HOMEOWNERS dodged a bullet in this year’s Budget

HOMEOWNERS dodged a bullet in this year’s Budget, with multi-billion tax breaks failing to come under scrutiny.

Historically, real estate is a minor player during federal Budgets, with the industry managed more tightly under macro rather than micro positioning.

But as the magnitude of Joe Hockey’s austerity Budget became clear, the housing sector looked to be one of the most obvious sectors to stem tax leaks.

Among the potential pain points, there were fears the family home would be included in means testing for the aged pension, and that negative gearing would come under scrutiny.

With cost-cutting front and centre of Joe Hockey’s tough reforms, the $6 billion a year in lost tax revenue from negative gearing could have been a significant boost to Government coffers.

But projections in the Budget of rising unemployment may have kept property out of the firing line, at least for now.

All governments understand that joblessness poses a real threat to the property sector, reducing mortgage holders ability to service loans and bumping up defaults. An unemployment fallout doesn’t discriminate between first-home buyer belts and prestige property postcodes.

TAX PERK BUT FOR HOW LONG?

With negative gearing intact, investors can breathe a sigh of relief. But for how long?

The tax perk does little to boost housing supply and locks out potential buyers who are unable to compete with investors, so it deserves to come under the microscope.

Financial commentator David Koch says negative gearing is a perennial Budget consideration but the time is probably nigh when its rules will change.

“Given negative gearing doesn’t appear to be stimulating much in the way of new housing investment — the original intention — and we’re approaching the peak of a property boom, the timing of a change in future concessions is probably right,” Koch said earlier this month.

FAMILY HOME SAFE

There were no direct hits on the family home in this Budget either.

The CGT tax-free status for owner-occupier homes remained untouched, and more significantly the family home was excluded in pension means testing.

The Commission of Audit had proposed to include the family home in the assets test from 2027-28, but tonight’s Budget statement was succinct; ‘The Government will not include the family home in the means test for the Age Pension’.

BRW property rich-lister Kevin Young said fears of its introduction had made buyers skittish in the Budget lead up.

“Some buyers still aren’t convinced this type of means testing won’t be introduced. down the track. A couple I know are so frightened by it, they recently bought a home in Bali rather than Australia,” Young said.

He said a sell-off of family homes, investing in exempt assets classes, and local buyers switching to offshore real estate were just a few of the likely outcomes had it been an inclusion tonight.

INCENTIVE CUT

First-home buyers saving for a deposit have lost an incentive with the scrapping of the First Home Savers Account (FHSA) in the Budget.

The Rudd government initiative, introduced in 2008, provided people saving for a deposit with tax breaks and co-contributions from the government.

Under the scheme, savers paid concessional tax rates of 15 percent on interest earned in the accounts and the government made a 17 percent co-contribution on the first $6000 contributed each year.

The government co-contributions to the accounts will end on July 1 and tax and social security concessions will be withdrawn from July 2015.

Mr Hockey said the accounts were being abolished because their low popularity.

The Government expects to make $143 million in savings over five years from its scrapping.

LOW RATES, CONSTRUCTION SURGE

Property’s peak national body the REIA had called on the Government toreview the amount of the First Home Owner Grant annually to maintain relativity with house price movements, but in this tough Budget that was unlikely to be a priority.

What’s more, the Government strongly outlined tonight that it expects interest rates to remain low in the medium to long term, creating less need for its intervention to boost housing activity.

The Budget also predicts a surge in construction, so more stock coming onto the market will improve affordability.

“The housing sector is beginning to respond to lower interest rates with a pick-up in prices and leading indicators of construction,” it said.

“These developments have contributed to an improved outlook for the household sector.”

VERDICT

Consumer reaction to the Budget will have an immediate impact on buying and seller activity, becoming apparent within weeks through auction attendance levels and clearance rates.

As the Government’s cost cutting flows through to household sentiment and the overall economy, the need for the central bank to tighten its macro policy will become less likely.

So at the very least, this Budget presents an upside for mortgage holders with its austerity keeping rates lower longer.

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Adelaide Bank offers most affordable home loans, research finds

BEING with the most affordable mortgage provider can save nearly $5000 a year, university research reveals.

