London Metal Exchange - LME

The LME can trace its origins back to 1571 although it was formally established in 1877 as the London Metal Market and Exchange company. Today it is the world's largest non-ferrous metals exchange.

The LME trades futures and options contracts in Aluminium, aluminium alloy, North American Special Aluminium Alloy (NASAAC), copper grade A, zinc, tin, primary nickel, standard lead and Silver. It also trades traded average price contracts (TAPOs) for aluminium and copper grade A, aluminium alloy, North American Special

Aluminium Alloy (NASAAC), standard lead, primary nickel, tin and zinc. London Metal Exchange Traded Average Price Options (TAPOs) for copper grade A, high grade primary aluminium, standard lead, primary nickel, special high grade zinc, aluminium alloy and tin are Exchange cleared contracts based on the LME Monthly Average Settlement Price (MASP).

Because many users in the industry price their physical material on the basis of the LME MASP, brokers developed off-Exchange average price option products, known as 'Asians' which quickly became popular, particularly with large producers. To meet this growing demand, the LME developed the TAPO contracts.

TAPO contracts complement existing LME futures and traded options contracts. Users of the market who trade basis the MASP will tend to use TAPO contracts. However, hedgers who trade using the LME's flexible daily prompt system will find futures or traded options more suitable hedging tools.

The exchange introduced futures and options contracts based on an index (LMEX) of its six primary metals in April 2000. In 2000 the daily value of contracts traded on the LME was about $8,000 million and the first six months of the year saw record trading of over 35 million lots equating to $1,400 billion.

The LME market is a combination of floor and inter-office trading cleared by the London Clearing House (LCH). LME membership extends to over 100 companies.

Trading in the London market starts at 7.00am with the premarket session, where members make markets in the various metals from their offices. The trading floor of the LME, called the Ring, opens at 11.40am and each contract trades in turn for a five minute period. There follows a ten minute break from 12.20 to 12.30pm, after which each contract trades again for a five minute period. It is during this second session that the settlement and official prices are determined. After these prices have been announced, usually about 1.15pm, kerb trading commences where all the contracts trade simultaneously until 3.10pm when the afternoon ring trading session follows the same procedure as the morning session. Kerb trading then lasts until 5.00pm but no official prices are issued after the afternoon session. From 5.00pm onwards trading returns to an inter-office basis and continues world wide through the night until focus returns to London in the early morning.

Floor trading in LMEX is only carried out during kerb sessions.

Although the US Dollar is the major currency for each contract, Sterling, Yen and the Euro are also accepted for clearing purposes. The Daily Official Exchange rates are announced after the morning ring session at the same time as the official prices for the metals contracts.

Futures:
Futures contracts are purchases or sales of goods for a specified delivery date in the future at prices established today. On the futures market the goods that underlie the contract are always at a specific stage of production. On the LME, this is at the semi-processed stage, where the raw material has been turned into an easily handled, non-perishable form such as ingots, cathodes, pellets etc. If the delivery of these goods take place, then the futures contract becomes a physical contract. In the main this does not happen. Futures contracts are usually cancelled out by an equal and opposite contract: buy/sell back. This is because futures trading is about price. Sometimes, it is solely about price, buying low/selling high, but usually it’s about price risk and the offsetting of risk by hedging.

The specified delivery date of a futures contract is referred to as the prompt date, by which time either the position must be closed or a delivery will take place. On the LME, the final trading day, the last day a position can be closed, is two days before the prompt date.

An important aspect of LME futures contracts is that, with the exception of the LMEX contract, they are not settled until the prompt date. They are not cash cleared. Initial margins and variation margins against risk exposure will be called during the term of a contract, but the value of a contract is not paid until delivery.

Options:
Option contracts give trade hedgers and investors a more flexible alternative to futures as a means of trading on the Exchange. When buying an options contract, the purchaser (taker) is not entering into a firm obligation. They are simply buying a choice of action. This choice allows the genuine trade hedger the opportunity of locking in a fixed price while maintaining the ability to abandon the option in order to take advantage of favourable price movements. This would be forfeited with a straight futures hedge.

The cost of purchasing the option is referred to as the premium and, unless the option is traded on, this is a write-off. It is not part of the value of the underlying futures contract. This means it is down to the user's perception of the market and the cost of the option as to whether they choose to use futures or options as their hedging medium.

Today, LME-traded option contracts are available against the underlying futures contracts for all LME metals as well as for LMEX.

LMEX:
London Metal Exchange index - is a base metals index comprising the six primary non-ferrous metals traded on the Exchange: aluminium, copper grade A, standard lead, primary nickel, tin and zinc.

The index, launched on 10 April 2000, tracks the performance of the underlying metal contracts traded on the world's premier non-ferrous base metals exchange against this initial evaluation of 1000 set on 4 January 1999.

LMEX futures and traded options contracts have been specifically designed to provide investors with easy access to the world's industrial metals market, without the physical delivery, storage and transaction costs associated with the underlying contracts.

As an exchange developed contract, LMEX offers transparency with the security of clearing, stability through regulation and a global trading structure that are the hallmarks of the London Metal Exchange.

TAPO Contracts:

London Metal Exchange Traded Average Price Options (TAPOs) for copper grade A, high grade primary aluminium, standard lead, primary nickel, special high grade zinc, aluminium alloy and tin are Exchange cleared contracts based on the LME Monthly Average Settlement Price (MASP).

Because many users in the industry price their physical material on the basis of the LME MASP, brokers developed off-Exchange average price option products, known as 'Asians' which quickly became popular, particularly with large producers. To meet this growing demand, the LME developed the TAPO contracts.

TAPO contracts complement existing LME futures and traded options contracts. Users of the market who trade basis the MASP will tend to use TAPO contracts. However, hedgers who trade using the LME's flexible daily prompt system will find futures or traded options more suitable hedging tools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Current Metal News Articles  FREE

Jul 30Copper bounces as spotlight falls on tight supplies(Reuters)

Jul 30Copper Rises in Asia on U.S. Economic Growth; Zinc, Aluminum Up (Bloomberg)

Jul 30LME Copper Rises on Stockpile Drop, `Tight’ Supply; Zinc, Tin Gain (Bloomberg)

Jul 29Codelco to Resume Production at Second-Largest Mine(Bloomberg)

Jul 26Metal Prices ’Will Stay Sky-High for Years’(Telegraph)

Jul 26Electricity surge to power aluminum prices(Reuters)

Jul 26Workers strike at Zambian Chambishi cobalt producer(Reuters)

Jul 24BHP Copper, Nickel, Iron Output Rises to Records (Bloomberg)

More Other News

 Dow Jones Metal Market Analysis (GMT)

Jul 3011:55DJ BASE METALS: Comex Copper Seen 2 Cents Lower At Pit Open

Jul 3010:23DJ BASE METALS: Avoiding Further Risk Reduction; Fresh Buys Seen

Jul 3007:52DJ BASE METALS: China Copper Futures Settle Up On Strong Demand

Jul 3007:10DJ BASE METALS:LME Metals Bounce As Asia s Equity Mkts Resilient

Today's Market Talk

 Dow Jones Metal News (GMT)

