Murchison signpost
Country folk have no end of trials and tribulations forced on them from city slickers whose pervasive influence knows no bounds.
What with the shopping hours, wind turbines and actually sitting driving tests, where does it end?
The Note understands the good people of Bunbury are learning about the transition from rural outpost to real city, with the introduction of metered parking on the streets of the CBD; but they may be well behind the front lines of this urban advance.
Check out this pictorial evidence of parking restrictions in the Murchison area, hundreds of kilometres from anything resembling a town or mobile phone coverage area. The only thing missing was a uniformed inspector writing tickets.
Takeover relief
Directors and management of OM Holdings will be pleased that the trickle of takeover action on the ASX appears more directed towards their investment, Northern Iron, than anywhere else in these troubled times for corporate finance.
Being ASX-listed, Singapore-based and incorporated in Bermuda is just part of the complicated life of OM; another is a few major holdings in other listed resources companies, such as Northern Iron and Shaw River Resources.
In its half-year results, OM was obliged to record a loss due to a non-cash impairment charge of $32.1 million based on the ASX closing prices of these two stocks at the June 30 balance date.
The biggest hit was linked to its stake in Northern Iron, in which it invested $40 million in early 2010 at $1.45 a share, topping up later as high as $1.58 a share to reach 14 per cent of the stock. On June 30, Northern Iron was worth 93 cents a share.
However, July has been kinder to Northern Iron, eight months after it brought in Macquarie Capital and Euroz to advise it on its options.
It recently announced conditional non-binding indicative cash offers at $1.40 a share from the Aditya Birla Group and $1.42 a share from Prominvest AG, although earlier this week Northern Iron shares had not quite reached that level.
Shopping princesses
Struck by the conspicuous dearth of men in so many consumer ads, The Note was lured to this list of female shopping types published by media-focused B&T, which found it at a website called Mouth of Mums.
The biggest group on the list are economical shopping devotees, Price Princesses, who are most open to new technology, especially digital apps. Next are List Lovers, who view shopping as a chore and stick to staples for efficiency, and their opposites, Escape Artists, who visit the shops for enjoyment and refuge.
Family Foodies shop to satisfy their desires for taste and creativity. Network Gatherers value their connections with local suppliers and avoid the larger retailers. In equal measure, are Soul Seekers who embrace change and invite inspiration to try something new.
The smallest group, Condition Queens, are slaves to the conditions dictating their family’s diet. They are the only segment to value range over price and most likely to shop at night.