The research compares 12 years of rate data from 39 Australian lenders and reveals the gap between the top and bottom to be almost 1 percentage point.

On a $500,000 loan that equates to $94 a week or $4888 a year, said Swinburne University economics professor Abbas Valadkhani, who did the research published in the current Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money.

“You could have a nice holiday, or pay for education with that,” Melbourne-based Professor Valadkhani told News Corp Australia.

He also examined by how much and for how long lenders jacked up rates during and after the GFC.

The research finds the most affordable and reliable mortgage provider to be the Adelaide Bank, which lends $17 billion to 82,000 home-loan customers, mostly outside South Australia.

Adelaide Bank general manager Damian Percy said it benefited from focusing on home loans — it doesn’t offer credit cards or insurance — and from selling through mortgage brokers, which is cheaper. Plus it had stable and affordable funding from deposits held by parent company Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.

“Each time a rate decision needs to be made we ensure we are acting in the interest of our shareholders — and customers,” Mr Percy said.

Do your sums … the research compares 12 years of rate data from 39 Australian lenders. Source: News Limited

Second in the research rankings is the nation’s largest credit union, CUA, which has 40,000 mortgage customers mainly in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, who have borrowed $8 billion.

CUA CEO Chris Whitehead said being customer-owned was an advantage.

“We do have the option to forgo profit for a period,” Mr Whitehead said. During the GFC it had on occasion cut rates when others were increasing, he added.

Still, both Mr Whitehead and Mr Percy said that since the GFC borrowers had gravitated towards the major banks. This is backed by official data.

“I don’t think people are becoming more aware” of competitive alternatives, Mr Whitehead said. “For many people, it still seems to be set and forget. That allows the banks to change the pricing over time.”

Professor Valadkhani found many lenders — not just banks — have done this.

Safety first … since the global financial crisis, borrowers are more keen on the major banks. Source: News Limited

The bottom-ranked lender was the tiny Arab Bank, which only lends $220 million. Treasurer Neil Stevenson said its main product was actually its Basic Loan, which is 1 percentage point cheaper than the published standard variable rate (SVR).

Second-last was Citi, which has $5.6 billion on loan. A spokesman said: “Citi’s current discounted variable and fixed home loan rates are some of the best in the market. Although our SVR has been higher, customers don’t simply look at this rate.”

Gary and Jacqui Gliddon of Greenwith in northwest Adelaide have formally compared the loan market four times since 2000 and Adelaide Bank has come out on top every time, which is why they’ve never left.

“They have competitive rates and minimal fees — it all just fits,” Mr Gliddon said.

The Tobins of Woonona in Wollongong moved to CUA last year. He suggested his daughter Emily and son Andrew do likewise — and they did.

“I couldn’t recommend them highly enough,” Mr Tobin said. One of the things that impressed him was that CUA kept its rates lower during and post the GFC.

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Different health insurance policies are offered by employers and insurers

Different health insurance policies are offered by employers and insurers and cover prescription drugs, mental and general health services, visits to the ER, outpatient care, and other services. Customers who are not admitted to a healthcare facility are also offered services in the form of outpatient care. Of course, the services offered vary depending on your country and province of residence.

Policies

There are policies such as dismemberment and accidental death, vision care and dental insurance, and other varieties. Some policies are intended to replace lost income and help policy holders to cover the costs of recuperation aids, patient care, prescription drugs, and treatment. Scheduled care insurance plans are yet another option for customers who are looking for a comprehensive plan. Such policies offer a number of benefits to insured persons, including physician and patient care services, surgical, hospitalization, and others. One of the main benefits of scheduled care plans is that they are affordable. The benefit maximum varies and can be as low as $1,000. Other plans come with a high benefit maximum of about $25,000. health insurance policy

Given the variety of insurance types and providers, some consumers feel overwhelmed. Many find it difficult to choose from different plans. The main types of policies are private and public plans. In addition to standard policies such as individually purchased, managed care, and employer sponsored, there are new types of policies as well as non-medical coverage. The latter includes long-term plans and disability insurance. Plans for specified diseases are also offered by different providers, including terminal illness, paralysis, Parkinson’s disease, and other conditions. Critical illness insurance is one example. Covered illnesses also include AIDS and HIV, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, blindness, organ transplants, kidney failure, deafness, and others. While these policies offer additional protection, others have more limited coverage.

