Daily FNArena News

Diverging trends in spending patterns of Australian consumers are separating the good from the bad amongst the country’s retailers.

Despite government moves the contrary, the Chinese economy has accelerated. Several respected ratings agencies have now put out warning reports. China is facing a banking crisis.

The numbers are contradictory and the opinions polarised. Depending on whom you ask, either oil prices will begin to drift lower shortly or the world should prepare itself for US$100/bbl.

One of FN Arena’s loyal readers has discovered the vacuum cleaner may be better at making investment decisions than he is.

The correction may have hit the price of gold, but NAB sees US interest rates at 5.25% through 2006 and on the decline in 2007, supporting further gold upside.

JP Morgan is always happy to be a lone voice in the wilderness. Mayne Pharma is one stock the analysts feel the market has completely misinterpreted.

Weekly musings from your editor.

When brokers start ceasing coverage of a stock when they can’t find anything good to say, experience suggests the administrators are not too far away.

Beware the broker trap. If a stock is rated a Buy, and its price falls, does that make it even more of a Buy? Or is something wrong? Oops, mea culpa.

Have investors treated Korean companies too harshly? Some brokers certainly believe so.