Never the Twain for Bell Potter’s veteran stock punter Stu Smith

THE daily market commentary from veteran Bell Potter stockbroker Stu Smith, 81, is a must read for anyone wanting to know the vagaries of the market.

USA author Mark Twain had some advice for would-be stockmarket speculators.

STOCK HAZARDS

THE daily market commentary from veteran Bell Potter Brisbane stockbroker Stu Smith, 81, is a must read for anyone wanting to know the vagaries of the market. Packed with philosophical sayings and his own take on investment, the market roundup is what you would expect from someone who has been in the business since the 1960s. With the ASX 200 coming off the boil recently, Smith has gone way back to Mark Twain’s 1894 novel Pudd’n’Head Wilson to strike a note of caution for investors.

Illustration of Stuart Smith by Brett Lethbridge.

In the novel, the main character Pudd’n’Head Wilson warns that October is a particularly dangerous time to speculate in stocks. The other months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, February and August.

ROCKING IT

BRISBANE entertainment king Harvey Lister already has received a request for the opening act at the planned $2 billion Brisbane Live stadium near Roma St. Veteran journo and PR man Barton Green told a Queensland Media Club lunch yesterday that he would love to see the Rolling Stones take to the stage at the 18,000 seat arena when it is completed in 2023. “By that time Mick (Jagger) and Keith (Richards) will be in their 80s, but I am there!” Green enthused. Lister threw his weight behind an inaugural Strolling Bones concert at Brisbane Live. “I will even have a palm tree in the corner for Keith,” he said. Richards was hospitalised in 2006 after reportedly falling out of a palm tree at an exclusive Fiji resort.

LIGHT FANTASTIC

LISTER yesterday strode into the argument about whether advertising was appropriate on the side of iconic buildings like the Sydney Opera House. A plan for a light show promoting a popular horse race on the side of the opera house has ruffled some feathers down south.

Harvey Lister and his business partner Rod Pilbeam for Power 100 list. Pic Mark Cranitch.

Lister told the Queensland Media Club lunch that he would be more than happy for a company like Star Entertainment to advertise the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane resort on the side of the Brisbane Live stadium. Star Entertainment’s boss in Queensland Geoff Hogg says advertising on buildings like the Queensland Cultural Centre should be tied to cultural events. He added Queen’s Wharf would anyway prefer to advertise on billboards in foreign cities. Supporters of the Opera House advertising plan note the sails have been used to promote other events such as the World Cup and the Ashes. The sails have even been used to promote mobile phone brand Samsung in a commercial deal in the past.

ROAD TRIP

KPMG must be feeling the sting after losing the lucrative job of auditing the books of RACQ. KPMG, which has been the motoring and insurance body’s auditor since 1996, was last year paid $495,000 for the privilege. If you kick in other services – regulatory assistance, tax compliance, IT advisory – KPMG’s bill in fiscal 2017 was a whopping $1.097 million. After a tender process, the RACQ board has recommended that Ernst and Young (now called EY) be given the job. Given the eye-watering coin top-flight bean counters are charging these says, H&R Block must be looking attractive. The move at least manages to tick off a good governance box. Brownyn Morris, RACQ’s chairwoman and a director since 2008, had been a partner at KPMG until 1996. Debt collection outfit Collection House saw one director Phil Hennessy voted off its board last year, partly with agitating investors citing his former role at KPMG, which were the auditors of Collection House. Collection House had denied any conflict existed, and there’s no suggestion Ms Morris was involved in any conflict.