Eureka correspondence

Australian market challenging for income hunt

As an investor in the share market, I find it difficult at times to find suitable companies in which to invest.  The Australian investing universe is quite small.  Of the roughly two thousand companies listed on the stock exchange, nearly 50 per cent are engaged in the mining industry.  Further, approximately only 640 companies are showing positive earnings, while over 1100 companies are reporting zero or negative earnings.

As for the all important dividends, only around 520 companies are reporting any sort of dividend. However, not all companies are suitable for purchase given their individual financial situations. Those that are suitable for purchase usually attract a premium well-above what is a sound long-term investment.

If the government is to reduce the corporate tax rate to ~25 per cent, then maybe this action could be structured to encourage both local and international companies to list on the Australian stock exchange thereby giving investors greater opportunities for portfolio diversification especially in multi-national companies (think S&P 500).  Not only do the companies benefit but so do investors and the overall economy.

- Garry 

Election opinions

As a regular long term subscriber to Eureka Report, I have to say that some of the contributions around federal election times stray from the high quality commentary to offering opinions on what will happen if certain parties get elected.

This was the case in the article by Robert Gottliesben titled "Its going to be lower for longer" published on 8th June.

The mantra from Eureka Report when discussing the share market is NOT to try and predict what will happen on any given day/period but here we have Robert proclaiming that  "I believe if Labor takes the election, against bookmakers' expectations, then the market will respond badly"

It is not the task of Eureka Report to offer political commentary and potential investment advice based on opinions of the authors even if they honestly believe what they write. We all have opinions about the political ramifications of any specific party getting elected but that is our personal view and is not to be taken or offered as advice which an investor should act upon.

- Rin