CFD fans gain a new trading platform
What's new
If you have a strong view on where sharemarkets are heading or are confident the copper price is about to fall, then a new contract for difference (CFD) platform group called Easy-Forex could be for you. Easy-Forex allows you to use leverage and short-sell with CFDs to trade commodities and indices. It has 70 pairs of currencies for trading and recently extended its metals from gold and silver to include palladium and platinum.
The CFD group started in 2003 and trades in over 160 countries. Easy-Forex provides free stop-loss on commodity, index and currency trading.
Gear into the top 200
BetaShares' new exchange traded funds' ASX code says it all: GEAR. The BetaShares Geared Fund is a geared Australian equity ETF that combines your money with borrowed money and invests in Australia's top 200 companies by assets.
BetaShares Geared Fund's borrowings are a healthy 50% to 65%. Unlike margin lending, where the investor has to meet any margin calls, the fund looks after any calls. GEAR earns dividends and franking credits paid out by the 200 companies.
While the ETF offers opportunities to magnify profits, it also magnifies any losses. This means that geared investments involve significantly higher risk than non-geared investments. The fund charges an annual fee of 0.74%.
No card needed
Left your ATM card at home but really need some cash? You might be able to withdraw up to $200 cash a day if you have your smartphone with you and are a Commonwealth Bank customer. Cardless Cash is a new feature on CommBank's app.
"Cardless Cash not only gives our customers convenient access to cash when their card isn't available, but also the ability to help out a family member or friend by sending cash to an ATM for collection in an emergency situation," says Lisa Frazier, executive general manager, digital channels.
The bank describes this as another step towards providing Australians with a fully functioning mobile wallet.
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