insurers and cover prescription drugs, mental and general health services

Other Options to Look into

There are other options and plans, including HSA, health maintenance organizations, PPOs, and others. Flexible savings accounts are also offered. It is possible to withdraw funds and use them for non-medical expenses. A HSA covers medical expenses to help consumers shoulder the costs. It is usually offered together with a high deductable plan. The major benefit is that the money held is tax-free and interest-bearing. Holders are free to use the money to cover non-medical expenses as well, but then the funds are not considered tax-free. The first step toward opening an account is to choose a health plan. Then visit a bank of choice and open an account there. Health maintenance organizations also offer plans that come with monthly premiums and co-pays. With these types of plans, coverage is offered only within the HMO network of specialists, healthcare providers and hospitals, and physicians. There is a network of providers that offers medical services and treatment. Customers benefit from a reduced fee compared to other plans. Finally, preferred provider organizations also offer treatment and services to customers at a reduced fee. The premiums are higher compared to health maintenance organizations.

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Forex Market - The Secret World

For people who are not familiar with Forex trading and all that it entails, it really can seem like a secret world that offers great wealth to all those who participate in it. In order to develop a meaningful understanding of what Forex trading is and what makes it possible, you are going to need to have a firm grasp on what money is, and how money functions.
Everyone knows the basics when it comes to money, but are you aware of what exchange rates are, or how governments determine what money is really worth? In the past, goods were traded in exchange for other goods, so anything of value could be traded as a means of currency. This system worked extremely well for a long time, but there were drawbacks that had to be addressed eventually.
The hardest part of switching over to a real money system had to do with learning how to equate items of value with something that had no inherent value at all. Placing a determinate value on goods was also a difficulty that had to be faced. It became apparent that numerous parties had to be involved to turn many trades into beneficial and profitable ventures. The modern system of money was born out of this problem, and from the modern money system came the Forex trading market.
Simply put, Forex trading involves exchanging two currencies, and it is something that absolutely anybody can participate in despite it seeming like a secret world of sorts. The point behind trading foreign exchange currencies is to make money, which means that some planning is absolutely vital in order to be successful. The ability to predict how the world's economy will function is what separates the best investors from those who slowly go broke, because it is important for good investors to recognize that the value of foreign currency is going to go up at some point, in the near or distant future.
Finding a stable standard of the value of a currency is what is going to determine profitability in Forex trading. If one nation is suddenly going to decide that their currency holds absolutely no value, then the market around it is simply going to collapse. This may be why the Forex market trades the most in the six largest nations holding most of the world's money. People have agreed that currency does hold value of some kind, and this alone makes it well worth having. This truly is the most basic principle for operating and finance, and it is the strongest driving force determining what makes Forex trading such a profitable venture.
The secret world of Forex trading does not have to be a secret. Once you understand the history and the value of money, and what makes the Forex foreign exchange market as profitable as it is, you too can seek significant profits from this form of investing. Forex investors are finding incredible profits in this lucrative market, and all it really takes is an understanding of what drives the Forex market, and ultimately what gives money its value.

