Turbulence on world financial markets

September 19, 2008, 2:54pm,  191 views

The Australian stock market bounced back today after a rough and tumble week in response to financial troubles on Wall Street.

The wild fluctuations are unsettling for investors, and frankly, unless you have cash to burn there is little motivation to put money in stocks just at the moment.

There are several times I wished I had cash on the sidelines to invest in bank stocks, in particular.

I bought ANZ and Westpac around the $25 mark, saw them slide and recover, and finished up selling around $23 to buy a property instead.

ANZ closed at $15.45 yesterday before recovering to $17.71 today. I thought they were good buying at $22 and $20.

Bank interest is returning around eight percent now on some accounts. It is a much safer place to park some money.