11,000 Aussies join the millionaire club

THE commodities boom and strong domestic economy helped Australia's millionaires amass a $US551 billion ($576 billion) fortune in 2007, outranking the growth in numbers of Asian and US millionaires.
The turmoil in financial markets and the slump in stock markets spoiled the pace of growth in wealth attained and those joining the elite club compared with recent years.
Eleven thousand people joined Australia's millionaire ranks in 2007. The number jumped 7.1 per cent to 172,000 people and their combined fortune rose by $US43 billion, the World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini says.
The rate of growth was down from 2006, when numbers swelled by 10.3 per cent, and 8.5 per cent seen in 2005, but globally Australia was above the average rate of 6 per cent, thanks to higher GDP and savings.
"The growth in Australian high net worth individuals ranked ahead of Japan, the US, Britain, Germany and France," Capegemini senior manager Wayne Li said yesterday.
"Last year, the Australian economy grew at 3.9 per cent, which was relatively stable in comparison with the G7 countries, and our stock markets did well. For the entire year of 2007 we were above 18 per cent."
Globally, total wealth amassed by high net worth individuals rose by 9.4 per cent last year to $US40.7 trillion, compared to 11.4 per cent in 2006. The increase in wealth was driven largely by the rise of emerging markets such as China and India, which had the largest jumps in millionaire numbers -- by 22.7 per cent and 20.3 per cent respectively.
They helped the world's population of millionaires to top the 10 million mark for the first time, up by 6 per cent for the year, but down from 8.3 per cent growth in 2006.
"This is a deceleration from 8.3 per cent in 2006, which should not be surprising since global real GDP dropped to 5.1 per cent from 5.3 per cent in 2006 and financial markets had a difficult second half," Merrill Lynch global wealth advisory head Thomas Alexy said.
The numbers of ultra-high net worth individuals, who have more than $US30 million in assets outside their primary home rose by 8.8 per cent, above 100,000 for the first time.
The world's largest economy, the US, had the highest number of high net worth individuals at 3.03 million, followed by Japan and Germany, while Australia maintained its No10 ranking out of 71 countries.
The uncertainty that hit markets in late 2007 also prompted high net worth individuals to shift assets towards the safety of fixed-income investments and cash.
Unlike global millionaires who have taken their profits out of real estate, Australia's property investments have remained steady for the moment.
"Australia has lagged the US and British markets in the credit issues we've experienced in the last 12 months," Merrill Lynch private wealth manager Peter Opie said.
"In Australia, we experienced the credit problems in December-January, so we're six months behind."

(Source: The Australian)

Game shows kids how to play

DID your share portfolio return 33 per cent during the past few months?
If not, then read on to learn the strategies of the ASX schools share market game winners.

While the All Ordinaries gained 7.5 per cent during the recent game trading period, the winning share market game syndicate achieved a share portfolio return of 33 per cent (from March 15 to May 13).
Each year ASX runs two share market games for high school students around the country.
Players receive $50,000 virtual dollars to trade in 100 stocks over a 10-week trading period.
This year, students again battled against one another and volatile markets for the main prizes.
With almost 40,000 students playing, over 68 per cent were able to increase the value of their portfolios.
The 2008 game one winners were Alex and Elliot, Year 11 students from Trinity Grammar School in Kew, Victoria.
They were kind enough to share their winning strategy with us.
"We focused on buying stocks that were either performing below the ASX 200, or well below their all-time price high," they say.
"In the end our strategy of buying stocks performing below the market, but in existing strong sectors, in the hope that they would realign with the market, proved to work and work well."
Hannah from Orange High School, who came first in NSW, has some wise words on how to outperform the market. "Throughout the game I would look at the performance of the companies I was investing in, whether through observing their (price) history charts or simply paying attention to the media.
"I tried to stick to companies I invested in so they had time to progress.
"I also kept some cash on hand so if one of my companies did decrease in value, I still had more cash to invest."
While the schools game is great for those still at high school, adults can play their own version of the game.
Twice a year the ASX Sharemarket Game is open to the public and runs over a 16-week trading period.
The public share market game is an easy way for new investors to test their skills in share selection and trading decisions.
Regular players state they appreciate being able to test strategies using live share prices with a hypothetical cash amount.
Players learn more about the charting, company research and watch-list tools available on the ASX website. The game offers great cash prizes and is free to play.
Once you have mastered the art of trading shares, the ASX also provides a safe online environment for you to practise trading ASX CFDs and futures.
The ASX CFD Trading Simulator and the SFE Futures Trading Simulator are both open for people to practise buying and selling these products, using live prices but without any risk to their capital. Both are free to play and accessible from the ASX website.

