Rich Statistics

Though the main headlines have been reserved for Alan Bond and his re-entry to the list, 19 years after being declared bankrupt, there are other stories when inspecting the BRW Rich 200.

Wealth is on the rise with Billionnaires increasing from 30 to 38 and the total wealth of the Rich List being the highest ever with $139.6bn.

A member of the Packer family no longer holds the top spot for the first time in 20 years. This is not because Media and Gaming have gone backwards in the last year. The most telling sign is that the Miners have surged. Andrew Forrest of Fortescue Metals (FMG.AX) tops the list with a personal wealth of $9.41bn, the largest sum recorded in history of the Rich List. All the more incredible that Forrest was 5th last year with a shade under $4bn.

James Packer falls to 3rd on the list behind Frank Lowy of Westfield (WDC.AX)

Following the Miners still, the youngest person to make the Rich List is Nathan Tinkler, who at just 32 years old has amassed $426m when selling a portion of his interest in Macarthur Coal (MCC.AX). The wealthiest list debutants, at $991m each Travers Duncan and Brian Flannery from Queensland-based coal miner Felix Resources (FLX.AX).

Will the trends for Resources continue? With the urbanisation of 150m Chinese residents planned over the next 15 years it will be hard to dislodge the miners from the list.

Steady Hands During Origin?

Tonight sees Game 1 of the NRL State Of Origin. It is an occasion that stops traffic and diverts attention. It is a well known rumour that in the UK, in the lead up to the FA Cup Final of Football, the stock market takes a battering as traders boast shaky hands and judgement from the extra hours in the pub. The same is true come Ashes time.

Again, in the US with major sporting events like Baseball's World Series and Basketball's NBA Finals capturing the imagination of the public and the attention of stock traders.

With Origin now underway will we see the stockmarket slump? It retreated slightly today but hopefully for more significant reasons. Any users out there forget to place a Stop-Loss because Footy Fever has got the better of them?

Swan's Maiden Budget

Wayne Swan has delivered his maiden budget for Labor. The focus is on families as there is:

• Personal Income Tax Cuts
• An Education Tax Refund
• A Child Care Rebate
• Housing Affordability Packages
• Medicare Threshold Changes

The overview can be found here at the Treasury's Budget 08-09 website. What does this mean to you? This is a chance for you to say if you win or lose out.

The market was happy today with the ASX 200 responding positively with a 1% increase.

Westpac & St George In Merger Talks

After our last quick commentary on the reliability of banks and their volatility, it seems that the 3rd & 5th largest banks in the country would like the create some more stability and become the largest bank in Australia. Westpac (WBC.AX) and St George Bank (SGB.AX) have announced they are in merger talks to create the country's largest financial service company with a $69bn entity.

Even though a deal is yet to be finalised and the ACCC still has to give regulatory approval it is unlikely, for pride amongst other reasons, that the NAB or the Commonwealth Bank will be happy with this new change to the power structure. There are other comparatively smaller companies that may take their fancy. AXA, Suncorp, Bendigo Adelaide and others are bracing themselves for some torrid times.

What do you think of the proposed merger? Will it have a significant impact on the banking landscape? Will it cause you change your personal banking or where you have your home loan? Banks are so entrenched in every aspect of a person's financial life, these events are bound to affect us in a host of different ways.

The Reliability of Banks

The Australian banking landscape is dominated by the Big 4 banks - NAB (NAB.AX), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), Westpac (WBC.AX) and the ANZ (ANZ.AX). They are large monsters in business whose influence is felt everywhere - Savings, Mortgages, Trading, Offshoring.

This has made the banks grow and grow but recently we have noted that this growth and diversification has made the overall structure of banks weaker. Strong bank management and growth across all areas is essential for stabililty.

As a case in point, if interest rates change, so does the bank share price. If banks are facing problems overseas, this is reflected in domestic share prices. If commodities change, this impacts the banks again. Historically, banks were seen as stable and reliable. Is this still case? What are your thoughts?