Buying a property to rent out is a popular form of long-term investment in Australia. Houses and units are easier to understand than many other types of investments, yet they do have some issues you need to be aware of.

Consider the tax implications of any investment. An investment is ‘tax-effective’ if you end up paying less tax than you would have paid on another investment with the same return and risk.

The world of investing can be confusing and scary at times. But fortunately, the basics of investing are timeless and some investors (often the best) have a knack of encapsulating these in a sentence or two that is insightful and easy to understand.

New Treasury boss Steven Kennedy doesn’t believe there is a crisis warranting immediate spending from federal government, saying he is “cautiously optimistic” about Australia’s economic outlook. Addressing senators in Canberra for the first time since taking on his new role last month, Dr Kennedy believes the policy settings are right for the economy to strengthen.

Tax commissioner Chris Jordan has taken aim at the media’s Right to Know campaign for misinformation about the Australian Taxation Office. He told a Senate inquiry the campaign claimed the tax office can take money directly out of people’s accounts but “you’re not allowed to know”.

Sydney-based online education platform OpenLearning plans to list on the ASX following a $6 million initial public offering, shrugging off the cancellation of four much larger IPOs this year. Founded in 2012, the company provides a platform for institutions in Australia and Malaysia to offer both short courses and online degrees.

These five great charts help illuminate key aspects of investing for income (or cash flow): there are alternatives to bank deposits for income; the gap between yields on different assets provides a guide to relative value; shares can provide stronger growth in income with less volatility than bank deposits

Scammers trying to extort money by claiming people have a tax office debt are becoming more brazen, with two turning up at a man’s house in Adelaide.

Income tax cuts have failed to get Aussies spending on retail, as economic growth slows to the lowest level in a decade. Consumers are keeping their wallets closed, in part because successive interest rate cuts have them worried about the state of the economy.

Beware of scammers at this time of year, who often contact people to say they’re entitled to a tax refund or they need to pay a debt.

This afternoon, following its monthly board meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut the nation’s official cash rate for the third time this year, bringing it down to 0.75%.

Fun and budget are two words that don’t usually go together. But budgeting for fun can actually be the perfect way to put you in control of your cash flow.

When a person dies, their super balance is usually paid to their nominated beneficiary. This is called a ‘super death benefit’. Superannuation benefits are typically made up of two components: tax-free and taxable (which may come from a taxed or untaxed source).

The ongoing slide in investment yields across major asset classes points to a more constrained medium-term return outlook. For a diversified mix of assets, this has now fallen to around 5.6% pa on our projections.