Federal Court Justice Michael Lee has again weighed in on the use of cost consultants to assess legal fees in class actions, saying that they should be “consigned to the dustbin of procedural history.”
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited has agreed to pay $3 million after an ASIC investigation found it failed to provide annual reviews to wealth management customers that paid for the service.
The head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said Thursday that when it comes to mortgage prices, the behaviour of Australia’s big four banks looks more like synchronised swimming than vigorous competition.
Blue Sky Alternative Investments has asked Australia’s corporate watchdog to investigate US hedge fund Glaucus for market manipulation, after a scathing report by the fund last week sent Blue Sky’s stock into a tailspin and raised the prospect of a shareholder lawsuit.
A Federal Court judge has questioned the independence of for-hire fee assessors in class actions, calling their opinions on legal costs “next to useless”.
Blue Sky Alternative Investments could be facing a class action after a report by a U.S. hedge fund that found the Australian fund manager had exaggerated its assets under management and the performance of its investments, while also collecting excessive management fees.
A judge on Wednesday refused a bid by Australian mortgage aggregator Connective Group to put on hold a derivative lawsuit by a shareholder against the company’s bigwigs over the sale of 25 percent of the business to Macquarie Bank, saying there were no special circumstances justifying a stay.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raised concerns about MYOB’s proposed bid for Reckon’s accounting unit, saying it could substantially lessen competition in the market for accounting software.
Companies that manipulate financial benchmarks will face specific civil and criminal penalties under changes to the law made by the government today, in the wake of $100 million in settlements by two of Australia’s largest banks last year over claims they manipulated the bank bill swap reference rate.
A measure to add competition concerns to the mandate of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was formally introduced in the House on Wednesday.