The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has given the go-ahead for supermarkets to work together immediately to ensure consumers have access to fresh food and groceries, after a wave of panic buying lead to product shortages and delivery disruptions across the country.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission will continue its enforcement activities amid the spread of the coronavirus but will prioritise cracking down on behaviour that threatens “immediate consumer harm”.
For the lawyers conducting the committal hearings in the criminal cartel case over ANZ’s $2.5 billion equity raising, the Sydney Downing Centre courtroom was already too close for comfort.
Billionaire Clive Palmer has lost his appeals court fight to shut down criminal proceedings alleging his resort company breached takeover laws, with three judges saying his claims were untenable.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued guidelines on consumers’ rights to refunds if a flight or event is shuttered due to the coronavirus, saying consumer guarantees could be affected if cancellation are caused by government restrictions.
The Australian arm of French investment banking giant Societe Generale is facing four criminal charges for allegedly failing to comply with its obligations to keep client money in separate bank accounts.
Two units of AMP have paid a $536,000 penalty for failing to report derivative transactions, with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission slamming the company for “serious inadequacies” in its reporting processes.
The corporate cop has brought legal proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank’s wealth management unit claiming it made misleading or deceptive statements to over 12,000 fund members during the transition to MySuper accounts.
The corporate watchdog has brought two post-Hayne Commission proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, alleging it upped the credit limit of a known problem gambler and overcharged more than $8 million in fees on its agricultural lending products.
A Federal Court judge has acknowledged concerns raised by the accused in a criminal cartel case against mobility equipment provider Country Care and two employees about how an upcoming jury trial will proceed if the coronavirus pandemic worsens, telling the parties the court had already taken measures to control the spread of the virus.