(Source: ASX Investor Education)

Auctions on eBay: A Dying Breed

by Catherine Holahan

As consumers opt for fixed-price purchases, what happens to the company that perfected the art of online bidding—and the scores of e-auctioneers?

Bruce Hershenson, who auctions vintage posters online, is hanging up his eBay gavel. For almost a decade, Hershenson's business epitomized the e-commerce that made eBay (EBAY) famous. He sold rare, collectible, sometimes kitschy memorabilia in online auctions that had a starting bid of 99¢. But as the business of buying and selling over the Internet has matured, the thrill and novelty of auctions have given way to the convenience of one-click purchases. Hershenson will hold his last eBay auction June 3. "The auctions are nothing like what they once were," he says. "They won't ever come back."

Auctions were once a pillar of e-commerce. People didn't simply shop on eBay. They hunted, they fought, they sweated, they won. These days, consumers are less enamored of the hassle of auctions, preferring to buy stuff quickly at a fixed price. Hershenson is emblematic of the legions of small business people who built their livelihoods on eBay but—like eBay itself—are having to rethink their whole approach to online sales.
Sales at Amazon.com (AMZN), the leader in online sales of fixed-price goods, rose 37% in the first quarter of 2008. At eBay, where auctions make up 58% of the site's sales, revenue rose 14%. "If I really want something I'm not going to goof around [in auctions] for a small savings," says Dave Dribin, a 34-year-old Chicago resident who used to bid on eBay items, but now only buys retail.

E-Commerce Continues to Evolve
Executives at eBay have gotten the message. Since taking the helm in March, eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe has made it clear that fixed-priced items are key to future growth. EBay's "Buy It Now" business, where shoppers can purchase items at a set price even when the merchandise is also listed in an auction, makes up 42% of all goods sold on eBay. It's growing at an annual 22% pace, the fastest among eBay's shopping businesses. "As [Web] search has developed, you can get a great deal in a fixed-price format," Donahoe said in an Apr. 16 interview after his first earnings call as eBay's top executive. "We are going to let our buyers choose." Donahoe did not comment for this story.

At the current pace, this may be the first year that eBay generates more revenue from fixed-price sales than from auctions, analysts say. "The bloom is well off the rose with regard to the online-auction thing," says Tim Boyd, an analyst with American Technology Research. "Auctions are losing a ton of share, and fixed price has been gaining pretty steadily."

To hasten the growth, Donahoe is spearheading changes to make eBay more friendly to users who favor one-click shopping. While former CEO Meg Whitman ended her tenure amid an ad campaign that championed auctions, urging consumers to "Shop Victoriously," Donahoe has taken steps to increase fixed-price inventory. In May, eBay announced a partnership with Buy.com to sell a large swath of the retailer's inventory for set prices. "EBay has significantly de-emphasized dynamic-priced items in favor of fixed-price listings in the last six months," says Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Brown.

EBay Fees Favor Fixed Prices
Perhaps the biggest example of eBay's new fixed-price focus is the new fee structure, announced in January. The changes gave breaks to many large vendors who sell fixed-priced goods on the site, while hiking fees for many eBay users who sell using a traditional auction structure.
(Source: BusinessWeek.com, 1/29/08).