It is week three of the shares race and the AFR's Phil Baker has hit a purple patch.

Results matter less - in the short term - than you might think.

Seven investment ideas that will lift you out of the low-growth world.

• SHARES RACE

Company profit season has delivered some spectacular hits and misses, with the gap between first and last place blowing out.

Evolution teaches us that action beats inaction – and it's usually true, but not when it comes to investment.

A branch of stamp collecting known as "aerophilately" focuses on air mail letters, often the only surviving records of aviation milestones.

We're all getting older, we all get sick, and the continuous improvements in technology mean medicos are finding more – and more expensive – ways to patch us up and keep us going.

As earnings season takes over the business pages, here's a few pointers for investors to consider.

Sir Arthur Streeton's magnificent 1907 panorama of Sydney Harbour is listed for public sale on August 31 for only the fourth time.

The average tax return is just more than $3000 but it's often frittered away.

• SHARES RACE

The busiest week yet of company profit season gave some Shares Racers a leading edge.

If there's a takeover bid for a company you are invested in, you don't need to sell your shares straight away.

The pending changes to superannuation could force people to think outside the box and end up much better off by doing so.

Melbourne auctioneer Christian McCann is not a noted harp player but has become the go-to-man if you want to buy or sell one.

Investors should take more than just a passing interest in our banks this reporting season.

• THE HONEST BROKER

A high price-to-earnings ratio doesn't mean a stock is overpriced, it means the market thinks the earnings estimates are wrong.

• SHARES RACE

If there were ever a reason to believe in luck, take the dartboard's performance this shares race.

Telstra released its full-year financial results on the same day as rival Optus and the numbers were starkly different.

Spinning the company results may result in a short-term gain for investors, but substance is what matters in the longer term.

Nice girls don't talk about money and they certainly don't say they want more of it.

Small mining stocks have built on their gains this week.

• QUIRKY INVESTMENTS

Football legend Ron Barassi, who turned 80 this year, is selling off his collection.

Be careful how you invest if you're trying to do good…

Many assume doctors are rich. But in many ways they face more headwinds than most.

Focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.

The value of Woolworths shares jumped 8 per cent in one day, but is it just a false dawn?

• SHARES RACE

The racers are enjoying another buoyant week, but earnings season is about to begin.

The property investment industry is virtually regulation-free and until recently it's been open slather, with the investment watchdog powerless to act against property spruikers unless they're providing advice for self-managed super funds.

• QUIRKY INVESTMENTS

Van Cleef & Arpels' menagerie series was aimed at a younger market when it was released - and now it's come of age.