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أنواع البورصات

أنواع البورصات البورصة Bourse ... أصل معنى كلمة البورصة : أصل كلمة بورصة يعود إلى شخص يدعى ( فان دي بورص ) كان يمتلك فندقا بمدينة بروج ببلجيكا ويتردد عليه التجار للمناقشة حول الصفقات التجارية وكان شعار هذا الفندق عبارة عن ثلاثة أكياس من النقود . والبورصة ، هي السوق المالي الذي يلتقي فيه الصيرفيين والسمسارة في أوقات محددة من اليوم لإجراء عمليات التداول على الأوراق المالية والسلع والمعادن وغيرها. أنواع البوصات العالمية ... (1) بورصة الأوراق المالية ، كالأسهم والسندات وحصص التأسيس. (2) بورصة البضائع ، مثل القطن والقمح والحديد والنحاس . (3) بورصة المعادن النفيسة ، كالذهب والفضة والبلاتين والماس . (4) عقود الصفقات التجارية للسلع غير الحاضرة ، كالبترول . (5) السوق الفوري لتجارة العملات الأجنبية خارج أسواق البورصة ( سوق الفوركس ) هنا يجب أن تعرف أنك ستتاجر في الفوركس الفوري spot لأن دورتنا التعليمية مخصصة لهذا النوع من التبادل الفوري بين العملات الأجنبية والذي يعتمد على النظام الإسلامي في تداوله ، وأعلم أنك لن تتاجر في سوق الفيوتشر Future أو الأوبشنز options فقط أبقى بعيدا عنهم. ويشارك في البورصة عدة أطراف ... (1) البنوك المركزية The central banks وتعتبر البنوك المركزية هي الأكثر تأثيراً على السوق لأنهم يمتلكون سيولة نقدية كبيرة . ومن أكبر البنوك المركزية حول العالم : بنك الاحتياطي الفيدرالي الأمريكي Federal Reserve Bank of American المصرف المركزي الأوروبي ECB مصرف اليابان Bank of Japan المصرف الوطني السويسري Swiss National Bank ومصرف انجلترا المركزي The Central Bank of England (2) شركات الوساطة Brokers إن شركات الوساطة هي الوسيط بين العميل والسوق ، وكذلك هي الوسيط بين العميل والبنك الممول لأموال الصفقات في حالات المتاجرة بالمارجن ، وكذلك هي الوسيط بين العملاء بعضهم البعض ، ويجب أن تختار شركة وساطة تكون خاضعة للرقابة القانونية من حكومة بلدها لضمان سلامة أموالك. ودور هذه الشركات أيضا أنه لا يتم البيع أو الشراء إلا من خلالهم لأنهم هم الذين ينقلون الأسعار المعروضة في البورصة من بنوك إلى بنوك أو إلى المستثمرين وشركة الوساطة هي سمسار وهو لا يتحمل أي خسائر نتيجة تقلبات السوق بل يعمل بالأجرة على اعتبار أنها من السمسرة فقط. (3) البنوك التجارية تقوم بدور صانع السوق لأنهم يعملون على إيجاد السوق وخاصة في العملات فهي مستعدة للشراء والبيع في أي وقت . (4) الشركات العالمية الكبرى أغلب الشركات العالمية لها غرف تداول خاصة بها بهدف تحقيق أداء استثماري جيد. (5) الصناديق المشتركة والمحافظ الاستثمارية يتجه بعض المستثمرين الصغار أو ممن لا يملكون الخبرة الكافية ، للتعامل مع الصناديق الاستثمارية المشتركة وتفويض مدير حسابات لإدارة هذا الصندوق مقابل هامش من الربح الاستثماري المحقق وهذه الصناديق لها القدرة على مواجهة تقلبات السوق. (6) شركات التأمين تتجه بعض شركات التأمين إلى استثمار فائض التأمين في أسواق المال . (7) المؤسسات الحكومية لا تعتبر طرفا نشيطا إلى حد ما في سوق المال ولكنها تشارك بعض الأحيان وبخاصة في الدول النامية التي تكون بها بعض عمليات التصدير والاستيراد محتكرة للقطاع العام . (8) الأفراد المستثمرون بالرغم من أنهم لا يلعبون دورا مهما في سوق المال لصغر حجم صفقاتهم إلا أنه بدأ يلاحظ زيادة في عدد المستثمرين الأفراد بعد ظهور التسهيلات الممنوحة لهم من قبل بعض المؤسسات المالية أو ما يعرف بتوفير المتاجرة بالهامش. كل هؤلاء اللاعبون شكلوا سوق عالمي مفتوح على بعضه على مدار 24 ساعة في اليوم فهو ليس حكرا على دولة معينة ، ووفقاً لإحصائيات عام 1995م جاء حجم التداول في حدود 2 تريليون دولار يوميا يتم تداولها وهذا رقم كبير جدا ، لهذا فإن سوق العملات من الصعب أن يتحكم فيه شخص من الأشخاص أو جهة من الجهات أو مؤسسة من المؤسسات أن تتحكم فيه من حيث الصعود أو الهبوط بسبب ضخامة القيمة المتداولة في هذا السوق . هل أنت جديد في الفوركس ( سوق تبادل العملات الأجنبية ) ؟ حسنا .. من هنا ستبدأ مهنة تجارة تبادل العملات . كل مهنة لها مجموعة من المبادئ والأسس والتخصصات ومهنة الفوركس لا استثناء من ذلك ودروسنا التعليمية تم تصميمها واستخدمنا اللغة العامية فيها لتكون عملية التعلم طبيعية وسهلة بالنسبة لك وكذلك لمساعدتك حتى تكون أفضل في فهم سوق تبادل العملات الأجنبية بشكل أوضح وسنشاركك في فهم هذه السوقِ الماكرة ِوسنعرفك كيف تتاجر بصفقات ناجحة بإذن الله. ومن المحتمل أنك ستكون مهتم بتجارة تبادل العملات الأجنبية وأيضا ستتشجع لفتح حساب حقيقي وتبدأ المتاجرة بأموالك الحقيقية. ولكن لا تفعل ذلك بهذه الطريقة فإنها ليست سهلة بهذه السرعة ! لأنك تختلف عن الآخرين فأنت مازلت مبتدأ في الفوركس ... مدرستنا ستؤهلك لتكون مستعد بشكل صحيح لدخول مهنة تجارة تبادل العملات أبقى معنا وتعلم بشكل متسلسل حتى تستوعب المهنة وتصبح من المحترفين .

