The Wire

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The Wire is FIIG's weekly communication with its clients and is produced by our Research Department which researches, analyses and discusses the latest and most important fixed income developments from Australia and overseas.

Given the importance of the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate target in setting short term money market rates; its actions and the reasoning behind changes to the official rate are often discussed at length. Employment, inflation, GDP, trade balances and manufacturing trends amongst other factors are often discussed when building a picture of the current economic climate and our expectation of increases or decreases to official rates. In mid-2008 we started predicting official rates would be cut and advised clients to lock a portion of their portfolio into longer terms if possible. For the six months to 31 December 2008, official rates dropped 3% to 4.25%. The RBA eased the cash rate target again by 1% in February 2009 and further cuts are predicted for the coming year.

Part of The Wire's charter is to educate clients about fixed income asset classes, pertinent terms and legislative changes, notably the powers of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the governing body of Australian Financial Institutions.

The Wire includes:

• Interest rate and market commentary
• Special offers on term deposits and bonds
• Basic educational articles without any recommendations
• Like all investments, fixed income investments are influenced by trends. While government guaranteed term deposits are still very popular and we expect them to continue to be for the period the guarantee is available (until 11 October 2011), lower RBA cash rate targets mean that bonds are becoming more attractive.
• For those investors whose portfolio includes more complicated fixed income products like bonds and hybrids, or investors seeking greater diversification or higher return/risk fixed income exposure, we recommend the subscription version of The Wire.
• Full research reports that provide in-depth, detailed analysis including recommendations
• Trade recommendations to help maximize returns
• An evaluation of fixed income product classes for the same issuer and comparison of similar risk products offered in the same sector
• Discussion and evaluation of changes in legislation and recommendations to maximize returns
• Access to an archive of previous reports and recommendations
• Registrants will also be on our alert email list, where important industry changes are communicated between weekly editions of The Wire