Investing

KFC is the best-known brand for Collins Foods.

HOT STOCK

KFC owner Collins Foods taking flight again

Greg Smith   ​Collins Foods' KFC business now represents around 85 per cent of total income, and has performed strongly in the past financial year, despite rising labour rates.

THE MOTLEY FOOL

What went wrong at Woolies

Woolworths shareholders have plenty to complain about.

Scott Phillips   How Woolworths went from flying high to struggling for air.

A bubble you could bottle

How frothy is Blackmores' rapid rise on the scale?

David Potts   Shares in Blackmores and Bellamy's Organic have made astronomical gains, prompting fears of a bubble.

THE MOTLEY FOOL

Is your portfolio ready for climate change?

Tesla is a luxury vehicle now, but electric vehicles are likely to be commonplace in the future.

Scott Phillips   The threat of climate change is also a threat for your portfolio, even if you don't believe in the science.

GETTING AHEAD

Unlisted trusts offer a second chance property boom

Commercial real estate such as CBD office towers is performing well for investors.

David Potts   Listed real estate trusts (REITs) have been quietly going about their businesss of beating the market, though that wouldn't have been hard.

SOLAR BOOM

Solar farms hit the roof for investors

Solar energy specialist Jake Steele, Young Henrys co-owner Oscar McMahon and Tom Nockolds from Pingala have the answer to "renewable" beer.

David Potts   You can ride the solar boom even if you rent, live in an apartment or in the shade.

OUTLOOK

AGMs point to economy on the mend

Electronics retailer Harvey Norman says sales were up 7.1 per cent in the September quarter.

David Potts   If he dropped by one of this week's annual meetings, the Reserve Bank's Glenn Stevens would hear a different story to the official narrative.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Should my husband register with Centrelink?

Retirement plans should take account of longer lifespans.

George Cochrane   George Cochrane answers readers' questions, such as whether to register with Centrelink even if you're not entitled to any money.

BASIC TRAINING

Investment property as a starter home

First home buyer Mary Grace Entry, 30, with her mother, in the house she just bought in inner-city Sydney.

Larissa Ham   With house prices at sky-high levels, it is the million-dollar (or more) question.

QUIRKY INVESTMENTS

Is Lego a better investment than shares?

Lego sets, like the Star Wars Millennium Falcon, can appreciate in value if kept pristine.

James Cockington   Earlier this year the Daily Telegraph in the UK reported that Lego has been a better investment over the last 15 years than the stock market, gold or bank accounts.

Savings add up for household solar

Fiona Workman had solar panels installed on her roof two years ago.

David Potts   Solar panels are landing on rooftops just as the Hills Hoist invaded backyards. If you're not solar-powered, you're not with it.

ASK NOEL

Tax deductible renovations

The cost of renovations for an investment property are deducted off capital gains tax, not income tax.

Noel Whittaker   Readers ask Noel Whittaker their financial dilemmas, from the tax deductibility of renovating an investment property to whether to buy their late mother's house.

THE MOTLEY FOOL

Buy what you know

John Cheston, group general manager of Smiggle, in the central Melbourne store.

Scott Phillips   Forget the "talking heads" you see on TV. Sometimes the expert in a particular topic is you.

SHARE RACE

Pros shrug off a falling market

Australian consumers are facing a shortage of Bellamy's baby formula due to demand from China.

David Potts   Three of the pros in our four-week shares race are showing their mettle by building on their $100,000 portfolios in a falling market.

Is BHP Billiton a bargain or a trap for the foolhardy?

In the aftermath of the disaster at the BHP mine in Brazil last week, its share price is now languishing at about $20.

John Collett   BHP Billiton shares can be bought on a "grossed-up" dividend yield, which includes franking credits, of 12 per cent. But are you brave enough to venture in?

QUIRKY INVESTMENTS

Chairs that you can't sit on

The Le Corbusier cowhide and chrome chaise longue.

James Cockington    When is a chair not a chair? When it's a design icon.

ANALYSIS

Past disasters a guide to BHP recovery

The town of Bento Rodrigues in Brazil flooded after an iron ore mine dam burst.

David Potts   BHP was struggling even before the mine disaster in Brazil and some mud, so to speak, is bound to stick.

THE MOTLEY FOOL

The 98 per cent of opportunities you're missing

Global brands such as Nike should be on the radar for Australian investors.

Scott Phillips   Why do people willingly restrict themselves to 2 per cent of the market when it comes to shares?

SUPER & FUNDS

Low-cost diversification a boon for DIY super funds

Exchange traded funds can ensure diversification.

John Collett   Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a hit with investors.

SHARES RACE

Dartboard hits the target as the pros flounder at the finish

The dartboard is picking ASX stocks well.

David Potts   A penny-dreadful stock propelled the dartboard to victory in our four-week shares race.

QUIRKY INVESTMENTS

Hot tip for selling old Playboys

Vintage <i>Playboy</i> magazines are hot property for collectors.

James Cockington   Collectors could be more interested in old issues of Hugh Hefner's girlie magazine now that it has announced it will stop publishing pictures of fully naked women.

Sceptics on bank shares are ignoring dividends

Banks are more scared of shareholders than customers.

David Potts   Neither a borrower nor a lender be nor, with apologies to Shakespeare, own bank shares.

Mouth-watering food stocks

A taste of Australia as the food bowl of Asia.

David Potts   When tins of organic baby formula are the hottest items going, it's another sign of how Australia is moving from a mining to a dining boom.

MONEY BRAIN

Smile, and don't let your money follow the herd

Candid Camera, which ran for more than 30 years, was a good example for how going with the crowd could make you look silly.

Catherine Robson   As Candid Camera demonstrated during its 30 years on air, fear of being different can make us do some very stupid things, particularly when it comes to managing money.

THE MOTLEY FOOL

The five biggest investment mistakes

Investors should emulate Aesop's tortoise not the hare.

Scott Phillips   At its best, investing is slow, somewhat boring - and potentially very profitable.

Collect cream of 20th-century Australian pottery

Lot 191 from the estate of Marvin Hurnall, a Maude O'Reilly (1886-1971) slip cast, hand-finished, glazed earthenware figure of a kookaburra with gumnuts and leaves, 1926. Estimate: $5000-$8,000.

James Cockington   Australia's foremost collector of 20th-century pottery, Marvin Hurnall, died last year and his estate is selling his precious, private collection at auction.

A mild correction forecast for house prices

Apartment prices in Sydney and Melbourne are expected to decline more sharply than houses.

John Collett   Leading forecaster BIS Shrapnel says property prices in Sydney and Melbourne will experience a "mild correction" during the next three years.

THE MOTLEY FOOL

The BHP fallacy

Heather Ridout's comments on BHP Billiton were eyecatching.

Scott Phillips   A balanced portfolio is not Noah's Ark with two of everything and the only reason to buy BHP Billiton is if you think it will deliver market-beating returns.

THE HONEST BROKER

Microcap stocks fast track to grow wealth

In the microcap space, if you spend one hour researching a company you end up in the top 0.000001 per cent of people who know anything about it.

Marcus Padley   Microcaps represent tremendous opportunity that you simply don't get in the plain vanilla stockmarket.

MONEY BRAIN

What a transport strike can teach you about money

Melbourne CBD during the August tram strike. Use a nudge, such as a strike, to help you set up a financial safety net.

Catherine Robson   Transport strikes are frustrating but research suggests they can lead to productivity gains over time - and you can apply the same lessons to your personal finances.