Booktopia's new owner to honour gift cards
Booktopia gift cards to be honoured, how to slash over $700 from annual fuel bills, and the investment that's topped the returns table over the past 30 years. Here are five things you may have missed this week.
A new chapter for Booktopia
Embattled book retailer Booktopia has been given a new lease of life, and will recommence trading after being purchased by online electronics store digiDirect.
Booktopia's administrator McGrathNicol has confirmed that the company will hire over 100 employees, with former Booktopia staff encouraged to rejoin.
Consumers will also be able to use the $3 million worth of unredeemed Booktopia gift cards.
Shareholders haven't come off quite so well.
McGrathNicol says the sale price will not be sufficient to provide a return to shareholders.
The company's shares were placed in a trading halt in mid-June, after falling to just 4 cents, down from a high of over $3 in mid-2021, as the company battled debts estimated at $60 million.
How to save up to $720 annually on fuel
Aussie motorists have access to over 40 free apps that track petrol prices, and our consumer watchdog, the ACCC, says they can help drivers save a bundle at the bowser.
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth all experience petrol price cycles, which can see fuel prices suddenly increase by 30 cents a litre or more.
ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey says we tend to have a perception that all retailers increase fuel prices at once, but this isn't the case.
"If you see prices going up at one retail site, apps and websites can help to find another that hasn't yet raised its price," she notes.
Smaller cities including Canberra, Hobart and Darwin as well as most regional locations aren't subject to petrol price cycles but savings can still be made using a fuel app to find the cheapest fuel on a given day.
As a guide to the potential savings of shopping around with a fuel app, the ACCC found that a motorist buying 50 litres of regular unleaded petrol each week could have saved the following in 2023:
- Perth - $740
- Adelaide - $486
- Sydney - $407
- Melbourne - $333
- Canberra - $278
- Hobart - $260
- Brisbane - $242
- Darwin - $156
US shares top the league table of returns
This week saw Vanguard release its annual 2024 Index Chart, which maps how an initial $10,000 investment in mid-1994 would have compounded over the 30 years to June 30, 2024, assuming all income was reinvested.
The chart, now in its 23rd year, reveals that US shares have topped the leaderboard of returns over the past 30 years, delivering an average of 11.1% annually, and outpacing the 9.1% average annual return from Australian shares and the 8.2% average gain on international shares.
Over the same period Australian listed property returned an average of 7.8%, Aussie bonds notched up returns averaging 5.6%, and cash mustered up just 4.2% average annual returns.
Renae Smith, head of personal investor at Vanguard Australia, says the chart highlights the value of a long-term investing mindset.
She explains, "There have been various times over the last 30 years when markets have been highly volatile. In early 2020, for example, global share markets fell heavily amidst the onset of COVID-19. Yet, as the index chart shows, most events are typically short-lived."
Smith adds that bear markets typically last less than a year and are generally followed by a bull market, averaging 6.5 years.
CommBank takes cyber safety to the bush
August 26-30 marks Scams Week, and this year's theme is: Share a story, stop a scam.
The idea is to encourage Australians to speak up, share and report scams.
It is estimated that one in three victims do not report a scam, but by sharing experiences we can help others spot and avoid scams.
CommBank is doing its bit by taking the cyber safety message to the bush.
The bank is offering regional Australians free access to more than 400 Staying Safe Online education sessions held over the next 12 months.
The one-hour seminars are hosted by CommBank branch teams across regional Australia, and cover a range of topics including how to recognise and avoid common online scams, protecting personal information, and understanding the latest tactics used by cyber criminals.
Jump on the CommBank website for details of upcoming seminars.
Major bank launches 4.49% green loan
From Monday, homeowners can tap into Westpac's new Sustainable Upgrades loan with an interest rate of just 4.49% thanks to the backing of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).
The loan can be used to fund renovations that improve a home's energy efficiency or climate resilience, and it's available to owner occupiers as well as investors. The maximum borrowing is $50,000 with a loan term of up to 10 years.
Research from Westpac shows nine out of 10 Australians, who are thinking of renovating in the next five years, would consider making sustainable upgrades to their home.
Close to two in five (38%) Australians would consider installing solar panels on their home, one in four would consider putting in solar batteries or changing to solar hot water (25%), and over a fifth would consider adding insulation or double-glazed windows.
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