Financial Schools Reviews

() - The number of owner occupied homes sold in August decreased 0.4% in August from a year ago, the Dutch statistical office said on Tuesday. Compared to July, house sales fell 0.2%.

Meanwhile, house prices increased 0.6% compared to a year ago.

The biggest price rise was recorded in Groningen, up 2.7%. Steep price falls were recorded in Zeeland and Utrecht.

Ralph Norris, chief executive of Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia is the highest paid CEO in the country after his pay packet was increased by 75 per cent to $16.2 million.

Mr. Norris’s pay packet exceeds the likes of Westfield Group founder Frank Lowry who earned $16 million and BHP Billiton’s chief Marius Kloppers who made $12.6 million.

Mr. Norris’s closest rival in the banking sector was Mike Smith, chief executive of ANZ, who took home $10.9 million and Gail Kelly, the Westpac chief who earned $10.6 million.

CBA released its annual report on Monday, and the lender revealed that it had made $9.2 million in stock payments to Mr. Norris

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() - Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI) and the University of Michigan released the results of their consumer sentiment survey for September on Friday, showing a substantial deterioration in consumer sentiment that came as a shock to economists.

Reuters and the UofM said their consumer sentiment index fell to 66.6 in September from the final August reading of 68.9.

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Australian banking major CBA says it wants to raise its holdings in Vietnam International Bank (VIB), from the current level of 15 per cent to a proposed level of 20 per cent.

The lender said on Wednesday that intends to raise its holding in VIB once it completes its negotiation with the bank for strategic partnership.

“Consistent with the strategic partnership agreement signed earlier this year, Commonwealth Bank intends to request an increase in the VIB investment to 20 per cent at the earliest opportunity – the maximum investment allowed by the State Bank of Vietnam,” CBA said in a statement.

CBA failed to disclose financial aspects of the transaction citing that the money concerned is below the materiality threshold for the company.

() - Israel’s headline annual inflation remained unchanged at 1.8% in August, official figures showed on Wednesday. Economists had expected inflation to fall to 1.6%.

The Central Bureau of Statistics said consumer prices were up 0.5% compared to July. The biggest positive contribution to the index came from housing, which rose 1.7% month-on-month.

On the other hand, transport & communications and equipment detracted from price growth.