Jul 2923:39DJ WSJ(7/30) More Parts Producers Give Up On Auto Industry

Jul 2921:30DJ WSJA(7/30) US Activists Take Aim At Chinese Products

Jul 2716:19DJ European Minor Metals, Ferro-Alloys Spot Market Prices

Jul 2704:00DJ WSJ(7/27) A Big Backer Of Refco Sues

Jul 2702:47DJ FOCUS: LME Nickel Fall From Grace To Continue On Steel Cuts

Jul 2701:11DJ UPDATE: Codelco Confirms Teniente Copper Production Halted

Jul 2616:01DJ LME Zinc Seen At $4,000/Ton; Rally To Be Short-Lived-Analysts

Jul 2606:28DJ UPDATE:Crackdown Halts Southern China's Scrap Copper Imports

Jul 2515:00DJ IMF Lifts Forecasts For World Output, Commodity Prices

Jul 2514:10DJ U.S. Aluminum: Midwest Premium Steady In Range of 2.5-3 Cents

Jul 2513:42DJ 2nd UPDATE:Arcelor Mittal Plans $18B Invest In India Plants

Jul 2511:42DJ LME Lead Looks Vulnerable To A Correction Lower - Analysts

Jul 2413:36DJ UPDATE:U.S. Steel 2Q Net Down 25% On Flat-Rolled Weakness

Jul 2413:02DJ UPDATE: Ryerson Agrees To $1.06B Buyout By Platinum Equity

Jul 2410:30DJ Stainless Alloy Surcharge Seen Falling In August - Outokumpu

More Dow Jones Metal News

 

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UK Stocks Rise for First Time in 5 Days; ICI, BHP Pace Gains
Bloomberg - 3 hours ago
The benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 20.1, or 0.3 percent, to 6235.3 at 8:57 am in London. The FTSE All-Share Index gained 0.5 percent to 3225.28. ...
UK Stocks Rise for First Time in 5 Days; HSBC, ICI, BHP Gain Bloomberg
all 8 news articles »

Steel index biggest loser as Sensex melts
Economic Times, India - 27 Jul 2007
As the key index dropped by 541.74 points at 15234.57, the metal index plunged by 638.19 points at 11501.52 on aggressive selling by funds at almost all ...

Asian Stocks Rise, European Shares Fall; JFE Holdings Gain
Bloomberg - 1 hour ago
The Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index, a global benchmark, rose 0.1 percent to 1556.66 as of 11:25 am in London. US futures also advanced. ...
Stocks Fall in Europe, Rebound in Asia After Global Sell-off Bloomberg
all 11 news articles »

 

Metalprices.com produces current charts for LME Aluminum, Copper, Nickel, Tin, Lead, and Zinc prices, as well as COMEX Copper and Aluminum prices. Click the link below to see metal price charts:
Metal charts

Every metal on Metalprices.com has its own dedicated main page.  Copper  Aluminum, Nickel, Tin, Lead, & Zinc price pages are linked below.

COPPER  PRICES
LME, COMEX, and Shanghai Copper Prices - click the link below for copper prices, copper price charts and copper news.
Copper Prices & News

ALUMINUM PRICES
LME, COMEX, and Shanghai Aluminum Prices - click the link below for aluminum prices, aluminum price charts and aluminum news.
Aluminum Prices & News
NICKEL PRICES
LME Nickel prices - click the link below for Nickel prices, Nickel price charts and Nickel news.
Nickel Prices & News

TIN PRICES
LME Tin prices - click the link below for Tin prices, Tin price charts and Tin news.
Tin Prices & News

LEAD PRICES
LME Lead prices - click the link below for Lead prices, Lead price charts and Lead news.
Lead Prices & News

ZINC PRICES
LME Zinc  prices - click the link below for Zinc prices, Zinc price charts and Zinc news.
Zinc Prices & News

LIVE FEEDS
Subscribers have access to  LME Copper, Aluminum, Nickel, Tin, Lead, and Zinc, and NYMEX COMEX Copper and Aluminum prices in Real Time or 30 Minute delayed live feeds:
Metal Price Feeds
CURRENCIES
 LME Copper, Aluminum, Nickel, Tin, Lead, and Zinc, and NYMEX COMEX Copper and Aluminum prices can be viewed  in 40 different currencies as well as value per pound (LB), Kilogram (KG) and Metric Ton (MT)

A software for Capital gains TAx calculation & some tips

e-cgt Capital Gains Tax calculator

ANother calculator >> http://www.australianbiz.com.au/propertycgtcalculator.aspx

Another CGT calculator >>

Capital Gains Tax Calculator

What is e-cgt?

e-cgt is a free capital gains tax software package you download and install on your computer.

The software was designed for the Tax Office for use by individuals with capital gains and capital losses.

Non-individuals can use the program to calculate individual capital gains and capital losses but should not use the 'Application of choices' section.

The software:

• helps you to identify and gather the information needed to calculate a capital gain or capital loss
• provides you with a printout of the calculations and
• provides you with a printout of the information you have entered in a form suitable for record keeping purposes.

If you are an individual, e-cgt also calculates your net capital gain or loss for the year, or where choices are required, suggests a solution.

Installation of the downloadable capital gains tax (CGT) calculator

Minimum system requirements

Hardware

Pentium 133 MHz (or equivalent) or greater, with 32 Mb RAM or greater.

Minimum of 10MB free hard disk space.

Operating systems

The CGT calculator requires either:

• Windows 95 or higher
• Windows NT4 or higher.

Display

Super VGA 256 colour monitor supporting 800x600 screen resolution or greater is recommended.

Downloadable version of the capital gains tax calculator

The downloadable version of the capital gains tax calculator is not suitable for Apple Macintosh or other non-Windows operating systems (such as Linux), unless you are using Windows emulator software with one of the required Microsoft Windows versions.

Download the Capital gains tax calculator.

Instructions for downloading and installing the software.

Instructions for downloading and installing e-cgt 2001

Downloading

Click here to start the download of the installation program called 'ecgt-2001.exe'.

In the download box, select a drive or folder to save the program to. Please note where the program is being stored.

Note: The program may take up to 10 minutes to download, depending on your modem speed.

Installing

1. Locate the 'ecgt-2001.exe' program.
2. If you cannot locate the program, go to your task bar and select 'Start', 'Find', 'Files or Folders' and type 'ecgt-2001.exe'. You may need to check the 'subfolders' box.
3. Once you have located 'ecgt-2001.exe', double click on it to run the installation program.
4. Follow the instructions provided by the installation program. The default path for installation is C:\ecgt2001.
5. The software will now create a set of installation files on your computer as well as an e-cgt shortcut on your desktop.
6. When the software has been installed you can access ecgt by double clicking the 'e-cgt 2001' shortcut on your desktop. Alternatively you can select 'Start', 'Programs', 'e-tax 2001', and 'e-cgt 2001'.

SOme links from www.ato.gov.au

What is capital gains tax?

What is capital gains tax and what rate of tax do you pay?

Capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax you pay on any capital gain you make and include on your annual income tax return. There is no separate tax on capital gains, it is merely a component of your income tax. You are taxed on your net capital gain at your marginal tax rate.

Your net capital gain is:

your total capital gains for the year

minus

your total capital losses (including any net capital losses from previous years)

minus

any CGT discount and CGT small business concessions to which you are entitled.

You make a capital gain or capital loss if a CGT event happens. You can also make a capital gain if a managed fund or other trust distributes a capital gain to you.

