Edmund Tadros - Journalist

Oct 23 2009 ∞

ANZ’s new brand to rebuild customer trust, says marketing expert

DESPITE a thumbs down from news.com.au readers, a marketing expert has defended a bank’s expensive logo change as an attempt to ”humanise” its image.

Almost half of news.com.au readers gave ANZ’s new “blue blob” logo the thumbs down in an on-line poll and in comments.

“Consumers have had their faith in financial institutions shaken, they are no longer seen as safe,” Melbourne Business School marketing expert Jody Evans said.

Read more about ANZ’s new brand at news.com.au.

Oct 22 2009 ∞

Kidnapped child found after AUSTRAC follows global money trail

A KIDNAPPED child was reunited with her mother after Australian authorities tracked her down by tracing an international money trail.

The money trail, tracked by Australia’s anti-money laundering body, passed through Australia, the United Kingdom, Greece, Indonesia before ending in Thailand.

Read more about how a money trail was used to find a kidnapped child at news.com.au.

Oct 21 2009 ∞

Wickenby identifies $440m in tax owing

TWO Australian Tax Office programs targeting wealthy tax-dodgers have managed to identify almost $500 million in tax liabilities, the Federal Government says.

The programs, Operation Wickenby and the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, are key elements of the ATO’s efforts to stamp out Australians avoiding tax by sending money to overseas havens.

Project Wickenby has identified more than $440 million in tax liabilities while the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative has found more than $50 million in tax liabilities.

Read the rest of the Wickenby story at news.com.au.

Oct 16 2009 ∞

Coles axes discount petrol offer

COLES has spiked a 40c-per-litre petrol discount offer after the competition watchdog said it might reduce competition in the retail petrol industry.

Coles Express had been planning to offer the discounts of 40c-per-litre to customers who purchased more than $300 at Coles between today and October 29.

Read more about discount petrol and Coles at news.com.au.

Oct 14 2009 ∞

Commonwealth Bank fined $100,000 over botched capital raising disclosure

COMMONWEALTH Bank has been fined the maximum $100,000 by the corporate watchdog for failing to disclose the full extent of its expected losses as it undertook a botched $2bn capital raising last December.

The expected losses centred around its dealings with the failed companies Lehman Brothers, Allco Finance Group and ABC Learning Centres.

During the capital raising the bank did not disclose more than four hours that there had there had been a “significant” increase in the amount of money it would put aside to cover likely loan defaults, the Australian Securities & Investment Commission said.

Read the details of how the CBA capital raising went down at news.com.au.

Oct 08 2009 ∞

Surprise fall in jobless rate to 5.7pc

AN EXTRA 40,600 jobs were created in September against a predicted loss of 10,000 positions, latest government data shows.

The jobless rate has fallen to 5.7 per cent, while market expectation said it would increase to 6 per cent

Read more about Australia’s labour market at news.com.au.

+ ∞

Myer a ‘nothing’ brand that could eat itself - expert

MYER is in danger of becoming a “nothing” brand that risks cannibalising itself with an aggressive growth strategy of 15 proposed new stores.

The chain has also disguised falling sales by adding in the revenue made by companies who rent store space, according to one expert.

The department chain’s marketing and sales figures are the latest links of the prospectus to be criticised ahead of the multi-billion dollar float that one fund manager has already called ”mutton dressed up as lamb”.

Read more about the Myer float at news.com.au.

Oct 07 2009 ∞

Desperate jobseekers fooled by fake ads

AN IT training company that lured candidates with the promise of “guaranteed jobs” has been banned from making false and misleading claims under threat of jail for its directors.

Read more about the fake job offer at news.com.au.

Oct 06 2009 ∞

Reserve Bank lifts interest rates to 3.25 per cent

THE Reserve Bank has lifted its official interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent.

This marks the first time since March 2008 that the central bank has lifted rates.

In response, Australia’s big four banks all said they are reviewing their standard variable mortgage interest rates.

A 25 basis point increase to the official rate adds about $45 a month to a $300,000, 25-year home, according to comparison website RateCity.

Read more about interest rates at news.com.au.

Oct 02 2009 ∞

Australian Bush Hat Co banned from touting ‘Aussie-made’ hats

THEY call themselves The Australian Bush Hat Co and their headwear features an Australian map along with a tag saying “Manufactured in Australia”.

The only problem is the hats were actually made in India and imported into Australia for trimming and finishing, according to the consumer watchdog.

The Australian Bush Hat Co has now been banned from making “misleading country of origin claims” about its hats, after action taken by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Read more about The Australian Bush Hat Co at news.com.au.