Letters of the Week

Coin collection

I have had a lot of really useful material from you in the past couple of years and now I need some help and was hoping some other subscriber may be able to get me on the right track. I have a coin collection inside my SMSF, which now has to be held “at an unrelated site” and insured. This is OK in theory but I have been to ANZ, NAB and CommBank, who are all happy to store them for a fee, but not insure them. The insurance companies are happy to insure but only if I keep them at home. So far I just can't meet the requirements that the minister has put into legislation and I'm sure there must be other people out there (stamps, wine, paintings, etc) in the same position.

– PG

US property

I have been receiving the Eureka Report on trial. I have found it generally informative but was astounded to read the report by Monique Sasson Wakelin on US property. As the detailed factual report by Alan Dixon demonstrates, Monique's report is riddled with inaccuracies and is little more than prejudiced nonsense. Publishing Monique's report devalues your publication. I am surprised that you are not aware of the tactics of property promoters in Australia. They masquerade as experts but have a very narrow self-interested view of property markets. I am sure Monique probably believes her own propaganda.

– S Patterson

Coal stocks

Tim Treadgold’s coverage of the coal sector has been excellent, particularly since he was among the very first in the wake of the initial paranoia after the Copenhagen climate change meetings to express the view that coal would remain a key commodity. In more recent months he has stuck to his views and pointed to a group of very good coal stocks – these stocks have performed better than the market index, but when are we going to see some real action such as the 70% premiums they have been getting for coal takeovers in Canada?

– C Jones

Editor’s response: The biggest deal in the coal sector in recent times has been the merger between Aston Resources and Whitehaven Coal. Unfortunately, when you get a merger you also get a “nil premium”, or in this case an effective 10% premium. Certainly, this deal shows there is a lot of interest and potential value in the local coal sector but we will probably have to wait for a pure takeover of a locally listed coal stock by an international company such as Peabody or AngloAmerican before we see the sort of premiums investors are anticipating.