For most CGT events, your capital gain is the difference between your capital proceeds and the cost base of your CGT asset – for example, if you received more for an asset than you paid for it. You make a capital loss if your reduced cost base is greater than your capital proceeds.

If your total capital losses for the year are more than your total capital gains, the difference is your net capital loss for the year. It can be carried forward to later income years to be deducted from future capital gains. You cannot deduct capital losses or a net capital loss from your income. There is no time limit on how long you can carry forward a net capital loss. You apply your net capital losses in the order that you make them.

Generally, you can disregard any capital gain or capital loss you make on an asset you acquired before 20 September 1985 (pre-CGT). For details of some other exemptions, see CGT Exemptions and rollovers.

There are special rules that apply when working out gains and losses from depreciating assets. To the extent that a depreciating asset is used for a taxable purpose (for example, in a business) any gain is treated as ordinary income and losses as deductions. A capital gain or capital loss may arise only to the extent that a depreciating asset has been used for a non-taxable purpose (for example, used privately). For details on the CGT treatment of depreciating assets, see CGT and depreciating assets.

Do you need to pay CGT?

To work out whether you have to pay tax on your capital gains, you need to know:

• whether a CGT event has happened
• the time of the CGT event
• how to calculate the capital gain or capital loss
• whether there is any exemption or rollover that allows you to reduce or disregard the capital gain or capital loss
• how to apply any capital losses
• whether the CGT discount applies, and
• whether you are entitled to any of the CGT concessions for small business.

What to read/do next

• What is a CGT event?
• What is a CGT asset?
• What are capital proceeds?
• What is the cost base?
• Acquiring CGT assets
• Exemptions and rollovers
• CGT and depreciating assets
• Calculating your capital gain or loss

Capital gains tax

Demergers calculator

This calculator helps shareholders work out the capital gains tax consequences under a demerger, including the Aviva, BHP Billiton, CSR, Sonic Healthcare, Mincor, Virtualplus, WMC and Mayne Health demergers.

Property exemption tool

If you had sole or joint ownership of a property that you sold or are going to sell (or otherwise dispose of), this tool will help you work out what portion of your capital gain is exempt from capital gains tax

An Eg.

If you are not using a trust fund, then generally your not being effective (unless you having money pouring out your ears and it doesn't matter). These things are the best tax value shifters in the Australian tax system. If you have kids, you can give them about $700 a year with no tax, + any other income can be given to your family (provided you are the specified individual) 2 generations up and down. Got a brother/sister that is a bum - all of a sudden they are your tax shelter. Just make sure you get them to sign over their credit beneficiary account balances to you though.......... Plus, you know the old $5000.00 franking credit rule - if you have 3 beneficiaries you will get 3 lots of the 5k franking credit rule. With this, you can dividend strip to your hearts content... In addition, if the trust is discretionary, you can also section of capital gains to one beneficiary (useful is someone has large unused capital losses).

AN Eg. 2

The capital gain(s) that you make on your share transactions become assessable income and should be included in your tax return. i.e. There is no fixed tax rate as such. For example, if you earn $5,000 (as a student working part-time) AND make net capital gains on shares of $5,000, then your assessable income is $10,000 - providing shares have been held for less than 12 months. If you have made a capital gain of $5,000 on shares held for more than 12 months, then you only need to report/include $2,500 of the capital gain as assessable income. Capital losses may be offset against capital gains, however, be careful when applying the 50% discount for gains made on shares held for more than 12 months.... you must apply the 50%discount to the losses that are offset against your gains in this situation.
Essentially your tax rate is simply your marginal tax rate - which as a student will generally be relatively low. Certainly not 50%.
Don't forget to include dividend income also... if these are fully franked you will find that this income works out to be tax free (or even better than tax free!) when applied against student marginal tax rates. i.e. The company has already paid tax at 30% which may be higher than your rate anyway! Hope this helps...

USeful links

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/36542.htm

Basic

Introduction to capital gains tax

Calculating your capital gain or loss

Real estate (including your home)

Shares and units

Keeping records

Where iss the Indian stock Market Heading

Sensex has just crossed 15000 mark n the long overdue correction cd set in anytime .Its risky out there n its ideal time to book profits

The BSE sensex hit an all time High on Friday the 7th of July crossing the 15000 mark.

This time the jubilations n celebrations were absent n response frm various investors quite muted.

Everyone is skeptical as to what course the sensex wd take frm here on n what returns one cd expect in the coming months.It has risen frm 3000 levels of 2003 to 15000 levels in 2007 giving a 5 fold return for investors who hang in there.

Going forwd,the returns at the max cd be only 20% per yr if u consider that sensex wd rise to 30000 in 5 yrs time.Thus the risk reward ratio is not very attractive.

gone r the days when u cd buy anything n still make a killing.Only very few sectors like capital goods,construction/realestate,telecom ,banks,oil-gas n steel hv participated in the current rally.Sectors like fmcg,consumer durables,auto,autio ancillary,cement,sugar,IT etc hv been

THE BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE

 

underperforming the Index or giving negative returns.

Going ahead, the ride wd not be very smooth-it cd turn out to be very volatile with stock specific actions.

In my opinion,Retail investors shd try n book profits in scrips which has given phenomenal returns n keep 50% of their portfolio in cash.

They shd immdtly exit frm penny stocks n bad scrips booking losses if need be.

They shd refraion frm falling for the temptation to buy into stocks based on tips n rumours as it cd prove to be deterimental in the short term.

For the short term, the mkt cd consolidate n steadily drift lower due to profit booking.A 1000-2000 pt correction cannot be ruled out n this wd give good opportunity for Investors sitting on cash to re-enter at lower levels.

Caution is the watchword for now as the guidance given by IT behemoths next week n rising crude prices coupled with global cues wd determine the short term direction of the mkt.

Investors should book profits n wait for correction to re-enter.

Alan Kohler IN his eureka report analyses some current Stocks !

Is it the top for stocks?

Is it the top for stocks? Not yet, but at the first sign of "buyer's panic" you can always sell into stupidity writes Alan Kohler, publisher of the Eureka Report.

In mid April 2007, the International Monetary Fund produced what Morgan Stanley's perennial bear, chief economist Steve Roach, described as "the single most optimistic official forecast I have ever seen for the global economy".

It was the IMF's twice-yearly World Economic Outlook (see link below), the centrepiece of which was a forecast that the global economy would grow by 4.9% in each of the next two years after four years of actually growing by an average of 4.9% a year.

In the modern era of the world economy (that is, after the end of Bretton Woods monetary system in the early 1970s following the US balance of payments crisis and collapse of the dollar) there has never been a six-year period of such strong economic growth.

The only four-year period that has exceeded the past four was 1970 to 1973 (world GDP growth 5.4% pa), and that was followed promptly by a global recession sparked by the 1972 oil shock. The IMF is now forecasting another two years of the same, an extraordinarily optimistic outlook.

The IMF's economic counsellor and research chief, Simon Johnson, is not some sparkling toothed private equity fund salesman. He and the very large team of economists at the IMF have a record of conservatism and, if anything, of getting it wrong on the downside.

Their global GDP forecasts come from "bottom up" work on each country; that is, the IMF economic research department makes detailed forecasts of each country then adds them up and adjusts for risk, to oversimplify the process.

