Summer 2009 Newslettter

Just a reminder of the impending deadline for those that are running businesses and want an incentive to go purchase some new depreciable assets for the business (whether that be a new laptop or new vehicle for the business).

A recent full Federal Court decision has confirmed the opportunity for students to claim their costs of study as a tax deduction, where those students receive the youth allowance.

The case involved a student that was in full time university studies. The student had a part time job to help support herself through her studies as well as received a youth allowance from the Federal Government.

Sometimes it’s hard to make sense of day-to-day noise in stock prices, particularly when news is thin on the ground. But that doesn’t stop lots of people from trying to discern predictable patterns in the racket.

Building coherent narratives out of random stock price moves, often under the pressure of constant deadlines is the job of journalists and research analysts. The most successful ones make it all seem perfectly rational and predictable.

This ability to communicate the idea that ‘this happened in the market because that happened’ is most brilliantly demonstrated when circumstances change two or three times in the space of a day or two.

Couples contemplating or moving in together or marriage should consider entering into a pre-nuptial agreement, now more properly known as a ‘Binding Financial Agreement’. But how do they work?

You have insurance so you and your family will be financially cared for in the case of an incapacitating accident. But what about the actual care you’ll personally receive? Two star? Top of the range? And who’ll make those decisions if you can’t? This is exactly where a guardian steps in, and it’s wise to chose one yourself — this means well before you may ever need one. (By the way, a guardian is not a ‘living Will’ nor a power of attorney, and neither may you want your spouse to do it.)

For those clients who have an investment portfolio managed by Summerhill Financial Services, a change is being made to the Dimensional Emerging Markets Trust, which is summarised below.

• 14/09/09 – Worried about the ‘worry list’? It’s better than you thought
  
• 14/09/09 – Reasonable Travel Allowances – what are they?
• 14/09/09 – Summerhill donates $3,901 to Western Chances
• 14/09/09 – Chasing the Inflation Dragon
• 14/09/09 – House prices are rising – why? And what will happen now?
• 14/09/09 – ‘It’s the bottom’ says the Fed with ‘level’ words
• 14/09/09 – Investment Allowance – Reminder of 31 December 2009 Deadline
• 14/09/09 – The Real Pressie Club
• 14/09/09 – Benchmarks outperform actively managed funds
• 14/09/09 – Handling insurance in uncertain times
• 14/09/09 – Personal bookkeeping services
• 14/09/09 – ATO’s Compliance Program for the 2009-2010 Year
• 14/09/09 – Should you go with bonds? Or are shares offering enough of a risk premium?
• 14/09/09 – NSW intestacy laws changing