Inside A $300m Implosion

There are suspicions that financial "smoke and mirrors" has allowed a fortune to slip through a complex web of private companies. Mark Hawthorne and Jesse Hogan report.

Abc Worries Analysts

ABC LEARNING CENTRES could face further shocks to its fragile balance sheet and market credibility, and risks defaulting on its $1 billion in loans if its woes continue.

Allco Unsecured Creditors Likely To Lose $450 Million

UNSECURED creditors owed about $450 million from the collapse of Allco Principals Investments will today come face to face with the business model that burned their loans.

Api Wreck Inspected, But Salvage Crews Likely To Leave Empty-handed

UNSECURED creditors owed about $450 million from the collapse of Allco Principals Investments will today come face to face with the disastrous business model that burned their loans.

Smiling All The Way To The Door

Paul Mathieson, the chief executive of Amazing Loans, amazed the loan-sharking sector this week by deciding to resign from the company he founded four years ago -apparently on a high.

Hope Rises As Court Injunction Stymies Anz Stock Dump

A COURT has granted the first injunction to stop ANZ from dumping stock seized from Opes Prime, giving hope to other Opes clients willing to repay their margin loans in return for regaining their shares. The NSW Supreme Court ordered ANZ not to trade in shares in Perth iron ore miner Gindalbie Metals held by one of its main shareholders, Malaysia's Melewar Steel, for at least a week.

Online Ad Guru Spins The Power Of The Web

If there was any concern Australians were slow picking up on the online social media craze, one of Facebook's global management heavies put a swift stop to the notion this week. This time last year Facebook had 200,000 active Australian users. Today, says the company's vice-president of media sales in the US, Mike Murphy, the figure is 2.5 million.

Investors Flee Allco Listed Funds Concern At Intricate Web

THE walls of David Coe's Allco empire have continued to buckle, after shares in three of the group's listed funds crashed as investors continued to worry about the cross-holdings and debts held by the company's various investment vehicles.

Loans That Are On The Money

With more choice and plenty of competition, it pays to shop around for a home loan. Ben Schneiders has some suggestions.

Cba Aims To Net The Web-savvy Investors

COMMONWEALTH Bank has launched its latest online savings offer, a high-interest NetBank Saver account, to increase its share of the internet-savvy urban professional market.

Net Portal Launches Online Tv Experience

THE pace of migration from television to the web is set to quicken as Australia's most visited website, ninemsn, launches the first dedicated streaming service of TV programs.

Banks' Default Risk

Banks' default risk Australian banks had good risk management practices but like banks around the world lacked data to predict when companies might default on loans, a global study has found. In a global survey of more than 5

Online Home Loans Get Xml Standard Push

The May 1 release of an XML standard for online residential loan applications heralds serious e-commerce intentions within the Australian lending industry.

Film Puts Focus Back On Swiss Loans

A group of foreign currency borrowers has seized on today's release of the movie The Bank to step up its campaign for a new inquiry into the foreign currency loans debacle.

Lakeline Residents Pressure Lenders

Lakeline Estate residents caught up in a web of mysterious mortgages are continuing negotiations with financial institutions after St George Bank said it would not make claims on any homes. Legal aid solicitor Michael Sergent, representing the residents, said talks yesterday with other lenders w

Irate Residents Target Lenders

Angry and frustrated Lakeline Estate residents caught up in a bizarre web of mysterious mortgages will protest outside two Sydney annual general meetings. The first target will be St George Bank, which will hold it AGM on Friday, with the Permanent Trustee in the gun the following Monday. In t

Aussie Home Loans Plans Float

Aussie Home Loans managing director John Symond has said the discount home financing business could probably float within the next 18 months to two years, but it would first need to diversify to continue providing a competitive product. Mr Symond told an Institute of Chartered Accountants lunc

Tax Plan Players To Pay Up

Taxpayers who have received amended assessments following their participation in mass marketed or aggressive tax planning schemes can get a picture of the Tax Office's approach to settling disputed tax bills from the Tax Office's Web site. With an estimated 40,000 Australian taxpayers now in rec

Figure It Out

Julie Robotham crunches the numbers and comes up with a stack of sites that make mincemeat of mathematics. Stamp Duty Calculator www.aussiehomeloans.com.au All major mortgage lenders now feature budget and repayment calculators on their sites, but Aussie Home Loans takes it more seriously t

Take Out A Home Loan, Fly To Paris: Banks' Airline Deal

Macquarie Bank and Citibank are trying to boost their share of the mortgage market with the promise of frequent flyer points tied to loans under a new deal with Qantas. Members of Qantas's frequent flyer program are being told they can earn enough points for a trip to Paris in only one year if t