So what are we to make of this? And how should it affect our investing?

I have no reason to doubt the IMF's forecasts, although it is worth dwelling on the two main risks to this scenario highlighted by the IMF's economists: the US housing downturn; and the risk of protectionism, especially from US Congress (I'll do that below).

I feel secure being fully invested, with about half my share portfolio in good resource stocks and the rest in low private equity (at least they were when I bought them!) industrials. But I'm worried about the rest of this year – and not for the reason you might think.

I'm worried the market will disconnect from reality and take off.

Euphoria

The euphoria brigade doesn't need a lot of encouragement, and right now they're getting it from the official source. In fact the IMF's growth forecast is slightly higher than what is being discounted by financial markets at present.

That's not surprising. Valuations are not euphoric at present: the forward price/earnings multiple of the Australian market is 17 times and for the resources sector it's 11 times. These are not the sort of valuations that assume the four-year boom will become a six-year boom, as the IMF suggests.

To be clear about it: the IMF outlook confirms to me that the stockmarket is not euphoric at present and that the conditions are not in place for even a short bear market. It is not a time to sell good stocks (it is always the right time to get rid of bad ones) and I think you can still buy well-priced, well-run companies with confidence.

Corrections of up to 10% are a normal part of bull market life. We thought the one that started in late February would be a 10% but it wasn't – only 6.5%, all of which has already been recovered.

That means the 10% reversal is still to come and if we have another "up 7%" month like March, that correction will be more certain, more severe and less relevant (a 10% correction after a 7% up-month is obviously net –3%.

In fact, there is no reason to think the stockmarket will finish the second quarter of 2007 down for the year. It closed the first quarter up 9%, which should not be repeated in the second – but nor should it be lost, given the strength of corporate profits and the economy, as well as the cash inflow from takeovers and superannuation.

Which brings me back to the "risk that dare not speak its name" – that the market will actually go nuts and take off, that investors will really become euphoric about the combination of liquidity and economic conditions.

That's been made a little more likely by last week's IMF outlook and the four big takeovers going on at present: Coles, Qantas, Rinker and Alinta. These three transactions alone will put more than $50 billion in the hands of investors. In addition to that is the normal flood of superannuation money.

It is quite conceivable we will see a buying panic over the next few months as fund managers attempt to place this money.

Consequences

This might sound like a splendid prospect, but it's not. If average P/E valuations get above 20 times, as they have before other crashes, investing will become difficult and dangerous. There will be very little to buy; more of you will be inclined to let go of discipline and go with the flow, with disastrous consequences.

Charlie Aitken already thinks we are at or close to that point, but I fear we ain't seen nothin' yet.

Leaving aside the risk of a market spike and crash, as a result of the combination of the IMF boom forecast and massive liquidity, there are two more fundamental risks identified by the IMF in its report in mid April..

They are: the risk of a severe US downturn and the risks inherent in growing protectionism in the US, against China.

To boil down two 40-page chapters, the IMF basically says a serious spill over from the US housing downturn into a cutback in consumption expenditure would have a significant effect on the global economy, but in the end discounts this, saying that American consumers are likely to keep spending.

On protectionism versus globalisation, the IMF spells out in detail the declining share of labour income in the developed world, which is behind the push in the US for tariffs – down 8 percentage points of developed world GDP since the early 1980s – but in the end Simon Johnson and his team reject the idea that this will lead to a renewal of the sort of protectionism that led to the Great Depression.

The International Monetary Fund – a creature of globalisation – would say that, but I agree. However, either you believe in robust globalisation and free trade or you don't; if you think it's fragile, and able to be subverted by American and European agrarian socialists, then you will think the strength of the boom in the developing world, led by China, is also fragile.

I'm a bit more worried about American consumers than that, but I think that if the US housing bust was going to feed into a consumer spending retrenchment we would have seen more signs of it by now.

In my view the struggles in the housing and automotive sectors in the US will continue to put a cap on US growth but not produce a recession. In that case I am happy to believe the IMF's forecasts and to remain fully invested in stocks that are exposed to the world.

My only concern is that with all the money around they will get stupidly expensive, in which case I will stop buying for a while, and sell into stupidity.

                             WEEKLY REPORT FOR  AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

20 Jul 2007

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Should we be worried by the tightening credit conditions in the US? Yes, but not too concerned, yet. It should be monitored but so far it's the top end of the market where the big boys play where the strains are being felt. But it does have the potential to spread across economies. We in Australia might be saved by China, which booms and booms.

