raising $76.9 million through a private placement as well as bonus options for investors who take up the offer.

Local market little changed as major banks support bourse, materials weigh.

With budgets getting squeezed tighter and tighter, governments are likely to shy away from funding large-scale infrastructure projects. For Philip Lowe, the key is not avoiding debt but spending more wisely.