Insights

Downsizing baby boomers are leading a trend towards bespoke apartments in upmarket developments.

Dexus Property will increase its 2014 earnings by up to 1.25 per cent and is in line for a debt ratings upgrade, upon the successful completion of the $3.84 billion offer for the Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA).

Rising business confidence and low debt costs are likely to compress yields for core office assets by 100 basis points over the next three years, Colliers International forecasts.

Market minnows are often overlooked but, if you know where to look, you can net

5.09 per cent

Resmed has been one of the success stories of Australian medical technology, building a business on the creation of devices for the treatment and management of respiratory disorders, particularly relating to sleep disruption. As this week's chart, produced by Alan Clement, a member of the Australian Technical Analysts Association, shows, Resmed spent the 11 years from 2001 to 2012 consolidating in a rising wedge formation.

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.

What's new ANZ Banking Group's profit continues to be on the up and up, with the major bank recently posting a solid 11 per cent increase in cash earnings for the 2013 fiscal year to $6.5 billion. This was the company's fourth straight year of record profits. In addition, the final dividend of 91¢ a share took the dividend for the full year to 164¢ a share, up 13 per cent from the previous year. The underlying drivers of the bumper result included a rise in net interest income, tight cost control and strong asset quality. Importantly, ANZ Banking Group's capital position continues to be robust, finishing the year with a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 8.5 per cent under the Basel 3 standards, well above the 8 per cent level thought to be prudent.

Why put your money in the bank when you can get a higher return by owning a tiny piece of it?

Harold is a friend of mine who writes in the Marcus Today newsletter about retirement.

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

Market minnows can move fast, but they also get eaten, John Collett says.

The one time I traded contracts for difference, I was highly-strung, nervy and stressed out for the whole week - and it wasn't even my money! I was trading a dummy account, but the whole experience left me scarred and it isn't something I would ever do with money that I'm not prepared to lose.

Icon might be one of the most over-used words in the English language, but that seems an appropriate description for several objects that have appeared at auction in the past month or so.

The record of some research houses in rating investments is patchy, to say the least. Research houses are the gatekeepers that provide ratings on a range of investments, from managed funds to shares, and are relied upon by financial planners and investors. Research houses have recommended investments that have failed spectacularly.

Three rival bidders means the Warrnambool takeover has not progressed very far at all