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Trading

In most instances following the news wont help you make money - but there is one way where it can help you and that’s the forex tip contained in this article.
It’s simple to use and apply and can be a very powerful weapon in your forex trading strategy.
Let’s look at this forex tip in more detail.
Today, there is a vast amount of news and research available and it’s all very convincing but you won’t make money using it to make trades off the views the bulk of it contains - it reflects the consensus and we all know the majority of traders lose money.
Why?
Because news is instantly discounted in currency prices ( in today’s world of lightening communications news is discounted in seconds) and is effectively “old news” when you come to trade it, as the market is looking to the future.
Many of the stories are convincing but dead wrong.
Lessons from history
Follow the news and try and trade it and you will end up losing.
History tells us that most important market bottoms are formed on extremely bearish news, and most important market tops are formed on extremely bullish news.
Consider this fact
Also for all the improvements in the quality and delivery of news - the ratio of winners and losers has not altered from 50 years ago!
So obviously knowing and trading off news stories (as most traders do) won't help you win.
There is one way that you can use the news to your advantage though and it’s as follows:
If you are looking at your charts and you see a market that has moved quickly and spiked to the upside, chances are its being driven by the mentions of greed and fear.
Keep an eye on the news and if a bullish story fails to move prices higher be alert for a top and the same goes for a bear market.
Use these two contrary trading tools
You should not assume the market is overbought or oversold - you need to look for confirmation before trading - so use the % bullish and commitment of traders report.
There covered in our other articles and will tell you when the market is ripe for a turn and you can then look for news stories that don't push prices the way of the consensus and look to take the sort side.

The Technical Analysis section of the Website contains material prepared by Nicole Elliott of the Foreign Exchange Department. The material is mostly related to Foreign Exchange and contains views ranging from daily through to a year ahead. The weekly analysis is usually produced on a Monday, the monthly and quarterly reports during the first few days of the month. Other reports are produced on an ad hoc basis or on demand. This section has been split into currency groupings and/or geographical areas. As a result some of the material will appear on more than one of the pages. You will have to use to access the material. If you do not have it, you can load it from the Home Page.
This section is updated on an intraday basis. To ensure that you access the latest available material at all times, you should click on Refresh or Reload before viewing your required document.
This page contains daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and full year views on the three major currency pairs of EUR/USD, USD/JPY and EUR/JPY.
Contains a full range of views of currencies against the Yen - USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, AUD, CAD and SGD.
A variety of European cross rates and major currencies against the Euro can be found on this page.
Comprehensive analysis of GBP against the USD, EUR, JPY, CHF and AUD over the full range of periods.
This page has a wide range of Asian and Pacific currencies against the USD, GBP, JPY and each other.
This final page contains views on markets other than Foreign Exchange.

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