This Week's Contents Credit Chill Grows Slowly but surely a credit crunch is creeping across capital markets. It's not a squeeze, more a constriction, not yet threatening, but it could end that way. The spiralling collapse in America's subprime mortgage market and associated credit derivatives is the catalyst ... read more China Booms And Booms When does an economy reach the overheating stage? In a developed world economy like Australia, it would be an annual growth rate  above five per cent, or maybe six per cent consistently for at least half a year, perhaps nine months. In real terms, meaning a nominal figure ... read more MBL Upbeat By the end of the day yesterday, some of the early enthusiasm for Macquarie Bank shares had been extinguished. The early strength on the bullish pre-annual meeting statement by CEO, Allan Moss, and chairman, David Clarke, drove the shares up $1.62 to a day's high of $92.48 ... read more WPL Does Well Unlike 2006 and its surprises, 2007 seems to be a much smoother year for the country's second ranking oil and gas group, Woodside Petroleum. Even though earnings last year were solid, they could have been better with production problems on the Northwest Shelf and in West ... read more Don't Worry When The Election Comes There's a Federal election looming: later, rather than sooner, judging by the poor polls for the Howard Government. Normally, some people worry that the poll will be a disruption to the stockmarket, interest rates and the economy generally. But Dr Shane Oliver, the head ... read more Rio Churns Out The Tonnes Rio Tinto is probably looking at higher earnings after revealing that iron ore production rose to record levels to meet strong demand from steelmakers, especially in China. As well, higher production of refined copper and gold from the Grasberg Mine in West Papua puts ... read more Oxiana, Everybody's Target The huge takeover made by Rio Tinto for Alcan re-rated several takeover candidates among Australia's major miners, with the likes of Zinifex and Oxiana being top of the table in the eyes of many analysts, either merging or as separate targets. Both are, like Iluka and ... read more $A Bites Iluka Yesterday, the Australian dollar was trading around 18-year highs for the second time so far this week, and you can imagine the pain and horror many mining companies feel as they watch the currency appreciate. All miners are going to feel the pain of a rise in the dollar ... read more Retailers Boom More good news from major retailer, David Jones, with shareholders told of better than expected sales and earnings in the fourth quarter, second half and for the full year. On Tuesday, David Jones revealed the last two candidates on its short list for the preferred issuer ... read more Santos Loves LNG Santos is not letting grass grow near any of its plans. The company is a hive of activity, no doubt stimulated by the impending completion of the review of the 15 per cent ownership cap by the South Australian Government. Earlier this week, it confirmed the completion ... read more Deals, Deals, Deals Some of the corporate activity in the Australian mining sector is starting to resemble a soap opera with multiple plays, partners and companies popping up in different circumstances. There's the old fashioned 'knockout bid' for Alcan by Rio which resembled a melodrama ... read more Boom Goes Flat Boom Logistics hasn't lived up to the first part of its name. The shares tanked yesterday, dropping by around 10 per cent on a profit downgrade that shouldn't have really come as all that surprising. The downgrade was confirmation of a warning issued in early April that ... read more US Bonds Once again the US bond market is signalling that investors are seeking quality amid a drift to uncertainty, and despite the optimism of Wall Street. Last Friday, with retail sales a little better than expected and once the numbers were dissected, the yield on the 10-year ... read more Who Will Be DJ's Credit Card? And now there are two, as retailer David Jones eliminates the fringe candidates on its beauty parade of potential issuing partners for its new branded credit card. The retailer said that Citigroup and American Express were the two final candidates for the face-off, with ... read more ERA Still All Rained Out There's been no improvement for uranium miner, Energy Resources of Australia, whose Northern Territory mining operations have been strangled by flooding since February-March, and look like continuing that way until next year. The company said in its second quarterly ... read more UBS Fund Downgraded Swiss-owned fund manager, UBS, has paid dearly for the loss of high profile manager, Paul Fiani, and some of his workmates at its flagship Australian Share Fund, over the last few months. The loss of Fiani and other managers in recent months has been behind Standard & ... read more DJW Rides The Market Djerriwarrh Investments, another of the investment companies associated with Goldman Sachs JBWere, has lifted net operating profit (excluding capital gains) 42.5 per cent to $54.9 million in the year to June. The company said yesterday that net profit (including realised ... read more Aussie Up Again Another strong day for the Australian and New Zealand dollars (see below for a report on the Kiwi), but for differing reasons. The currency closed in Sydney at 87.30 US and the Trade Weighted Index was at an all time high of 70.1. It hit a high in overseas trading of ... read more Kiwi Inflation Jumps Meanwhile, stronger than expected inflation figures across the Tasman got the market in a tizzy yesterday and sent the Kiwi dollar to a new 22 year high. A week ago it was a 12.6 per cent rise in house prices in May, yesterday it was the strong rise in inflation. Now ... read more Santos Confirms US Sale Santos continues to clean itself up as the South Australian Government ruminates about whether to lift the 15 per cent shareholding cap on the company. The oil and gas producer revealed yesterday that it has entered into agreements to sell its exploration and production ... read more Aussie's New Surge The Australian dollar climbed over 87 US cents in US markets Friday night, so you can bet on the impact of the currency becoming an issue as we head towards the start of the 2007 annual results season early next month. The currency ended at 86.12 USc, after reaching above ... read more Commodities: Sugar On The Up Far from the mid-year slump forecast in March and April, sugar is on the way up. For how long, no one is prepared to say. Some analysts are saying 11 to 12 USc/lb in the next couple of month, but then other analysts were forecasting a price around 8 USc/lb for July in ... read more RIO Calms Markets Investors around the world have a lot to thank Rio Tinto for. The $A44 billion bid for Alcan, which looks like succeeding, changed sentiment in stock and credit markets late last week. The gloom flowing from the dodgy subprime lending and the financial derivatives supporting ... read more RIO Sells Its Alcan Bid Rio Tinto has flagged that it is looking at selling some of its business units after it completed the $US38.1 ($44 billion) billion acquisition of Alcan. Naturally, that's created some speculation that operations like diamonds may go, and even the industrial minerals ... read more DIARY Inflation and the US economy will be to the fore this week with the head of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, giving his half year, two days of testimony to the US Congress, the release of the producer and consumer price indexes, and an update on the state of the US housing ... read more

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you know might be interested in reading our magazine as well. Subscribers should take note that the purpose of this electronic message is for general information only - the occasional mentioning of experts' opinions, conclusions and recommendations are solely for news covering and general information purposes. All information, data, analysis, interpretations and comments, both in this message as in our weekly magazine and our electronic archive, are based on information available at the time of publishing and are believed to be reliable and accurate. Investors should take note of the fact that AIR is being produced by a team of journalists who do not give financial advice. Investors should obtain independent advice before making any decisions based upon any information or material contained or referred to in this message, the weekly AIR magazine or on the AIR website, including in particular any investment in any financial product. .

© Australasian Investment Review 2007

---

Movie session times on Messenger. Add Movie Scout today!

Housing Solutions

Now more than ever the dream is just that ... for first home buyers especially, property prices are soaring out of reach. So, is it time for Australia to bite the bullet...introduce home loans that your grandkids will be paying off? Make taxpayers subsidise interest payments?Get over the idea of owning a home alone, but share it, with another family, or even a bank...or the government?

James and Kirsty are pretty typical of young couples their age - trying to scrape together enough money as they can to buy a house - but it's getting tougher by the minute. "Looking to spend about 350 which is still an astronomical amount of money to us want a house 3 bedrooms one bathroom just the bare minimum but doesn't look feasible at the moment" and James and Kirsty are far from being alone - the Perth market is swamped with people searching for their first home.

Shane Kempton from real estate agents Harcourts believes first home buyers need to look outside the square if they want to buy... it might also mean help from parents. "Most of the population would be asset rich with the amount of growth that they've had over a couple of years that would then give them the asset base to help their children buy a home it then comes down to cash flow and availability of extra funds to fund that side of the mortgage"

Another possible solution is buying a house with another couple and sharing the cost of the mortgage.. but it comes with a warning. "They need to treat it like a business transaction have definite exit strategies and entry strategies and all those sorts of things which you would need to get good advice from an accountant we can also help steer them in the right direction as far as that advice goes"

A less risky way of sharing the cost is shared equity loans - the state government is offering shared equity on property, already almost 1500 people have applied, but it only operates for properties under $365,000 which in today's market is almost none... some banks are now looking at similar schemes.

W.A senator Alan Eggleston has some radical ideas - among them making interest tax deductible for all home owners. "In the united states interestingly home loan interest is tax deductible and I think that would make a big difference if that was brought in Australia"

Longer loans could also be an option - currently most mortgages are for 25 or 30 years - Alan Eggleston says maybe we need to double it. "Very long mortgages as they have in Germany where a mortgage might last 60 years means the repayments are lower but the total cost is greater but it still makes owning a house more affordable"

Here's how the monthly repayments on 400 thousand dollar loan look -

At 25 years its' $3,105 - 40 years $2,802 and for 60 years you'd only have to pay $2,711 a month - but here's the big catch

Your total repayment balloons - from 931 thousand at 25 years to 1.6 million over 60

But a long mortgage need not be a debt for life - it could be just the thing to get you into the market and allow you to refinance later when your finances improve.. other ways to increase your borrowing capacity is to cut up the plastic or at least reduce your credit limit - banks view credit card limits as a loan whether you owe anything on it or not.

James and Kristy are both working two jobs and have chosen to live with James' parents to save on rent - it's a good decision especially with Perth's rental market expected to rise even further to rival Sydney's.

