Released on: August 26, 2008, 7:23 am

Press Release Author: Richard Drake

Industry: Financial

Press Release Summary: World Business ('Cornerstone Worldwide') Antipodean commodity
boom hasn't insulated Australia and New Zealand from contagion

Press Release Body: A note to investors at Cornerstone Worldwide has reportedly
stated that the world\'s financial tsunami has blown through Australia and New
Zealand recently creating concerns of contagion across the Pacific region.

The Cornerstone Worldwide note apparently mentioned that the punishment suffered by
financial shares in Sydney this week came after investor flight forced National
Australia Bank (NAB) to slash a £400m bond sale by two thirds.

The retreat comes days after the Melbourne lender shocked the markets by announcing
a 90pc write-down on its £550m holdings of US mortgage debt, an admission that it
AAA-rated securities are virtually worthless.

Last week, New Zealand\'s central bank cut interest rates last week on concerns that
the economy may have started edging toward a recession. Housing starts slumped 20pc
in June to the lowest since 1986. Cornerstone Worldwide's investor note speculated
that the commodity boom in its mining sector has "taken some of the sting" out of
the downturn but the government had still been unable to generate a current account
surplus despite increasing revenues.

Shifting focus to the Antipodean currencies, the noted allegedly stresses that both
the Australian and New Zealand dollars have fallen hard in recent days and now
appear to be breaking down through key technical support against major currencies,
including the US dollar.


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