| Fed tries to rescue market
The opening bell hadn't sounded on Wall Street yesterday when the Federal Reserve announced an emergency interest-rate cut. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 465 points -- including 300 in the first minute -- then rebounded to finish down a more bearable 128. The recovery was a victory of sorts for a battered market. But a long-term comeback may depend on factors much more difficult to achieve -- a turnaround in the housing market and renewed confidence among U.S. consumers, who hold up most of the economy. .
Industrial land in Karachi, the most expensive in region
Gold slipped on lower oil prices and the prospect of a firmer US dollar ahead of a key data release on Monday, analysts said.
Bullion, which was quoted at $782.60/783.40 per ounce, down 90 cents from its late quote in New York on Friday, has lost around 7 percent since last months ascent...
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Super funds to shrink
Within two decades, the retail master trust market would look like the "four pillars'' banking sector, with just a handful of major players and a small number of specialist trusts. "Over the past year, the number of company-based superannuation funds shrank from 555 to 290, according to the regulator the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority,'' Mr Noonan said. "Curiously, given the onerous new requirements on funds, the number of self-managed funds shot up from 325,000 to an even more staggering 366,000 funds. "I think it will only take a serious market shake-out over the next few years for individuals' enthusiasm to wane when they're confronted with managing their own retirement funds year in and year out with all the attendant compliance requirements,'' he said.
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