John Edwards from real estate forecasters Residex says even though Perth tenants are feeling the pinch - it's going to get worse before it gets better - "the market in Perth will rise simply because unless it does investors won't be attracted into it to purchase property there's going to be a supply shortage all round there's currently a supply shortage in both the purchase area"

While that might be good news for landlords and investors it's cold comfort for anyone trying to enter the property market - "its disheartening it's like a kick in the head we just don't feel like we're getting any closer"

http://www.cannex.com.au/ - information on shared equity loans

http://www.ratecity.com.au/ - compare loans

"Learn from the experts"

If you're serious about investing in property then you cannot afford to miss the inaugural Perth PropertyPLUS property SUMMIT

This property seminar, hosted by Channel Seven's Jeff Newman will be held at the Octagon Theatre UWA at 2pm on Saturday April 21st
The UWA is associated with academic excellence in Western Australia and provides the perfect backdrop for this premium property event

	The line up for the afternoon features a keynote address from our state housing and works minister Michelle Roberts MLA. The minister will outline the government's position on housing affordability and provide information on government initiatives for first home buyers.
	Nigel Satterley from the Satterley Group will focus on prevailing market conditions and his forecast for the future. His address will also cover the hot political issue of housing affordability, forecasts on land, adapting to climate change, and how future communities will be built

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Ross North Group

Roy Weston

Satterley Group

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Since the conception of the Ross North Group over 25 years ago, we have placed the upmost importance on quality. This extends from the materials and craftspeople we use, to our staff. This in turn ensures that your home will be finished to the highest standards and that the level of support you receive during the planning and building process wil be second to none.

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The proud and parochial Roy Weston history extends back to 1957 when the founder, Mr Roy Weston, first established a real estate business with the foresight to become an innovative, professional and reputable West Australian icon. This pride, history and achievement is now enhanced by the international strength of the Harcourts Group, originally established in New Zealand in 1888. Together we bring a new level of real estate practice to the people of Western Australia , with the resources, training and commitment to create an experience which exceeds your expectations!

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Satterley Property Group provides the full range of property services from land development and project management to real estate sales and leasing. The real estate sales and leasing departments are located at 72 Angelo Street, South Perth, Western Australia. Land development and land sales departments are at the company's head office - 18 Bowman Street, South Perth, Western Australia.

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1

Top 200: Movers and Shakers

Top 10

ASX Code Company Name Market Cap JUNE

($m)

Last week's

price ($)

This week's

price ($)

Change

(%)

1 MCC MacArthur Coal 556.2 5.90 6.80 15.3

2 QGC Queensland Gas 1192.2 2.43 2.75 13.2

3 ERA Energy Resources 1354.1 18.65 20.89 12.0

4 SMY Sally Malay Mining 770.9 3.95 4.36 10.4

5 ILU Iluka Resources 1429.8 5.72 6.29 10.0

6 MMG Macquarie Media 762.9 4.40 4.82 9.5

7 CGF Challenger F.S.G.Ltd 2541.8 5.66 6.16 8.8

8 PDN Paladin Resources 5600.3 8.30 9.03 8.8

9 CSM Consolidated Mineral 555.3 2.63 2.84 8.0

10 SDG Sunland Group Ltd 578.8 3.80 4.08 7.4

Bottom 10

ASX Code Company Name Market Cap

($m)

Last week's

price ($)

This week's

price ($)

Change

(%)

201 IGO Independence Group 806.5 7.90 7.05 -10.8

200 TEN Ten Network Holdings 931.0 3.10 2.83 -8.7

199 BEN Bendigo Bank Limited 2277.6 16.48 15.41 -6.5

198 BDG Bendigo Mining Ltd 153.6 0.33 0.31 -6.1

197 BXB Brambles Limited 17638.4 12.55 11.85 -5.6

196 CTX Caltex Australia 3780.0 26.49 25.10 -5.2

195 SIP Sigma Pharmaceutical 1951.4 2.32 2.20 -5.2

194 CMR Compass Resources NL 480.3 4.94 4.70 -4.9

193 KCN Kingsgate Consolid. 450.7 5.72 5.48 -4.2

192 GNS Gunns Limited 1129.0 3.39 3.26 -3.8

Produced by Commonwealth Research based on information available at the time of publishing. We believe that the information in this report is correct and any opinions, conclusions

or recommendations are reasonably held or made as at the time of its compilation, but no warranty is made as to accuracy, reliability or completeness. To the extent permitted by law,

neither Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 nor any of its subsidiaries accept liability to any person for loss or damage arising from the use of this report.

The report has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. For this reason, any individual should, before acting on

the information in this report, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to the individual's objectives, financial situation and needs and, if necessary, seek

appropriate professional advice. In the case of certain securities CBA is or may be the only market maker.

This report is approved and distributed in Australia by Commonwealth Securities Limited ABN 60 067 254 399 a wholly owned but not guaranteed subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank

of Australia. This report is approved and distributed in the UK by Commonwealth Bank of Australia incorporated in Australia with limited liability. Registered in England No. BR250

and regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). This report does not purport to be a complete statement or summary. For the purpose of the FSA rules, this report

and related services are not intended for private customers and are not available to them.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and its subsidiaries have effected or may effect transactions for their own account in any investments or related investments referred to in this

report.

2

Point of view – Macquarie Airports Group and All Ordinaries

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

22-Jun-06 22-Oct-06 22-Feb-07 22-Jun-07

Percentage change

XAO MAP

All securities adjusted to a common base.

Macquarie Airports Group: Premium prices received, premium stock

At the beginning of this week Macquarie Airports (MAp) announced it had reached conditional agreement to dispose

its 34.2% stake in Aeroporti di Roma (AdR), Rome Airport. MAp, through its direct and indirect interests, has agreed to

dispose of its stake for €946m. MAp acquired its interest in AdR for €480m in March 2003.

CommSec estimates the total proceeds from the sale of Rome airport as well as Birmingham airport, which MAp

announced earlier this year would be sold, will be $1.83b. These values are at significantly higher premiums to MAp's

book values as at 31 December ⎯ 78% for Rome and 58% for Birmingham.

Importantly the sale prices achieved signal a step change in the value of MAp's other assets. MAp will review its

remaining asset values (for Sydney, Copenhagen, Brussels and Bristol airports) at 30 June. There may therefore be

further share price valuation upside with pending revaluation of MAp's remaining assets.

MAp is well placed financially to distribute surplus cash through buy backs or other means or to make further

acquisitions.

It has previously indicated French regional airports are likely to be the next airports privatised and to be potential

acquisition targets. French regional airports are currently owned by the national government. The national government

is in the process of vesting 20% of its stakes to local authorities and 20% to local chambers of commerce. The

remaining 60% will then be sold down, most likely in a two-stage sell down.

MAp has confirmed preliminary distribution guidance for the year to December 2007 of 26 cents per stapled security.

MAp will continue to adhere to its policy to distribute at least 100% of its operating earnings.

In terms of a buyback there are some current regulatory limitations being reviewed by the Australian Securities and

investments Commission. A decision is expected in August/September. This should co-incide with receipt of cash from

the airport sales and MAp can then determine its approach.

Cassandra Meagher

Senior Industrials Analyst

3

Australian market wrap

Sector

S&P/ASX200

Index

Weight

View Comment

Consumer

Discretionary 5.8% Overweight Recent Budget was mildly positive for retailers, childcare centre

operators. Some media consolidation still possible.

Consumer

Staples 6.4% Indexweight Coles still in play. The Budget was mildly positive for consumer

stocks. But the sector is well priced.

Energy 5.1% Indexweight Upside risks remain for oil prices, especially refined products.

