Australian banks must learn lessons of sub-prime, warns ASIC boss
The chief corporate regulator warns Australia needs to learn the lessons of the US sub-prime mortgage crash, amid a surge in interest-only loans to property buyers.
View ArticleNegative gearing fuelling unhealthy appetite for interest-only home loans:...
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe criticises negative gearing and slams banks for signing up people for loans who should not have them.
View ArticleMortgage costs to rise as bank regulator hints at loan crackdown
In a move likely to further push up mortgage interest rates, the bank regulator flags higher capital requirements on home loans, with more detail likely by the middle of the year.
View Article'Debt vultures''preying' on the financially vulnerable, lawyers say
Debt management agencies offer to solve people's financial woes by taking control of their money and liaising with creditors, but customers and lawyers have labelled some of these companies "debt...
View ArticleACCC takes Apple to court over alleged consumer law breaches
Apple is facing court action for denying customers a free repair or replacement of faulty goods because they had previously been serviced by a third party.
View ArticleGovernment examined tax breaks on housing but did not act: FOI investigation
Federal Cabinet formally examined the impact of tax breaks on Australia's booming housing market in early 2016 but decided not to act, an ABC investigation reveals.
View ArticlePre-insolvency business advisers investigated over missing millions
An ABC investigation into the activities of business advisers who help companies avoid paying millions of dollars in tax and money owed to mum-and-dad small businesses has uncovered a raft of...
View ArticleACCC to investigate gas market's lack of transparency
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will use its investigative powers to force gas producers to hand over price and supply data to increase market transparency.
View ArticleUS tax cut plan 'could put pressure on Australia to follow suit'
Australia may need to follow the US in slashing the company tax rate to stay competitive if Donald Trump's economic plan is passed, economists and business leaders say.
View ArticleFines doubled for developers who demolish Queensland heritage buildings
In a bid to better protect character homes, developers who demolish heritage buildings will now face fines of more than $500,000 if they flout local planning laws under new Queensland legislation.
View ArticleBrisbane's worst suburbs for towing revealed
The inner-Brisbane suburbs of Fortitude Valley, Albion and Newstead are the places you are most likely to be towed by cowboy companies, complaints to a new Queensland Government hotline reveal.
View ArticleATO guidelines will force companies to 'rethink tax strategies'
The Australian Taxation Office releases draft guidelines to help companies manage their risk of being audited or sued in regards to cross-border loans made to "related parties".
View ArticleACCC doesn't have the power to stop banks passing on tax: Sims
The big four and Macquarie stand warned that the competition regulator will be closely watching their response to the new bank tax, but the ACCC admits there is nothing it can do to stop rate rises.
View ArticleAustralian gas shortfall 'very unlikely', researchers say
Is Australia really running out of gas and does the Federal Government need to impose export restrictions? "No, not really", is the answer, according to Melbourne researchers who say a "gas-supply...
View ArticleLabor proposes company director ID numbers in 'phoenixing' crackdown
The Opposition will today announce a plan to target phoenixing, where directors strip assets from businesses just before they go broke and open up new companies that rise from the flames of the old one.
View ArticleSecond-hand car lender Motor Finance Wizard to repay $11m
Car loan and leasing company Motor Finance Wizard agrees to refund and write-off $11 million in loans and leases due to possible breaches of responsible lending obligations.
View ArticleTougher Uber laws in Queensland aim to level playing field
Ride-sharing services like Uber must be licensed and pay annual licence fees in Queensland now that new laws have passed through State Parliament.
View ArticleCairns motorists slugged as fuel stations turn 38 per cent profit
The consumer watchdog has confirmed that motorists in Cairns in far north Queensland are paying too much for petrol, blaming a lack of competition for pushing prices up.
View ArticleNIB misled customers, says ACCC
The competition regulator launches Federal Court action against private health insurer NIB, alleging it misled customers over cover for some eye procedures.
View ArticleEnergy prices set to jump next month
Big energy company AGL announces its new prices schedule and it is not good news for consumers.
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