Financials 32.0% Indexweight Risk of rate hike remains, despite good inflation data. Housing

market to begin modest recovery later in 2007.

Health Care 2.7% - -

Industrials 9.8% Indexweight Mixed prospects. Valuations stretched in a number of areas but

construction and mining-focussed areas retain solid outlook.

Information

Technology 0.6% - -

Materials 21.3% Overweight

Building material stocks supported by record engineering work

and prospects for housing recovery. Mining stocks underpinned

by strong global demand, low inventories.

Real Estate 10.4% Negative Sector is expensive and offers a relatively low dividend yield

premium compared to historical average

Telecommunicatio

n Services 3.7% Indexweight Outlook dependent on 3G take-up and trends in margins.

Utilities 2.2% Underweight Interest buoyed by merger & acquisition activity. But investors

still adopting growth, rather than defensive posture

Market summary

The Australian sharemarket ended the day with mixed results across sectors. Caltex (CTX) fell on disappointing margins,

while banking stocks fell after regional lender Bendigo Bank (BEN) rejected a bid from a rival. The All Ordinaries fell by a

minor 2.6pts to end the week at 6409.3pts.

BHP Billiton (BHP) announced earlier in the week that coal exports at its Newcastle port were almost back to capacity

following the recent storms. There were rumours that BHP had hired Merrill Lynch & Co to explore the possibility of taking over

aluminium producers Alcoa Inc. or Alcan Inc. BHP ended the week up slightly by 0.8% at $35.39.

On Monday Rio Tinto (RIO) became the first Australian company to hit the $100 mark. RIO has finished up only short of the

mark at $98.90.

Murchison Metals (MMX) made a positive gain early in the week after announcing that it was joining forces with Japan's

Mitsubishi in a $3 billion deal to develop iron ore in Western Australia. However, MMX has declined by 2.2% to end at $5.72.

Ten Network (TEN) has had a very eventful week. Shares were placed in a trading halt on Monday at $2.97. They

subsequently came back online on Tuesday, after its parent company CanWest Global decided to abandon the sale of its

controlling stake in the TV station. On Wednesday TEN posted a 20.0% rise in earnings for the third quarter of the year, but

announced that profits for the year-to-date were lower. TEN has closed the week up 0.71% at $2.83.

Multiplex (MXG) won a $715 million contract in Dubai to build an 80 storey hotel for Emirates Airlines. MXG risen 0.2% to end

the week at $5.05.

Coles Group (CGJ) shares suffered as a result of rumours that its sales process has all but collapsed. Investors remain

cautious that Wesfarmers (WES) is now the only remaining contender for CGJ – despite reassurances to the market that the

private equity group led by Texas Pacific Group is still interested. CGJ finished 0.12% lower at $16.53, and WES has declined

by 1.96% to $44.01.

Within the banking sector, Bendigo Bank's shares (BEN) fell after the regional lender rejected a second takeover offer by rival

Bank of Queensland Ltd. The bank's shares declined 5.7% to $15.43, which was close to their biggest one- day drop in almost

six years.

Caltex (CTX) has recorded it largest decline in more than five years, after forecasting a smaller than expected gain in first-half

profit. CTX fell by a phenomenal 9.6% to $25.40.

4

Economic signposts

Economic forecasts

2004/05

(actual)

2005/06

(actual)

2006/07

(forecast)

2007/08

(forecast)

Economic growth (ann %) 2.6 2.7 2.8 3.5

Inflation (CPI, ann %) 2.4 3.2 2.3 2.5

Unemployment rate (end June %) 5.0 4.9 4.3 4.0

Current

(June 15 2007)

End Jun

(forecast)

End Sep

(forecast)

End Dec

(forecast)

90 day bills (%) 6.42 6.42 6.35 6.35

10 year bonds (%) 6.27 6.35 6.25 6.10

AUD/USD 0.8485 0.8200 0.7900 0.7800

All Ordinaries index 6409.3 6450 6500 6700

Commentary

The Reserve Bank has recently shifted its focus to supply-side issues such as the migrant-driven boost in population

growth rather than traditional demand-side indicators like consumer spending. So it is appropriate that the major

statistical release in the coming week is the first tranche of Census figures. Results from the 2006 Census will be

released on Wednesday. Also in the coming week, ABARE will release its latest commodity forecasts on Monday, with

new home sales data on Tuesday, job vacancies figures on Thursday while private sector credit (or lending) data is

issued on Friday.

The economic calendar is far busier in the US, with the Federal Reserve interest rate decision the highlight on Thursday

(Friday morning, Sydney time). The other items of interest include existing home sales on Monday and consumer

confidence and new home sales on Tuesday. On Wednesday durable good orders data is released with final GDP

estimates on Thursday and personal income/spending figures on Friday.

The Australian Census data is important for a number of reasons, but a key factor being because the data is

comprehensive. Most data like employment and retail spending is survey-based, meaning that the results won't be

totally accurate. But you can't fault the accuracy of the Census.

And because the data is so comprehensive, it has value in getting accurate assessments of housing and infrastructure

demands, income levels, and checking the accuracy on retail spending and employment trends. It is already apparent

that the Bureau of Statistics has substantially under-estimated the size and growth of Australia's population, helping to

explain – among other things – why the rental market has been so tight.

Of the other data released in the coming week, the figures on job vacancies will merely confirm the strength of the job

market. And private sector credit probably rose by 1.1 per cent in May or 14.3 per cent annual with business lending

continuing to grow near the fastest rate seen in the past 16 years.

In the US, the spotlight will be on the two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee. At the last

meeting, the FOMC said that the economy was likely to expand at a moderate pace but noted that the principal risk was

that inflation may not ease as expected. These judgments are unlikely to radically change although the FOMC may be a

little more upbeat about inflation in light of recent data. Still, the bottom line is that interest rates are on hold and are

likely to remain that way over most of 2007.

The other indicators of most interest in the coming week will be the data on house sales, released over Monday and

Tuesday and the inflation component of Friday's personal income release. While sales of existing homes probably

remained near three-year lows in May, new home sales probably came back to earth after the huge 16 per cent rise in

April. Overall, the weak housing market will remain in the spotlight for the remainder of the year.

There should be better news on inflation in the US. If the core consumption deflator rose just 0.1 per cent as expected,

the annual rate will fall into the top end of the Fed's unstated comfort band of 1-2 per cent.

Craig James

Chief Equities Economist

5

Corporate and economic calendar – week beginning 24 June 2007

Coming week's economic news

Australia International

27 June Census release 25 June US Existing home sales (May)

29 June Private sector credit (May) 26 June US New home sales (May)

27 June US Durable good orders (May)

27/28 June US FOMC meeting

29 June US Personal income (May)

Ex-dividend dates

Date Description Security Div Amt -

cents Date Description Security Div Amt

- cents

25 June Aurora Buy-Write ABW 70 25 June Kresta Holdings KRS 1

25 June Australian Education AEU 3.7 25 June ALE Property Group LEP 16.8

25 June Australian Hotel AHO 2.1 25 June MAFCA 1.153

25 June Australian Infrastr. AIX 8 25 June Macquarie Airports MAP 13

25 June Australand Property ALZ 4 25 June Macquarie Communica. MCG 21

25 June Aurora Sandringham AOD 37 25 June Macquarie Countrywid MCW 7.8

25 June Aspen Group APZ 3.5 25 June Macquarie DDR Trust MDT 2.5

25 June Allco Max Securities AXQ 1.425 25 June MFS Diversified MFT 2.25

25 June Australian Enhanced AYF 18 25 June Deferred MFTN 2.25

25 June Units $1 Paid $1Unpd AYTCA 5.91 25 June Macquarie Goodman. MGQ 7.875

25 June Babcock & Brown Infr BBI 7.25 25 June Mirvac Group MGR 7.975

25 June Babcock & Brown Pwr BBP 14 25 June Macquarie Infra. MIG 10

25 June Babcock & Brown Wind BBW 6.25 25 June Mariner Pipeline MIT 6.06

25 June Babcock & Brown BJT 6.15 25 June Mirvac Industrial MIX 4.875

25 June Babcock & Brown Res. BLP 3.75 25 June Macquarie Leisure MLE 9.1

25 June Bass Strait Oil BSO 19.3292 25 June Macquarie Media MMG 24.5

25 June Bunnings Warehouse BWP 6.47 25 June Macquarie Office MOF 2.8

25 June Commonwealth Divers. CDF 16.26 25 June Multiplex Acumen MPF 2.7

25 June Challenger Div.Pro. CDI 3.88 25 June Macquarie Private MPG 2

25 June Carindale Property CDP 12.5 25 June Macquarie ProLogis MPR 2

25 June Centro Retail Group CER 6.4 25 June MacarthurCook Prop. MPS 0

25 June CFS Retail Property CFX 5.9 25 June Mariner American MRA 2.32

25 June New CFXN 3.98 25 June Mirvac Real Estate MRZ 2.575

25 June Charter Hall Group CHC 5.23 25 June Mirvac Real Estate MRZ 1

25 June Challenger Infrast. CIF 17.7 25 June Metcash Limited MTS 10

25 June Cheviot Kirribilly CKP 7 25 June Multiplex Group MXG 10

25 June $1.50 Pd, 50C Unpaid CKTCA 1.42 25 June Anz Rabinov Pr Trust RAB 5.4

25 June Cromwell Group CMW 2.25 25 June Rubicon America RAT 2.845

25 June Centro Properties CNP 20.5 25 June Reef Casino Trust RCT 15.5

25 June Commonwealth Prop CPA 4.87 25 June Rubicon Europe Trust REU 2.575

25 June Centro Shopping CSF 5.09 25 June Rubicon Japan RJT 4.26

25 June Challenger Winetrust CWT 2.285 25 June Reckson New York RNY 4.35

25 June DB RREEF Trust DRT 5.7 25 June Spdr 50 Fund SFY 0

6

Date Description Security Div Amt -

cents Date Description Security Div Amt

- cents

25 June Duet Group DUE 12.5 25 June Stockland SGP 22.8

25 June Eb&B Alt.Inves.Trust EBI 20.3 25 June Stapled New SGPN 15.2

25 June European Investors EIG 2.1936 25 June Spdr S&P/ASX Prop Fu SLF 0

25 June Esplanade Property EPF 0.4 25 June Spdr 200 Fund STW 0

25 June FKP Property Group FKP 16.5 25 June Trinity Group TCQ 6

25 June Galileo Japan Trust GJT 3.95 25 June Trafalgar Corporate TGP 15.4

25 June Hastings Diversified HDF 6.65 25 June Tishman Speyer TSO 8.5

25 June Hastings High Yield HHY 4.2 25 June Van Eyk Blueprint VBP 35

25 June ING Real Estate Ente IEF 4.85 25 June Viridis Clean VIR 4.9

25 June ING Real Estate IHF 4.2 25 June Valad Property Group VPG 5.67

25 June ING Industrial Fund IIF 4.35 25 June WOTCA 0.97

25 June ING Re Com Group ILF 2.675 26 June Aberdeen Leaders ALR 3.75

25 June ING Office Fund IOF 2.675 26 June Ramelius Resources RMS 0.5

25 June Investa Property IPG 8 26 June Deferred Ex Option RMSN 0.5

25 June International Wine IWI 10

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Direct service A dedicated administration team will service CommSec SMSF Manager funds.

Focus on investing, not administration Leave us to do the bulk of important but less interesting administration work, while

you enjoy choosing the best possible investments for your fund.

Expertise at your fingertips We'll provide an auditor if you need one, or you can use your own auditor or

accountant**. The choice is yours.

* Other fees and charges may apply. An additional service fee may apply in a number of instances such as complex/neglected funds, properties with

complex tenancy arrangements and services outside the normal administration functions. If there are any changes in fees CommSec will notify you

seven business days before the price change takes place.

** The fee for a CommSec-provided auditor is $495 per annum. If you choose to have your own auditor or accountant to audit we will charge you

$110 to prepare your audit working papers.

7

Join now for an exclusive offer

Join up with CommSec SMSF Manager before 30 June 2007 and enjoy the following exclusive offer:

• We'll waive your establishment fee and quarterly administration fee — giving you a saving of $907.50.*

• We'll give you two research subscriptions — Alan Kohler's Eureka Report and Aegis Equities Research — free of

charge.

Alan Kohler's Eureka Report is an online publication for investors in self-managed super funds, property; retail managed

funds, direct shares and fixed interest securities. The annual subscription fee is $295 rrp. If you join up before 30 June

2007 we will provide it to you for free for the next financial year.

Aegis Equities Research is Australia's first equities research firm, established to provide incisive equities analysis to

fund managers, stockbrokers, financial planners and retail investors. The annual fee for Aegis Equities Research is

normally $499. Those who join up with CommSec SMSF Manager before 30 June 2007 will receive Aegis Research

material free through the CommSec website and CommSec Professional Trader 2, until the end of February 2008.

Conditions Apply. **

Find out more

To find out more information about CommSec SMSF Manager, visit funds.commsec.com.au/smsf or call 13 15 20

between 8 am and 5 pm (Sydney time), Monday to Friday.

Important information

Commonwealth Securities Limited ABN 60 067 254 399 AFSL 238814 (CommSec) is a wholly owned but non-guaranteed subsidiary of the

Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL 234945 and a Participant of the ASX Group.

The CommSec SMSF Manager service is provided by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and administered by Commonwealth Securities Limited

ABN 60 067 254 399, AFSL 238814 ("CommSec"). You should consider the brochure in deciding whether to utilise the CommSec SMSF Manager

Service.

* Other fees and charges for additional services may also apply, together with other operational charges.

** To be eligible for this offer, you must have opened a CommSec Trading account for SMSF purposes before 30 June 2007 with a linked

Commonwealth Direct Investment Account (CDIA). This offer is only open to CommSec Trading account holders who are Australian Residents.

Successful applicants will receive a 12 month subscription to Eureka report normally valued at $295 rrp (issued by email from 1 July 2007 to 30 June

2008, upon which time the subscription will be cancelled, unless the recipient makes arrangements to purchase further issues). Successful applicants

will also receive Aegis Research material free through the CommSec website and CommSec Professional Trader 2, until the end of February 2008,

upon which time the subscription will be cancelled, unless the recipient makes arrangement to continue their subscription).

The Eureka Report and the Aegis Equities Research information are provided as a service to eligible clients. The opinions expressed in these

documents are not endorsed by either CommSec or the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

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